September 10, 2022 Fly Fishing Report for the Truckee River Region
After the heat spell in our area over Labor Day weekend, we are happy to see cooler days starting today as well as some potential thunderstorms over the next few days. Unfortunately, now we are having some smoky days with the Mosquito Fire burning near Forest Hill, but so it goes. For those looking to get out despite the smoke, there is light at the end of the tunnel in terms of those dog days of summer as we come into more of a fall weather pattern in the extended forecast, and conditions are already improving with the cooler weather over the last few days. Looking ahead towards the fall, we are doing ok all things considered and we should see some good fishing opportunities in the next few months.
Truckee River Fly Fishing Report
With the release of +/- 250 CFS of cold-flowing water out of Boca reservoir, the lower river didn’t seem to get affected too greatly in terms of water temps last week, holding to the mid 60’s by mid-day. The upper river is a much different story. With most of the water along 89 South and Glenshire Drive coming from the surface of Lake Tahoe, this water was mostly just too low and warm to fish with flows in the ‘shire at about 85 CFS. We encourage you to fish anywhere from the confluence of Boca to the Nevada state line where flows will be relatively unaffected most of the year and water will be its coolest. Please continue to remain diligent in bringing your thermometers when fishing for the day, calling it when the temps exceed 66.
As we approach the first days of fall, we look forward to a good October caddis hatch this year with more water in the system. Now is a good time to pick up some of these pupae and give them a try. Both the local trout and the local trout anglers wait in anticipation for this hatch every year as it is one of the last big bug hatches before winter. The smaller caddis pupa in a size 16 are very much on the menu too, as well as BWO’s, PMD’s, and midges while the bite on larger bugs such as stones and craws has slowed. Look for fish in a variety of water types from the medium speed water in riffles and pocket water as well as the tail outs of deeper buckets, anywhere where you cannot see the bottom and has some current to it is worth a few casts. As we come into fall and see more and more overcast days, the streamer bite should pick up, so dust off those trout speys. We have heavily increased our selection of streamers in the shop too, so stop in and check us out!
Last week ended with smoke from the Mosquito Fire
in Forest Hill entering the Truckee River Region.
Little Truckee Fly Fishing Report
The Little Truckee saw a much-needed bump in flows this week and as of today it is sitting at 100 CFS! We couldn’t be happier to see this as we come into fall, and it hasn’t taken long to start getting some good reports from anglers fishing here. With the rising water, using worms paired with a BWO nymph or zebra midge should be a great way to go but using 6x is still recommended. The dry fly fishing will likely be spotty initially, but it should really improve as flows stabilize, and cooler days prevail. BWO’s have taken over as the primary mayfly lately, but we are still seeing some PMD’s as well as midges in the mornings, so it pays to have a well-stocked box when fishing out here as these fish can be incredibly selective when a hatch is present.
Local Still Water Fly Fishing
As of now the general lake fishing remains slow in the waters near town, but with the cooler weather the bite should pick up quickly. Prosser and Stampede have continued to see a good bass bite and there’s even been a few trout in the mix recently. Boca has been fishing fair around the inlet, but we recommend getting an early start if fishing out here for both the fishing and the heavy boat traffic this lake has seen this year. Jackson Meadows has been fishing well near the dam either using an indicator off the shore or getting out on a tube with a sinking line and streamer, and we’ve been seeing some very large fish there this year, so while you may not get numbers, it will be a great place to go and target big fish. There’s certainly a number of other lakes fishing well in the area and it’s nearly impossible to touch on them all here on the report, so stop into the shop and pick our brains if you’re looking for some other options.
As always, thanks for your continued support of Truckee’s only dedicated fly shop, we can’t do it without you!
Tight Lines,
- Miles
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