September 16, 2022 Fly Fishing Report for the Truckee River Region
As of today, the Mosquito Fire is at 20% containment and it continues to burn east, spreading smoke east along the I-80 corridor. We’ve had some high AQI days recently, but also a handful of mornings with a slight wind shift creating bluebird skies. Keep an eye on the forecast and plan your day outside accordingly. As a positive, the cooler weather this week has kept water temps down, the flows are still great below the confluence of Boca and the fall bite is picking up rapidly. This morning we saw air temperatures in the mid-30’s here in Truckee, and there’s even a snow rain mix expected Sunday with rain for the rest of the week, this will help both containing the fire, dampen the levels of smoke, and further improve the fishing conditions, a win-win!
Truckee River Fly Fishing Report & Forecast
The conditions on the Truckee are surprisingly good all thing considered and days where the smoke isn’t hanging over town can make for some great days on the water, as water temps cool, and the crowds remain non-existent making for very light fishing pressure everywhere right now as people escape the smoke. Anglers can fish throughout the day at this point, and it seems that the mid-morning through mid-day is fishing best, early starts will become less important as we head into fall. The fish are holding in a variety of water types right now, so be sure to fish it all, fast, slow and everything in between. Using indicators will work best when nymphing multiple water types and using white or clear indicators will be the name of the game when the water is low and clear like this. The main bugs right now have been caddis pupa in a #16, BWO’s in a #18-20, PMD’s in a #16-18, Midges in #18-20 and around the corner we have October caddis starting up within the next few weeks. This week of rain and overcast weather coinciding with fall time has us thinking it will be a good week to give the streamer game a try and Olive sculpins, white streamers to imitate whitefish or anything representing juvenile trout would be worth a toss, and don’t be afraid to go big!
Little Truckee Fly Fishing Report & Forecast
With last week’s bump in flows and the light crowds in town, the fishing on the LT should be great for those willing to work around the smoky conditions. The rain expected early next week will even further improve fishing conditions out here and during, or right after the rainstorms make sure to have a good number of worms in your box. The other noteworthy bugs here will be BWO’s in #20-24, Midges in #20-24 and PMD’s in #18. There is also a small amount of October caddis in the river and not a lot of people think to fish them in this finicky tailwater otherwise known for small flies and light tippet, this is something to keep in mind on those days where the fish are a little bit grabbier than normal. With the higher flows the dry fly bite has slowed and it does mostly seem to be a nymphing game for now, but always keep your dry fly box handy out here as large hatches can come off unexpectedly.
Local Still Water Fly Fishing
With the cooler weather, the temps on the lakes are coming down and fall is always a great time to explore local still water fishing as the trout come higher up in the water column and look to fatten up as they head into winter. The lakes around Jackson Meadows will provide lots of opportunities to get out on your float tube, boat or kayak and are less than an hour from town. The fall is always a good time to target lakes known to have browns and brook trout as they are particularly active this time of year and chucking streamers on a sinking line is a great way to find the bigger fish in any given lake. The next few months of lake fishing will likely be some of the best of the year and hatches can and the necessary presentations can vary a bit on any given body of water, so stop in and get accurate info and fly selections from our knowledgeable staff.
- Miles