TCO Fishing Report – April 9, 2021
Truckee River Fly Fishing Report
Oh yeah, it’s definitely springtime here in Truckee and the fishing has been great. The river is currently running clear and fish remain active most of the day. With good consistent flows throughout the entire river you can have your choice of where to fish all the way from 1000 feet below the dam at Tahoe City all the way through downtown Reno.
"This is one of the best times to be fishing the river!"
We are currently seeing good hatches of BWO’s around noon and these bugs have provided the best success day in and day out along most of the Truckee. The Skwala stoneflies have started to wane but don’t count them out just yet as this big meal can continue to interest fish for weeks after their hatch. We have had quite a few reports from anglers starting to see redds (Spawning Beds) along the river and we ask you to please be cautious when wading to avoid stepping on or near these redds. Be cognizant of the actively spawning fish in the coming weeks and avoid those areas please. It is typical to see more of this on lower water years and we expect that to be the case this spring. If you are unsure what to look for with regards to these fish, their behavior or what a redd looks like please stop into the shop or give us a call and we are more than happy to explain. Education is the key to conservation – and keeping our fishery a wild self-sustaining population is of the utmost importance to us.
As days continue to get both longer and warmer look for the windows of good fishing to change slightly as fishing in the mornings will continue to improve and during the warmer points of the day is has began to slow. Don’t be afraid to stop for lunch around 2-3 o’clock and get back on the water for and evening session, we have noticed a serious decline in the catch rate when the sun is at its highest point. Using a nymphing set up remains best and both indicator fishing and euro fishing have been successful as fish are currently sitting in a variety of water types from the typical deep buckets, to medium-fast riffles and everything in-between. Fish it all for best results!
Recommended Flies For the Truckee River
Pat’s Rubberlegs in brown #8-#10, T’s Drummond Stones in dark #8, Jigged Poxy Back Stones in dark #10, TJ Hookers in Brown or black/coffee #6-#8, Juju Baetis #16-#18, Micromays #16-#18, Olive Mic Drops #18, Jigged Baetis #16-#18, Zebra Midges in red or black #16-#18, San Juan Worms in red or pink #12, Flexy Floss Worms in red or pink #12, Gummy Worms in red or pink #12, Unreal Eggs #12, Glowbugs #12
Little Truckee River Fly Fishing Report
The flows on the Little Truckee are holding at about +/- 75 CFS this week, not horrible for this tail water but far from typical flows for the spring out here. Fishing remains a little spotty but we are seeing decent hatches of BWO’s around noon which has been providing some fair dry fly fishing. There has also been a good amount of winter stones coming off over the last couple of weeks and using a small #18 black stimulator has been a good way to replicate these bugs (we just got this pattern in this week, come check them out!). As with the main river we have come into the spawning season here on the LT and we ask you to please remain cautious about these vulnerable fish, avoid wading on or near gravel bars and riffles and avoid targeting any actively spawning trout. A good way to avoid fishing for spawning fish is to use dry flies. Fishing here has been more consistent throughout the day as the water temps of this tailwater very rarely fluctuate more than a few degrees over the course of a day.
Recommended Flies for the Little Truckee River
Zebra Midges in red or black #18-#22, Juju Baetis #18-#20, Micromays #18, micro stones in black #18, Copper Johns in black #18, Flexy Floss Worms in red or pink #14, San Juan Worms in red or pink #12, Unreal Eggs #12, Glowbugs #14, Para BWO’s in #18-#20, Mole Flies in #18-#20, Hackle Stackers #18-#20, Stimulators in black #18, Elk Hair Caddis in Black #18, Griffiths Gnat #18-#22, Dandelion Midges in RS2 #20-#22, RS2’s in olive or gray #18-#20, Palomino Midges in black #18-#20, BWO Soft Hackles #18
Pyramid Lake Fly Fishing Report
Fishing at Pyramid Lake has slowed even more this week as fish are now in spawn mode. Indicator fishing has mostly fallen off although some fish are still being caught on smaller midge patterns in the #10-#12 range. Stripping streamers has been a good way to entice these fish and a wide variety of streamer patterns have been working, everything from buggers and beetles to larger articulated sculpin and trout patterns. We expect the fishing to pick back up in a few weeks once they start feeding regularly again.
Recommended Flies for Pyramid Lake
Cutbait Midges #10-#12, Ice Cream Cone Midges in black or red #10-#12, Albino Winos in #10, Copper Johns in black or red #12, Maholo Nymphs in red or wine #10, Pat’s Rubberlegs in brown #10, Gummy Worms in red or pink #12, Midnight Cowboys #6, Woolly Buggers in white, black or olive #8, Pyramid Beetles in chartreuse/white or black #8, Booby Flies in Chartreuse/white #8, pyramid beach leeches in black or olive #8, Balanced Leather Leeches in peacock #8, Swim Coaches in gray or brown, Mini Loop Sculpins #8
Thanks again for supporting your dedicated local fly shop in Truckee. A few final thoughts.
- We’re hiring at the shop. Check out the Job Description here.
- Our guides are booking up for May and June. Call or fill out the Guide Inquiry form here.