TCO Fishing Report - December 13th, 2024 for the Truckee River, Little Truckee River and Pyramid Lake
December 13th, Fly Fishing Report for the Truckee River, Little Truckee River and Pyramid Lake
The Truckee/Tahoe area saw a dusting of snow this week after a couple of weeks of unseasonably warm weather. This snow won’t be quite enough to hinder access on either the Truckee or Little Truckee, but it may slow down the activity of the fish a bit. We’ll know more about access to the LT after the bulk of the storm passes through tomorrow, so give us a call on Sunday if you are wondering. The best time to get out will be mid-day, but don’t sleep on fishing during the evening hours. These fish are often at their most active once the sun has dipped over the hill, which often makes streamer fishing a good option. We are just a few short weeks away from Christmas and town remains quiet as of today. But we expect that to change as soon as this week, especially with this fresh dusting of snow. Although the resorts and downtown may get busy this time of year, you can expect the rivers to be nice and quiet right now. So, what is a better way to disconnect from the holiday madness than a little solitude on the river?
Truckee River Fishing Report & Forecast
The Truckee has fished very well this week, with quite a few days where we lost count of the fish caught and landed multiple fish in the 20” range.
The key to the river this time of year is fishing during the warmer days of the week as well as the warmest points of the day. Focus on slower moving water where seams and bubble lines are present and put an emphasis on small flies in the size range of 18-22. We have been doing very well indicator fishing, while the streamer bite remains fair and the dry fly fishing will be hit or miss.
When fishing under an indicator we have been using stones, worms or eggs as our larger attractor nymphs and placing a small nymph below it. Below our attractors, we are typically running a baetis or midge imitation.
Both the baetis and midge hatches are at the smallest size we will likely see all year. So, fishing smaller imitations will be crucial for success, and is often an overlooked factor of winter fishing. The patterns we fished with this week are Pat’s rubber legs in sizes 10-12, San Juan or gummy worms in red, tan or pink, Juju baetis in sizes 18-20 in all dark colors, olive quilldigons in size 18, all colors of zebra midges in size 20, and brown or red Manhattan midges in sizes 20-22.
Little Truckee River Fishing Report & Forecast
With this snow in town, access to the Little Truckee remains open as of today, but we recommend having an all-wheel or 4-wheel drive vehicle if heading out here as this road is not maintained during the winter. The Little Truckee saw a slight increase in flows this week, sitting at 200 CFS today. We would consider these above average flows for this time of year, and is very conducive for all methods of fishing, be it dries, nymphs or streamers.
We have hatches of consistent baetis most every day right now and the technical dry fly fishing it provides is a big draw for this river system. You can typically find these bugs hatching mid-day for about a 3-4 hour window, but on overcast days it is possible that they can go longer. While the nymph fishing and streamer fishing are a bit less popular out here, they too are great and can provide some excellent results for those willing to cover more water, also opening most of the river to good fishing while the dry fly fishing is mostly limited to just the upper parking area right below the dam. This makes fishing in the “upper lot” a bit crowed most days.
The fish here are notoriously picky when it comes to dry flies, and your fly selection, tippet diameter, leader length and presentation all must be dialed to have a good shot at the fish hitting the top. If any one of these factors is off, you may struggle a bit. What is surprising to a lot of people is how they are not as selective on subsurface presentations. Although fly selection, tippet diameter and presentation are certainly still a significant factor, you can often fish a great variety of flies and go up a diameter or two on your tippet and still have good success.
Because this is a tailwater, the temps and flows remain much more stable, providing good fishing most of the day. Fishing mid-week in the morning or late evening can be a great way to have this otherwise busy river more to yourself, especially if you combine that with a rainy or snowy day.
Pyramid Lake Fishing Report & Forecast
The lake has yet to really slow down and this week we are seeing days on par with the most epic November we’ve seen.
This fishery will certainly be one to benefit from a storm pushing through, and the low pressure system will likely get these fish on the chew. The one factor to keep an eye on will be the full moon this weekend. During a full moon and for a day or two after, the bite will almost always slow down. So, if you’re looking to fish out here, you may want to wait until early next week.
The fish have been taking a wide variety of flies and presentations. Fishing an indicator with leeches or midges as well as fishing a sinking line with boobies, buggers and beetles have all been working about equally well depending on the conditions or the beach you end up fishing. The beaches with a good drop off and sandy bottoms typically will fish best using leeches under an indicator or stripping flies. The shallower beaches with tufa rock are a great place to hang a midge under an indicator. The beaches with gradual drop offs are great places to strip floating flies such as beetles or boobies.
Most beaches up and down the lake are all fishing nearly the same, so if one beach is crowded or the bite isn’t happening there, don’t be afraid to move around a bit and consider trying somewhere new!