TCO Fishing Report - February 26, 2021
Truckee River Fishing Report and Forecast:
Fishing on the Truckee River remains great this week. Flows in the canyon have come up slightly with an increased discharge out of Boca Reservoir and warmer days causing a slight bit of run off to start. Nymphing and streamer fishing has been best and dry fly fishing seems to be quite slow this winter as a whole. We have been doing very well with the indicator fished deep in the bigger buckets, and euro nymphing has picked up as fish have begun to move into medium fast water. Stonefly nymphs have been working well as your attractor fly under the indicator or as your anchor fly when euro nymphing. Pairing these with a midge pupa or BWO nymph remains you best bet. When fishing streamers don’t just think of the big buckets and flats and also try high sticking methods in pocket water, swinging in front of boulders or even casting upstream into slack water with a downstream retrieval focusing on targeting fish in the seams. Giving these fish a larger offering this time of year is a great way to entice them when the water temperatures are low and a large fish dinner is too hard for them to pass up. Sculpin patterns in olive, black, white or natural are always a great place to start and don’t be afraid to use one with a fair amount of flash on a sunny day. In general on the Truckee, the fishing will be best anywhere that hasn’t seen anglers in a few days and if you really want to do well it will pay to cover a lot of water, look for quieter sections of river and fish any water that a typical angler would pass over. If your fishing a few times a week, try a different section of river each time you go out. Not only will you better learn the ins and outs of the river, but you are constantly presenting your flies to different fish which will in turn increase your odds. Plus, exploration is one of our favorite parts of this great sport and if you can figure out the intricacies of this finicky river you will quickly become a force to be reckoned with.
Fly recommendations for the Truckee:
Pat’s Rubberlegs in brown #8-#10, Tungsten Trout Retrievers in chocolate #8, Gummy Worms in red or pink #12,San Juan Worm in red or pink #12, Flexy Floss Worms in red or pink #12, Juju Baetis in Purple or baetis #16-#18, Lightning Bugs in pearl, purple or gold in #16-#18, Zebra Midges in red or black #16-#18, Copper Johns in black, purple or red #16-#18, Prince Nymphs #16-#18, Flashback Pheasant tails in purple or natural in #16-#18
Link to our Winter selection for the Big Truckee
Fly Fishing report and forecast for the Little Truckee River
While access on the Little Truckee continues to open up, please still use precautions when traveling back here as there still is a good amount of snow on the road. Most AWD or 4WD vehicles with good clearance can make it back here but it is single lane in a few spots and can cause some problems if there is oncoming traffic. Fishing here has been on the slow side and using a euro nymphing set up with 6x tippet and small flies will be best when throwing nymphs. If a hatch is present and fish are rising, a dry dropper set up with a parachute pattern trailed 18-24 inches by an emerger is a great way to go. With how good the main river has been fishing we would strongly suggest giving this fishery a break and to instead try your luck on the Truckee.
Fly recommendations for the Little Truckee:
Zebra Midges in red or black #20-#22, Bead Back Midges in black or gray #18-#20, Juju Baetis in purple or Baetis #18-#20, Micromays in olive #18, Pheasant tails in purple or natural in #18-#20, Prince Nymphs #18, Copper Johns in black or purple #18, flexy floss worms in red or pink #12, San Juan Worms in red or pink #12, Para BWO’s in #18-#20, Hackle Stacker BWO in #18-#20, RS2 in olive or gray #18-#20, Dandelion Midge in RS2 #20-#22, Mole Flies in BWO #18-#20, Griffiths Gnat #20-#22
Pyramid Lake fly fishing report and forecast:
There is some exciting news making its way out of Pyramid Lake – A fish 39 inches in length and nearing 30 pounds was caught and released by fly angler Quinn Pauly on Valentine’s Day while fishing from a ladder using a full sink line. It was a Pilot Peak strain of cutthroat thought to be 10-12 years old. The Pilot Peak strain of fish is believed to be able to live 15-20 years and this fish looked to be in great condition meaning it could very well grow another 10 pounds in its life. This is a huge milestone for the people of Pyramid Lake and the reintroduction of the Pilot Peak fish starting in 2006, as is the largest fish to be caught at Pyramid Lake since their extinction in the 1940’s. Please read the article published by the Reno Gazette Journal for the full story. Knowing that at least one fish nearing 30 pounds is swimming around in this lake and that it was willing to take a fly should get the fly crowd fired up for the rest of this historic season here at Pyramid. As usual, we recommend having multiple set ups at hand and switching off tactics between indicators and stripping depending on conditions. Under your indicator, fish are taking both leeches and midges, so have a good assortment of both and mix it up until you find consistent results. Stripping has been a good during times of low light and could clearly be the ticket to your fish of a lifetime! Knowing that fish of this caliber are swimming around should really make you aware of the importance of your rigging. Always check your line for any knicks or wind knots, use stout tippet and make sure your hooks are quality if you want to land these mega trout! We also received a fresh shipment of Pyramid flies this week and our bins are well stocked, come on in and check it out! And if you haven’t seen our new page about fishing at Pyramid Lake, here’s the link.
Flies for Pyramid:
Midnight Cowboys #6, Estaz Woolly Worms in pearl or chartreuse/black #6, Booby Flies in Chartreuse/White #8, Pyramid Beetles in black/purple or chartreuse/white #8, cutbait midges #8, moo midges in red or wine #8, Miles’ Pyramid Bomber in Copper or wine #8, Pyramid Beach Leeches in Black or olive #8, Moo Minnows #8
Link to our selection of flies for Pyramid Lake
Thanks again for reading and sharing your fish experiences with us. This week's underwater shot comes from Jeff Sasaki of Mavrk fly fishing. Stop by and say hello anytime, and grab a cup of coffee from our new neighbor Drink Coffee Do Stuff!
Miles