Truckee River and Pyramid Lake Fly Fishing Report January 28, 2022
We’ve been seeing some excellent weather for getting out on the river as days are warming up to the mid-40’s with little to no wind and an abundance of sunshine. If your thing is solitude on the river with the shot at large fish – now is a good time to put some effort in fishing the Truckee. With a good amount of snow on the ground and most lakes frozen, there is still a limited selection of accessible waters and the Truckee will remain the easiest and most consistent fishing in the area.
Truckee River Fly Fishing Report and Forecast
These bright and sunny days and cold nights have helped pack down the snow here in town and this is an excellent time to walk further out from any given access points to reach some of the runs on the California side of the Truckee that haven’t seen an angler in weeks. The Nevada side of the Truckee will also be a great option for the remainder of winter and through the spring, as access here is usually much more straight forward and the lower elevation will have fish active for longer periods. In particular, the section east of Sparks along Lockwood, Mustang Ranch, and down past Patrick has been exceptional for both walk and wade and for float trips with a small raft. Down here we have been getting good reports of a mid-day baetis hatch often prolonged through the evenings if any cloud cover is present, as well as good streamer fishing out of a raft as you’re able to cover a lot of water and focus on presenting the streamers near the banks where those big browns sit and wait to ambush baitfish.
We have been starting to mix in some other nymphs into our selection over the last week with good success. Skwala nymphs has started to gain some attention by the trout this week as we are right around the corner of this annual emergence, while we haven’t seen any actually hatching off, our theory is the older fish know this emergence is near and they are taking them based off of memory. We are also seeing winter stones with more regularity and fishing #18-#16 Copper Johns for your attractor has been a good alternative to the baetis and midges being fished all winter.
Little Truckee Fly Fishing Report
The Little Truckee continues to see flows out of Stampede Dam fluctuating daily. This makes for some horrible fishing conditions as the trout don’t do well with inconsistencies in water levels. Access out here will still be tough as well as the road still has packed snow on it passed the Boca Dam and only experienced snow drivers in 4x4 vehicles with good snow tires should attempt to make it back here. This is a great time to give this fishery a break.
Pyramid Lake Fly Fishing Report and Forecast
We’ve been seeing a mix of good and bad days here at Pyramid, and this is mostly based on the weather. Any days with overcast or winds will always help your cause this time of year, and we recommend choosing your days of fishing here based on the forecast. The midge bite is starting to pick up here and will only get more consistent as we head towards spring, but as of now balanced leeches have been the most constant producer. The streamer bite remains best along the southern beaches or anywhere where there is a sandy bottom with a defined drop off.
All in all, this is a good time to be fly fishing. Hope to see you guys in the shop if you need any supplies. Watch for another Fly-tying clinic mid February too.
– Miles