Truckee River Fly Fishing Report May 14, 2021
Warm weather and active fish have been making for good fishing conditions on most bodies of waters here in the Truckee/Tahoe region. The water on the Truckee river is running high, cold and clear and fishing on the river has been good most of the day. The Little Truckee is a little on the low side, hovering at about +/-75 CFS for the last few weeks but the fishing remains good here for euro nymphing while the dry fly fishing has been a little spotty mid-day and gets better after the sun sets over the hill when the Caddis and PMD’s start coming off. The lake fishing has also been excellent for both trout and smallmouth bass. Look for the windows of better trout fishing to continue to shift earlier in the mornings and later in the evenings while slowing mid-day as the days get longer and warmer.
Truckee River Fly Fishing Report
All gates at the dam at Tahoe City are currently open and they are releasing 487 CFS out of the lake. While we guess that this will likely be short lived with the current drought conditions it is definitely a welcome sight for now. With the majority of the water in the river coming from Lake Tahoe the river is running extremely clear and this will make for increased opportunities for sight fishing and means that fishing smaller bugs will likely be your best bet. At least until you get below the confluence of Boca Reservoir where the water will gain a little bit of color from run-off. We have been doing very well nymphing caddis pupa, PMD nymphs, baetis nymphs, and pairing them with larger bugs such as golden stoneflies, worms or crawdad patterns is a great way to find fish here. We are starting to see carpenter ants moving around and while this hatch can be short-lived when it happens it can make for some excellent dry fly fishing especially as a larger dry option for your dry dropper set ups. Another great way to fish these ants is sinking them under some split shot with your typical nymphing set up as they are not great swimmers and don’t last very long on top of the water. Streamer fishing also continues to be good and Sculpin patterns in olive, black, white or natural are all good options as well as streamers imitating the whitefish or juvenile trout.
Recommended Flies for The Truckee River:
OCD Caddis #14-#16, G6 Caddis #14-#16, Caddistrophic Pupa #16, Olive Bird’s Nest #14-#16, Hare’s Ears #14-#18, Anato-Mays #16-#18, Olive Mic Drops #18, Pat’s Rubber Legs #8-#10, Riot Stones #10-#12, Iron Sallies #14-#16, Two Bit Stones #10-#16, Pheasant Tails #14-#16, San Juan Worms #12, Gummy Worms #12, Flexy Floss Worms #12, Carpenter Ants #10, Grizzly Chernobyl Ant #10, Burk’s Hunchback March Brown #12, Burk’s Hunchback Green Drake #8.
Little Truckee River Fly Fishing Report & Forecast
For this time of year, the Little Truckee currently has low water although it is running cold which will keep fish active most of the day as there will be very little fluctuation in temps. With the current conditions an additional level of stealth will be required for these already educated fish. Take your time fishing runs here and keep your movements low and slow as you approach the water. The mid-day hatches have really slowed here as the baetis wane and the bugs like PMD’s and caddis take hold, which will be most active during times of low light. When hatches are not present, euro nymphing any likely holding water will be the ticket to finding fish. As always, using 6x tippet out here can make the difference between a good day and a great one. Other note-worthy bugs here will be midges, worms, yellow sallies and even golden stones which make for a great anchor fly on your euro nymph set-ups. Please continue to keep an eye out for spawning fish here, while the majority of fish have finished up their spawn there may still be a few late arrivals and we ask you to please leave them be and avoid their spawning redds. Please ask us if you are unsure what to look for.
Recommended Flies for The Little Truckee
Zebra Midges #18-#22, Juju Baetis #18-#20, Anato-Mays #18-#20, Olive Mic Drops #18-#20, Splitcase PMD’s #14-#16, Jigged PMD’s #14-#16, Jigged TNT PMD’s #14-#16, OCD Caddis #16, Caddistrophic Pupa #16-#18, San Juan Worms #12, Flexy Floss Worms #14, Silhouette Dun BWO #18-#20, Mole Flies #18-#20, PMD Hackle Stackers #14-#16, Melon Quills #14-#16, E/C Caddis #16-#18, RS2’s #18-#20, Dandelion Midges #20-#22, Griffith’s Gnat #20-#22, WD40’s #18-#20
NEW! Stillwater Fishing Report
As Pyramid Lake winds down for the season we will be shifting gears to a general still water overview for our local lakes.
Most of our lakes are well below capacity for this time of year and are currently fishing like they would in June. Boca Reservoir has been fishing well around the Little Truckee inlet and using a boat or float tube around the north end of the lake has been a great way to run into good numbers of fish. Fishing along the Boca dam has slowed off the shore recently but for those willing to put into the time, this can be the best way to run into some of the larger fish found in this lake. Getting out on a boat or tube and using streamers along the dam will be a good way to fish deeper in the water column and you could tie into a variety of species including rainbows, browns, kokanee or mackinaw.
While Stampede Reservoir is low, it will be a large enough body of water where it should remain fishing well most of the season. Fishing around the dam here will be good mostly for smallmouth bass, some of which can exceed 5-6 pounds, definitely a lot of fun on a fly rod. The trout fishing at Stampede will be best on deeper drop-offs using nymphs under an indicator or stripping streamers. The DFG has been planting cutthroat in here over the last few years and they seem to be thriving here as we have seen some large pyramid lake sized cuttys over the last few years come out of Stampede.
Prosser Reservoir has been excellent for smallmouth bass this year and will make a great option for the beginner angler looking for a nice straight forward outing with willing fish. The trout fishing here has slowed as surface temps continue to warm but could still be a decent option back towards the inlets of Prosser Creek or Alder Creek. The lake level here has risen in recent weeks and looks to be hovering at about 50% of it’s capacity, not bad considering how low it was all winter.
Recommended Flies for our lakes
Leather Tail Balanced Leeches in peacock or wine #8, Pyramid beach leeches in olive or black #8, Ice Cream Cone Midges in red or black #10-#16, Pheasant Tails #14-#16, Copper Johns #14-#16, Prince Nymphs #14-#16, TJ Hookers #8, Simi Seal Leeches #12, Woolly Buggers #6-#8, Bellyache Minnows #10
Thanks again for following our reports and shopping local at Trout Creek Outfitters. Please visit the store or call if you have any questions about what is working best out there day to day, and share your stories with us on social media too. We love it!
Miles and the TCO Crew