Truckee Tahoe Fly Fishing Report August 13, 2021
With warmer weather expected this week it will remain important to get your trout fishing done in the early mornings calling it around 11 or when water temps exceed 66 degrees. Truckee River flows are continuing to be tapered off out of Lake Tahoe and dropped to just over 200 CFS as of today. At the Glenshire drive area, we are currently at 239 CFS, this is still decent flows for now but look for fishing to be best below the Boca Dam confluence if the water drops much below 200. They have been letting 170 CFS out of Boca which has kept the canyon running just under 500 CFS, which is great all things considered!
The Little Truckee continues to hover around 40 CFS and the fish here have seen their share of fishing pressure this year, please keep your fishing here to a minimum until we see an increase in flows, some cold weather, or some other significant change in conditions. Let’s do our part to preserve our wild trout populations during this trying year. Thermometers should be a must have tool for all trout anglers fishing the greater western states as most rivers are in similar shape.
Trout fishing in our local lakes is at the slowest point in the year as surface temperatures are at their peak. This is the best time to hike up to some higher elevations and try your luck in the backcountry where water is colder and fish are more active. Stop in and let us get you in the right direction.
Truckee River Fly Fishing Report
Conditions on the Truckee remain better than we anticipated for this time of year and most sections of the river are providing good fishing for those willing to get out on the water at sun-up. As flows are slowly being tapered off out of Tahoe expect the canyon section of river to provide the best fishing in the coming months. We have been seeing some cooler morning water temps over the last week but the warmer weather in the forecast could very well change that so please continue to use your thermometer throughout the morning, calling it past 66 degrees.
We have been doing well using nymphs and streamers with the occasional luck on dry dropper setups as well. If using nymphs try a stonefly or crawdad as your larger attractor fly paired with a PMD nymph, caddis pupa or the typical Truckee River fall backs such as BWO’s, Midges or even worm patterns. Both euro nymphing and indicator fishing are working well right now, but just be sure to fish deep and with a good amount of weight. Streamer fishing is getting better weekly and we anticipate this bite to really pick up when we see our first good cold snap (hopefully soon!). Sculpins are always a good go-to on the Truckee and the most productive colors are olive, black, white, natural or yellow. Other streamer patterns to try would be any smaller trout patterns imitating rainbows, browns or whitefish as well as crawdad patterns in brown, orange, olive or gray.
Recommended Flies for The Truckee
T’s Stone #8-#10, Stonedaddy #6-#8, Poxy Back Stone #8-#12, Pat’s rubberlegs #8-#10, Splitcase PMD #14-#16, Jigged PMD #14-#16, TNT PMD #16, Peaches and Cream #16, OCD Caddis #14-#16, Caddistrophic Pupa #16, Rainbow Warriors #16, Lightning Bugs #14-#16, Pheasant Tails #14-#18, Olive Mic Drops #16-#18, Anato-mays #16-#18, Zebra Midges #16-#18, San Juan Worms #12, Flexy Floss Worms #12, Dead Drift Crays #8, Sculpzillas #4-#8, Mini Loop Sculpins #8, Olive Ziwis #6
The Little Truckee River Fly Fishing Report
Please consider limiting your fishing here as flows are low and angling pressure is high. The low water here has also made for the water temps to warm up above 66 degrees in the lower section of river by mid-day even though the water is still cold coming out of the dam. Please help preserve the wild trout of the Little Truckee by focusing on alternative options during the warmest part of the year.
Still water fishing Report and Forecast
As most of the lakes at our elevation are warm and not fishing well for trout this is the height of the backcountry season and we highly encourage you to do some exploring and try one of the many high elevation lakes in the greater Tahoe Basin. You can find many lakes containing good populations of wild trout in the Desolation Wilderness, Kirkwood or Jackson meadows area to name a few, so get your map out and start planning your next adventure. New to backcountry fishing? Let us help you get in the right direction with suggestions on waters, flies, presentation techniques and must haves for your pack for a successful day on the water. Our staff is very experienced with this type of fishing and have an intimate knowledge of most lakes in our area.
Flies for still water fishing:
Albino Wino #12, Cutbait Midge #12, Chironocones #14-#16, Zebra Midges #16-#18, Pheasant tails #14-18, Hare’s Ears #14-#16, Caddistrophic pupa #16, Fox’s poopah #16, Bird’s Nest #16-#18, RP’s Ants #12-#14, CFO Ants #14, Morrish Hoppers #8-#12, Mimic Hopper #12, Callibaetis Adults #14-#16, AK’s Callibaetis spinners #14-#16, Callibaetis Cripples #14-#16, Para Adams #14-#16, Elk Hair Caddis #14-#16, E/C Caddis #14-#16, Griffiths Gnat #16-#20, Dandelion Midge #18-#20, Belly Ache Minnows #8, Simiseal Leeches #12, Woolly Buggers #6-#12, Balanced leeches #8-#12
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Miles and the TCO crew