The last week of fishing on the Truckee has been excellent as water temps continue to hover around the high 50’s in the canyon. The upper river along Glenshire Drive is a little skinny at 167 CFS which will make this area warm quicker due to greater sunlight penetration, so because of this we recommend fishing below the Boca confluence to the Nevada state line where flows will be at their most consistent and the water cooler. In the last week we did not see the river exceed 66 degrees down here, but with warmer weather expected please continue to carry your thermometers and call it a day if/when water gets to this mark.

We’ve seen a serious increase in activity from the larger fish in the river with good catch rates of fish over 16 inches, but you may still have to weed through a number of smaller ones to find these guys. Look for fish to continue to hold in those medium to fast water speeds down in the canyon as water temps haven’t dropped quite enough for them to move out of this water type. Pocket water, riffles, and the tops of runs will be the ticket this time of year but stripping streamers on the slower buckets may surprise you with a big brown, especially when fished during low light hours.

When nymph fishing, be sure to use ample weight to insure you are on the bottom where the fish are. This is especially important when the trout are sitting in the faster moving water where you often only have a short 10’-20’ drift where they are holding, even if the water isn’t very deep. With the possibility of some afternoon fishing now, keep an eye on the caddis hatches in the evening, as this can be some of the most consistent dry fly fishing the California side of the Truckee can offer.

The bug selection this time of year consists of caddis pupa in #14-16, PMD’s in #16-18, BWO’s in #16-18, golden stones in #8-10, nocturnal stones in #4-6 and crawdads.