Over the last 7 days we have seen the Truckee come up another 100-150 CFS

Truckee River


by The Fly Shop
4-5-2024
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Over the last 7 days we have seen the Truckee come up another 100-150 CFS with a large spike on Wednesday as this latest system started as rain and has since turned into snow. The flows have started to decline and should even out to around 600-700 as early as this weekend. There has been a decrease in visibility across most of the river system with the exception of right outside of Tahoe City. The section of river east of Sparks will likely run dirty for a while, and while fishing here may not shut off altogether it will certainly be a bit tougher, with streamer fishing being your best bet. Along the canyon section and down through West Reno should be a sweet spot in terms of flows, visibility, and water type. The canyon is where we would recommend would be where we recommend fishing this week. We have begun to catch fish in slightly faster and shallower water with more regularity and even with the next few days of snow, we expect to find trout in the side water of faster runs, the edges of riffles or shallow sections of deeper buckets. This is due to most of the rainbows are approaching spawn. In fact, this week we saw our first redd of the year here on the California side of the Truckee. Over the next two months please remain cautious of shallow gravel bars, and avoid walking on or near these areas, or targeting these vulnerable fish. The protection of our wild trout populations is of the utmost importance to us, and we are always willing to explain the best practices when fishing during this time of the year to anyone who stops in the shop or calls with questions - please don’t hesitate to ask!

With the warmer days last week we saw the skwalas hatching again, but unlike two weeks ago the fish weren’t quite as reactive to them on the surface. The nymphs remain very much on the menu however and should be good bets for an attractor nymph for at least another month. We are still catching a good number of fish using baetis patterns and a handful on March browns, but we are having far less success with midges as the flows rise. Worms, eggs and crawdads will continue to fish better and better as the water comes up this April. Streamer fishing should also get better as flows rise, and we’ve seen some really nice browns taken on swung sculpin, crawdad and whitefish imitations this week. We have also begun to see a good amount of caddis hatching this week, which is always a great indicator that spring has officially arrived. These pupae should start to be thrown into the mix for the nymph angler. Pheasant tails will be a good bet over the next couple of months.