We are so incredibly relieved to see the forecast call for temperatures in Truckee to drop this week. Starting this weekend the highs are expected in the mid 70’s, then warming up a bit later in the week. After 2 straight months of hot weather, only broken up by the occasional thunderstorm, not only are we too damn hot, but so is the river. It’s been interesting to see this season unfold after an amazing spring with a good snowpack turned into such a hot summer this year. We are now in a solid month with voluntary hoot owl closures. Even with the cooler days this week, we don’t expect immediate results and odds are we will be limited to fishing in certain areas and only during the early morning hours for at least a few more weeks. We’ve been keeping a very close eye on two of the USGS gauges, the gauge at Farad and the gauge at Sparks, NV. Both gauges not only monitor flows, but more importantly they monitor the water temps. Over the last week, we have seen the water temps at Farad (below the Boca confluence, and a few miles upstream of the NV state line) swing from an average of 62 degrees in the morning and topping out at 70 by mid-afternoon. The Sparks gauge is showing that it is starting the morning at 68 degrees and topping out at around 74 degrees in the afternoon. 

Wow, that’s hot. We are not ones to push opinions on people, but given these current water temps on the Truckee, absolutely no one should be attempting to practice catch-and-release fishing anywhere from the Reno area and down, not even in the mornings. However, there is still fishing to be had in the morning hours here on the California side of the river. But it will be limited from sunup until about 11 or so and should only be happening from Hirschdale to Verdi where the water will be a bit colder. While these hoot owl closures are described as voluntary, we see this as vital to the conservation of our wild trout populations. Other states such as Montana take it one step further and have written these restrictions into law. Unfortunately, Nevada and California have not put these laws into place, and the Truckee River trout populations are reliant on anglers understanding the importance of these measures on an individual level. Even with the cooler weather this week, carrying a thermometer on the river is an important, and easy step you can take to do your part in taking care of the resource. As always, we are always happy to answer any questions in the shop or over the phone about the best places to fish, when to do so, as well as all the other best practices to fish during these conditions. In fact, we love it when people ask because it shows that you care! 

To be clear there is still plenty of fishing to be had, but do your research, ask questions, and take the appropriate steps to protect the resources during these hot summer days. In conclusion, let’s wrap this up with a positive message. While conditions may be less than ideal right now, we are expecting an excellent fall this year. Likely on par with last year, which was probably the single best fall I’ve personally had on the river. We have most of our reservoirs still sitting at nearly 100% capacity, meaning that we should have great flows in what would normally be the leaner water months, which also happen to be some of the absolute best months for fly fishing. The colder and shorter days of fall will bring water temps back down before we know it, and we will be able to fish hard all day to trout aggressively feeding in attempt to fatten up for the winter months. With the hot days as of late, I for one am excited to see what the colder days over the next few months bring, for both the fishing and the beautiful seasonal changes in our little mountain town. 

Truckee River Fishing Report and Forecast 

As mentioned above, we are recommending people only fish from the confluence of Boca to Verdi, where the water will be at it’s coldest along the entire river system. Not only should the fishing be done here in the early mornings for the health of the fish, but the bite really seems to shut off much after 11 anyways. The fish are mostly sitting in fast water, and anglers should focus on the well oxygenated areas of the river such as riffles, pocket water and the tops of buckets where an abundance of white water is present and churning oxygen into the water. 

Oftentimes these areas are not very deep, so spacing your flies out far away from your indicator isn’t very important right now. Using a good amount of weight is though, as the areas the trout are sitting in are fast and often in short zones. When fishing this water type using stoneflies and crawdads are great way to grab the fishes attention, and can get you some of the larger fish, but it is still worth putting on a size 16 PMD imitation or caddis pupa to get more eats. Euro nymphing will be the best method to fish these water types, cutting through the fast water and getting into the softer pocket where the fish are holding. The main bugs to fish right now would be golden stones, crawdads PMD’s and caddis.

Little Truckee River Fishing Report and Forecast 

While the Truckee may be going through it’s troubles of warm water, the Little Truckee has been a great option for anglers looking to fish during the warmer points of the day. Not to mention, it has been fishing well. The flows out here remain stable, sitting at 165 CFS for a few weeks now. These stable flows and cold water due to dam releases out of Stampede have made for happy fish and happy bugs. While the upper parking area has been staying very busy, even mid-week, the other sections of river have seen far fewer anglers, and is fishing great, as long as you’re willing to walk around a bit. It’s hard to deny that the upper section of the river will provide the most consistent dry fly fishing, but after higher-than-average flows this spring and summer, there have been very a great population of fish in the lesser-known sections of the LT this year. These areas are typically best fished by covering water with nymphs, but it’s still very much worth bringing a dry fly rod in case you see some noses. 

The main bug, hatching daily, is the PMD Mayfly. They are typically seen popping up around 11-3 but we have seen them at seemingly random points in the day, and even after an emergence, the dry fly fishing can be good fishing either the adult or spinner stages of the bug. In addition to the PMD’s, we are seeing BWO’s, midges, caddis, and green drakes active this week, and all of these imitations of both nymphs and dries are good fly choices for the day. This is not an easy fishery, and even when there’s a lot of fish around, refusals are common, so be sure to change up your bugs, use light tippet and cover water.