The Little Truckee has seen a bit of a drop in flows this week, from 160 down to 120 as of today. 120 is still considered great flows for this time of year, and with the water staying nice and cold all day, this tailwater continues to fish great. We have heard a rumor that the flows will continue to drop this month and are projected to get as low as 45 CFS. Let’s hope it’s s just a rumor, because the current flows are great for fishing. We generally do not recommend fishing it below 60, because holding water becomes very limited. 

We have seen consistent mid-day hatches of PMDs this week, and if you’re lucky you could even run into a few of the green drakes which are mostly found during overcast days or in the evenings. There have also been hatches of some very small BWOs around a size 22-24, some midges, as well as caddis in the evenings. So in general, having a well-stocked box is advised when heading out here to do some dry fly fishing. Surprisingly, the nymph fishing has been a bit more straight forward, with various size 16-18 perdigons imitating PMDs working with regularity. Buggier flies such as a Duracell or blowtorch are working well to represent the drakes, and caddis pupa, midge larva, or small baetis patterns are all putting fish in the net when coupled with light tippet, a stealthy approach and a good drift.

As this is our busiest river in the area, expect to see a lot of anglers out here. because of this, the willingness to walk a bit further, fish mid-week or early and late will all help you not only fish around less people, but catch these trout a bit more off guard and potentially find some of the real bruisers that lie in this awesome fishery.