A slight shift in weather patterns this week should make for some improved fishing conditions when compared to the warm sunny days last week. Unfortunately, this is not the significant storm we need to further bolster our light snowpack for the summer months, but at this point any little bit helps. As other waters become increasingly accessible with lower elevation snow thawing, now is a good time to think about exploring some different options such as our local creeks that were previously closed to fishing during the winter, as well as the number of options for a day trip like the upper stretches of the Yuba and Feather Rivers to the north and southern tributaries like the Carson and Walker drainages, which both saw an increase in flows over the last week.

Most of our waters here in the Sierra will be fishing well this time of year as the fish will begin to feed more aggressively as days grow longer and water temps warm up.  Spring spawners – such as Rainbows and Cutthroat – will try and put on weight before their spawn. If you’re not sure where to start, stop into the shop and we can point you into the direction of some new waters to try!

Truckee River Fly Fishing Report and Forecast

With the daytime highs in the mid-50’s last week, we saw a 100 CFS increase in the Canyon section of the Truckee bringing it near its 5-year average flow of around 400 CFS at the Farad gauging station. This will mean more weight will be necessary when nymphing or throwing streamers, and additional care should be taken if crossing the river. As water temps rise, bugs such as BWO’s will be more likely to hatch, especially during overcast days with light wind, and this next week is looking fitting for some good opportunities to toss dries, especially along the lower river east of Sparks. Midges remain very active as well, with little interest from the fish on top of the water, however using a #20 zebra midge either under the indicator or with a dry dropper set up remains a very consistent producer.

We have yet to see the Skwalas really begin to show en masse, and some years can be better than others for this hatch, but we’ve certainly been catching our fair share of fish on the nymphs. This exciting hatch goes for another couple of months so we encourage you to have some dries and nymphs of these bug in your box as they make an excellent attractor/searching pattern in the spring.