Truckee River Fly Fishing Report & Forecast

The populations of fingerling trout in the Truckee River this year is great to see, and it bodes well for the next few years. For current fishing however, it means that you likely will have to weed your way through a few small trout until you find some of the adults. The current water temperatures and topping out at 61 at the Farad gauging station, dropping a few degrees from last month. Despite this we are still finding most of our fish in fast moving riffles this week. Focus on fishing riffles 3-6 feet deep, the heads of deep runs where whitewater is present, or pocket water. Using nymphs imitating stoneflies, caddis pupa, PMD’s, Yellow Sallies, BWO’s or crawdads have all been working, and this time of year a suggestive fly can fish a lot better than a pattern matching a specific hatch due to there being so many different bugs present. The Nevada side of the river continues to fish great as well. The same bugs will be present along most of the river in Nevada, except for that you will find fewer stoneflies in the lower river. Down here water temps and clarity are 2 other factors however. The temps at the Sparks gauging station are right at 68 degrees, meaning anglers should mostly focus on fishing early morning to mid-morning and be sure to land fish fast; minimalize handling; and release in fast water to ensure a healthy recovery when practicing catch-and-release.

The fish in the lower river can also be found in slightly slower water at times than what we have been looking for upstream. Anglers should cover a greater variety of water, including foam lines, medium speed seams, and any good hiding spots for trout on a cutbank or in a boulder garden. Word is the upper river along 89 South may not see an increase in flows this year as they may not release water from Tahoe at all this year. However, the lower river is expected to have steady releases from Prosser and Boca all year and the entire river below Boca should be fishing great until the snow flies once again. Get out there and enjoy!