Early February on the Truckee River started out with some spectacular dry fly fishing. From now until mid-March, the Truckee River can have some solid hatches of Blue Winged Olive (BWO) mayflies. Additionally, midge hatches have occurred earlier in the day around 10am-12pm. For the Blue Winged Olive, carry a few patterns to present different life stages of the insect. The Baetis Cripple is a killer fly in the early stages of a hatch as it imitates a BWO that is “stuck in the shuck” as it attempts to hatch. Additionally, a fly like the Parachute Adams will fish as an adult BWO with a fully operational wing. When fishing the midge hatch earlier in the morning, the Parachute Adams in a small size also works great. If fish won’t take the Parachute, try switching over to either a Griffiths Gnat or a Pulsating Emerger.

Nymph fishing has been hit or miss. In sections where fish are eating off the surface, the nymphing has been tougher overall. Focus your nymph fishing in the time leading up to a hatch. This means you could try fishing a midge like the Hot Butt or the Zebra Midge from around 9am-11am; followed by a BWO nymph like the Micro Mayfly or the Spanish Bullet from 10am-1pm. Of course these windows can change significantly based on weather conditions. If the wind comes up in the afternoon, it can erase any surface activity and will likely push fish to feed subsurface again on nymphs.

Flies we Suggest: Micro Mayfly, Spanish Bullet, Perdigon, Jig TNT’s, Psycho May, Galloup’s Jig BWO, Baetis Cripple, Pull Over BWO, Zebra Midge, Griffiths Gnat