Spring fishing in the Truckee area is now in full force as the Truckee River is holding at just under 1,000 CFS in the canyon and around 450 along Glenshire Drive. According to predictions done by the forest service and our local water management, we are currently in our peak runoff. This is earlier than normal and coupled with our light snowpack once again this year, we encourage you to put an effort towards fishing our moving waters this spring and early into the summer as later in the year will likely become limited by low flows and warm water, similar to last year.

We are also lucky to also have an abundance of still water fishing options in our region, and when conditions on the river become less than ideal, we will still have great fishing on our local lakes. If you haven’t already got into the still water game, all we can say is you don’t know what you’re missing It will be the best way to keep your line tight on low water years like this one and will further your skills as an angler. As of now our local creeks and rivers will provide some excellent fishing for couple more months, so get out and enjoy this beautiful spring weather!

On another note, we will be expanding our shop hours starting this weekend and our summer hours will be 7am-7pm 7 days a week. So be sure to stop by the shop before you head out to the water to get the latest on conditions and pick up a few bugs for the day or come on in after you get off the water to chat with us about your time on the water, we love hearing your reports!

Truckee River Fly Fishing Report & Forecast

The Truckee has provided some excellent fishing over the last few weeks during the spring runoff. With high water along most sections of river, be sure to fish close to the banks as well as the typical tailouts found in the middle of the river as fish will often push to the sides of the river in an effort to find slower water where they aren’t forced to work hard to feed. Using attractor nymphs such as stoneflies, worms and eggs will be great options during this time, but we are also seeing fish caught on midge and BWO nymphs in sizes 16-20 and paring a larger attractor with one of these smaller bugs will be a good way to cover your bases.

Both indicators and euro nymphing have been working well depending on the section of river you’re looking to fish for the day. If fishing in the canyon where flows are at their highest, we recommend using the indicator to be able to cover greater areas, but if fishing the lower-flow portion of the river or along Glenshire Drive, the tight-line rig may be best. We are still seeing fish taking Skwala adults off the top, and using a foamy bug such as a Chubby Chernobyl in brown, olive or black will work well when fishing a dry dropper setup during these flows.

Streamer fishing has begun to pick up as well as days become longer and water temps slowly warm. This will be the case in particular during overcast days or low light periods when the trout are less on edge and willing to take a bigger offering. Tightlining a jigged streamer can be a fun way to fish during run off and when paired with a nymph can be deadly, we recommend any sculpin patterns in olive, black or white during this time, and go heavy as weight will be especially important right now.