Truckee River has been good

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Sounds like this river is starting to go.

Lots of bugs hacking now.

Little Truckee Rvier flow is down now too.

[anon]

i'd have to disagree.

yes, the flows are good, the bugs are there, but the fishing is slow. three of us spent the day there yesterday and got skunked. i can't remember the last time i was skunked on the truckee. i fished along glenshire, at hirschdale, and above boca. i only saw one fish rise during the late afternoon. other anglers i talked to said they didn't catch anything either.

i tried various nymphs, streamers, and even cast a few dries to see if i could entice one to rise. tight line nymphing, slack line indicator nymphing, swinging streamers, nothing was working.

perhaps others had a good day already on the truckee, but i certainly didn't. at least the weather was nice!

little t flows are down, but the fish weren't biting over there either. only fished it for an hour or so though.

maybe it was just an off day for us and everyone else we ran into. or maybe the river just need another couple weeks.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

We hear about all these hatches but it could still be too cold.........?

I usually like to start looking around up there around mid-June but you would think it might be earlier this year?

Thanks for the report.

[Matt Frey]

I was on the Truckee and Little Truckee on Sunday. I cant catch fish so I got skunked. My two friends on the other hand did pretty well and caught some pretty big fish. We got there early 7:30 AM ... that's early when youre driving from SF. Lots of gray mayflies starting at about 10. At one point I got out of the water and my waders were covered in mayflies trying to emerge. Big fish on dry fly between 10 and Noon on the Truckee. These fish werent making big rings when they'd rise ... you'd just see their shoulders. The only bad part is that it was windy. Fished the LT in the afternoon and the upper parking lot was packed (over 10 cars) so we fished the lower section. Flows look good. Even with no fish for me it was still really nice to get out.

Hey Anon ... maybe we saw you guys. There were 3 of us.

[SullyTM]

Matt...MSP and I were on the LT Friday and there were virtually no bugs. There doesn't seem to be any consistency on the hatches. Maybe it's still to early in the season??

Later...

Thom

[bigtj]

There was a blizzard of caddis at my house last night. The flows just dropped so the water is warming.

The thing to remember about the Truckee is the conditions change rapidly day to day even hour to hour. Just because it is slow one night doesn't mean tomorrow night won't be awesome. I have tried for the better part of 10 years to figure out the controlling factors but there doesn't seem to be any correlation between weather, water temps, etc. For some reason some nights are just better than others. Fishing does seem to be a little better on nights that aren't too windy but that isn't always true either.

In general the advice Bill gave is good. This is THE time of year to be fishing the Truckee (a month earlier than usual due to low runoff) and water temps are where they need to be. Just a matter of catching it on the right night...yes there is a degree in luck it's fishing.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

It is famous for big fish and being unpredictable too.

I guess we should be going up there to hit those early big mayfly hatches.

What is the water temp?

It's pretty close to Sacramento too.

[SullyTM]

Bill...It was wet wadable on Friday...cold, but bearable.

Thom

[bigtj]

Water temps are varying depending on location. The little T is a lot colder so water temps are better above there and down in the canyon. Overall they are plenty warm and the fish are actively feeding if you use the right offering at the right place at the right time. I have been wet wading for a couple weeks now. The only water temp I took a couple weeks ago was 54 mid-day in the canyon. The warmest water temps tend to be in the late afternoon and early evening which is also the best time of day to fish this time of year.

The Green Drakes should be popping pretty soon but the most reliable hatch to match is the caddis hatch. Cinnamon, tan or olive birds nests and EC caddis are the ticket right now. Yellow Sally dries can be good, too.

[Oskar]

I have seen pretty good fishing on the Truckee lately. Mostly middle of the day, Ive been nymphing but a few risers are showing up between 11am and about 1pm. They are harder to spot but they are there, usually just the dorsal and the top of the head. If they are rising they'll usually hit the dry I throw at them. Large grey mayflies about an inch have been working for me. Just before dark they are pretty active as well, slapping the water , but those fish have been a bit smaller.

Oskar

[anon]

hi matt,

maybe we did see each other. i don't recall seeing a group of three people though. there were several loners, and a few larger groups hanging out by their cars.

we were on the water by 10am thinking that the fishing would be better after the water has had a chance to warm up. around 2pm, we switched over to the little truckee to see if we'd do better. earlier i wrote that we only fished it for an hour, but my friend insists that we fished it for over 2 hours. it certainly felt like an hour, but i guess time flies when casting flies... we fished the canyon section and hiked up quite a ways into the meadow section. there were certainly far less bugs on the little truckee, but perhaps it was the time of day we were there. i guess around 4pm we went back down to the truckee, since conditions seemed a bit better down there.

the only fish i saw that surfaced came up very gently. my friend also told me that he did see a couple of fish rising on the truckee around noon (i didn't know about this until today).

we left the water at about 8pm, too discouraged to stay until dark.

the truckee can be a challenging river to fish, but as i've said, i haven't been skunked on that river for many years. but then again, i can't remember fishing it this early in the season in recent years. or maybe we were simply cursed :(

i'll try again in a few weeks...

[JohnD]

I was in Truckee from Friday to Tuesday. Got skunked below boca on Saturday, didn't see a bug on the water. Sunday we moved up above Glenshire and there were a lot of bugs on the water and some rising fish. Was a light colored mayfly that was hatching on the surface - you could see the nymphal shuck trailing behind them. I used a PMD pattern because it was the closest thing I had and the fish didn't seem to mind. I had only 3 fish in about 4 hours of fishing, but all were 16" or bigger. One on a dry and two on a nymph. Didn't fish Monday but yesterday I was out for about 3 hours and it was the same thing. Lot's of pale mayflies and a few risers. It the fish were rising I could get a strike with a well drifted fly. Caught a nice fish on a cripple pattern and another on a nymph. Not big numbers for the weekend, but certainly the highest avg size fish I've had there.

[anon]

Sunday we moved up above Glenshire and there were a lot of bugs on the water and some rising fish.

just curious... what time of day did you fish there on sunday?

[Matt Frey]

I fished there from 7:30 until 2. Lots of mayflies starting at about 10am

[JohnD]

Sunday we moved up above Glenshire and there were a lot of bugs on the water and some rising fish.

just curious... what time of day did you fish there on sunday?

I'd guess that we got on the water sometime around 10am and off by 2. We saw quite a few people. You weren't the guys fishing downstream were ya?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

One of our Reps, Darin Elmore, who lives in Truckee said the Truckee River was fishing good now.

That doesn't mean every day, all day long for everyone though but it has been good at time for some.

I don't think it an easy river to figure out though because there is so much food in it.

It is a rich river, like the East Walker, with mayflies, stone flies, caddis, terrestrials, small fish and crayfish.

It supports some really big wild trout and it is close to Sacramento and the Bay Area.

Right now I would go fish the Upper Sac, lower McCloud and Pit Rivers for better action for most though.

[anon]

I'd guess that we got on the water sometime around 10am and off by 2. We saw quite a few people. You weren't the guys fishing downstream were ya?

downstream of the bridge? in the private section? nope, that wasn't us. we were along glenshire road in the second pullout (i believe there are 3 pullouts along glenshire rd), and we fished our way upstream between around 10am to 2pm. we drove down glenshire and saw lots of cars and people in the parking area at the bridge, so we continued on to the little truckee.

i'm tempted to give it another shot this weekend to redeem myself, but think it might be a better idea to go to the upper sac instead and save my redemption for another date.

thanks for the info everyone.

[JohnD]

I'd guess that we got on the water sometime around 10am and off by 2. We saw quite a few people. You weren't the guys fishing downstream were ya?

downstream of the bridge? in the private section? nope, that wasn't us. we were along glenshire road in the second pullout (i believe there are 3 pullouts along glenshire rd), and we fished our way upstream between around 10am to 2pm. we drove down glenshire and saw lots of cars and people in the parking area at the bridge, so we continued on to the little truckee.

i'm tempted to give it another shot this weekend to redeem myself, but think it might be a better idea to go to the upper sac instead and save my redemption for another date.

thanks for the info everyone.

No, above the bridge. There were three guys working downstream instead of up. Kinda screwed up the whole rythmn. You were probably upstream of us and I don't recall seeing anyone but the downstreamers when I walked back to the car.

[dtp916]

Truckee is good. See my post in other thread.

[medfly]

daytripped up to the truckee on monday, got on the water around 4:30 pm, bugs were everywhere and many kinds, fished around the hirschdale bridge for a few hours with gr. drake nymphs, PTs, and streamers, no luck, moved up to the confluence with the little truckee and fished there for a few hours abit downstream from the tunnel, didnt see risers until 8 o'clock, missed a few strikes and on last cast of the night hooked into a good 18 inch rainbow on a #12 yellow stimulator, here's a pic, not that great since it was landed after 9 pm and the flash went off and i couldnt really see what i was taking a pic of

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c112/buddhahorse/IMG_2279.jpg

[dtp916]

Caught a handful of bows today in the 13-18" range. Little surface activity today, so I mostly dredged the bottom.

PMD Viz-A-Dun #14
Green Czech Nymph #12
San Juan Worm #12
GB Hare's Ear #16

Talked to a guy said the LT was getting better and flows were relatively stable. Told me he caught 5 in a half an hour yesterday.

[rosebud]

Hi all!

Well, fourth time's the charm. I've been flyfishing for 4 years now, sticking mostly to small streams and smaller trout. On my fourth trip to the Truckee, I finally landed a 20" Rainbow. (She looks smaller in the photo, but I swear, I measured her.) She was a beaut and did everything she was suppose to...ran upstream and downstream, went airborne twice, tried going under a rock. I was shaking with adrenaline.

I took my 12-year-old son, just learning to fly fish, and we hit the Truckee from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. this Tuesday fishing upstream from the Glenshire Bridge. I saw a few risers, had a couple of refusals, and nailed this guy on a #8 Stimulator at about 11:00.

BTW, my first three trips...#1 & #2 skunked; #3 two hooked, one broke and one shook off mid-air.

P.S. My son is starting to get discouraged from not catching. He's taken casting lessons and I work as hard as I can to try to help him. Please PM or e-mail me at nseroom2@yahoo.com if you have suggestions for a nearby stream with willing and forgiving trout. Thanks in advance!

- Rick.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z61/rberry0303/Rick_at_Truckee.jpg

[medfly]

so i went back to the truckee for another day trip yesterday, on the water at 2:30pm at the glenshire bridge and went up river, very different river from monday, during the day only caddis were out in abundance, found some risers but really had to search for them, hooked a medium sized fish and then LDR, but a few moments later hooked and brought to hand a 20 inch rainbow, a real beautiful fish, id show pics but in the chaos i dropped my camera in the river, its drying out (please work), i still feel fish over camera was the proper decision, one strange thing was the fight of this 20 incher, came up more like a log (not exactly), but nothing like the screaming up/down river of the 18incher i caught on monday in the truckee, this usually suggests too cold water but that is not the case, the water was warmer than i expected, around 7:30 the PMDs and a huge brown mayfly started coming off, fish didnt seem to key into them though, very few rising fish in the evening, looked to be going after emergers (just barely their dorsals breaking the surface), had no luck and left around 8:15 since a number of people had showed up, still a great day of big bugs and huge trout

[Oskar]

I fished Truckee Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday between Glenshire and Trout Creek. Tuesday I saw a nice hatch of greyish-brown mayflies between 9.30 and about noon. At one piont I had about six risers spread out over the pool I was fishing and didnt know witch one to cast at. I landed about five fish all in the 16-20 inch range over the morning. I guess they released more water from Tahoe on wednesday as the flow was much higher. Got out really early but no bugs until about 10 again though much less then the day before. I still got into a few fish but had to search for the risers. Just before dark saw quite a few big green drakes floating by. Never seen them before , man are they huge. Thursday was pretty much the same as Wednesday with a day of riser searching. If they are surfacing they are pretty good about taking the fly but man are they suttle.

[anon]

i fished the truckee again on sunday. on the water at ~1:30pm. not too much action, didn't see any surface activity. fished with some nymphs and caught several 5-7 inch browns and rainbows. got bored so i switched to dries, and continued catching a few more 5-7 inchers. still funner than catching them on nymphs though.

by 6pm or so, i decide to work my way back to the car to get a snack. continue casting my dry, had a few hits from decent sized fish (~12 inch)but couldn't hook any. then i hooked into a huge rainbow. i played him for a minute, then we were at a deadlock. the fish was downstream of me, and i couldn't bring him any closer without risk of snapping my 6x tippet that was beat up from getting tangled up in the alders all afternoon. i managed to work my way around some boulders and alders and got downstream of it, then it started to pull line. i managed to land it, and it measured approximately 22 inches. definitely the largest fish i caught on the truckee, and the largest i've ever caught on a dry. and this was on my brand new 3 wt rod!!! i was surprised that i actually landed that thing. i did hook it really deep, but i thought for sure the tippet would snap.

so i land the fish, try to take a photo with my lame camera phone, but couldn't manage. then i thought about how i'd been craving smoked trout lately, and thought about what wonderful fillets i could get from that fish. i pondered for a second... lucky for the fish, i would be far too busy to cure and smoke it over the next few days, so i let it go. seriously though, i would've released it regardless.

the fight from the rainbow was as medfly described. the fish didn't put up much of a fight. the 12 inchers i caught later that day on the little truckee pulled more line than the 22 incher. sometimes when i catch large fish that don't fight, i start to think that they've been caught and released so many times that maybe they learn that not fighting is the easiest route to them being released. maybe the smaller fish just don't have that experience yet.

while walking back to my car, i came across another fisherman taking a break on the bank. we sat and talked for a while, and decided to hang around there wait for some surface activity. just as the fish started surfacing, a family showed up and grandpa started to fish right in front of where we were sitting. a few minutes later a raft full of people pulled up to meet the family, and a few other joined grandpa. oh well, time for us (me at least) to find another hole...

so i went to the little truckee and fished for the last half-hour of daylight and caught a few 12 inchers, all on dries. not much surface activity at all, despite the really low flows.

[medfly]

returned just now from another truckee day trip, arrived around 3 at the confluence with the little truckee, was windy so the afternoon was slow, little bugs, no risers, so i took a nap, around 7 or so though things changed dramatically, every bug in the river started coming off, just watching the birds take them for a while entertained me, i missed a few strikes, but ended the day with a 20 inch brown on a size 16 yellow humpy, single fish worth the trip, any advice on setting the hook? i am generally fine with this skill but have missed a few fish recently cause of this, maybe i could use a refresher course????

[Ed Wahl]

Medfly, the most common problem when missing a lot of strikes or having the fish come unbuttoned is a dull hook. A million things out there can dull the point, even lots of fish lips. Carry a small hook hone and touch up your point before casting. Ed

[dtp916]

Depending on the angle the fish eats your bug, try a delayed reaction (not that much delayed, I'm talking in the fractions of seconds) or even better, strike horizontally instead of vertically.

I always strike horizontally and tend to fight a lot of fish with my rod parallel to the water. It has helped me increase hook ups and land more/bigger fish. 8)