Bull_Dog
07-06-2011, 12:45 PM
Truckee River
July 6th. Man do we have some water! All of the reservoirs that flow into the Truckee are either full or within inches of being full. This is the first time that has happened since the mid 1990’s. The good news is we are charged and should get a few years of great water conditions out of this. The short term bad news is we are chomping at the bit to get out and play on the river which in most areas is flowing 4-5 times the normal flows. Hang in there. The rewards are coming soon. Tahoe is within about 6-8 inches of the top of the dam and going up daily. They are not letting much water out of the lake and the flows from Tahoe City down to about the confluence of Donner Creek near Truckee are not too bad and totally fishable. Once you get below Donner creek it starts to pick up speed and by the time you get to Boca Bridge it is over 2000 CFS all the way through Reno and beyond. The river is starting to clear a bit even down in Nevada. The upper stretch between Tahoe City and Truckee has always been a pretty good area for attractor dries and dry dropper combo’s. The further downstream you get the more important it is to fish deeper and get your flies down in the faster water so a normal Truckee indicator rig should work fine.
Here are the current flows as of July 6th. (Ideal fishing flows in parenthesis).
Town of Truckee 471 CFS (100-400) Boca Bridge 2020 CFS (anything below 650) Farad 2450 CFS (400-600) Mogul 2450 CFS (300-500) Reno 2350 CFS (350-500).
Little Truckee River
Flows are still really high at 823 CFS. Water is coming over the top of Stampede and this should keep the flows up for a while. It is definitely fishable but it does not look like the Little Truckee you are used to. Water is out of the banks in some places and there are side channels that are normally dry. It looks more like the Big Truckee than the Little Truckee. That being said, fish it like you would the Bit river; heavier tippet (4x-6x) and more weight if you are fishing sinking flies. There are still some of the same things happening that you would normally see when the flows are more normal as well. BWO’s, PMD’s and even some Green Drakes have been hatching over the past week. The difference is where the fish are holding and how you are going to approach the water. Pretty much like the East Walker right now, fish the edges and seems out of the main current. Crossing probably is not a great idea now either.
East Walker River
Flows remain high at 800 CFS. It is irrigation season and we could see these type of water levels all summer. Twin Lakes and Bridgeport reservoir are full and there is plenty of water for the farmers. If the flows do not fluctuate much it can be very fishable.Be aware that there is no way to cross the river and some of the banks are so overgrown that it is hard to get to the water. In the areas where this is not a problem the best way to approach a section is to fish the edges right up against the banks. The fish will not be in the middle fighting all that fast water. Big attractor dries such as hoppers or stimulators drifted in slower moving seems and edges could raise a few fish. You can also add a dropper. Indicator rigs are worth a try and streamers fished with a sink tip line can also be effective. Catch a fish or two and it will become more obvious as to where they are hiding. Mornings and evenings are the best time to fish the East Walker right now.
Davis Lake
Fly fishing is really picking up at Davis. Truckee River Outfitters Guide Doug Ouellette has had some really good days with clients over the past week using a variety of techniques. There are several hatches going on right now and each day can be different. Indicators, floating lines with no indicator, intermediate lines and faster sinking lines all produced fish over the holiday weekend. One day there can be a morning Callibaetis hatch, the next day fish could be eating Damsels. Yesterday the fishing was slow all morning and about 1:00 pm the fish started chowing Blood Midges. The most important thing is to be ready to change gears and adapt to what the fish are eating. Overall the fishing at Davis is getting really good. Most of the fish are being caught in 6-12 feet of water right now.
Frenchman’s Reservoir
The reports at Frenchman’s are pretty similar to that of Davis Lake. Fish are being caught in a variety of ways. Use any of the above Davis Lake methods along with fishing snail patterns with a sink tip line in 6-10 feet of water and stripping leeches with an intermediate line as well.
Lassen Meadows Ranch
The first groups at Lassen Meadows Ranch just hammered’em. The lake is in great shape and so are the fish. Our good friend Dan Blanton just returned from a three day trip to the ranch with his wife and grandson. Dan is a fly fishing Rock Star and is really well known throughout the country mostly for his Striper fishing and his numerous popular saltwater and bass fly patterns. It was nice to see the pictures of Dan and his family hooting it up in a couple of small prams at Lassen Meadows. His full trip report can be viewed on his bulletin board by following this link. www.danblanton.com/viewmessage.php?id=157071
We still have plenty of availability for July as well as September and October.
For more information you can email Rob Anderson
rob_renoflyshop@sbcglobal.net
Smith Creek Ranch
Water, Water, Water! The trophy pond is fishing really well and the Callabaetis are out in force. Days when the wind stays down a bit Callabaetis can be seen hatching until around lunch time. With all of the water coming out of the Desatoya Mountains, the lake has had a chance to stay nice and cool. This has really helped the fishing. We just added 350 fish to the lake with few in the 7-9 pound range. For more information or to book a trip to Smith Creek Ranch, email Rob Anderson. rob_renoflyshop@sbcglobal.net
July 6th. Man do we have some water! All of the reservoirs that flow into the Truckee are either full or within inches of being full. This is the first time that has happened since the mid 1990’s. The good news is we are charged and should get a few years of great water conditions out of this. The short term bad news is we are chomping at the bit to get out and play on the river which in most areas is flowing 4-5 times the normal flows. Hang in there. The rewards are coming soon. Tahoe is within about 6-8 inches of the top of the dam and going up daily. They are not letting much water out of the lake and the flows from Tahoe City down to about the confluence of Donner Creek near Truckee are not too bad and totally fishable. Once you get below Donner creek it starts to pick up speed and by the time you get to Boca Bridge it is over 2000 CFS all the way through Reno and beyond. The river is starting to clear a bit even down in Nevada. The upper stretch between Tahoe City and Truckee has always been a pretty good area for attractor dries and dry dropper combo’s. The further downstream you get the more important it is to fish deeper and get your flies down in the faster water so a normal Truckee indicator rig should work fine.
Here are the current flows as of July 6th. (Ideal fishing flows in parenthesis).
Town of Truckee 471 CFS (100-400) Boca Bridge 2020 CFS (anything below 650) Farad 2450 CFS (400-600) Mogul 2450 CFS (300-500) Reno 2350 CFS (350-500).
Little Truckee River
Flows are still really high at 823 CFS. Water is coming over the top of Stampede and this should keep the flows up for a while. It is definitely fishable but it does not look like the Little Truckee you are used to. Water is out of the banks in some places and there are side channels that are normally dry. It looks more like the Big Truckee than the Little Truckee. That being said, fish it like you would the Bit river; heavier tippet (4x-6x) and more weight if you are fishing sinking flies. There are still some of the same things happening that you would normally see when the flows are more normal as well. BWO’s, PMD’s and even some Green Drakes have been hatching over the past week. The difference is where the fish are holding and how you are going to approach the water. Pretty much like the East Walker right now, fish the edges and seems out of the main current. Crossing probably is not a great idea now either.
East Walker River
Flows remain high at 800 CFS. It is irrigation season and we could see these type of water levels all summer. Twin Lakes and Bridgeport reservoir are full and there is plenty of water for the farmers. If the flows do not fluctuate much it can be very fishable.Be aware that there is no way to cross the river and some of the banks are so overgrown that it is hard to get to the water. In the areas where this is not a problem the best way to approach a section is to fish the edges right up against the banks. The fish will not be in the middle fighting all that fast water. Big attractor dries such as hoppers or stimulators drifted in slower moving seems and edges could raise a few fish. You can also add a dropper. Indicator rigs are worth a try and streamers fished with a sink tip line can also be effective. Catch a fish or two and it will become more obvious as to where they are hiding. Mornings and evenings are the best time to fish the East Walker right now.
Davis Lake
Fly fishing is really picking up at Davis. Truckee River Outfitters Guide Doug Ouellette has had some really good days with clients over the past week using a variety of techniques. There are several hatches going on right now and each day can be different. Indicators, floating lines with no indicator, intermediate lines and faster sinking lines all produced fish over the holiday weekend. One day there can be a morning Callibaetis hatch, the next day fish could be eating Damsels. Yesterday the fishing was slow all morning and about 1:00 pm the fish started chowing Blood Midges. The most important thing is to be ready to change gears and adapt to what the fish are eating. Overall the fishing at Davis is getting really good. Most of the fish are being caught in 6-12 feet of water right now.
Frenchman’s Reservoir
The reports at Frenchman’s are pretty similar to that of Davis Lake. Fish are being caught in a variety of ways. Use any of the above Davis Lake methods along with fishing snail patterns with a sink tip line in 6-10 feet of water and stripping leeches with an intermediate line as well.
Lassen Meadows Ranch
The first groups at Lassen Meadows Ranch just hammered’em. The lake is in great shape and so are the fish. Our good friend Dan Blanton just returned from a three day trip to the ranch with his wife and grandson. Dan is a fly fishing Rock Star and is really well known throughout the country mostly for his Striper fishing and his numerous popular saltwater and bass fly patterns. It was nice to see the pictures of Dan and his family hooting it up in a couple of small prams at Lassen Meadows. His full trip report can be viewed on his bulletin board by following this link. www.danblanton.com/viewmessage.php?id=157071
We still have plenty of availability for July as well as September and October.
For more information you can email Rob Anderson
rob_renoflyshop@sbcglobal.net
Smith Creek Ranch
Water, Water, Water! The trophy pond is fishing really well and the Callabaetis are out in force. Days when the wind stays down a bit Callabaetis can be seen hatching until around lunch time. With all of the water coming out of the Desatoya Mountains, the lake has had a chance to stay nice and cool. This has really helped the fishing. We just added 350 fish to the lake with few in the 7-9 pound range. For more information or to book a trip to Smith Creek Ranch, email Rob Anderson. rob_renoflyshop@sbcglobal.net