Truckee - May

[bigfly]

It appears we are over the hump, the melt has peaked.
Provided it doesn't get too warm.....cross fingers.
The color and flows above town are really nice.
Mid morning temps are best. Temp dropped to46 deg today.
They aren't crazy about swings in temp......

Not as wade-able below town. (Below Donner crk)
Pick a side and fish it.
Very wide stretches are best for crossing.
Be careful wading, maybe bring a staff for below town.
Mostly the lower canyon's still too big to wade, much...waters still too cold to swim.
Fish are eating streamers more now.
The bug of choice for me has been a March Brown nymph. sz 18-16.
Seeing Western Green Drake, Golden stone, and little Yellow Sallie nymphs.
Dark Baetis nymphs sz 18-20.
No Ants yet.......
Worms galore.
Still a few Skwalla adult/nymph around.
Used 3 AB's to get down in the med sized water, and 4 AB's in fast stuff.
1-2 will do for slower water drifts.
The grabs are super-fast/tentative. Two bumps and gone. Bring your gunfighter reflexes/stare.
They know it's game on.....
Some fish are very close to shore, until you walk up...
3x to top fly, use 4x for your dropper fly.
Been extending my 10 ft leader, for deeper runs.
I landed a feisty 16" wild bow on 5x in heavy water. (Was out of 4x....!!!)
Made the fight drag too long. Fish was fine, I was tired..... bit of a chase is required......
Raise your odds...and treat them nice.

My advice, is to rollcast and waterload when using this much weight.
Big open loops.
I can fish all day without tangles this way, most clients as well.....
But overhand casts require many "breaks" to sort things out......using precious/expensive time.
And..... you fish like a mercenary, no false casting to waste time.....or spook fish.
Faster, more accurate drift cycles, mean more fish.

Been fishing the switch rod more often.
It is the tool for Spring on the T.
Have fun, be safe....and pinch those barbs.

Jim

[EricO]

Gracias Senor Jim....great report and super timing.

Hitting it this week. Will report back this week!

Eric

[Morgan]

After spending some time on the river w/ you I now understand what you put down....for the most part. Ive been honing my skills. Hope to get on the T again soon.

[EricO]

Wed T report.

Water flows were perfect and clarity was decent. Actually seemed to clear more towards the end of the day.

Fished mostly small flies...zebra midges, micro may's, birds nests all in sz 16-18. My buddy tried a golden stone for a while (cuz he had nice sized one land on his shoulder) to no avail.

Flies that worked best were midges...stomach pumped one fish and that's all there was...just tons and tons of midges in various colors...irridescent blue, opaque,etc. One mayfly in it's gut.

Count at day's end: Hooked four and ldr'd every one. My buddy hooked six, landing four. One was a 16" beautifully colored bow...rich deep red. I'd forgotten how deep the colors are on Truckee fish. He even caught a 16" brown with pretty red and black spots to really stick it to me.

Water is very cold. But very tasty and refreshing.

Took a snoop at the Little T after we were done. Just walked streamside for a while wishing I hadn't put away my gear. But very cold water as well. Turned over a bunch of rocks and found one golden stone, but that was about it. Man that river looks pretty.

EO

[bigfly]

EO, I almost always mention midges in my post. (If I don't, it's because I get over repetition...or figure you guys do.)
Small is safe......they think. Midges are present year round. Midge mania in the Winter.
Doubt that was a Golden stone, there are still Skwalla flying about. (Very dark by comparison.)
I admire your daring, drinking the water.....
Good job fishin'.
Thanks for the report.

Jim

[EricO]

Oh ya, forgot about the skwallas.

Man, I love that water...now granted, I wouldn't indulge in summer but now it's tasty, refreshing and cold to the teeth.

Forgot to mention...not A rise all day. Not surprising though.

Thanks for the tips Jim.

EO

[bigfly]

EO, I wouldn't say anything is wrong with the water in the T.
But as a climber, I contracted Gyrardia at 12,500 ft.
You never know who's been above you.....
Besides, I think any mammal can spread it. And supposedly, 20% of the human population are carriers.
I never drank untreated water again..................Use a pump, and it's still cold on the teeth.
Not saying you need to worry........
Personally, over time, I've developed the constitution of a Camel.
And a fondness for frosty beverages.

Believe me, I'll let you know when they start rising......

Jim

[EricO]

Wow, you got it at that elevation?

I got it about three years ago. Guessing it was from a small creek I fished and drank out of. And that stuff is NO joke...not a fun time at all!!!!! And I happened to get all the fun symptoms when I was on a short two day vacation in Sierra City.

Eric

[ownfl4g]

Ive had that stupid paracite twice in my life and both times I did no drinking of any water, must have actually been from not washing my hands or something.

[kabah088]

Any word on the little truckee below stampede? Im headed up thursday for work and need to get my line wet somwhere near 80.

[EricO]

Hi,

From my post on this thread 5/4:

"Took a snoop at the Little T after we were done. Just walked streamside for a while wishing I hadn't put away my gear. But very cold water as well. Turned over a bunch of rocks and found one golden stone, but that was about it. Man that river looks pretty."

Although we didn't fish, the flows looks very nice. The water is numbing to your hands.
Sure looked fishy.

EO

[kabah088]

Thank you EO,
I will be heading that way and definatley let you guys know how it went.
Peace,
AJ

[bigfly]

Today looked like the first day of Summer. (Bring your sun screen, and sun hat.)
Building thunderheads in the afternoon.
Water temps slowly swinging from Winter high-noon fishing, to Summer...... early and late.
High noon light can make them a little spooky in this clear/lower water.
Flows above town are perfect. (Campgrounds still closed.)
Green/clear and 55+ deg.
Donner crk. has come down to fishy flows.
The river is wadeble now below town as well.
In the canyon take care, and bring a bigger stick.
Still a little chilly for risers.
But very soon.....

March brown nymphs sz16-14 are popping.
They are fast swimmers, try the leisernring lift, or swing'em. Fished under an indy too.
Midges20-22 Black/red,
Baetis nymph/emerger18-20 , Baetis spinner fall as well.
Tan Caddis 16-18 (Bird's nest).
Seeing Golden stones, and Green Drakes in the seine as well.
Baby cray too. Swing'em........
Fry in the shallows, size4 green/brown.
Skulpin pattern stripped and dangled near shore.
WD's in small sz. several colors.
An HBI sz16 too.

Water is clearing enough to start switching away from bling......
Best water is darker and deeper.
Med slow. bubble lines.
Get a good drift, and increase your chances.
A little less weight needed this week.....
Expect fast, testing takes.....

Terrestrials: Seeing Ants now on the ground.
sm. black/red, and the lrg. black Carpenter.
You can drown one of these from now till Sept.
Some years the Flying Ants emerge during the melt.
Water is too off color for fish to rise.
Not this year! We are ready to go.....Just need Ants......none yet by town.

No standing water in the meadows this year.
Mosquitoes won't be bad......
Weekends are getting busier, weekdays are quiet.
Lots of avian company on the water.
Dippers, Geese, Killdear, Mnt Blue birds, and more, are nesting near shore.
Keep an eye on the feeding behaviors of birds, they can tip you to bugs and cycles.....

Jim

[kabah088]

WOw thanks for the the perfectly timed update Bigfly! I am headed up there tomorrow and will try my luck in the afternoon due to convenient business meeting in reno in the morning. Ohyeah!

[Morgan]

Hope your not too busy sunday Jim.
We may have to meet up for a cold beer.
My buddy and I should be on the T on sunday...fingers crossed.
I cant wait! Its been a couple weeks.
Still been fishn tho..much easier water tho.
So I cant wait to see if my skills have improved from all the fish ive been doin.

[bigfly]

Morgan, unless I get a last minute trip, Sun. is open.
Hope to see an Ant too.
Tying March browns tonight.
Still not seeing noses, but fish are feeding....

Jim

[Dabalone]

Oh ya, forgot about the skwallas.

Man, I love that water...now granted, I wouldn't indulge in summer but now it's tasty, refreshing and cold to the teeth.

Forgot to mention...not A rise all day. Not surprising though.

Thanks for the tips Jim.

EO

When I was a kid I didn't hesitate to take a drink out of stream or creek, I can't remember ever having a problem. Fast forward to my supposedly smarter years, I slipped up on a bow hunt in the Trinity Alps taking a small sip out of what looked like nice clear running water from a creek, that won't be happening ever again.

[EricO]

Truckee Report 5/10:

Fished the T with buddy Jeff Fisher on Thurs. Temperature was 10 degrees warmer than previous week with almost no wind. Ideal conditions.

However, we actually hooked more fish the previous week. I think the current snow melt has the fish a little lethargic. We threw the arsenal at 'em....midges, stones, small mayflies, ants etc.

The very last hole of the day Jeff hooked the big boy. A 20" beast that fought hard with head shakes and violent pulls. Gorgeous fish. Pictures don't do him justice- the belly had a mix of orange and white, and very red anal fins. Threw in a youtube video of the release.

It's only going to get better!


EO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BibUNz8FHIk

[kabah088]

scoped both big and lil T Friday. Fished around noon.

T looked real fishy. green tint and relatively clear in the pool i fished.
skunk

t seemed high.
a lot of ripples throughout
fished the meadow area and found only a couple pools. i saw one fish but un reachable sitting under a log in the flows.

found an indicator in the bushes so i decided to use it.
skunk

was a good solo hike.

[Mike Curtis]

Hey Guys,
This being my fisrt blurb on this site, I have to bring up my favorite River by far; The Nevada section of the Big T, Although Flows are Higher than what I like to fish, it's still fishing good!!! on Tuesday, I floated with with two buddies and we hooked 9 fish and only landed 4 of them all on nymphs. Lost the two big boys of the day!! I know Gilliagan and others spend the winter months down here, it fishing great year round!!!

Mike Curtis

[stonefly58]

How is the LT looking between Stampede and 89?

[Morgan]

Glad to see you on here Mike!

If Mike C. can put me into fish on the T within my first couple trips floatin the T he must be doing something right:) And that is saying a ton! Within my first month of fly fishing i was a mess. Its amazing what a good guide can do. Mike put me into numerous fish. Even the little things like casting into the wind was made easy by some little tips. This boy knows the Truckee quite well as it is part of his stomping grounds. I was like many of the others. "F! the truckee, i always get zero's". But after going out on the water w/ a guide that knows his stuff I have grown quite a passion for the T. I now look forward to going and tussling w/ those nice toads.

Thanks for showing me a great handful of tricks to throw at the elusive monsters on the Truckee Mike Curtis. Glad to see you on here. Cant wait to get out and float again...its been too long.

[JasonB]

Fished yesterday, mostly some new waters for me looking for solitude. Didn't see one carpenter ant, although I did see a ton of small termites (sz 16ish). Some March browns intermittently coming and going too. Fished HARD for a few hookups, lost most of them. Got some action on a variety of flies, but my single rust brown sj worm was the only thing that got any steady action... until a big one broke off and stole it (other colored worms didn't seem to get much interest).

Probably would have done a bit better fishing more familiar waters, but there were quite a few folks out and there were cars parked pretty much everywhere I had intended to fish. Turned out to be an ok day to explore though, and I now have some new water that is on my hit list. Sunny and warm, with very little wind; wet wading all day and came home sunburned :D
JB

[EricO]

Hey Mike,

Funny you mention the Nev side....was just talking with my buddy about it last night.
It always looks so fishy on the way to Reno...just never tried it. I watched a few
youtube videos yesterday....fish being caught right near Reno.

Anybody know how much it is for a day license in Nevada?

EO

[Morgan]

Another fun filled day on the T.
Oh boy was it warm!
T shirt weather starting at 9am.
No wet wading yet for me.
Water is a little chilly still.
My hook sets took a while to get em to stay on.
Not a bad day...4 landed and 5 farmed.
Get me a tractor :)
That afternoon sammy and beer hit the spot.
Good meetn up w/ you again Jim.
Always a nice break to bs.
Next time it'll have to be more on the water.

[bigfly]

No ants, too chilly......
Looks like a week before it warms enough to try again.
Not many risers yet, drown your flies..........
Streamer action is getting hot.
Mid 60s air, upper 60s water.
And the yellow Hoppers will show up if warm as well.
All the usual suspects, Baetis, March brown, worms, etc...
The menu is large, the fish are hungry.
Get ready, get set, FISH........!

Jim