Truckee, CA.

[bigfly]

The scenery is nice right now....
River flows are a bit low near town, 100cfs+/-, better below Hirschdale.
Water temp is about 34 deg. and is very clear.
Midges start mid-day and clumps appear later..
I've said before, single midges drift straight down-stream (sprinkles of pepper on the glass).
The clumps, are made up of maybe 3-4 males entangled with a female.
The clumps fly against the water surface and cross the currents leaving a micro wake.
Trout love eating 4 bugs for one rise. And will change their rise for the bigger bite.
The rise is slightly splashier, and across the current line, rather than sipping in the bubble line.
A sz 18-20 Griffiths Gnat will do the job. Try fishing it straight-downstream and swinging or skittering it in front of a riser.
I find it an easy tie too........
A few Bateis are around too. Cutters bi-visable is good in off-light..
Since the water is so clear, you may want to mud your leader if the sun comes out.
Parking is a little tougher, but only about a foot of snow to deal with.
You will mostly have the place to yourself.
We have a saying up here..."Warm before the storm".
It was literally tee shirt weather my last outing. No pain, no icing guides, and rising fish.......
Have fun out there.....
Update........
Really nice today with blue skies...dried out a bit.
We had rain at 6000+ ft last night and the river went tan for a few hours...now, it's looking better, tan/green 42 deg.
This river always amazes me how fast it recovers.
Be safe out there...
Lost a local guy....in a resort.....the back country isn't safe right now...
Roads are fine, but be careful pulling off....
I've been stuck twice in my truck in two days, did a self rescue both times but it wasn't pretty....
Carry everything you may need when you come up, a shovel, maybe a tow rope...
Warm stuff for evenings....
Have fun catching fish.....
Edit 2...today was the warm before the storm....it's toasty and fish are rising..
River is clear /tan 42 deg. and perfect.
Midges, midges, midges.......

Jim

[bigfly]

Thought it was a good time for an update...
The last few days felt a little like Spring. Warm days, but freezing nights thankfully...
This week looks good.
The river is perfect, clear/green with 39-42 deg swing.. mid-afternoon is probably best.
The fish seem pretty happy, some risers..when water/sky is this clear, they may seek some shade/cover.
Less wading is best in these conditions.....
Midges everyday.... BWOs sz 19-20 if cloudy. Burks silhouette Dun, and Cutters Bi-vis.
Nymph with Baetis, Stones (little Winter sz 18, and Skwalla sz 6-8 although none are showing yet), and a zebra midge of course.
Parking is OK, just be careful..
My take on things...fish now, so you won't wish you had, later this Summer.
Have fun out there!

Jim

[DgiordanR]

Great report! Looking forward to heading up soon!!

[Morgan]

Thought it was a good time for an update...
The last few days felt a little like Spring. Warm days, but freezing nights thankfully...
This week looks good.
The river is perfect, clear/green with 39-42 deg swing.. mid-afternoon is probably best.
The fish seem pretty happy, some risers..when water/sky is this clear, they may seek some shade/cover.
Less wading is best in these conditions.....
Midges everyday.... BWOs sz 19-20 if cloudy. Burks silhouette Dun, and Cutters Bi-vis.
Nymph with Baetis, Stones (little Winter sz 18, and Skwalla sz 6-8 although none are showing yet), and a zebra midge of course.
Parking is OK, just be careful..
My take on things...fish now, so you won't wish you had, later this Summer.
Have fun out there!

Jim

Pretty nice out now Jim. But more so of a scary nice.
Where the hell did all that winter weather go? We were all really enjoying that change of pace up here.
It was kinda odd hopping on the snowboard again to beat up some nice fresh snow. Like the old days.
I was up in your hood the other day and wow was it nice to see the river almost like she used to be.
I had to get in the water to fish the far seam. Odd...!? I like it.
The trout were also very cooperative. Getting hooked and rocketing down stream. Can you keep up?
The fish seemed to really enjoy having a river again, rather than a "creek".
But I sure would love to see some more weather to keep this snow around all summer.

[bigfly]

Fish are happy......

The rain has been at it all night....warm tropical snow-melting rain.
River flows are near 900cfs and slightly off color. Tan/green.
The menu SPECIAL this week....Skwallas!!!.....saw some surface action...Brilliant!
After a winter of eating bitty bugs...they finally have something to chew.
To bad the flows will prevent risers mostly this week. (Although you never know....)
Snow we get on Sun-Mon will flash melt due to all the warm ground around town. Forget the 5 ft stories....
Tues-Wed will warm again but flows will be bigger and cold.
I recommend to try to time the warm spell just before this next storm.
If you need to force it this weekend.....try serving a Skwalla nymph straight up with a worm chaser.
Otherwise.... midges (especially zebra), Baetis sz18-20 dry, sz18-20 nymph.
As the water warms streamers will move them......(The brown did...)
when we get past the the next week or so....it will be some of the best fishing this year.
We are below 80% pack according to state snow survey, and going fast with the rain.
fish now........

Jim

[bigfly]

Met a fellow fish ninja yesterday (Eric) who felt as I did....that in high flows, you can still catch fish....not just go fishing...
(Yes, it's a clubby fish and may not count for serious fishing, but will suffice for a demo ....we only had an hour.)
Find eddies and soft seams near the edge...sorry, no dry fly action.....or wading...
Visibility was about 6", very tan and 42 chilly deg.
In-between snow squalls we had sun windows..
Off-color water is a fisherman's advantage....you can approach closely, and use a heavier leader...which you may need if Walter heads for the fast lane....
As I suggested...a Skwalla nymph and a red worm should do it....worms outnumber bugs in the disturbed seine 4 to 1.
River has already dropped more than a foot, and will clear in a day or so. Flows while we fished, about 1500cfs and over the bank....3x what it was the day or so before. Some would use the term "blown out".
You might blame Squaw and squaw creek for much of the color...clear cutting for more ski-able acres will do that.........
........that and hwy road sand...compare it with healthy creeks along 89 during a rain-on-snow event, for fun....
You can see by the pic, bare ground shows within a few hours of falling snow on some exposures, and minutes on warm ground..
Total snow accumulation in town last night....a massive 5-6 inches, maybe.....snowing weakly now....Which is to say...falling at the rate it's melting...
Honestly, the only time I don't fish, is when the river is frozen over.......(or below 100cfs....)

Give a call if I can help ya....for a local's take on the T.
Roads are fine but carry brains....
See you on the water......

Edit...Boca lake is filling nicely...

Jim

[bigfly]

Edit...
We got 4-6" over the weekend..it's mostly gone, and roads are clear.
Was sunny and windy today.
The river is very pushy, and steady.
Color is very good green/clear.
42 deg....Bring an extra layer...
It requires some weight, to get it down.
Higher up near town is nice.
Below Prosser is bigger....
Below Hirschdale not much wading across..Bring a staff.
Tommorow and the next few days should be good.
Baetis nymphs, San juans, Skwalla nymphs, March Brown nymph, and midges.
An adult Skwalla maybe.....

Have fun out there, be safe..
The river has cleared rapidly.
You can see below............
The ground is mostly clear of snow.





Mostly my fishing friends are on the water.....
Like Jim Hilick today sporting purple, and touching fin on a winter bronze-back.
You learn quickly up here to fish big spring water, and that big pre-spawn fish are active.
Except for the ones who have sports conflict....skiers.
Should be a fun week....
I will be out..
Be safe out there!

Nature Update.....
Today I saw the first flock of doves for the year...American dippers are courting, the nest is already built....
And best, and most telling....
frogs are beginning to fill the evening with their songs...Rrrrrribit.
You can feel critters shaking off winter.
Including the human kind....
Time to fish....
Jim

[bigfly]

Things are picking up....

Got a trace amount of wet snow last night.
More falling.....streets are a little slippery.
Water is still up, and near grass on banks.
It will go off color for a few hours today....
Then, back to fishy.......
Even though we got snow last night....it didn't get to freezing temps.
Spring is getting closer!
Some Skwalla are out and about....few fish rising in these flows.
Think March Browns, and BWOs.
The menu is slowly expanding..
Saw a lite micro-caddis.
Terrestrial beetles, ants, and.....cccrays.
But they are on hold for now.......


Jim

[Sheepdog8404]

How's the river lately Jim?

[bigfly]

Sheepdog, I'm glad you asked....
The river is still there....just a bit bigger, but stable. (Not, up and down....)
Fishing nearer town is easier..down in the canyon it's big stick time.
Color is good considering...green/clear.
Got cold last night, melting slowed, which is good.
Roads are icy. Be safe out there.
Some nice fish are being caught, but it takes some talent.........
BWOs, March Browns, Skwalla Nymph, worms....
The occasional well swung streamer....
The fish have seen pressure.....
I have seen some very fast take/releases......be ready. No really......
If you are on the one and done program.....that missed fish hurts.
When you see a good drift...think sweep-set.
Should be nice this week, just a little weather to make the fish happy.

Jim