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Thread: Truckee

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Truckee, CA.
    Posts
    963

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    Jeff.....
    I am the president of the Universal fisherman's assoc.
    Which means, if I don't watch out, I will fish just like the other guy.
    I've found in over 20 years guiding on the T...that a first drift fish is not only possible, it's even probable.....
    I've lost track the number of demo drifts for a client that has turned a fish. It happened so often, I just started planning on it.
    After that first drift, we often find a bunch of follow-up drifts garnered not a single look. I will also suggest a reach cast to increase the quality of said drift. That elbow down "dry fly" mend is the worst possible mend. You move the fly when mending, and the fish here know what that means. Lift your line off the water when mending....DON'T MOVE THAT FLY!
    Another guide up here refers to the T as the Pebble beach of rivers. I agree.
    If ya fish poorly here, you get poor results.
    I can even get a client into a one drift fish, if they practice good cast and drift skills.
    Had a guy out the other day...it took about five or six casts every try on new water.
    The outcome was..."no fish in the river.
    Nobody wants to think they fish poorly, so we do not want to even consider it.
    I hold up my right hand and say...
    " Hi, I'm Jim I'm a universal fisherman. "
    I believe you have to admit you have a problem, to get better.
    Mediocrity is easily attainible, excellence is not......

    Jim
    Last edited by bigfly; 10-20-2020 at 09:12 AM.
    Bigfly guide service helping fly fishers since 2002.
    Truckee river and Northern California waters.
    https://bigflyguideservice.wordpress.com//

    For best results, fish on the fish's schedule, not yours....

    BF

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Santa Rosa
    Posts
    338

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    Well said, Jim. I think I get complacent because I'm used to fishing rivers with, shall we say, mentally challenged fish.

    Thanks for your posts.

    ~Jeff

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Truckee, CA.
    Posts
    963

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    And that is why I'm still here....
    Easy fish scratch your itch, but they don't help your game.
    I want to work out with fish that have some game.
    I say, who would Superman be, without a nemesis? Just a putz in tights.

    Jim
    Bigfly guide service helping fly fishers since 2002.
    Truckee river and Northern California waters.
    https://bigflyguideservice.wordpress.com//

    For best results, fish on the fish's schedule, not yours....

    BF

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Truckee
    Posts
    835

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    "Easy fish scratch your itch, but they don't help your game.
    I say, who would Superman be, without a nemesis? Just a putz in tights."

    I have come to expect the goods from you Jim but these two lines exceed expectations! Top shelf writing there!
    JS

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    el cerrito
    Posts
    339

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    Jim,

    Great to see you post!!! I was up fishing with a buddy on the T this weekend, and telling him how much I missed your posts. We fished Nevada and California with sketchy results. I find myself making many of these mistakes . . . I lose my patience quicker on slower days as I get older. I am way to careless marching around on the river these days. I have probably cleared out 2/3 of the holes before my first cast when I am not paying enough attention to minimizing my presence. It does allow me to get to one of the cold beers I have carried in my pack much quicker though when the catching is slow . . . there is a reward!

    I am going to have to brush up the stealthy approach on my next trip up.

    Great to see your posts. I always value your information and insight. I owe you a Torpedo IPA someday.


    Bob

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    the Lost Sierra
    Posts
    750

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    Quote Originally Posted by bigfly View Post
    Haven't posted for a while......
    Jeff, I wanted to respond because you deserve more than, "that's fishin..."
    Most fishers that say that kind of thing depend on fishing luck......I don't think luck has anything to do with fishing.
    Getting to fish on the T is a study in frustration. A good start is asking your question.
    I started watching other fishers......for 30 years....
    Many, if not all fishers, fish the way they do on their home waters. Why we think we can get away with that, I do not know.
    Normal human behavior probably.
    This was the worst year for pressure I have seen. It started in Feb. when the resorts closed. The first wave was locals, the second wave all the refugees from the bay area. The third wave, summer time vacationers.
    Many locals actually know how to fish here, so they stung a bunch of fish early on.
    Most people think fish are dumb, those folks have an especially hard time here.
    Once you see how poorly we all fish, you can embrace change.
    I have rules to fish, taught to me by the T......
    Rule #1. Don't let them know you are coming. Most folks walk around like fish can't see.....I have seen fish spook at 40 yards..be sneaky. Wave your rod around a bunch, and it's a ghosttown...
    #2. Fish on the fishes schedule not yours.
    Highnoon is good in winter, but not in summer. Blue skies are harder than clouds.
    #3. Fish what's on the menu...forget your "lucky fly". Get a bug seine and use it.
    Remember the fish have seen all the flies sold locally.....
    #3. Get a perfect drift...the 1st try.
    Two hundred shitty drifts don't help your odds. Fish less to catch more.
    #4. If done correctly, fish will bite, so don't be surprised and have a plan!
    #5. Walk a ways from the car....
    #6. Deliver the pizza....give them what they want, when, and where, they want it.
    We nymph mostly, but have a dry set-up always at the ready..but, I let them tell me which approach is best.
    I never just walk water thinking I know...
    I go see.
    #7. More weight......
    #8. Longer leader....
    #9. Different equitment....
    #10. Learn to fish bigger flows...

    I could go on....but if anyone needs help to raise their game, give a shout.
    Don't fish like the other guy is a good start
    to learning the Tuffy. The fish are here when you are ready. And, they know you're coming.....

    Advice edit....don't listen to those who give you tips, who don't actually hook up here. They ARE that other guy.
    Guys that can hook-up at will, are the ones to draft on......

    Jim
    Jim pretty much says it all. One note though, the Truckee has always been tough. It was tough in the 70's and early 80's when there might be two people between Truckee and state line - on a busy day. Cal Bird said it was just as tough before my time in the 50's and 60's. I fished with Cal on days when we both got spanked. I've guided many of the county's top notch anglers, and to a person, they said the Truckee humbled them. You have to fish the Truckee on its own terms. Not many tips, tricks or shortcuts here. You have to hunt these fish, especially the big guys. You can't just walk up and shotgun the water with your $900.00 fishing pole and have a fish leap into your $200.00 net. You have to earn them. Think big, think stealth, think precision. You might even break stuff. Save the bling for Hot Creek.
    Last edited by Ralph; 10-20-2020 at 08:09 PM.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Garden Valley
    Posts
    1,076

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    Jeff, thanks for starting this thread. It’s turned into a good one, with some very valuable info for anyone looking to have a little more success on the Truckee (or in general). Your original post squares up well with my own experiences there; some very good days here and there, but lots of humble pie served up regularly. I had what I now know was a fair bit of beginners luck there, thanks largely to a lot of help from guys like Jim (Bigfly). Somewhere along the way, I think I started feeling like I had grown to a higher level and should therefore be able to expect better numbers ... and be able to achieve them on terms, fishing the ways I enjoyed most. That’s when I really got humbled more and more. It’s been a while since I’ve fished the Truckee, between the worst years of the drought and being eager to explore other waters and other fishes, etc. I think the last few times I was there I was quite enamored with soft hackle flies and was in the early stages of my addiction to swinging flies; I had decided to dedicate myself to just swinging soft hackles each of those trips ... ended up completely blanked all three times. I’m not complaining. I still enjoyed the process and learned a lot more despite coming home with little “success” to show for my efforts more often than I’d have liked.

    I really can’t begin to contribute advice given the quality of Jim and Ralph’s comments, other than perhaps in advising a newcomer to the Truckee to adjust expectations and redefine how they measure “success”. I was quite happy and satisfied with ANY action when I was there mostly focused on just developing my game; the times I fished there feeling like I somehow knew what I was doing and deserved a little more action were the ones I went home most humbled.
    JB
    "Lord help me to be the person my dog thinks I am"
    - unknown

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Norcal
    Posts
    909

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    I was with Jeff this weekend and was humbled by one thing in particular. There was a guy across the river from
    us fishing Tenkara (which surprised me). The dude was a machine! He took at least four fish (12-14" I'm guessing) in a
    50 yard stretch.

    I said to Jeff...it's two things, his tippet size is smaller or he has a great pattern. But thinking about it after Jim's post, I'd say it's probably my stealth. Just bumbling up to a run, stripping out line and hoping for a grab when every decent fish is probably long gone. That said, I did catch 4 fish, but all were 10" inches and under. Couple on an orange soft hackle swung with no weight. Had one decent grab on a sculpin pattern but didn't hook up. This was the CA side. On the NV side, the water looked so sweet and didn't get one bump.

    Thanks for all the posts, it gives me alot to think about. One thing, it sure is nice to hit Revision Brewing on the way back from
    the Nevada side. Love their beers and the chill atmosphere in the warehouse.

    Eric O

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Truckee
    Posts
    835

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    That could have been Brian Slusser from 4 Seasons Fly Fishing. He has been Tenkara-ing and I think guiding clients with Tenkara. I bring that up because he is not your average Truckee River fisherman.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Norcal
    Posts
    909

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by John Sv View Post
    That could have been Brian Slusser from 4 Seasons Fly Fishing. He has been Tenkara-ing and I think guiding clients with Tenkara. I bring that up because he is not your average Truckee River fisherman.
    Ah interesting John. It was impressive watching him.

    Eric

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