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Truckee River
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FISHING REPORT
Updated - 4/29/24
Scroll down to links for information about Lodging, Maps,
up to the minute Stream Flows and Hatch Chart

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Conditions: 528 CFS between the lake and  Boca inlet and 1200 CFS at Farad. For up to the minute flow information click on the link in the next section below.
Fishing-Fair:  Miles at Trout Creek Outfitters https://www.troutcreekoutfitters.com in Truckee reports: "The flow charts for the river seem to continue along with a mostly upward trajectory, except for Thursday of this week, which brought the CFS at Farad down from 1,550 to 1,200. This will be short lived, and with the warm days ahead we should see flows continue to trend upwards in the immediate future. Continue to fish the soft water, rifles and seams found along the banks, using large attractor nymphs imitating stoneflies, crawdads, eggs and worms. Jigged streamers are also very much in play, try sinking them in front of a boulder along any cut banks or in a seam. Black is always good when the water is off color, but white and olive can work equally as good in pretty much all conditions. When using a jigged streamer on a tightline setup, this would be one of the few situations where we would consider pairing a smaller nymph such as a Perdigon, Blowtorch or Duracell, etc., as the larger profile of the streamer will grab their attention and you could very well catch a few on the smaller fly suspended above it. The larger trout found this time of year, the light angling pressure and the beautiful weather and scenery are a few of the reasons we really love fishing the Truckee right now."

A decrease in visibility allows you to not only fish larger flies on larger hooks, but also means you can use heavier tippet such as 1x-3x depending on your section of river and the conditions of that particular day. If using streamers, think of your tippet in terms of pound test instead of diameter, 12-15 pounds is about right. Another big advantage is being able to get closer to the fish, because the dirty water will make them less likely to see you. When you couple this with the fact that they are found in the slow water along the banks right now, we think it becomes clear why we really like this time of year. The bugs used this time of year are straight forward. Things like stoneflies, worms, mop flies and eggs are all good choices. For streamers, go big and flashy flies or dark colors with lots of movement. If you’re fishing where there is more than a foot of visibility, try mixing in some things like duracells, blowtorches, frenchies, etc."

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Click here to see PDF of CDFW 2023 Regulations
 

 
 
 
 
Scroll Down To See Hatch Chart Below

Check out picture of Miles on the front of cover of the
current issue of
American Fly Fishing
Magazine.

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HATCH CHART - TRUCKEE RIVER

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About the Truckee River

 

The Truckee consists of just about every water category there is.  Much of it is freestone, with long runs of pocket water, punctuated by long wide flats.  Once the Truckee drops into the canyon section it turns into a necklace of very deep pools and runs separated by roily pocket water.  It’s not a big river so most of the time it is very wadeable. 

 

For most of its length the Truckee is for all practical purposes is what you would call a wild trout water.  Trout plants of hatchery fish (Rainbows and Lahontan Cutthroat) are limited to the upper ten mile stretch which runs from its outlet from Lake Tahoe to its confluence with Trout Creek located at the lower end of the town of Truckee where the special regulation (wild trout) section begins. 

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The twenty miles between Trout Creek and the Nevada state line the special regulations limit tackle to artificial lures with barbless hooks. There is also a size and bag limit of two trout with a minimum size of 14 inches from the last Saturday in April through November 15th.  For the winter season which runs from November 16th through the Friday before the last Saturday in April, no fish may be kept. The wild trout water is home to Rainbows and Browns, some that get very large.

 

Access points are easy and numerous along the Truckee.  Though there is some private water (San Francisco Casting Club) along its length, there is plenty of U.S. Forest property in between so that you can always find a way to get to the water.  The upper section begins at the outlet from Lake Tahoe and is some of the most beautiful water one can fish, but unfortunately its beauty also has made this a very popular rafting run.

 

Springtime means run off and that can occur during various interval lengths beginning in the month of April and continue into June.  There is an old saying that when the water is high and roily, go big heavy and ugly so big and heavy. The spring transcending into summer season brings the beginning of significant hatches with one of the first most anticipated hatches being the Green Drakes.  March Browns also appear and Baetis continue during the early part of spring. 

 

With the arrival of summer the flows settle down and all of the bugs that we know and love show their faces.  Caddis, Golden Stones, Little Yellow Stones and Pale Morning Duns are the most common. Also of mention are terrestrials such as hoppers and very importantly the huge Carpenter Ants that blow up slope from the valleys below. 

 

Fall means fewer fishermen, particularly on weekdays, and cooler water temperatures.  Cooler water temperatures mean fishing will remain good all day and as with other waters located where there is a harsh winter environment, the trout’s feeding habits change from selective to opportunistic as they bulk up for winter.  The Baetis are beginning to show again and the October Caddis are preparing to leave the comfort of their pine needle homes to pupate into huge moth like creatures. 

Hatch
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