Tahoe Fly Fishing - Volume 2

New film up!  Fly Fishing the Truckee and Little Truckee Rivers in the Spring can be successful.. Threw together a quick compilation of fish releases. This video was created from the last few days of April and the first  two weeks of May.  All video was filmed on a HD Contour.  A big thank you to everyone who helped film!

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Still waiting...

For summer that is...Flows got bumped back up to the point of non-fishable on the Little Truckee, but we still ended up getting a few tugs.  The sun showed us a glimpse of what is to come this summer, but with this awkward weather (skiing powder on May 25) we had to adjust our strategy to find the fish.  Bob and Art played the weather right, but the flows were not cooperating.  With rigs heavier than normal, we fished a ton of water - all day long!  Cast after cast, they fished the seams well and it produced.  Several hard fought battles ended up with some nice bows.  Great job guys!

Truckee Area

Near Tahoe City - 69 cfs
Downtown Truckee - 443 cfs
Canyon towards Reno - 2160 cfs
Little Truckee - 701 cfs

It's on.. like Donkey Kong!

Water temps are rising, snow is completely gone along the river banks, which means one thing.. FISHING IS ON! And so are the crowds. Prime runs that were blown out with high flows, are now fishable with some lead of course...There is a select number of bugs on the menu for the fish right now, so with that in mind fish smaller flies between sizes 16 to 22.  These smaller flies (copper johns, worms, flashback baetis emergers)  have been producing a large number of hookups lately.  The water clarity has significantly cleared up, making the fish a bit spooky near the banks.  The weather forecast for the upcoming week looks to be cloudy, which is great for fishing!  Below are a few photos of the days events, courtesy of da Dean.  The rainbow below had a great purple coloration along the lower side of his lateral line, took a size 18 baetis emerger and ran me 100 yards downstream.. The tug is the drug!

I'm out like a brown trout...

Scouting Mission

With the afternoon to kill, we headed to the river with hopes of getting a tug.  We arrived about 3 PM, rigged and ready to fish.  The water was cold, swift, and furious.  Carefully wading into position was difficult with the high flows. With that in mind, we fished the soft water where the hogs should be taking refuge from the fast current.  Fishing started slowly, but then we found a few nice runs that were holding trout.  Ryan hooked in first and lost it bringing it to hand.  I found a nice slow back eddie where I knew a fish was lurking…two casts later, fish on!  Immediately it took off downstream and I thought I was going to lose it.  With my rod bent, I quickly made a dash downstream to get ahead of the fish.  The current was too quick and I couldn't get more than a few feet away from shore.  The fish saw me and again made a quick run down.  With my arms completely extended and my fly rod in the air , I was trying everything I could do to keep my  fly line from getting snagged in the alders.  The fish made another run, this time around a log and I thought it was going to be a goner…After some careful acrobatics  I was on top of the downed log fighting the fish for a few more minutes.  By trying to turn his head towards the bank, I wanted the current to bring him closer to my net. Once he saw me again, he darted into some beaver debris on the other side of the river, which ended up snapping my bottom fly…

A few flicks after walter got away…

Time for Sunblock!

With the spring heat, comes the high flows on the rivers! As of right now the flows are raging on the Truckee and Little Truckee Rivers.

Truckee Area
Near Tahoe City - 73 cfs
Downtown Truckee - 805 cfs
Canyon towards Reno - 3109 cfs
Little Truckee - 755 cfs

High flows are also acting as a cleaning agent to flush the river bottoms from debris and that annoying  "salad" we always pull off our flies. Faster moving water will force fish to seek slower moving water where they will be able to hold without expending too much energy to feed. 

So on a beautiful day with the rivers raging and nothing to do.. so we went SAILING!!

The Sunshine Pirate Crew launched from Lake Forest boat ramp about 11 AM on Friday.  With a rigged up 22 ft Catalina sailboat and no specific direction in mind, we tacked towards Sugar Pine Point on the Westshore of Lake Tahoe. For the greater part of the day we had consistent wind, but also had several dead spots which gave us ample time to bask in the sun and reflect on how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place...

Melt Out

Trout season is here!  Most of the snow has now turned into it's liquid form. Good ol' h20 YEAHH! Flows are starting to subside, but the water clarity still needs another week or so to become prime.  I am starting to see more bugs in larger numbers including; yellow stones, mayflies, and caddis.  If you are planning to fish the Truckee anytime soon, try to fish deep runs and pools with more split shot than you think you should in order to get your bug down low.  Here is a flick of a Salmo's that took a size 18 baetis emerger. 

Salmo

Took a size 12 streamer