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Truckee Tahoe Fly Fishing Report for May 18th, 2020

This report will focus on the #Truckee and #LittleTruckee Rivers. Boy, did it rain last night, and snowed about 3 inches this morning, which is now gone. Looks like the weather will be in and out for the next 7 days. Just in time for the holiday weekend. The water is up and off-color on the Truckee. While over on the Little Truckee it is just high and clear. In the last report I mentioned that the water should continue to drop without any rain event, well, we got the rain event! The weather is continuing with an unsettled pattern for the immediate future.


On a side note, the wildflowers are starting to bloom. Saw quite a bit of Larkspur and noticed some Camas Lilys are blooming as well. Should be really nice when the sun comes out for a couple days.


The Larkspurs are starting to bloom

Truckee River Conditions

The flow on the Truckee River in town is 345cfs and a little turbid. It picked up a bunch of flow from last night's rain. Below Boca the flow is 1,720cfs and the water is off-color as well. The water temp was 43 degrees this afternoon.


Truckee River Tactics

Truckee River tactics for these conditions would be to nymph and throw streamers. In the river above town fish are probably in the usual spots and using bigger flies should get the job done. As you move down stream use bigger contrasting flies and fish the slower areas and edges as the fish are pushed to the side. This is usually when I have the most success with streamers. Might see some BWO's come off but given their size better off giving the fish a meal instead of an appetizer.


Truckee River Suggested Flies

Suggested Flies for the Truckee River are similar to last report and I would say the BWO's have dropped a size or two. For nymphs: Pats Rubber Legs 10-8, Twenty Incher 8-10, Peacock Stones 8-10, Mercer's Poxyback stone 8-10, Soft Hackles 12-16, Prince Nymphs 8-12, Poohpah 14-18, Burk's Bottom roller 14-16, Mop 10, SJW, Flashback Pheasant Tail 12-16, SJW, Haresear 12-16, Copper Johns 12-16, and Birdsnest 10-16. For Streamers: Woolley Bugger 6-8, Sculpzilla 8, Muddler Minnow 6-8, Sparkle Minnow 4, and Dali Lama 4.


Truckee River Summary

The Truckee River is high, cold, and a bit off color. Fishing will probably be a bit slow until the water drops a bit and warms a few degrees. It would be a good time to fish a streamer for a big fish.


Jay with a Little Truckee Rainbow

Little Truckee River Conditions

The flows on the Little Truckee River are 572cfs. The water is clear and the temp was 44 degrees. At these flows the river can become difficult to wade and you may not be able to cross. Pick your wading spot wisely.


Little Truckee River Tactics

Little Truckee River tactics are going to require some weight to get down whether your nymphing or fishing a streamer. Much like the Truckee, fish the margins, slower areas, and anywhere there is structure that will provide some current relief. The boulders come to mind. Probably not going to see much topwater action until the water drops a little.


Little Truckee River Suggested Flies

Some suggested Flies for nymphing and streamers on the Little Truckee. For nymphs try Micro May 16-18, Pheasant Tail 16-18, Flashback PT 16-18, SJW, Globug, Copper Johns 14-18, Zebra Midge 18-20, RS2 16-18, WD-40 16-18, Green Drake 8-10 and HBI 14-16. For Streamers: Woolley Bugger 6-8, Sculpzilla 8, Muddler Minnow 6-8, Sparkle Minnow 4, and Dali Lama 4. And if you see some rising fish, for dry flies try Parachute Adams 16-20, Griffiths Gnat 16-10, Quigley Cripple 16-18, Royal Wluff 10-14, Thorax Dun 14-16, and Compara Dun 14-16.


Little Truckee River Summary

The Little Truckee is high and cold. Wading will be a bit tricky. Nymphing and Streamer fishing will be the ticket here.


Four Seasons Fly Fishing is the Premier #Orvis endorsed #Guide service in the #Truckee#Tahoe Area. We offer walk/wade trips on our rivers and boat trips on the local reservoirs. We also offer #flyfishingclinics for beginners to experts in all styles of Fly Fishing. Give us a call to book your adventure today. 530-386-0525



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