What a terrible year this ended up being...California is in the middle of what is supposedly a 500-year drought. We've had rain the last couple of days, so hopefully we'll get some semblance of a regular winter this year, but the Truckee River, for instance, is chugging along at 6.3 cfs above the town of Truckee. That means there is literally a trickle of water coming out of Lake Tahoe.

thats really sad. but the fishing as i understand has gotten much better over the years in the area. the run up the little Truckee is great from boca and stampede reservoirs.

and the truckee is much better. but after a giant drought year it usually gets ruined for awhile as the few fish that can make the higher water temps and finding small pools get hammered by the fishermen.

ive read where the old lakes that almost no one fished when i lived there like fordyce , jackson meadow and the lakes and creeks back in there are now loaded with fishermen and the fishing is good.

Apparently they're knocking them dead from shore at Pyramid this year, too, but I lack the gumption to go stand in the water in the freezing cold

neoprene waders, or a stepladder, or casting from shore on the shore where the wind is blowing in.

Sup thread...can't believe this started over 7 years ago. The truckee is still a disaster but I went for a little walk in the mountains outside of Yosemite today. Someone tell me this is an actual Golden and not some funky hybrid or something



It kind of looked like a bow with parr marks but was a little yellower and had the orange belly

lousy pic but it looks like one. ive caught a few many decades ago but most were small.

Lens cover smudged with a combination of sunscreen, insect repellant, and dry fly floatant

I know people are usually reluctant to give up spots, but this was Odell Lake in the 20 Lakes Basin just outside the east entrance to Yosemite. You drive to Saddlebag Lake, take the water taxi across the lake and then set out on a beautiful loop hike where some of the lakes have Goldens in them.

Mosquitos fairly monstrous right now

the best fishing is in hike in lakes. less pressure and more people let them go as they dont want to haul the fish out. and hikers in general are more likely not to keep fish and fish just for fun.
ive found three miles in or more gives the best results as that distance most wont go.

Supposedly California is going to have a powerful El Nino this year and there is supposed to be a lot of rain, but I'll believe it when I see it. The Truckee area guide blogs say that the flows are actually OK right now below Boca, and with the cooler days it looks like maybe the river will pull through.



Got this little guy on a tent-wing caddis

nows the time the browns are moving to spawning. so find out where they head to and hit them at daybreak in the pools and outside bends on a river. you can get the big ones then
on things like a spruce fly or big muddler.

Reports/blogs say not to disturb them on the redds?

I do think it's funny that all the Browns I've caught have been small and on surface

the big ones are hard to catch. mostly very early or at dark. and during the up river runs with big flies that they hit out of meanness.

Great video of bait balls in Pyramid Lake, NV

nice when it isnt too windy out there. rare day. i miss fishing there. i might have been the first to bring a ladder out. no way would a sane person boat that lake.

lots more fish nowadays as they finally got their act together with good management.
it would be great if the real old days of the giants would come back.

Hopefully this isn't the annual installment after the biggest winter in years. Truckee River is still huge right now even though the snow hasn't started melting in earnest.

Reports say big fish are close to shore in slow water so I was drifting a big red copper John followed by a pheasant tail under an indo and saw just the slightest movement so I set and thought I got snagged until the snag started moving lol

Unfortunately after a couple minutes with my heart in my throat, when I finally got it out of the current, I could see it was foul hooked. Biggest Truckee rainbow, netted, released, hopefully not too much damage. Next time

cool i sure do miss fishing that river. i lived there for many years and fished almost every inch of it. as ive said before i think my favorite area was from farad to floriston.
downtown would get giant browns under the bridges you could catch only at night.

Just found this thread - i fly fish a bit in north east canada(trout). Last year i got to combine my job(tv director/editor) and hobby - i directed an 8 episode tv show on fly fishing, so i got to learn a lot more. We just got renewed with a bit more budget this year so we are looking to travel. Has anyone fly fished in scandinavia? I have heard many good things about norway/sweden but there's little video evidence. I know they have salmon but haven't heard about other species.

Also been following the discussion on the Truckee river - interesting stuff - when does the fishing season start there?

General trout season in California runs from the last Saturday in April until Nov 15.

The Truckee River has some specific restrictions. You can't fish for something like 1000' downstream from where the river leaves Lake Tahoe. From that point to where Trout Creek enters the river in the town of Truckee is subject to the normal season. From Trout Creek to the Nevada State Line is open off-season to catch & release/artificial lures/barbless hooks only. There is a subsection of water that is restricted to barbless flies specifically.

My understanding is that the state still plants trout for the tourists in the general area from Lake Tahoe to Truckee and then doesn't plant downstream. Consequently, I have never kept a fish out of this river, as they are a wild and naturally reproducing population.

Carson River is another story...some of those hatchery fish have made it into a frypan every once in a while

i used to fish the higher lakes above truckee. like fordyce lake and a few others. they had big trout and the best ones were hard to drive to.

Man if I wanted to get to Fordyce, I'd have to walk in.

i dont know the road condition but it was a tough 4 wheeler in long ago. but totally worth i t for the fishing. i dont know squat about it nowadays. it was pretty easy when i went in on my dirt bike though.

Fall on the Truckee.

Where has this euro rig been all my life? I mean, all small rainbows but I've never hooked 4 fish in a little over an hour here. Maybe I just lack the skill lol

the browns move up toward and into reno in the fall to spawn. rainbows follow to eat eggs.
at night some giant browns can be caught in deep slow holes and under the bridges in downtown reno. dont miss out on that.

its been a few decades since i lived there but any creeks that go into lakes that have browns will be hot spots for them.

throw a big spruce fly in outside bends in the river at daybreak or just before dark. sink tip near the bank, a few strips and move down a few steps. if they are there they hit it hard.

I never fly fished in a stream. Looks like my tackle would all end up in the trees.