Truckee River
Air Temp 56
Water Flow 390 CFS
1:30 - 3:30 PM
My trip to Lake Tahoe afforded me a few hours to get on the river! I stopped by a shop and was surprised to hear that the Little Truckee was snowed in. Access by foot only as the road has too much snow to drive past Boca. I didn't have much time and since I had to head to the airport anyways I decided to give the Truckee a try east of Reno at Mustang.
The river is flowing low for this time of year, but for me it looked perfect. Water was clear and you could easily pick out good runs and holes to try. But that doesn't mean that the fishing was easy.
I rigged up at the truck with a size 10 golden stonefly and a size 16 bead head flashback pheasant tail. No weight since the stonefly had a tungsten bead.
My first couple of casts into promising looking water yielded nothing...I contemplated changing my flies but I was told at the fly shop in Tahoe that golden stones are the standard, year round since they have a 3 year cycle and all stages and sizes were in the water. I haven't fished stonefly patterns very much so I had little confidence in it. However, the Truckee doesn't fish like your typical winter tailwater.
After moving around a bit, I found a line of riffles beneath some overhanging brush. I cast upstream and at the dead center of my drift I had a vicious hit! This felt like a huge fish! But after a few head shakes, he was off...
I tried again, moving upstream and again another hit! This time the fish took off upstream and wrapped me up around a log breaking me off immediately. Dang these fish are smart!
I re-rigged again and let the water rest. I finally found a honey hole, but I was running out of time! I had to get back to North Shore for work but I didn't want a skunk hanging over me for the day.
I cast again moving back downstream, following my indicator, looking for any sign of a bite. I watched it stop, and was just about to give it a tug thinking it was snagged when the indicator shot upstream!
Another fish on and man she was a beauty. After a couple runs and some acrobatics, I finally landed the fish with my hand. (I thought it was a good idea to leave my net at home to save space.)
I couldn't measure her, but she was a nice sized fish. Bigger than most on the Ark in Pueblo with tons of energy. She took the golden stone and it felt great to end the day without a skunk!
As I drove to the North Shore, I contemplated my experience on the Truckee. A river that's got a reputation as a tough river, and I managed to have a decent day. 3 fish on, and 1 landed isn't a bad day when I only had a few hours to fish.
I guess I'm too used to fishing "easy" waters, and the Truckee really humbled me. But I'm looking forward to April, when I'll be back again!
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