Truckee River - The Sneaker

Got a sneaker in before the flows dropped and I depart to Abaco Island, hopefully the currents weather system brings in some precipitation. A few little yellow stones and a good caddies hatch right at dusk, find some white water for the caddis sippers.

Truckee River - October Is Here

With the cool down in the weather, hatches are becoming more prevalent once again, caddis and a few different mays.  Crays are still sticking fish is fast water but you're starting to see fish moving into slower slots as well.  Browns are getting their fall colors and are gearing up for the spawn.  I spotted a big brown (27-28") from a high vantage point the other day, there are some real toads in our river. The Nevada side is definitely on right now, get out there.

 Fast water on a PT, they're getting nice golden hue right now.

I've notices 3 Osprey in and around town, that must be good sign for river/fish health.  This guy had a 10" fish in his talons.

This bow grabbed a cray in fast water, one thing I've learned, if you fish crays, fish them fast water (even white water), fish don't take them any other way.  Another thing I learned, Tim's Dead Drift Crayfish can't be beat, just enough weight to get down but not too much that you can't get a natural undulation in your drift.  I like to hang a dropper off the eye of the hook rather than the bend, it just looks more natural that way.  For you fly tiers out there: Tim Haddon's Dead Drift Crayfish Part I and Tim Haddon's Dead Drift Crayfish Part II

Pyramid to Reno

Fishing slowed a bit this Saturday. Despite some good winds late last week, Pyramid was miserably slow and that seemed to be the consensus for everyone we spoke to. Water is still only 44 degrees; it needs to warm about another 5 degrees for fish to start coming in from the depths.

Though flows were stable in the 500 cfs range, the Truckee, through Sparks and Reno, wasn't much better since the river blew out last week. Water is still off colored but fishable. DJ put one in the net and lost a nice one, other than that, just a few random grabs. The usual suspects (BWO and Skwalas) were out in good numbers as well as ever increasing numbers of caddis.

Truckee River Entomology

This last week I've been working with my my eldest son on his 1st grade science project and what better topic to choose than Entomology...its a great basis for fly fishing. Not only is it educational, its something he really enjoyed (unlike when I take him fly fishing, he's bored if he doesn't have a fish in 5 minutes). This month is a great bug month, especially with the Truckee River flows being so constant...the one good thing about a lousy water year. This may be a bit basic for some of you avid river bums (after all, it was for a 1st grader), but I thought these seine net samples did a good job at showing a typical cross section of the abundant Truckee River invertebrate biomass.

As you'll see, I quote and link to many great sites from which I pulled much of our information. Lets start with the insects which undergo a complete metamorphosis (meaning their life cycle has 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult):

Midges (includes animals in several families of Nematoceran Diptera; we looked at component family Chironomidae, aka non-biting midges)

To me, these two-winged flies are the most under-appreciated insect in the Truckee and especially in the Little Truckee. Its an important staple for trout in this area and carries fish over the lean winter periods because of its prolific numbers and year round hatches. When nothing seems to be hatching, I go midge'n. "In North America there are over two thousand species; in Britain there are at least 430; while there are over 600 species in mainland Europe; over 200 in Australia; and even more the world over. Where they are found, the midges form at least 50% of the aquatic insect population. In rivers midge can outnumber the 'mayflies' by as many as four times. Since the early part of 20th Century entomologists have gained a detailed understanding of these insects; knowledge which anglers have not ignored. The midge's lifecycle includes a full metamorphosis. Starting as eggs they hatch out as larvae and then have later phases as pupae and then adult." Above is a picture of an adult and a larva; they number in the thousands on any section of water on any given day.

Caddis (Order Trichoptera, we looked larvae of "free-living" Rhyacophila family including sedges and also found "saddle-cased" or Glossosoma family)

"Commonly known as caddisflies or sedge flies, number well over 7,000 worldwide. There are 1,200 in North America, 900 in Europe, and 640 in Australia. They represent a vast group occupying niches in both still and running water. Their greatest diversity is found in and around running water. Distinguishing the species of adult or larva is very difficult and usually impractical when waterside. This situation is not lost on an angler who will find several species present in significant numbers on any given body of water. Fortunately it is relatively easy to identify a caddisfly as belonging to one of five groups: Net-Spinners, Free-Living Caddis, Tube-Case Caddis, Saddle-Case Caddis, and Purse-Case Caddis. By briefly studying these groups we can later apply fishing strategies to match them." Above are images of a sedge adult and a green sedge larva. Caddis larva are tough to seine net, they hold firm to their homes and are easiest captured by flipping rocks.

Lets not forget those insects that go through an Incomplete Metamorphosis (meaning their life cycle has only 3 stages: egg, nymph and adult (dun [subimago] and spinner [imago]) - they don't create a Chrysalis in which to Pupate)

Mayfly (Insects of the order Ephemeroptera are commonly known as Upwinged Flies or Mayflies. We primarily found Blue Winged Olives, a type of Baetis and March Browns or Rhithrogena Morrisoni)

"After hatching, the nymphs feed on algae, plant debris, and other small food particles carried in the current. They grow through several instars before reaching maturity. This takes from a few months to a couple of years, once again depending on species and prevailing conditions, and also time of year when the eggs were laid." Above is a an adult BWO Dun, a mature BWO nymph with developed wing pads indicating its ready to hatch, a BWO husk (it hatched soon after we captured it in its nymph form) and finally a March Brown Nymph.

Stonefly (members of the insect order Plecoptera. We primarily found Skwalas and Winter Stoneflies.)

"The presence of stoneflies in a river or stream has always been a good indicator of a healthy aquatic environment. These members of the insect order Plecoptera are found in cool, well oxygenated flowing waters and occasionally along the wave-swept shoals of northern latitude lakes. Stoneflies have a worldwide distribution and thus are an important fish food source in both the larval (nymphal) and adult stages. Their life cycle which can include as many as 3 years in the larval stage is a significant reason why they are of such interest to fish. The larvae are benthic dwellers, crawling amongst the rock and rubble of the faster moving parts of the stream known as the riffle and run zones. Depending on the species, stonefly larvae can be herbivorous, omnivorous or carnivorous. Smaller aquatic invertebrates such as mayfly nymphs, dipteran larvae, algae and detritus are all common food sources of stonefly larvae." Above are images of stones caught in our seine net, a Skwala nymph, an adult Winter Stonefly and an adult Skwala Stonefly. Find, shallow oxygenated water to find these nymphs, they're great clingers but poor swimmers.

Some other items on the trout menu which we found include a couple of species of annelids (segmented aquatic worms) including this good sized leech which ended up eating the aquatic worm to the right.

Truckee River - The Living Stick

The fishing was great in the lower canyon...but the catching was only fair. We tried swinging big stones and crayfish trailed by caddis pupae and mayfly nymphs...caddis took the day. We ended up digging around looking for bugs. Check out this caddis covered stick which Jackpot snagged up from the bottom of a riffle. Trying to ID these guys: they were free-living, were case-free, and were all anchored by sliken threads which they seamed to repel with downstream. My guess is some sort of Rhyacophila, a variety of sedge.Dangling by silk threads.The whole stick was moving. They didn't coat the rocks so much, just this stick.

Truckee River - Bug Bonanza

Bugs are so thick in the evenings that you won't need to pack a snack, you're bound to inhale enough to hold you over until you get home. The most prolific bugs on the water right now are the caddises (size 16) from mid day till dusk. Green and spotted sedges, saddlecases. Shoot, the adults look so similar I can't tell them all apart, but what I can tell you is they're everywhere and fish love em. We got some fish to take dries on the surface, but most are feeding on mayfly nymphs and caddis pupae. You won't see the large numbers of green drakes until later in the evening, but the fish are taking their nymphs all day long, and they seem to prefer these over caddis right now. You'll see little yellow stones start popping thick closer to the evening. With all the bugs on the water right now, it's hard to figure out what the fish are keying into, but for me, it was GD nymphs with either a green rockworm or burnt orange pupae as a close second. Water is in about perfect shape from Boca to Glenshire, and if you can find some soft seems, large fish are holding in the canyon (as I found out), but with the strong current, good luck landing them! Check out these baby Merganzers. As much as I hate Merganzers because they wreak havoc on trout, watch them hunt, they'll tell you where the fish are holding.
We were able to spot fish from shore and the water is clear enough we could see underwater takes on nymphs. All fish were rainbows today in the 15-20" range with a large fish hookup in the canyon, but he was gone in the current before I could see it.

Truckee Insect Medley

January and February were awesome on the Truckee and March is off to a good start, despite fluctuating river levels. We haven't had to leave the comforts of town yet, too many hungry NV fish to go to CA. Lots of bugs out there, midges have been blanketing the water most of the days and trout have been honed in on them for months now, however, BWOs are in good numbers between 1 and 3 and are quickly becoming a preference. A few sippers have seen sucking down cripples. There are good numbers of Skwala's on the rocks, but I've yet to see an adult. I've been prospecting with a Skwala nymph at the top of my stack for 4 weeks w/o a take on it. A few caddis were present but not enough for fish to key in on.

Watch the water flows before you head out and fish, head up river if the water is too high where you are. Don't be discouraged if the water muddies up, throw a slighly larger partern with a bit of bling on it and two BB's. All the fish need to gulp a #22 midge is 1-2 feet of visibility. If we get a cold snap and the water drops below 200cfs, go to the fast runs and heavy water you'd otherwise not fish in the winter, you can get a nymph down on the bottom and may be surprised at what you pull up.