Truckee River March Update

Yesterday conditions were just about perfect for this time of year. Tons of BWO's and Skwala's hatching, and a stiff breeze knocked enough adults into the water that we saw a few fish smashing bugs on top. Flows on the NV side have been up the past couple of weekends to ~545 cfs due to higher flows coming out of the dams at Tahoe and Boca, but still, the water was in great shape.

Fish seem to be keying into either BWO's or Skwala's, depending on where you go. Some sections of water still don't have many Skwala's hatching yet; in those sections, BWO's are on the top of the menu. Fish can be found in slightly faster water than last month due to the warmer temps.

A few highlights:

Today we ran into the Western Regional Qualifier for the US Fly Fishing Team. This particular day of the event, 30 anglers were on various beats of the river throughout Reno trying to tally the most centimeters in a day. For the second part of the qualifier, they do the same on Pyramid Lake. We learned one guy got 600cm in one day on the Truckee, that's 240" between 11 fish for an AVERAGE length of 21.5" per fish! Out for 30 competitors, 6 will move on to the US National Fly Fishing Championships and possibly make the 'Fly Fishing Team USA' World Team. That's the team that would represent the US in the The World Fly Fishing Championships in Bohinjska Bistrica, Slovenia. It was a cool event to observe, though we did have to give way to competitors which were hitting some of our favorite runs...oh well, it was for a good cause.

Post mortem update: I got the real skinny from the guy in charge of the competition, the angler mentioned above who caught 11 fish...apparently the official count was 10 fish averaging 20" each, still an amazing haul!

Truckee River - Get'n Schooled

Today this chunky hen took me into some heavy water. As I pursued her, I learned the hard way just how warn down my spikes were on the bottom of my rubber-soled boots. I slipped and tripped and went swimming on more than one occasion as I tried to keep up with the fish that wouldn't quit. I was exhausted, wet and embarrassed by the end of it all, but by some miracle, I didn't loose her. Anyhow thought it was funny so I put up a short vid set to "Can't Stop It".We saw some adult winter stone flies out, and as usually, lots of midges and sedges on the rocks. The cold snap has the fish a bit off their normal game, but a #18 zebra midge duped a few fish. The bows are all looking pre-spawn by now, red sided males growing beaks and hooks and hens fat with eggs. Won't be long and they'll be on redds.

As I was going to net this rainbow, a second HUGE rainbow hen came in behind it on the hunt. It appeared to be trying to grab my Skwala Stone dropper that dangled behind. It wasn't successful, but had it grabbed it, I'm guessing I'd have lost both fish since something was bound to give. I'll be back another day to see if I can't hook that piggy.

Truckee River - Midgetastic

I'm big on midgin from Dec-Feb, though today, it became obvious that the fish are keying into the larger stone patterns as well. My second fish was taken on a brassie, but it already had a huge stone pattern embedded in its mouth from an earlier angler that may not have had the best knot (or luck).







You can learn a lot just about subsurface bug activity just by checking your flies. Check these impaled bugs, a midge and a green sedge.









I'd say the midge is a true size 24 and the sedge an 18. As a rule of thumb I try to stay at a size 18 or larger...things don't stay buttoned in the BT on little flies.














I harpoon a lot of bugs, which tells me my bottom fly is on the bottom a lot, and if you're not hanging up from time to time, you're not deep enough.










Every time I think I've got the Truckee figured out, I read a blog or meet someone that reminds me of just how much I still have to learn. Today, I finally bumped into a local legend, Doug Ouellette. He shared some fishing stories and then shared a couple pictures of what his line made contact with earlier that day...yeah, I have a ways to go. Doug is a very accomplished local guide with tons of know how and some very unique and fascinating techniques. If you don't have his site bookmarked, you should definitely check it out. Calvadaflyfishing.com.

Danny Jackpot was the camera man today and busted out a cool vid set to Larry Jon Wilson.

Truckee River - More Midge'n

This bit was from just after Christmas, my younger twin brothers were up visiting, they're cinematographers in Nashville, TN. They're not big on fly fishing but they love to film. I was fortunate to have them at my side on this half day winter midge session when the planets aligned the and rainbows came out to play.

Truckee River - Another Rainbow Session

Finally a half day session! I'm finished moving into my new house and I'm back in the saddle again, meaning I've earned a hall pass to fish for a half day, which is just what I did two days before X-mas. Damn it was cold, but the fishing wasn't. The vid sums it up. I just upgraded to a Mac system with all brand new software, etc. Needless to say, I'm stepping up my video content.

This vid is a week old...it took me a while to learn my new software. That aside, TODAY, I had a great session and stuck some pigs, and best of all, my twin bros from Nashville TN filmed it on professional equipment. I think I should have it posted in a couple weeks. The ice gives an indication of how cold the air is, but its deceiving in that it doesn't tell you the how hot the fishing may be.

Little Truckee - 20/20

Man, it would have been perfect out there on the LT, but for the crowds. I snuck up for a half day session in the middle of last week and pretty much had to fish "peripheral" water, meaning, someone was on every hole on my "A" list so I had to fish the pocket water in between. Luckily, the flows were fairly high @126cfs and fish were evenly distributed throughout the river. I put a sweet 20/20 in the net. I spent nearly an hour pursuing him, switching up a dozen or more dry/dropper combos until I got it to sip a #20 midge emerger sub surface presented behind a trailing-shuck midge which I used as an indicator. For those not in the know, a 20/20 is a 20" or better trout on a #20 or smaller fly. This guy definitely met that threshold.Lots of bugs out, including a few October caddis, but a smaller tan caddis dominated.Kokanee were stacked up at Boyington Mill, resting at the weir. A couple browns have made their way up for their annual ritual but most are still in the lake due to the unseasonably warm weather.

Nobody cares unless it makes it to the net, but this is all I have to show for a 22" bow that I fought for nearly 5 minutes. This is a video still of my second netting attempt before he decided he no longer liked my fly.
Here is the release of the 20/20. He was one of the most beautiful LT fish I've seen, it almost looked like it was wanting to spawn based on the coloration, though bows are spring spawners.

Utah - Cast-n-Blast

I was priveledged over the past few days to be invited on a combo hunting and fly fishing trip in Utah's Uintah mountains on a private Orvis-owned lodge called Six Lakes. Pretty awesome stuff and great folks to share it with.

Our trip was cut short when one of our pals slipped on a rock while fly fishing, dislocating and breaking (in two places) his ankle all while falling into 50 degree water. This tough ole cowboy didn't make a peep when it happened, just calmly exclaimed, "its cold" and rose to his feet with his coffee and fly rod still in hand. I think the cold water took the focus off the pain and also helped with the swelling. Getting his cowboy boots off, however, was not fun.

The "cabin" we stayed in was huge and perched just above one of the 6 private lakes on the property, managed with healthy bows, browns, brooks and tigers.

The fish were very picky and didn't look, act or fight like planters as many were holdovers. The lakes are deep and cold due to numerous springs that feed them, and the fish were fat from abundant hatches of chironimids and terrestrials.

Originally, our hunt was going to be for elk, however, as plans changed, we opted for a quick pheasant hunt before catching an early flight home to get our pal to a surgeon for some pins to hold his foot together.

Independence Lake - Serenity

Let's do it!

Had the best time, by myself, just me and the LCT. 52 degree water, light winds, partly cloudy and I'm the only sole on the lake, don't get much better. Oh, and I snapped a couple of 20 something LCT, one skinny, one thick, both were post spawners (These LCT are alternate year spawners). No crazy observations, just peace, relaxation, and oh yeah, a well deserved day off work. There is so much more I wish I could tell you about this place, but I've taken a vow of secrecy, if you want to know about it, get up there yourself!

Remember, get there just before or at sun up, the row your ass off to the inlet. If you make it there before the wind picks up, you'll have a good day, otherwise, it will be short, the winds are vicious!

If you get to Indy on a calm morn, and on the water by 8, you can get in on some dry action. Midges are the usual fare, but today, Calibetis and an unusual entry...termites, not ants, termites were all over the water, and fish ate them readily, likely some white fish and brookies, but some of the fins coming out of the water were fish over 18".

Little Truckee River - Dry Fly Action

School is back in and crowds have subsided. I finally took a full day off work, dusted off the 4wt and 7x and hit the LT, first time this year, but then again, I wait until the crowds are gone. I have only been able to manage short evening sessions the past 6-months on local watersheds until today. Today, I got a full day in....well, it was going to be a full day but became a half day when the water master felt it appropriate to drop the LT to 17cfs...ugh! What's the purpose of having a recommended flow of 32cfs if they can drop the river below that? UPDATE: David Lass of Truckee TU explained it's not a required minimum flow, and only a recommendation. The low flows are due to a 6-year dam inspection; unfortunately they found some things that needed repair and are working on it night and day. Until flows get back up over 30cfs, please avoid the LT for the time being. They should be back up close to 100cfs soon, hopefully in time for the big Boca Reservoir spawn runs this fall.
Check out the exposed river bed, 20 minutes prior it was under water...all that trout food is dead. Prior to the flows dropping, I managed some fun dry fly fishing and sight nymphing while the river was @ 106cfs.

The AM was VERY slow and nothing was coming off. Though I prefer to dry fly fish the LT, if there is no hatch...I'll occassionally go for an SJW (without the San Juan Shuffle part, which is illegal on some watersheds). Sometimes you have to use what they're feeding on, and certain parts of this river are full of Annelids.Luckily BWO's started popping in fishable numbers by 11am; from then on it was BWO dries and nymphs only! QUESTION TO THE AUDIENCE: Anyone know why LT bows are so much darker than BT bows, other than the obvious...cause they're a different strain. Does anyone know the specific strains and/or any other reasons for why they differ so much? I caught this BT bow later the same afternoon, and it really struck me how different the two fish really are in color, number of speckles, shape and build. And another thing, BT bows always jump, LT bows seldom do.

BT bow LT Bow

All fish were heavier than normal, thanks to good flows all year (except the 1 day this year I decide to go). Oh well, I'll be back many times between now and mid December. I had an Osprey splash-down 20 feet from me today. It missed the fish, but what a sight! Of the fish I netted, half had what appeared to be talon scars across their backs. You'll see a closeup on the 2nd fish in the video.

Recon - Lake of the Woods & Webber Falls Part II

Took the family out for a picnic at beautiful Lake of the Woods. What a difference from my last trip on June 19th only 10 weeks earlier. The catching isn't the best, but the fishing is awesome due to the beauty and serenity of the area. There are 7 first-come first-serve camping/picnic sites and a friendly and knowledgeable campground host that stays in a trailer at the lake most of the season. This is a great place for families and kids.

My kids found thousands of Mountain Yellow-Legged Frogs which they eagerly collected.

They were a bit bummed when I made them turn them loose. These frogs along with an abundance of terrestrials (including thousands of dragon flies) provide ample food for the salmonids of this natural, spring-fed alpine gem, namely chubby bows, brookies and a handful of browns. Check out this massive Sphinx Moth Caterpillar, probably about ready to pupate. It's the size of my ring finger...this is like a ribeye for trout! Apparently there is a deal in the works with the California DFG to make this a catch and release lake next year, but its not a sure thing yet. That would be great news, it could be a great little fishery if it were managed better. While we were in the area, we took a short hike down to Webber Falls on the Little Truckee.

Check out this video, the first part is from the first week of September when the flows are near their lowest; the second half of the video is when the falls were running at their peak flows in mid June just 10 weeks earlier....what a difference.

Truckee River - Chilly Midge'n

Haven't had a post-worthy day recently, only getting small (but wild) fish so I dug up some archive footage....a vid from Feb of this year, one of those days where the midges numbered in the millions and the fish were on em! The 20 something brown was skinny, I hope to find it again in the summer with some fat on it!

Truckee River - Bang'in Big Bows

Finally, the big one that didn't get away...well, he got a away before I could get a good picture, but not before I got him in the net! When I'm on the Truckee, getting a nice brown every 5 to 10 trips is to be expected, but big bows are a real treat! Let's face it, browns are awesome, but pound for pound, rainbows take the cake. I got this guy in the middle of town, I get lazy sometimes and fish the nearest holes, but no need to go to CA when there are 2-foot long fish right in your backyard. This fish was a brawler, I started recording after a couple of minutes, I missed some huge acrobatics right at the hookup, but still got some good jumps in. I cut out 4 minutes of the fight because it got boring to watch. I'm breathing hard at first because I had to chase this guy down river before it wanted to stand and fight. Just an ole #18 golden ribbed hairs ear in olive, nothing special. I use an oversize 35" net from Wachter Nets, but i think I need a bigger one, this guy bottomed out on it and was able to flop himself back in the water, I luckily manage to flip him back in. I flagged down a PWT rafter to take a pic for me, but as I pulled him out of the net, he went ape shit and...adios! Hey, give me a break, documenting this stuff by yourself is tough.

Here are some high jumps:

When fish are 2 feet or better...My net is too small:
Bottoming out:
Check out the vid: