Truckee River - More Fishing with the Boys

Browns have some girth right now, but why aren't they spawning? 

 Jack with the first bow of the day.

 Jack with his second respectable brown

A dramatic sunset on the Truckee

Truckee River - Fresh Water Bones

Carpin with crays as its too hot to fish for trout in town.  Tim's dead drift crayfish has been getting it done.  

 All you can hope for out of a school like this is one fish, because as soon as you hook it, the rest spook.

The water muds up after our evening thunderstorms, when this happens, change tactics, look for nervous waters, tailings and most of all, plumes of mud welling up from a fish rooting around for baby crays.

 Kinda pretty...as far as carp go.

Truckee River - Carpe Diem (EOT)

When its too hot to safely fish for trout....seize the day.  These fish are wary and tough to fool, they spoke easily and won't take anything other than a perfect presentation.  I find that by letting them discover the fly on the bottom, then giving it a slight 4" strip, then letting it sit works best.  They'll tail like a bonefish and the take is subtle so it really helps to see your quarry.  Believe it or not, this guy was the result of a blind cast in the current, he took it on the swing!  Prior to that I lost a couple pushing 20.  You'll want 2x or 3x strong hooks tied up for these babies as I'm learning, I need to get some myself!

 Carp feeding on crayfish in the shallows.

I think a trout die off could be occurring already east of town, in this section I walked up on a beautiful rainbow that wouldn't flush, I reached down, softly cradled it, picked it half way up and then let it go.  It appeared healthy but for the fact that it couldn't muster the energy to get away.  I think it was slowly asphyxiating in the mid 70's water.

 Baby crays are in the shallows by the thousands.  Where you find baby crays, you'll find carp gorging on them.  Carp are funny, they don't spend all their waking hours feeding, they'll gorge in the morning, then they'll sit it out and present themselves like motionless submarines visible from bridges and high vantage points.  Its practically useless to cast at them when they do this.  Its important to find fish actively feeding, cast well ahead and let them discover it with a short, deliberate "twitch" through the mud to imitate the motion of the abundant juvenile crayfish.

 This beaver must have been 70-80lbs, no joke!

 This is a great alternative to fishing in Reno/Verdi right now, and where else do you stand a good chance of hooking 30lb fish on a fly in fresh water?

Fly Fishing Northern Nevada - The Trifecta

1 Angler, 2 Days of Fishing, 3 Bodies of Water, 4 Species of Trout.....High 5.  I had the pleasure to fish what I feel are Northern Nevada's three best fisheries in a recent spur of the moment outing.  22 hours of fishing in 2 days amongst the most beautiful bodies of water the Battle Born State has to offer.  Midges, BWOs, caddis, streamers...they all worked, but midges followed by BWOs took the day for all three waters.  A Tasmanian Rainbow below, speckles protrude well below the lateral line.

Fish were best measure by the pound.

 Magnificent Colors

Bows and a Tiger Trout stacked up and doing anything but feeding

 Bring your A game to nymph these super clear spring heads

 A healthy post spawn cutbow

Morbid obesity is the number two cause of death amongst trout....ok bullshit.

 Browns are rare in one location I was at....getting two back to back was a treat.

Super ladder and a Pyramid Lake sunrise

A little Lahontan Cutthroat, monsters are alluding me this year, you have to put in your time and I don't.

The Truckee River entering Pyramid Lake

A feisty rainbow from the Truckee River in the brown waters east of town to finish it off

Truckee River - E.O.T. (East Of Town)

 East of Town is where its at, Blue Wings are out in force and fish are keying in on them in the foam line, both on and below the surface.

Got to pound some water though, good runs are few and far between.

Mixing it Up

The Truckee has given me the cold shoulder as of late, everyone I've spoke too has
reported very little action in Reno, the fish are in the softer deeper water right now but given how low and clear its been, they're spooky and fickle.  I figure my luck would be better east of town, much much further east, like Elko

Streamers, leeches and chironomids....a surprising diverse palate these winter bows had.

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

Truckee River - Mastering the Long Line Release

There is a good caddis and a mayfly hatch in the evening right now, things are changing as fall is fast approaching and the fish are onto it.  I've been out of caddis pupa for over a week now so I've been forced to try other flies.  Low and behold pheasant tails are stealing the show. This guys was redemption from loosing a real toad only minutes earlier.

The most amazing part of the day was I actually managed to get some fishing in with 3 boys in tow.

The fish today weren't kid sized so they were bummed when I didn't exactly hand them the rod.

Well, with all the fly fishing clinics being offered by folks, I thought I'd start my own, its will cover topics such as not changing your leader from the prior day and releasing of nice fish from a very safe distance so as to not risk getting you or your net wet. 

 Its for novices and experts alike, please be sure to tell your friends.  Pardon my expletive in the vid, losing the fish was total operator error and I kick myself for this one.  I fished a day earlier in heavy pocket water dragging my leader/tippet across every abrasive rock in the river, then today I tell myself I'll change up once we get on the water....forgot and on my second cast...Murphy's Law strikes!  Oh well, I had the opportunity to play him out and actually got to see him so I'm at peace.

We had a 3-snake record today, these garter snakes hatched earlier this year and were everywhere

The crays have recently molted, this is an example of a bit-sized specimen, tons of protein in this compact package.  Super soft shells this time of year makes them difficult to handle but to a  trout its like eating a tender filet mignon vs. a tough flank steak....they prefer the filet.

Truckee River - Keeps on keeping on

Fast water in the early morning is the key. Pheasant tails, prince nymphs and of course crays are getting it done.

Truckee River - September is off to a Good Start

They're smoking that dead drift cray right now.  Tying into fish in some skinny water this time of year, they're holding right up against the fast riffles and white water in the medium to medium fast current.  Had a really fun day, only wish I was on the water earlier, that's when the fishing is the best. This deep-bodied hen took me for a ride.

After good success clunk'n and plunk'n with lead and a big indicator, I picked up a few more fish high stick'n the same water...you're just able to cover different water without an indicator.

Great to see some browns out and about.

 One fish wanted a salad (nymph), everything else wanted a steak (cray).