Truckee River & Little Truckee River Fly Fishing Report: April 11th, 2026

Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

Updated: 4/11/2026

This week’s fly fishing report covers the Truckee River (CA), Little Truckee River, Truckee River (Nevada Side). Conditions are reported from the perspective of 20-year Truckee guide Matt Heron and his veteran guide staff. Focused on water temps, flows, and proven seasonal tactics.

Truckee River (California Side)

Flows CFS: In town: 618, Boca: 971, Farad: 1050 (Click map for more options)
Water Temp:  40- 46°F
Clarity: Gin clear from Tahoe to Truckee. Clear near downtown Truckee to Boca. Slightly off color in a good way from Boca through the canyon.
Best Time to Fish: Late Morning, mid afternoon, evenings are a bit slow still. That may not change until water temps start hitting low 50s.

Overall Report:

Although the river is quite high for this time of year, it’s in absolutely perfect condition, top to bottom. Truthfully, we’d even love a bit more color.

That said, on 4/10 we got quite the rain event, all day. The river did go up to a few hundred cfs in town, but I fully expect that to drop fast in the coming days, back to around 400-500 in town and Glenshire.

Although most fish continue to hold in deeper, slower water as you’d expect for this time of year. There are definitely some fish to be found in medium speed water too, so it’s worth a few casts if it looks “fishy”. I wouldn’t spend a ton of time in fast pocket water even though there may be a handful of fish in there.

Nymphing has been the name of the game with most of our fish coming on bobber and Euro rigs. That said, dry dropper rigs have been kicking out a lot of fish too for at least a month. My favorite way to get them! See below for more details.

Dry fly fishing has picked up some with BWOs from noon to 3pm or depending on sunlight and where you are on the river. Yesterday, we had the best hour and a half of dry fly fishing in months!

We do have a big storm hitting us this evening at elevation. The could be up to 30 inches of snow at 9,000 feet. Without knowing exactly what the weather will do, I’d expect some of that to stick, and some of it to melt in the next week. I’d actually love another good bump in flows and some color to get the big fish moving around.

Effective Techniques: How & Where

• Indicator nymphing: Depending on my clients, this has been the name of the game recently. Fish 3-4x with big to medium flies against the bank in slower water, deep slow runs & pools. Don’t be afraid to smaller bugs above Boca in the clear water, and maybe go slightly bigger below where there’s some color. 12-18s have been my go-to’s this week….like usual. This hasn’t changed in weeks.
• Euro nymphing: The Euro game has been great recently, especially below Boca where the water has some color. Going back to how clear the water is above Boca, use some stealth with the Euro rods. Don’t get to close and spook them! Heavy anchor flies or jigs and a dark tag end fly are the name of the game.
• Dry fly: There’s some dry fly action if you hit the right place at the right time. It’s a mix of all our spring bugs right now. BWO’s are the name of the game right now, size 16-20s will work. There are some skwalas, march browns and midges around, but not many. We did start to see a few spring caddis this week too.
• Dry dropper: A bushy Skwala pattern with two heavy nymphs below it is a really good option right now. Or a size 16 BWO with a tiny nymph behind it if you run into a picky fish on top.
• Streamer/Trout Spey: The spey and streamer game has really picked up this week with water temps finally hitting the mid 40s. Give it a go early and late in the day, some clouds around won’t hurt either. It should only get better the next few months with water temps on the rise.

Top Fly Patterns:

• Stoneflies: Rubberlegs and olive Skwala stonefly patterns, size 8-12. Winter stones in black, size 14-16.
• Perdigons/Euro: Anything black, brown, olive in size 14-18. No real secrets here.
• Midges: Stick with the bigger flies, we’re really not fishing many midges right now.
• Mayflies: Fish your favorite size 14-18 mayflies to match BWO’s and March browns. Even some soft hackles are worth a shot.
• Caddis: We just started seeing some spring caddis this week. Tan caddis in 16-20s are hatching right now.
• Eggs and worms: It’s always a good idea in the winter to have a selection of both in a few different colors with high water!
• Streamers: My streamers don’t change a lot throughout the year. If it’s 2-4inchs long with natural brown, olive, black or grey color tones, it’s hard to beat. Some of my trout Spey set ups include size 14 soft hackles too.

Truckee River Guide Tip:

Don’t loose sleep over what nymphs to fish with the current conditions. We must have landed fish on a dozen different bugs this week. Depth are presentation are key right now. They will eat almost anything as long as you hit them in the face.

‐———————-

Little Truckee River

Flow CFS: 465
Water Temp: 40-46°F
Clarity: Clear
Best Time to Fish: All day, peak is mid-day for hatches

Overall Report:

After having perfect flows for over a month, spring runoff is in full force right now. The river is normal for this time of year, but it’s high!

Be careful wading, and don’t take any chances. There’s only a few places you can actually cross the river with these conditions.

As you’d expect, concentrate on slow deep areas and any seams against slow water.

The hatches have been limited since the water got over 200. I’m not saying you won’t see any fish feeding on top, but it’s really limited right now.

Although the high water has kept some anglers away, there’s still crowds around, especially at the upper parking lot.

Effective Techniques: How and Where

• Indicator nymphing: Most fish are coming on light indicator rigs with 4x tippet being my go-to. If you run into some picky fish go down to 5x.
• Euro nymphing: I love doing the euro thing on the LT with high flows. It’s one of the best times of year to get close to these fish without spooking them.
• Dry Fly: The dry fly game is very limited because of the high water. Keep an eye out for sippers, but there may not be many. BWOs are your best bet.
• Dry dropper: I haven’t done much dry dropper with clients recently on the LT compared to the big river.
• Streamer/Trout Spey: These are great flows for streamer and trout spey techniques on the LT right now. Maybe even the best of year. Definitely give it a go!

Top Fly Patterns:

• Stoneflies: Smaller winter stones have been producing better than the big Skwalas. Have some size 14-16s Winter stones with you, nymphs and adults. And size 10 Skwalas.
• Perdigons/Euro: Anything black, brown, olive in size 14-18.
• Midges: A mix of larve, pupe and adults in size 18-22 have been putting fish in the net but they are keying in on BWOs winter stones more.
• Mayflies: Like the Truckee, a mix of nymphs, emergers and adults in sizes 16-20. Any black, olive or brown nymph has been working well all through the system. We’re seeing very few March Browns around but a size 14 mayfly nymph can’t hurt.
• Caddis: Not enough to put any time into.
• Eggs and worms: It’s always a good idea in the winter to have a selection of both in a few different colors especially in these flows.
• Streamers: Small patters like leeches and buggers.

Guide Insight:
If you’ve ever wanted to throw streamers on the LT, these are the flows to do it. The water is cold so don’t strip to fast and be ready for eats on the pause.

Some rainbows have started building redds. Please leave spawning fish alone and don’t walk near the beds.

Final Guide Thoughts

I would take advantage of spring fishing asap! It’s one of my favorite times to be out there. The crowds aren’t out of hand (yet) and you can run into some really nice fish. Dry fly and streamer fishing should continue to improve as temps go up. Don’t be the one to miss out!

If you’re visiting Truckee or Lake Tahoe, a guided trip can dramatically shorten the learning curve. Guided trips, private lessons and winter specific clinics are available.

Drop Lu and I a note HERE. We’re happy to point you in the right direction!