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Truckee River/Lake Tahoe Area Fly Fishing Report, 02.01.21

The snow is back! Last week, the Tahoe Basin received it’s biggest storm of the season, bringing 4-6 feet of snow to various elevations.

A stunner winter rainbow. Photo courtesy of Ryan Rintala.

Fishing on the Truckee remains constant, with a few changes. River access is significantly reduced. Expect some of your favorite spots to be potentially inaccessible. Maybe even check out some runs on the Nevada side, as most of the California side may be too snowy to walk along the river.

Flows: (cfs)

Tahoe City to Truckee: 75.0

Truckee to Boca: 136.0

Boca to Farad: 309.0

Farad to Stateline: 330.0

Flows are slightly bumped up from our last report, so anglers may notice small changing of some pieces of water.

Water temps have been cold! We’ve been seeing the river reach 35 degrees at lunchtime, significantly reduced from the 40-45 degree average. For our fish, these reduced water temps are going to make them want to move even less than usual.

For anglers, focusing efforts on slow, deep runs and pools and staying there until the spot is fished completely is highly encouraged. These fish won’t be moving far for your flies, so make those casts count and bring the flies to them!

A safe release back home! Photo courtesy of Matt Heron.

Our guides have been getting fish mostly on indicator nymphing techniques. 4x and 5x tippet is encouraged for nymphs, while 5x to 6x is being used for dries.

Any dry fly action will typically be those smaller bugs (baetis and midges). We’ve been seeing the same small nymphs with a few winter stoneflies mixed in. With cloudy days in the forecast for this week, dry fly fishing is a possibility. Be prepared for it and pick up some bugs from our friends at Trout Creek Outfitters!

We’re also coming around the corner into the first signs of skwala time! Be ready for it, because it’s known to be phenomenal dry fly fishing, and our Truckee trout get all fired up!

Get out there and stay at it! Use light tippet, concentrate your efforts on slower runs, and make those casts count! You never know which one will change the day for the better.

Tight lines!

Ryan Rintala | Social Media @mattheronflyfishing

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