Despite a fair amount of rain and snow over the last week, the Truckee has not seen a significant increase in flows or turbidity and as a whole we are seeing similar conditions to last week. The biggest change this week will be the continually dropping water temps.

 

As we have mentioned in previous reports, this will continue to push fish into the slower water, but the more important thing to note is we have now entered the ideal range for brown trout and whitefish to enter their annual spawn. This is not going to be an all at once kind of thing, but we will likely see fish start to occupy the shallows and create their redds very shortly. 

 

While stumbling upon spawning fish on the Truckee is less common than rivers such as the Little Truckee, we still ask that you remain aware of where you’re stepping and if you encounter any redds, to please avoid stepping anywhere near them. Please also avoid targeting any actively spawning fish. 

 

That said, now is a good time to capitalize on this and throw egg flies, to target those greedy fish that just can’t help themselves for a high calorie meal before winter sets in. Eggs make for a great attractor nymph on an indicator set up and pairing these with a baetis or midge below it makes for a deadly combo this time of year. 

 

The name of the game will be using an indicator with a good amount of weight and with your flies set deep and focus on the slow deep buckets or possibly some of the slow water adjacent to a seam. With the cooler weather, the streamer bite will likely slow a bit, but if you remain persistent there are still some fish willing to move on the bigger meal, especially if you fish the river east of Sparks.