Fishing Report

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Truckee River Fly Fishing Report + Trout School

May 28, 2025

Written by LCO Staff

Truckee River Fly Fishing Report + Trout School

Matt Heron Reports on May 28th, 2026

TRUCKEE RIVER REPORT:

Wow, what a difference a few weeks makes. The time is now!

The Truckee River water temps are in the 40s in the morning and getting up the low 50s by the afternoon. Although most of us consider mid 50s to be prime, it’s pretty damn close, especially for late May.

Fish are finally starting to consistently move into summer holding lies in fast water. We’re now at the point were every run in the river is open for business. Don’t overlook anything!

As a guide, I absolutely love this time of year because we can now broaden our horizons after fishing the same runs for months when the water was colder. Game on!

Flows from Truckee to Boca are 533-700cfs. depending on temperatures and time of day. The canyon at the Farad gauge is ranging from 970-1,100cfs.

The river color is clear, to slightly off color throughout the entire system. Again, it’s in really good shape.

LITTLE TRUCKEE RIVER REPORT:

Not much has changed on the Little Truckee River since our last report. It’s still running quite high for the end of May. The flows have been consistently around 350cfs for weeks now. Many consider this to be “flood” stage. Be careful when wading, use a wading staff if you have one and watch out for spawning rainbows. There are still a few dozen fish actively spawning on redds, especially at the upper parking lot.

Look for fish in the seams, deep water and maybe even the riffles if you see any bugs hatching.

You may get lucky and find some fish on dries, but the hatches have been limited. Baetis mayflies seem to be the most prolific with March browns being second. We’re also seeing a handful of caddis around too.

Water temps are very similar to the Truckee, mid 40s to low 50s.

Also, there are a lot of rainbows on spawning gravel right now. If you see fish in shallow riffles or on cleared out redds, please enjoy the view, and keep walking.

FLY SELECTION:

Luckily, we’re pretty much throwing the same flies on both rivers right now and not much has changed since the last report.

Attractors- Eggs, worms, Rubberlegs, leeches, crayfish (not on the LT).

Droppers- Baetis 16-18s, March browns 16s, skwalas 10s, PMD's 16's, tan caddis 16's and 18's and any assortment of olive and black Perdigons are working.

Although we haven’t seen any grasshoppers yet, hopper-dropper rigs are kicking down a lot of fish right now.

Streamers- Definitly have the streamer rod ready with these flows, especially on the cloudy rainy days like we’ve been having. The fish are willing to chase anything, from a small leach to streamers 3-4 inches in length have been doing the trick. Pause your retrieve!

Trout Spey- We’ve had a blast throwing the trout Spey around a few times in the last few weeks. Try size 14-16 soft hackles and olive streamers.

The Baetis and March browns on the Truckee have been around 1pm or so and are very localized to certain spots. That said, they don’t seem to be as prolific as they were a few weeks ago.

It’s finally getting warm in Truckee, keep any eye out for carpenter ants too!

No surprises here, most fish are coming on bobber and Euro rigs, hopper-droppers, then streamers and trout spey, with dry flies rounding out the techniques.

SUMMER OUTLOOK:

In the near future, Truckee will be warm. We may get a push of runoff in coming weeks. Check back soon or on social media for reports.

I also saw PMD's on the Truckee River this week and two on the Little Truckee River. It’s early for adults, but they are starting.

This is the first time in 25 years Tahoe and the Truckee River have had 100% snowpack or more, 3 years in a row. Needless to say this summer should be one for the books. If you’re looking to get out with a guide while you’re in town, book it as soon as you know your dates! Summer bookings are looking strong already, and you don’t what to miss out!

Click the image below to contact Lu, she’ll take care of the rest.

PS- Looking to catch more fish? Check out our Truckee Trout School openings.

-Matt

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Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

May 28, 2025

Written by LCO Staff

Matt "Gilligan" Koles Reports on May 25th, 2025

Things are firing off on the Truckee River. Great weather for Memorial Day weekend.

Heading right into Summer. June will be a great month. Warm weather and perfect water temps. Lots of bugs out. Pretty much everything popping off. Will you get any good dry fly fishing? Probably not, but you will if you nymph. If you're lucky and we get some cloud cover then yeah, especially in about 10 days when the green drakes come out.

So, nymph 'em up. Flows are still up, so fish in tight. Not sure when flows will come down, so enjoy it while you can.

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Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

Mar 30, 2025

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Matt "Gilligan" Koles reports on March 26th, 2025

Truckee River Fly Fishing Report March 26 2025

March 26, 2025

Spring is over for another 2 weeks, ugh. Good news is the fishing will be awesome.

Spring sprung on the Truckee River. Looks like Winter will return for a bit though. We should get some great mid-day dry fly fishing. Blue wings and March browns should pop good on cloudy days. The March browns can get some good fish on the surface.

The streamer fishing will be good too. Cloudy spring days are best. The big fish come on the streamers.

Of course you can always get them on the nymphs. Remember, Spring is when the biggest bugs come out. So up sizing your nymphs is good now until about August. Skwalas, March browns, PMD's, green drakes, golden stones, they all get active in Spring.

Run-off speaking... Well, it looks to stay cold for the next 10 days with not a lot rain, so I don't see the river getting much higher until it warms up, or they start letting more water out of Boca.

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Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

Feb 15, 2025

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Matt Heron reports on February 12th, 2025

Well, winter has finally hit the peaks in Lake Tahoe and the Truckee River area. It only took until February. Better late than never as they say. We’ll take it!

It was hard to imagine that winter fishing on the Truckee could get any better after an amazing January. But it did. The first week of February brought us low pressure, rain, snow, sleet and anything else you can imagine. And boy, did it pay off.

Although the mountains above 7500ft got a lot of much needed snow, Truckee stayed relatively wet with lots of rain and very little snow as far as accumulation goes. Not ideal, but after two months of the region being dry, anything helps.

The Truckee River even got a huge push of water, a much needed “flush” if you will. The river peaked between 1,000 and 1,700 cfs last week and got pretty muddy for a day or two. As it should, it dropped and cleared to “fishable” visibility pretty quickly. Just the way we like it.

Here are a few more details on conditions…

Flows: Water levels have stayed up, from downtown Truckee to Boca, and have hovered around 600-500 most of the week. We’re at 482 as we speak. Normal winter flows, pre-storm were 100-250 most of the winter. So bring your high water rigs the rest of this week.

Flows in the canyon are slightly higher at 624. They have been a bit higher than that most of the week leading up today. Flows prior to this week were around 400 or so. So, in reality, the canyon has only come up a bit and is in great shape.

Flies: We’ve gotten fish on just about everything this week, not unusual for water that has been slightly off color. Baetis 18-20s, rubberlegs 10-12s, leeches (any size), midges 18-20s, eggs and worms.

TECHNIQUES:

Nymphing: No secrets here, bobber and Euro techniques are putting the most fish in the net this time of year. If the water has any color, you don’t need to fish anything lighter than 4X. Go heavy or go home.

Dry Fly: There was some scattered dry fly fishing before the storm, but that mostly went away. That said, the midge hatches were really good and should come back into shape. Keep an eye on BWOs and maybe an early skwala or two.

Trout Spey: Swinging was a bit slow this week, the water was cold, and the fish didn’t want to move much to eat. That said I recently left town for a bit, and I can guarantee it turned on a bit with the water color. I’d be tossing small streamers and hold on!

Streamers: Again, cold water had the streamer bite on the slow side, but don’t overlook big meals in the winter months. Use 10 or 12 pound and fish the edges, drop offs, or even dead drift one. Trust me.

What’s Next?: March and skwalas will be here before we know it. One of my favorite times of year to get a big fish on a dry. Don’t miss out!

Looking for a Truckee River guide this winter or spring? Drop Lu and I a message. We’d love to set you up for an unforgettable day on the river.

-Matt

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Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

Feb 15, 2025

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Matt "Gilligan" Koles reporst on February 12th, 2025

Been a cold week on the Truckee River. Lots of rain and snow though the next few days, and some warmer temps on out.

These low temps mainly kept me off the river much of this week. Now that we'll get some weather again, things look good. The Truckee River always fishes well during and after these big storms. Remember, much of this snow does not reach the Eastern side of the pass. In fact we're snow free here in Hirschdale. It rarely snows in Reno as well. We can get some good snow here in Hirschdale, but this year not the case. All the snow is above 7,000 feet.

So rig up those streamer and nymph rods because it'll be good. Both sides of the river should be firing.

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Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

Jan 21, 2025

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Matt "Gilligan" Koles reports on January 18th, 2025

Cold nights, warm afternoons on the Truckee River.

Upper teens in Truckee at night, 40's in the afternoons.

Lets look at that... When it's really cold at night, that's really going to lower the water temps. That will put the fish in the very slow water--"frog water" as we like to say. You will have to poke them in the nose with your flies. I would not start early, rather later in the day. Look for water that's about 3-5 feet deep. Slow walking pace water. If and when it warms up during the day, you can fish riffles and tops of runs, as the water will warm and fish will move up, looking for food.

In Reno, it's a bit warmer and you will find more active fish, usually. Key word is usually.

Out east on the lower Truckee River, East of Reno, it will be much warmer than any other section.

Lets look at that... This is where you will have your best consistent winter angling opportunities. Why? Well, it's warmer. Look for some of the best dry fly fishing on the entire river to happen down there shortly. Probably about the the next 10 days. That and the streamer fishing is what really floats my boat.

That's the report for the weather we're having right now. If we get big, wet storms that can change everything. The Truckee River fishes like a steelhead river. You get the rain, you get the fish. End of January for that?

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Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

Dec 16, 2024

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Matt Heron Reports on December 16th, 2024

As I write this report, it’s finally white in Truckee. This weekend’s storm brought the first significant snowfall of the season. We’re fully expecting the fish and the bugs to react well to this low pressure for the rest of the week and beyond as winter storm season begins.

FLOWS: Flows throughout the entire system are perfect for this time of year. From Truckee to Boca, we saw a nice little push of water this week giving the Truckee River a much needed flush. It’s holding steady around 137cfs as of today.

The same in the canyon section of the Truckee River, below Boca to the NV border. Down in Farad, flows are 444cfs, again, perfect in my opinion. Fishing in the canyon this time of year can be a great excuse to get away from people too. Generally, most winter tourists stay up near town. Don’t be afraid to hike a bit to get away from the crowds.

FLIES: Although I was up north for most of the weather, our guides reported good baetis hatches on both rivers once the clouds rolled in earlier this week. This isn’t surprising if you’ve ever read any of my winter reports.

Always have a good selection of sz 18-22 baetis patterns in nymphs, emergers, cripples and duns. You simply can’t go wrong, even if there’s no hatch.

Midges are always a good bet too. No secrets here, have a bunch of 18-24s (smaller flies for up higher on the river where it’s low and clear), larvae, pupae and adults. Any variations of zebra midges and adults will be fine.

Slightly bigger bugs may include winter stones, worms, eggs and rubberlegs. Have a good mix with these options will put you in a position to catch any fish on the river right now.

And don’t overlook the streamer thing too. I’m a big fan of dead drifting them anytime during the winter, or even slow stripping them on cloudy, or “crappy” days. The fish will chase occasionally, even with cold water.

TECHNIQUES: It’s a bit of everything right now, but we’re getting a lot of fish on indicator or Euro rigs. No surprise there. Really focus your attention on deeper, slower runs. Fish the bottom and add weight and adjust that indicator as needed.

As you’d assume, if any winter noses show themselves with baetis or midges, it’s game on! There are very few anglers tossing dries right now and it’s always good to be prepared for the winter hatch.

If you really want to “swing for the fences”, don’t be afraid to strip or swing streamers. I typically downsize them to three inches or less when the water is clear and cold. This can be an underutilized technique in the winter to try and get a big fish.

Other Local Options-

LITTLE TRUCKEE RIVER: I’ll keep this short and sweet. Flows are up for this time of year and the fish don’t mind at all. There’s no question that the Little Truckee has seen the best dry fly fishing in the area. To those in the know, that’s not a surprise. Baetis, midges, worms and eggs are the ticket. Sound familiar?

The only negative is the number of people. It’s great fishing, but you’ll more than likely be dealing with some crowds. Remember, the road back there doesn’t get plowed. Be prepared, if you get stuck, or don’t risk it at all.

TRUCKEE RIVER NV SIDE: We’re still cranking out floats consistently on the NV side and man has the fishing been good! If you hit it right, it can be a mix of size and numbers with the conditions we’re looking at right now. Walk and wade trips are going well too, but don’t overlook a float this time of year.

Lastly, it’s not too late to get that last minute gift certificate for the angler in your life that has everything!

Drop us a note HERE and we’ll get you set up for the holidays.

If you’re looking to get our with one of our amazing guides, let us know, we’d love to show you around!

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Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

Dec 16, 2024

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Matt "Gilligan" Koles Reports on December 16th, 2024

Finally getting some snow in Tahoe

It's stacked up for mid-December. Not much down here in Hirschdale, but we usually don't get too much anyways.

Flows are still great on the Truckee River, and the Winter fly fishing is good. Good all up and down the river. If you fish the Ca side, remember, lows will be very cold at night. You should wait till it warms a bit and trouts get a bit active.

If you're down on the Reno side, you can get going at a normal fishing time, still be cold, but not Truckee cold.

Nymph in the frog water, streamer fish in the frog water. That is the key.

We have a good month or so, but then we'll have some great dry fly fishing down in the desert on the river. Not so much right now anywhere, unless you get lucky.

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Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

Nov 15, 2024

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Matt "Gilligan" Koles Reports on Nov. 10th, 2024

Looks a little more like winter, and less like fall for the rest of the month, on the Truckee River. Good, because that'll kick the streamer fishing into high gear.

That's mainly how I like to fish when the water gets cold--going for big post-spawn brown trout. They like a big meal. Sure, anyone can peg an egg in the winter and catch fish, trust me, I've done my share, but learning how to catch fish on streamers is the way to go.

I do a lot of trips out east on the lower Truckee River in Nevada. Through the Nature Conservancy / McCarren Ranch areas. Good winter fishing. Best from a raft, but there's tons of wading access too.

Of course, there's good fishing on the CA side too, but going down into some of those canyons in the winter is a cold proposition. Right around here, in Hirschdale, is some of the best winter fishing.

The Nature Conservancy has spent over 30 million dollars restoring the river to original habitat. It's really a cool place, from Lockwood to Derby Dam.

You can fish steamers any old way you want--sinking line with lighter streamers, or floating line with heavier streamers. If you know me, I like the jig streamers on a floating line.

Happy hunting

Truckee streamflow at Boca

Little Truckee streamflow above Boca

Truckee streamflow forecast

Hirschdale weather forecast

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Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

Nov 15, 2024

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Matt Heron Reports on November 8th, 2024

We are back in business! If you know me well, you know that with few exceptions, October and November are my two favorite months of the year.

Well so far this year, October was really good and November is shaping up to be even better. Flows and temps on both rivers are absolutely perfect. After hosting a week in BC (report coming), flows increased on the Truckee and Little Truckee River while I was gone.

Temps are anywhere from mid to high 40s, through mid 50s. Absolutely perfect for the fall.

Flows from the Lake Tahoe to Boca are ranging from 100cfs to 160cfs, while the canyon from Boca to NV is perfect at 450cfs.

Our guides are reporting really good numbers of fish on both rivers, some big fish in the mix, and more browns than usual. A classic Truckee River report for this time of year.

The bugs right now are everything you’d expect. We’re getting fish on a mix of 18-20 BWOs/Baetis (by far the go-to), sz 18 caddis, sz 16 Mahogany Duns, crayfish, eggs, sz 18-22 midges and San Juan worms. No real secrets right now!

Dry fly fishing has been hit or miss on the Truckee, more miss if you made me pick. The Little Truckee has been kicking out way more dry fly eats, but you have to deal with quite a few other anglers. Pros and cons, you know the drill.

And lets not forget it’s fall. If you’re up here with any kind of weather rolling through, get the streamer rods out and hold on!

Other Local Waters

NV Side, Truckee River: Our NV guides are reporting some of the best numbers of the entire season as we speak. Although walk and wade trips have been good, covering a lot of water in our float trips has produced the most fish by far.

Sz 18-22 midges and sz 20-22 baetis have been the ticket down there. It’s always good to have an egg or rubberleg attractor as your point fly too. Streamers are a good bet too if there’s weather.

There’s even been some afternoon dry fly action if you get lucky.

Middle Fork, Feather River: Like the NV side of the Truckee, numbers have been really good up there the last few weeks. If you’re looking for less pressured fish and are OK with not running into a two-footer, this may be the option for you.

Fish are eating a little bit of everything up there right now, including small buggers and streamers, Pheasant Tails and BWOs/Baetis. Hatches have been sparse but there’s always a chance to find a few fish on top, especially mid day. The 10-3pm bite window has been the ticket.