With Pyramid Lake and the Truckee River fishing well, February should provide another month of spectacular fly fishing in the Reno/Tahoe area. We are pleased to announce that we are hosting IF4 at Revision Brewing on Saturday, March 4th. Tickets available in-store and online with event details below!
Pyramid Lake
Fly fishing at Pyramid Lake has continued to be good with midge activity increasing almost daily. Warmer temperatures around midday have greatly improved the bite. Additionally, many large fish are starting to show up in anticipation for Spring. While earlier fishing reports suggested that the best fishing was happening in locations with deep water, fish have now shifted towards shallower water and are feeding in depths of 5-8 feet more consistently.
Both stripping and indicator setups have produced day to day. This time of year, fish begin to feed on the surface around sunrise and sunset. As a result, anglers have been successful fishing flies closer to the surface. Not quite dry flies but a presentation just sub-surface. In low light, try presenting an indicator rig close to the ledge or dropoff. Suspending flies at depths of 2-6 feet has been surprisingly successful during this time.
As the sun rises, Lahontan Cutthroat Trout often push out further into slightly deeper water. Movement can be great for stripping flies when fish are not condensed at one consitent depth. Flies such as the Mopcorn Beetle and the Midnight Cowboy are great and offer contrasting colors for varying light conditions.
The midge bite will only continue to build through February and into March. We are stocked on a number of midge patterns tied specifically for Pyramid Lake. These flies are available exclusively at the Reno Fly Shop in both size 10 and 12. Most often the large midge sizes fish best in wavy conditions; while the Micro Midge is most effective in calm and flat conditions.
Flies we Suggest: Pyramid Lake Tadpole, Pyramid Lake Beetle, Pyramid Lake Bugger, Balanced Leech, Mini Jig Leech, Holo Midge, Micro Midge
Truckee River
The Truckee River continues to fish well with the warmer weather. While water temperatures are still below 40F most days, there certainly is an opportunity to catch a few wild rainbow or brown trout midday. Bug activity will increase during warmer times, so fish activity almost always follows. Trout are in their winter haunts now- meaning you’ll want to target the slow and deep water available for trout.
While the Blue WInged Olive hatch has not occurred yet, trout are keying in on nymph imitations of these insects in the meantime. When fishing slow water, trout have the ability to inspect a fly for longer and can often be pickier towards fly presentations. That means that flies must be more realistic and presented best to catch picky trout. In the winter, a thinner tippet material helps to present a fly more gently and naturally. If you believe your placement of the fly was right but did not hook a fish, try downsizing either the fly or tippet material. Most often a spool of 5x Top Secret Fluorocarbon and a size 16 Micro Mayfly will get the job done. Finally, in slower water an indicator can be too much when impacted the water during your cast. It might be time to change to a yarn indicator or event a dry/dropper rig to lighten up the “plop”.
Flies we Suggest: Neon Jig, Duracell, Fire Starter, Micro Mayfly, Hot Butt, Parachute Adams, Pullover BWO, Galloup’s Jigged BWO
IF4 Showing at Revision Brewing on March 4th, 2023. Doors open at 5:30
We are co-hosting the International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) with Revision Brewing on Saturday, March 4th at the Revision Brewing Company facility in Sparks, NV. This event will showcase a number of selected films and will be accompanied by a raffle, beer, and a good time. Tickets are $15 at the Reno Fly Shop and online– or $20 at the door. Each event ticket is good for one free beer from Revision Brewing. Event is 21 years of age and older. We hope you can join us!
