Another crazy weather week with wind, snow and now sun. Pyramid is fishing well with the Cutthroat behaving as if in post spawn. The Truckee River flows have dropped making conditions good to get out and find some trout moving into summer water.
We anticipate the river will continue to improve with warmer temps and the emergence of spring/summer insects.
Pyramid Lake
It has been an interesting spring weather wise to say the least. We seem to be in a cycle of a few warm days and then a cold storm system that follows. Snow melt has seemingly been slower this year, as has the LCT’s return to post spawn behavior.
Shallow Cutthroat still dot the shore consistently. Some fish are heading into deeper water and are accessible from shore, and we’re not too far off from float tube fishing really kicking off. Most of our bites have been between 7.5-10 feet deep on the indicator, and dredging the bottom with a sinking line has worked as well. When retrieving flies it has been an even battle for the LCT’s affection between buggers and beetles/boobies. I almost always use a dark bugger and a light attractor fly because I like the contrast between the two variations.
If you stick to the indicator, small flashy red midges have been the most effective, but the tui-chub will be showing in more abundance soon and we anticipate the Balanced Chub bite will pick back up.
Once we finally get some consistently warm weather I still believe the Lahontans will move into deeper water chasing Tui-chub. It just may be a shorter end of season float tube fest than usual but it will happen and all indicators are that it will be a good one well into June.
-Mike Anderson, guide Reno Fly Shop
Truckee River
The Truckee River flow has dropped to below 700 cfs at the Reno gauge. This is a great flow to target fish from downtown up to the California state line. Earlier in the week, flows were up around 1,150 cfs but dropped due to the colder storms. Runoff seems to be happening at snails pace this year which is keeping the river in fishable shape over the last few weeks.
There has been a consistent emergence of large mayflies on the Nevada side. Gray/brown in color and ranging from size 10-12, you’ll want large mayfly nymphs to imitate these insects. The Jigged CDC PT is a good choice.
River temperatures at the Sparks gauge show 45-59 degrees in the last seven days. This is an optimal temperature range for trout activity and should bring a variety of early summer bugs soon. Caddis (OCD Caddis), yellow sally stoneflies (NEW Jigged Iron Sally), and PMDs (TNT PMD) are on the horizon.
Streamer fishing continues to improve with warmer water temperatures. Fish are starting to key in on larger patterns representing the stocked cutthroat trout or baitfish. Olive/white or olive/yellow color combinations can be a good choice.
-Aden Breckner, guide Reno Fly Shop