“The biggest surprise after snorkeling the Truckee River is how much time trout spend in shallow water.” – Ralph Cutter
Ralph spends time chasing carp as well as trout
In this episode I get to sit down with Ralph Cutter, www.flyline.com. Who I believe is one of the true icons of fly fishing in the Sierra Nevada and the Truckee River. It has been described by many that Ralph has forgotten more about trout behavior and fly fishing then many of us will ever know.
Ralph shared with me his experiences snorkeling with trout, observing their natural behavior and how they respond to a casted fly. Some of this information will surprise you, it certainly surprised me.
We went on to discuss the suggestive versus imitative fly patterns and in his opinion what really matters and when.
We discussed flow conditions on the Truckee, what they are and what they really should be, why Truckee River trout are so big and what we can do as anglers to make things better.
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. If you have questions or comments don’t hesitate to send them into [email protected] or comment on any of our social media platforms.
Ralph Cutters bio:
For 35 years Ralph and Lisa Cutter have run the California School of Flyfishing. In pursuit of trout they have logged well over 4,000 miles throughout the High Sierra back country. They have guided and hosted trips in Alaska, Mexico, Belize, and Peru.
In an expedition to Borneo Ralph caught three new species of fish on flies in a cave 3,000 feet beneath the earth. The Cutters recently returned from a scientific expedition in Papua New Guinea where they lived for a month and documented fish species in a never-before explored jungle caldera.
Ralph has written hundreds of articles and contributed to over a dozen books on fly fishing and aquatic ecology. His book “Sierra Trout Guide” has sold over 70,000 copies and another book, “Fish Food” is one of Stackpole’s best sellers. He is a columnist for California Fly Fisher magazine and past editor of Fly Fishing the West and Adventure West magazines.
Lisa has illustrated a number of fly fishing books, magazines, and scientific journals with her scientifically accurate renderings of aquatic insects.
The Cutters produced and filmed the video “Bugs of the Underworld” which won numerous international awards and has been the top selling video in its class three years running.
Ralph and Lisa were instrumental in the discovery of the first new trout species described in the past six decades. It was discovered in the remote Sierra Madre backcountry of Central Mexico, and of course, it was caught on a fly.