Fly Fishing Report | Truckee River and other area waters | early July 2022

Jul 8, 2022 | FISHING REPORT, Reno Fly Shop, Stillwater, Truckee River

Truckee River 

We have been fortunate to be experiencing a mild summer so far. Flows and water temperatures are perfect and the fish are biting! Flows have been averaging 350 CFS through the downtown gauge. There are a lot of bugs the trout have to choose from. With the cooler temperatures all the hatches seem to be a little late this year. The crayfish bite is heating up as the Truckee river is consistently above 60 degrees through most of the day.

PMD May flies are a summer staple and can be represented either with nymph patterns, Redemption PMD, or with adults patterns, Hair Wing PMD. They are typically a size 16, but a few hatched adults have been close to a size 14. The Caddis hatch has also arrived and happens each evening. The G6 Caddis is a staff favorite to cover life stages of pupa through emerger. We are still waiting for the large golden stoneflies to appear, but as I said earlier, some hatches may be a little late this year. 

If you are lucky enough to get a windless evening, the dry fly hatches that I have seen have been some of the most prolific hatches in recent memory. Mayflies, Caddis, and even some tardy little yellow sallies are piquing the trout interest. It’s a short window, only the last hour of light or so. Dry dropper/hopper dropper has become more effective too as the water levels have dropped making most riffles and heads of runs shallow enough and fast rough to really make this technique work well. Steamer fishing has been ok. I think the trout are focusing more  on the crayfish in the last couple of weeks. 

Truckee River Flies We Suggest: OCD Caddis, Joe’s Mini Crayfish, Hot Cheek, G6 Caddis, Mini Jig Leech, Hair Wing PMD, Elk Hair Caddis, Jigged Bugger, TJ Hooker, Drunk and Disorderly, Truckee River Dozen

Other Area Waters 

With a few warmer days in the books, higher elevation fisheries are opening up and fishing well. I like to focus on using a lot of terrestrial dry flies on higher elevation creeks and lakes where there is not a lot of food diversity. Because these fish get so little pressure they are usually pretty eager to take most flies. Many of the same dry flies we suggest in the Truckee River portion should work well on these creeks. Wet wading is the best approach as you jump from rock to rock and bucket to bucket chasing these wild trout. Check out our wet wading guard socks from Adams Built we have stocked for just this purpose.

As far as our other local still waters are concerned, fishing is in full swing! It’s best to be out during lower light time like morning or afternoon as the fish will tend into deeper water as the sun gets higher in the sky. Terrestrials on high elevation lakes can be a ton of fun on a windy day. Fly selection might be a bit more critical as the fish have a bit more time to inspect our offerings. Take your time and identify the hatch and match it the best you can. When fishing from a tube or boat, vary your depth often trending towards deeper water as the day goes on. As always the windward side of the lake is best as it pushes all the food in that direction. 

Flies We Suggest: Red Eye Damsel, Hale Bopp, Elk Hair Caddis, Panty Dropper Hopper, Gilled Nymph, Yankee Buzzer, Holo Midge Brown/red and Red/Gold, Micro Booby, Thin Mint Bugger

Want our next Fishing Report, Blog Post or Event notification delivered to your Inbox?

No spam guarantee.

I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Want our next Fishing Report, Blog Post or Event notification delivered to your Inbox?

No spam guarantee.

I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
My cart
Your cart is empty.

Looks like you haven't made a choice yet.