THE TRUCKEE RIVER
The flows on the Truckee remain about the same as they have all
season. The only changes is that they are a little lower near Truckee
but pick back up below Boca. Fishing has remained decent all summer.
Over the next few weeks the river should go red hot. With water
conditions being as good as they were all summer the fall and winter
should benefit greatly. Big Browns have already started to show. Steve
Privette hooked two Browns last week dead drifting crayfish
imitations. It is supposed to warm back up this week so look for fish
to still be near the heads of pools where oxygen is plentiful. Dead
drifting nymphs under an indicator near or on the bottom is the way to
go right now.
Flows: Town of Truckee 301 CFS, Boca Bridge 569 CFS, Farad 608 CFS,
Reno 414 CFS.
Little Truckee River
Flows are 205 CFS. That is great news for the L.T. With as much
pressure as it has gotten this summer having the flows a little higher
will give the fish a break. It is a little tougher to fish at that
level but the fish should drop there guard somewhat. Nymphing with
Baetis and midges fished under a hopper pattern is a great idea right
now.
BEST FLIES FOR THE TRUCKEE
Poxy Biot Golden Stone 8-14, Copper Johns 14-18, Bead Head Flashback
PT 12-16, Bottom Rollers 6-12, Two Tone Hunchback 18-20, Mitey Mite
Baetis 16-18, Hunchback March Brown 12, Adams Parachute 16-20, BWO
Cripple 18-20, Mc Cunes Bandit Leech 6, Conehead Wool Sculpin 6
EAST CARSON RIVER:
Flows are holding on at 50 CFS. Fish are willing but spooky. Hopper
Dropper set ups has been working well. Approach runs carefully not to
spook fish that may be hanging out in shallow water. Nymphing is the
way to go.
LOWER OWENS RIVER:
Still too much release
water for a good time wading. Flows should decrease soon and this area
will go off BIG TIME! We provide a link to the LADWP real time website
at the top of this page. The drift boat sections will be excellent much
earlier than usual this year. As the air temps cool in the Owens
Valley, fishing will get good soon. This is the up and coming place to
fish this fall people.
Plenty of caddis, PMD’s
and midges around this time of year on the “LO”. I suggest you have a
moderate to heavy sinking tip line in addition to your floating rig to
focus on some of the larger fish looking to smack a chub or mosquito
fish pattern. Loeberg’s rock this time of year, #10. We are booking
drift trips currently for September and the SD guides are chomping at
the bit to get on the first floats here.
Gorge:
This area is stuffed with wild browns. They
tend to be on the small side for size, but large on the fight/attitude
size. The flows are very stable here and when the weather begins to
cool in the fall/warm in the spring- this is a great place to visit if
you do not mind some moderate to heavy rock hopping and hiking.
Dry/dry, dry dropper bead head nymphs like Stimmies, PT’s, zebras,
caddis, and Adams #14-18 all work well. More brush to deal with in the
early fall along the banks but still a fun place to find some secluded
water with totally wild trout.
UPPER OWENS RIVER:
The numbers are excellent here, but very few
large fish showing in the net. This is perhaps the most consistent
moving water fishery in the Eastern Sierra currently. Dry/dropper bead
head combo’s with a Stimulator “on-a-top” #14-16, and PT or olive zebra
#16-20 as the nymph. From this point on streamer fishing along the
deeper side or undercut banks will only get better. Spruce-a-Bu’s and
Loebergs #8-10. Use a light to moderate sinking tip line and use the
“dip and strip” method to get err’ done!
Hot Creek:
Hot Creek has a
confluence in the upper reaches of its origin just below the hatchery.
Mammoth Creek’s confluence with Hot Creek adds flow and cooler water and
is basically freestone in nature. MC is very low in flow currently.
The public section of Hot Creek is tough right now and has limited
“gravy” water. The protruding weed beds make the majority of the water
tough to fish. Conditions will not improve here this fall. If you are
fortunate enough to get on a larger pool or clear channel along the weed
lines you can have a great time here using caddis #18-20, Stimulators
#16, and according to Drifters guide Two Bug Doug Dolan “Fat Albert’s”
in the larger sizes like 8’s and 10’s. Look for increasing baetis (BWO)
activity especially if the weather gets quickly cooler #18-20. Midge
nymph patterns always work here, and if I had one nymph to fish in this
area it would be an olive latex or dubbed body crystal zebra midge
pattern #18-20.
 EAST WALKER RIVER: Good
Flows are 109 CFS. Perfect for any time of the year. Hopper Dropper set
ups with Midges and Baetis droppers has been working well. Dry
Stoneflies is also worth a try. The mornings are best as the warm
weather will still warm the water to around 70 degrees by noon or 1:00
pm.
WEST WALKER RIVER: Excellent
Fishing is doing very well at this time. The waters have come down and
with the stocking of Alpers and DFG plants, there is plenty of fish for
all. Several Alper's in the 5 pound range have been caught in recent
days. With the hot days, fishing has been best in early morning or late
afternoon.
Sierra Patterns:
Nymphs:
Caddis: Anderson's BOP tan, olive, brown #12-16; Fox's Radical
Caddis brown #14-18; Mercer's Z-Wing Caddis tan, green, #16-18; Fox's
Poopah tan, olive #14-16; Hot Wire Caddis Amber #14;
Stoneflies: Golden Stone #8; Wired Golden Stone #12; Poxyback Lil'
Yellow Stone #14;
Generic: Copper John #12-16
San Joaquin:
The wild fish are
concentrated in the deepest pools and under the overhanging brush along
the banks. It can be tough fishing here under these conditions.
Accurate 25-30 foot upstream presentations are needed to fool most of
the fish. They are always on the small side here, but this year they
appear even smaller??? Recent trips have elk caddis dries, mayfly
patterns like a Para-Adams, and Stimulators getting grabs #16. The
campgrounds have scrappy planted rainbows that are eager to hit patterns
with some flash or red built in. The stockers will vanish here soon.
Dry droppers with crystal zebras and tigers #16-18 will work if you can
find a deep enough pool. As the air cools in the upper snow fields the
water will only get lower. Forget this area in October. Sotcher Lake
is worth a shot if you want fish from a tube.
Randy Alleman had to make
long accurate upstream casts to get his fish on the SJ. Randy got a
bunch of grabs for his fine efforts.
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