We've Made It Through

We've made it through the cold dark months of winter. February is here, and this is when things start looking up fishing wise. The bugs will start coming out first on the Nevada side of the river. We will have Skwalas, and BWOs make an appearance down there this month. If it is a mild February, which it looks to be, the California side should start fishing as well. The water temps are still cold, but at least the days are getting longer and spring will be here shortly. This is James from the other day down on the Nevada side of the Truckee River.

Uncle Larry

Uncle Larry is a poet, angler, hunter, cyclist; an all around Renaissance man so to speak. It's been awhile since I fished with him. When I first met him on the river he was wearing an old pair of Vans as wading boots. Needless to say he doesn't take himself to seriously when he fishes. That's why we like to fish together. Some days he spends most of the time holding the net. Larry is into writing and just finished a book of poetry. He is in touch with nature and all that surrounds him. He also is a stack mending fool as in the photo above. As Larry would say, today the sun shined on my back as I lay down a cast, the doves flew by, trout swam in the currents below me as my san juan worm dead drifted hopelessly awaiting the feel of the silver ghost. Larry's blog is bikes fish and freedom, check it out.

http://bikesandfish.blogspot.com/

LOG (Sandwich)

Took out my buddy Larry today. Larry always brings a mean sandwich. In fact they're so big we call them the LOG sandwich, or Land of the Giant, sandwich. Today he added some jalapeno peppers for a little kick. It really was the highlight of my week. Larry is a bad ass fisherman and fly tier, but his name is Larry and therein lies the problem. There was of course some very big fish lost. The fishing talk and the fishing was pretty good on the Nevada side of the Truckee River. I'll be at the Sage, Reddington, Rio booth this weekend at the ISE show in Sacramento. Come by and say hello.

Urban Fishing

I went and scouted out a few runs this morning pretty close to downtown Reno. When I go fish on my own I like to fish a lot of nooks and crannys, or water that gets past up by most folks. I'll just drive from spot to spot. It's pretty amazing the quality of a trout fishery so close to such an urban setting. I guess it's like a smaller version of the Bow River that flows through downtown Calgary with it's own great trout fishing. Got these guys today on a #16 Dubbed Out Prince Nymph. These Rainbows are the size of Steelhead, pretty crazy. The fish in the video had broke off a bait dunker at some time, an old rusted eagle claw hook was in his kipe. I took it out for him and let him on his way.

60s In January

The weather the past few days has been unbelievable up here. I think we have set records for Truckee and Reno. Needless to say the fishing has been pretty good. Though the water has come up and got off color (on the Nevada side) with the snow melt the fish are still there and eating. I like to give them something they can see in the off-colored water such as my Blue Diamond Phillips Nymph which caught some nice fish for us today on the Truckee. Who knows how long the weather will last but for now, enjoy it while you can. This is a photo of William from today on the Nevada side of the Truckee River.

Battle Born Bows

We've been putting some nice fish in the net the last few days up here. Mild weather has made for some great fishing in the battle born state of Nevada. Air temps are in the 50s, and water temps have moved up to the mid 40s on the Nevada side of the Truckee River. These are some client photos from the last few days.

Warm Fronts in Winter

Now is the time you want to try to get out. Anytime we have a warm front move through the region this time of year, it warms the water up and makes for some good fishing. Cloud cover keeps the nights mild and out of the single digits. We get a lot of these days in California being so close to the Pacific and all. A note on barometric pressure; I really don't like a falling barometer in the winter. If I had a choice, I'd fish after a front has moved through and the barometer was stable. I also think a rising barometer, or beginning of high pressure in winter, makes for good fishing. I could be full of it, but this is just an observation having spent many winters on the water. Today we had a mild weather system move through the region. I started fishing around 10 o'clock and didn't hook a fish until about one. Maybe the barometer stabilised, but since I don't have one of those fancy watches, I'll never know. I did hook some nice fish in the afternoon and lost a real bruiser of a brown. The video is of an average winter size bow on the Nevada side of the Truckee River. The fishing should remain good all weekend and through the next week with the mild weather.

Two States, One Day

I've been doing the two-states-one-day-game-plan a lot lately. I'll start fishing on the Nevada side of the Truckee River and then I hit up the California side on the way home. Fishing is good in both states, but a little more consistent on the Nevada side. My best fly has been my black baetis nymph #18 which will be available to the public coming this Spring (more on that later) The fishing should get even better by the end of this week as overnight lows will not be as cold as they have been. You too can get in on the action. The "Double Whammy Special" two states, one day for $225.00. Come get yourself some big wintertime fish on the Truckee River system. The top video is in California, and the bottom photo is in Nevada.

Sometimes You Just Have To Get Off The Mountain

We've had a rough month up here in Truckee. With a snow pack 220% of normal, we didn't see the sunshine too much. Yesterday, I headed down and hit up the Lower Yuba with my friend Keith and his buddy Tom. Anytime you get a chance to fish a river after it has come down, go. The Yuba was at 20,000 cubes during the storms, yesterday it was at 4,000 cubes. The clarity was just a few feet, but the fishing was good. It felt like Hawaii down there, it was super fun and sunny. Since Elliot couldn't go yesterday, I took her out today on the Truckee River over on the Nevada side. Though it's still a bit cold, the anchor ice is gone and the fishing is good. Though it ain't no Truckee (river) the Lower Yuba is bad ass, and a great river that could be compared against any western state river. Go fish it, the more friends a river has the more it will be protected. The top photo from the Yuba, and the bottom video from the Truckee.

Happy New Year.

I just started off the new year guiding the Truckee River in the beautiful state of Nevada. Though the water was at 35 degrees with plenty of anchor ice along the rivers edges it still handed us a few nice fish. It was a great way to spend the new year. Fish still have to eat, and they like my #18 beatis nymph this time of year. With all the snow we have it looks as if we are in for a great summer of fishing. Give me a call this winter and come experience winter fly fishing on either the Nevada, or California side of the Truckee River.