I was wondering if anyone here can tell me of any fishing opportunities near Reno, Nevada. I am going to be heading out that way for my wife’s family reunion in early june, and was hoping to sneak a few hours of fishing in. Also I could use a few tips on flies and techniques that i should know. (I am assuming that there are trout out there…I have never fished for trout before) thanks for the help.
fish
Look for the thread in this forum about the Truckee river. That’s not very far at all and the thread has the name and address of a fly fishing shop in Reno and a guidebook for the area.
Also, Cabelas just opened a new store a few months ago in Boomtown just outside of Reno. That’s worth a visit.
I live about 100 miles west of Reno along highway 80 on the other side of the Sierra mountains. If you want to come over Donner pass then the north Yuba river around Sierra City and Downiville is a great river. In Downiville you can just about cast into the river from the balcony of the Bed & Breakfast
And yes, there are fish in that river
I was just talking to Rich at Fly Fishing Specialties in Sacramento and he was saying that the Truckee is a good place for crawfish flies. Just cast them in and let the river carry them.
I haven’t yet fished the Truckee. I’m going to have to try that this year.
Have fun!
I fished the truckee 30 years ago when I lived in Reno while a college student. Many great flyfishing opportunities there. I remember fishing right in Reno in the Truckee where it flows through a park…Happy Fishin’…ModocDan
I would suggest talking to the guys at Truckee River Outfitters. I think they have a shop in the town of Truckee and in Reno. We used to live in the Bay Area (now thankfully in Denver), and I used to fish up around there quite a bit.
The Truckee is good, as is the Yuba in Sierra City and Downieville as mentioned above. Downieville has a great little Old Town section as well…as it is pretty much all of Downieville.
I don’t consider myself an authority on flyfishing or flies, but I also have to strongly recommend asking the guys at Truckee River Outfitters about their molting crayfish pattern. I read about it in a California Fly Fishing magazine a couple of years ago. Basically it represents the stage when a crayfish molts and has no hard outer shell. They try to cling to the bottom until the new shell sets in as they are completely defenseless at this point. I never knew fish could key in on something like that but apparently they do. I don’t remember whether it is mainly a Fall season fly or not.
One story on that fly though…I was fishing in Burney Creek in Macarthur Burney State Park (a little Northwest of the Truckee area)…and was trying to get a fly to a fish in a bend of the creek under overhanging branches. I was starting to feel like it was almost impossible, as the fish was hanging in the back of a pool, and every cast I could make without hanging up in the tree was drifting back toward me before hitting the fish as I couldn’t get it far enough under the branches at the outset. I remembered the crayfish pattern and thought since it was a little bulkier maybe I could get it closer out to the fish. I tied it on, cast it in…and after it hit with a big thud I thought I must have surely scared the trout away. Exactly the opposite happened as the trout noticed the commotion…saw the fly and immediatly left it’s holding place and swam 10-15 feet directly to the fly and inhaled it. Unbelievable. I have never seen a trout so aggressive in leaving its holding place to go and take a fly that had been so un-delicately presented.
Anyway, for what it’s worth…
Re; Crayfish
That’s a great story. Rich was saying that the best way to fish a crayfish pattern is to just let the water carry it. He said “You’ll never be able to control it in a way that makes it look like a natural crayfish. But if you let it drift it looks like a crayfish that’s been blown off the bottom and is defenseless.”
That seems to match up with what you were told about the molting crayfish.
Dang, now I want to go tie a half a dozen rabbit strip crayfish patterns and drive uphill to the Truckee. I wonder if I can find an excuse that my wife will believe.
“Honey, I can’t clean the pool and mow the lawn and cut back the brush on the hillside today. I have to . . . . uh . . … There’s a trout infestation on the Truckee river that I volunteered to help eradicate. It’s my duty as a conservationist to help out.”
Think she’ll buy it?
Contact the Reno Fly Shop. Here is their link. http://www.renoflyshop.com/index.html The Truckee River Outfitters is owned by the Reno Fly Shop and is open from May through September.
I would check in with the Reno Fly shop or the Gilly for the latest reports. I heard the the Truckee fly shop the Reno Fly Shop operates isn’t going to open this year, so take that for what its worth. June should be great around Reno on the Truckee, and the Little Truckee should be doing great then, too. Last week a 18 lb brown was caught east of Reno near Patrick where work is being done to restore the Truckee to its natural waterway, so the big ones are in the Truckee.
OK so I feel a bit silly now…the truckee river is (apparently) only about 3 blocks away from the place that we have been staying for the last three years…:roll:. so I guess the question now is what patterns would you guys reccomend? I am not opposed to buying a few flies but would really prefer to tie my own.
Per the fishing report on the Reno Fly Shop website here is their recommendations:
For the Truckee River:
Flies for the Truckee: Rogue Stone 6-8, Bottom Rollers 6-12, Jumbo John Red and Black 10, Bead Head Flashback Pheasant Tail 12-16, Aggravator Nymphs 12, Two Tone Hunchback 18-20, Copper Johns 16-20, Blue Winged Olive Cripple 18-20, Adams Parachute 18-20, Conehead Wool Sculpin 4, McCunes Sculpin 4-6, and Cutters Goblin 6
For the Little Truckee
Flies for the Little Truckee: Copper Johns 18-20, Zebra Midges 20-22, Brassies, 18-22, Griffiths Gnat 18 and 22, Adams Parachute 18-20, Blue Winged Olive Cripple 18-20, Two Tone Hunchbacks 18-20, Mitey Mite Baetis 20, Mitey May Baetis 18-20
I am also going to be in Reno the first week in June and plan to fish the Truckee. Let’s talk about guides. Please send me an email to discuss. caibill@cox.net
Regards,
Bil
Now I know why they call it the LITTLE Truckee !!
Really enjoying this thread since I will likely be staying in Truckee for a few days in early July. Might even have the chance to take my grandson and granddaughter fishing there while they visit.
John