Sierra Weather Mixup
Well… This week is starting off with some wintery conditions that have stalled many of our spring time hatches that started to show up last week. On the bright side, every little bit of precipitation helps the rivers and lakes in the long term, so no complaints over here. After this cold front passes, the rest of the week looks sunny, warm, and will once again jump start those spring and even late spring hatches.
East Carson River:
Flows have been climbing over the past week and peaked at 1000 CFS, but with this cold snap, run off has been paused and flows have come back down. At these flows, the river is fishable but not exactly crossable. I’ve heard some good reports throwing large patterns that not only help you get down, but grab the fishes attention. Try large Pat’s rubberlegs, jig streamers, or other heavy euro patterns. The roadside section upstream from hangman’s bridge has been stocked by CDFW, as well as Alpine county so fish those slower, deep pools where the stocked fish like to hang out. Downstream from Hangman’s bridge is the barbless, artificial section so expect more wild fish or holdover stockers that will be in their normal spots along the edges.
Truckee River:
March browns have been the primary hatch before this return of father winter, and we expect to see them come back when things warm up. Large pheasant tails, soft hackles, or parachute Adams have fooled some nice fish recently. Midge patterns in the morning have also been working. Flows are high so nymphing remains king, but in those perfect holes, fish have been seen sipping march browns between 12-2pm. Fish along the edges before stepping into the river, often those big fish you are after are sitting in slow shallow water.
Little Truckee River:
Spawners are still doing their thing so please stay away from the redds. Even if no fish are on them, there are likely fragile eggs in the gravel so let’s do our best to protect the future fish of this river. Flows saw a slight bump to 200 cfs, which is a good flow to fish. Dry dropper or small indicators with minimal weight have been the method of choice to the always spooky little Truckee fish.
East Walker River:
Unfortunately the flows still are being kept to a minimum between 30 and 40 cfs, so we recommend checking out one of our rivers that are full from run off. If you can’t stay away, small streamers, micro indo rigs, euro nymphing without weight, or dry dropper is probably your best bet. Let’s hope some things change soon and these fish get the water they deserve.
Stillwater Options:
I’ve still been hearing pretty good success from some of our local lakes from shore or tube. Fishing under an indicator or slow stripping streamers seems to be the best producing methods.
If any one is interested in a private stillwater option, Sawmill Lake is now open to walk in and should be open to drive in within the next few weeks. It tends to fish pretty ridiculous in the spring when those fish haven’t seen flies in several months.
Hot Lakes:
Sawmill Lake - BOOK NOW!
Bridgeport Reservoir
Silver Lake
Caple’s Lake
Tahoe
