The water temps and subsequently the fish’s metabolisms dropped this week causing a decrease in activity. The activity from the skwala stoneflies also decreased, further adding to the slower days this week compared to last. The big positive from the cold front pushing through the Reno/Tahoe area is the pause of runoff, causing the river to drop 100-150 CFS and run clear again. This will not only hit reset on the pre-runoff conditions that we saw last week but will prolong our snowpack for later in the year and keep the cold water running during the warmer months ahead.

With next week’s warmer days, the skwala dry fly bite should resume to some degree, with a mix of baetis, midges and march browns on top as well. For nymphing, attractor flies such as Pat’s rubberlegs, crawdads, worms and eggs continue to fish well and should be your confidence flies over the next month. We tell people here in the shop on an almost daily basis that these fish often can’t resist a well-presented junk fly.

The key words here would be well presented. Good drifts, fishing on the bottom and using ample weight are all factors that we impress upon people that are new to the Truckee. Fly selection should be kept relatively rudimentary. Or, at the least, fly selection should be considered a secondary factor to getting a good presentation.