The Little Truckee hangs in there again this week at 60 CFS. We hope to see these flows increase as we head into the fall, and we do expect those flows come up at some point. Stampede is still so full, that water retention should be less of a concern than years prior. As mentioned in previous reports, these flows coupled with the smaller fall bugs and the long summer of heavy angling pressure will really test your skills as a small stream angler right now. This is true finesse dry fly fishing. 

A 12-foot leader with 7x tippet and size 20-22 dries will give you your best shot at hooking fish. At least in the popular “Upper Lot” where angling pressure is the highest. If fishing other sections, using a dry dropper or a lightly weighted nymph rig may be better options as the fish are a bit less apt to rising and the need to cover water in search of fish is greater. 

There is still a waning hatch of PMD’s, but it appears that the BWO’s and midges are really what the fish are after in recent weeks. The PMD’s are a bit smaller now, showing up as more of a 16-18 while the BWO’s are size 20-22 and the midges of similar size. The dries of choice this week would be olive hackle stackers in size 20, olive or brown mole flies in size 20, para BWO’s in size 20, or olive or gray RS-2’s in size 20-22. The nymphs we are using would be size 20 rainbow warriors, size 20 camo juju baetis, olive or gray WD-40’s in sizes 20-22, black or red zebra midges in in sizes 20-22, or flexy floss worms in brown or red.