While it’s always hard to pinpoint it exactly, when asked what the best time to fish the Truckee is, we will often reply the month of June. With the average winter we’ve had this year combined with the two previous years of above average precipitation, this June is really shaping up to live up to our title as the best month to fish our river. 

While we move past peak runoff, and most of the creeks have dropped substantially over the last couple of weeks, we are still seeing flows in the canyon hanging around 1,000 CFS due to higher-than-average releases out of Boca Reservoir. The section along Glenshire Drive has hit the sweet spot however and is at +/-300 CFS right now and continuing to trend downward.

As the air temps consistently hang in the upper 70’s and low 80’s we are seeing an explosion of bugs on the river with hatches of Yellow Sallies, PMD’s, Green Drakes, Green Sedge Caddis, Carpenter Ants, and a few Golden Stones. This is the best time of year to throw dry flies on the Truckee River; we are seeing consistent hatches of PMD’s as well as caddis in the evenings. The big bugs like carpenter ants and green drakes are those curveball offerings when you see that big fish eating consistently on top but refusing you first few fly choices.

The warm weather as of lately has also put fish into fast water most of the day, except for early mornings or possibly during a significant hatch, when they may be pushed back into tailouts. This is when dry dropper fishing will be a very effective method, and right now there is also a realistic possibility of getting a few eats on the big foamy dry! During warmer times of the day, euro nymphing will be a very effective method. Try using a heavy stonefly as an anchor, such as a TJ Hooker or a Rocksteady Stone, and something like a Peaches and Cream, Blowtorch, or Walt’s Worm as your tag fly. With the variety of larger bugs in the system, the use of bigger, buggier flies has been working better than the dainty mayfly patterns of spring. Between big hatches, long days and wet wading, it’s really hard to beat the fishing on the Truckee this time of year!