The Truckee has seen a serious rise in water temperatures this week with the recent rain. We saw the river hit 42 degrees early this week, a pretty serious change from the 32-degree lows seen in the middle of the month. This is due more so to the rain than ambient temperatures. It has additionally lowered water clarity a bit as well, turning the color to a “steelhead green” which is very ideal for hiding heavier tippet and fishing bigger bugs with increased efficacy.

With that said, we have been putting a big focus on the larger winter bugs such as size 8-10 stoneflies, size 12 worms, and crawdads in a size 6-8. The other bugs of note would be BWO’s in a size 16-18, midges in a 18-20 and winter stones in a 16-18. Even with the recent rise in temperatures, we still expect the fish to sit in the same water type as before so continue to put a focus on “winter water” that is walking speed or less. With the warmer days, the streamer bite should be good this week and chucking large sculpin patterns or trout fry imitations could move some of our large browns out of their slumber. With this week’s false spring conditions, it is an excellent time to get outside and get on the water.

You never know, swinging a streamer with a few added degrees of warmth might just put a trophy brown in the net this week!