Updated Fishing Report for the Truckee River, Little Truckee, Lake Oroville

Truckee River Fishing Report 

The lack of winter has made trout fishing tough for the month of January, but February should be prime! The Truckee River has been low and clear as of late.  This makes the fish a bit more weary.  These are smart and educated fish in the winter months.  Hopefully, we get some more snow to help out this not existent snow pack.  We could be in trouble this Spring/Summer. On that note, we have been finding fish in deeper pools and some pocket water.  The temperatures have been rather brisk, 44-46 depending on where the reading was taken.  From about noon to 3 pm, a decent hatch pokes its head out with BWO’s, winter stones, and midges.  Of course, the junk food (SJ’s & eggs) have been great “searching” flies.  Don’t be afraid to fish a more traditional pattern like a prince nymph (size 12/14)  or a pheasant tail (size 16/18) under the indicator.  Streamer fishing has been slow, but finding a nice bucket and fishing with white/olive/black colors are usually best. Winter & Spring my go to color is white, but on the other hand I love to tie a jig-head sculpin in a dull grey color.  With the forecast for the next few weeks looking rather sunny, now is a great time to get out and explore some new water and find a couple of fish! Open dates available! 

Guide Tip – Think small!  Size your tippet down and also your flies.  If your looking for afternoon risers, the pullouts along Glenshire Bridge & Hirschdale have been great areas to target some rising fish.  

Geoff with a well earned wild rainbow trout! 

Bodhi loves to check out the river and explore new spots! 

Truckee River down in the Canyon

The Little Truckee River 

The Little Truckee River is flowing around 80 cfs, which it was just dropped from 100 cfs a week or so ago.  The crowds are out and about on the weekends.  There is some snow on the road and access seems to be wide open.  If you are to venture out to the LT, try fishing a dry dropper rig, with a winter stone under the dry fly.  No weight.  Not big numbers of fish being landed, but the quality is supreme! Nymphing has also been productive with small midges and winter stones.  The use of 5x is recommend and sometimes you might have to add 6x for a picky fish. If your looking to get out please give me a call and we can get you booked for a wonderful trip!

The lower lot of the Little Truckee 

Lake Oroville – Spotted Bass on the Fly! 

Lake Oroville is an incredible spotted bass fishery!  There are several other species of fish in the reservoir, but the main targets are the big spots! These fish tend to suspend during the winter months, but they are still feeding on baitfish, primarily the shad!  We have been catching these spots under the indicator and with some small baitfish patterns, SLOW stripped back to the boat!  I’ve been seeing most of the fish holding in around 8-10 feet of water, so big leader setups are the ticket with the float-n-fly.  The water temperatures are fairly chilly, but typically in February is when the fishing gets red hot! I’ll be guiding the lake with the jet boat.  If your interested in learning more about bass fishing with a fly rod, let’s go explore!  

Mahers Guide Service – Lake Oroville Guided Fly Fishing