Fishing at Pyramid is better from a boat or tube.
FRENCHMAN LAKE: Lake is fully open. Mountain Hardware, Truckee 530-587-4844.
LAKE DAVIS: The lake is 95 percent full and fully open. No ice. Fly-fishing at Coot Bay produced seven fish in an hour using Copper John under indicator 2 feet. Grasshopper Cove should be fishing good as well. Lightning Tree boat ramp is accessible and useable. Coot Bay and Mallard Cove are accessible, but watch out for the tire eating potholes at Mallard Cove. Mountain Hardware, Truckee 530-587-4844.
TRUCKEE RIVER: The Truckee is running hard with flows coming out of Lake Tahoe at 895 CFS. By the time it gets to Boca Bridge it is 2,600 CFS and on the Nevada side in Reno it is 2,500 CFS. These flows are way too high for most anglers to have any success on the river and it can be dangerous to try and wade in these conditions. Reno Fly Fishing Outfitters, 775-742-1754.
PYRAMID LAKE: The water temps are coming up fast and the fish are cruising, looking to spawn. This is a tough year to fish Pyramid Lake. Popular beaches are still closed to the public and the shelves are buried around the hatchery, due to the rapid rise in the lake levels last year. The last time Pyramid had conditions like this was 2006-07. Going back to fishing reports from that year, anglers were doing a lot more fishing from the lake. Boats, float tubes and pontoon boats were being used to get anglers out over the shelves and a lot of the best fishing was in 10-13-feet of water. April is shaping up to resemble that same pattern. On less windy days, this could be the ticket to catch more fish.
On windy, stormy days, the fish will start to come up over the shelves into shallow water and that has been the case so far this year. As crowded as the lake is this year due to the closures and no shelves, this will also give anglers more room to spread out and fish. Maholo Midges fished under an indicator have been the most effective as always in the spring. Other flies to have for a floating line set-up are Pyramid Lake Balanced Leeches in size 8 and Maholo Nymphs in size 12. If you are thinking about fishing in deeper water, a deep-water indicator leader is also a good thing to have. For shooting head set-ups, Martini Olive Wooly’s, Midnight Cowboy’s and Loco Tadpoles are all good choices. Reno Fly Fishing Outfitters, 775-742-1754.
EAST WALKER RIVER: Flows on the East Walker have finally come down to fishable levels on both the California and Nevada sides, and 165 CFS is a great number for any time of year. The river is making a quick comeback after the drought two years ago and the fishing is improving. The best reports are from anglers fishing on the California side and also the upper Nevada side. The warmer weather has the fish active and looking up. Dry dropper set-ups fished in slower water near main channels are a great way to go. Nymphing in the deeper pools is also turning some fish. This is a great time of year to be on the East Walker, the weather is great and everything is starting to grow. Keep an eye on the flows as they can change and shoot up again at any time. Renoflyfishingoutfitters.com 775-742-1754.
BOCA: Out-flows have increased to 864 CFS below dam. Some people have been able to launch boats from the shore at the inlet. Kokanee fishing has been slow as water temps are 45 degrees. Fishermen will find most of the fish at the dam or at the north end of the lake to the last riffle of the Little Truckee River (special regs exist here so read up on the rules). Great fishing for the Cutthroat and Rainbows from shore with the occasional Brown thrown in. With steady flows coming out of the LT, fish won’t be so apt to venture up the river, but one will find that some spawning fish will return to the lake. Mountain Hardware, Truckee 530-587-4844.