Truckee River – Fly Selection
“What flies work on the Truckee River?”
One of the most common questions we get is what flies work here on the Truckee River. Because we believe in making fly fishing accessible to people, we’re happy to share this list of a few of our favorite Truckee River fly patterns. Of course, this is just a few of the many patterns we use. This list is meant to help you get started in building your fly box and should guide you to what qualities we find successful here on the Truckee.
“Get the mend before the bend”
Even the perfect fly pattern in inexperienced hands is unlikely to catch. How you fish the fly is everything, you’ll hear the term “Presentation” being used by experienced anglers. While guiding, a fly pattern change is one of the last adjustments we’ll make. Before we change flies we consider the depth of the nymph, the floatation of the dry fly and most importantly the speed and movement ( or lack there of) of the fly. Remember, fly fishing requires practice and skill, the need for a guide wouldn’t exist otherwise.
We offer guide trips and lessons on the Truckee River and focus on imparting these skills to our clients. It’s never a bad time to level up your skills. Feel free to reach out, we’re here to help:
So Many Options…
There are so many fly patterns out there you could literally fish a new pattern everyday of your life and you wouldn’t even come close to fishing them all. New patterns are created everyday by anglers and professional fly tyers alike. Every single fly is handmade, there is no machine that makes flies, only human hands have proven skilled enough to create such little pieces of art.
It can be really intimidating as a novice to look at such a selection and pick one to use. So, lets break it down.
Fly Catagories
This much variation can be daunting, dividing things into categories will start to put some order to things:
Dry Flies: Flies that float and are meant to be fished on the surface. They typically imitate the adult life stage of aquatic insects.
Emergers: Flies that can be fished on top, in the film and under the surface of the water. These flies imitate the transformative stage of an aquatic insects life cycle, as they go from nymph or larva to adult fly.
Nymphs: These are meant to be fished sub surface and imitate the nymph or larval stage of aquatic insects life cycle. (Also, the most common patterns we use)
Terrestrials: These patterns are typically fished on the surface and imitate things like grasshoppers, ants, and mice. Just think of anything that may fall in the water.
Streamers: Sub-surface flies meant to imitate other fish, baitfish or crayfish. They can be fished using a dead-drift (without movement) or stripped (swimming action).
Brass bead, Tungsten bead, or no bead: With the exception of dry flys and terrestrials any of the above flies can have a bead option. Beads mainly add weight and profile to a pattern. Weight is a tricky thing, just enough and your fly will sink, too much and your fly will have an odd appearance in the water. Tungsten is a much heavier material than brass and offers a faster sinking presentation. (We mainly use tungsten beaded flies on the Truckee River.)
True Imitations vs Attractors
Simply put, some fly patterns imitate particular insects, fish or animals. Some are just combinations of profiles, sizes and colors that tend to catch fish. When trying to match a particular hatch you might use a true imitation however, when no hatch is present or when prospecting for fish a broad match fly such as an attractor can be a good bet. Some of the wackiest flies just catch fish, trout are funny like that.
Truckee River Fly Patterns
The Truckee River is mainly fished sub-surface. With that being said our target fish are trout and they do rise on occasion. By far the most reliable way to catch trout on the Truckee is by using nymphs and streamers.
Whether you fish these flies under an indicator/ bobber or tight line/ euro nymph style the objective is the same. The flies need to get down to the fish.
We often find our fish holding in fast water especially during the warmer months and definitely when they’re actively feeding. As a necessity, most of our favorite patterns have are tied with a heavy tungsten bead.
Below you’ll find a list of a few patterns to get you started. Keep trying new flies and keep in mind the similarities between them.
Tungsten Carotene Jig
Sizes 10, 12, 14, 16, 18
Hand’s down one of the most productive and versatile flies we use. As an attractor pattern it imitates stone-flys in the larger sizes and caddis in the smaller sizes. It makes for a great anchor fly when tight-line nymphing in the larger sizes.
Spanish Perdigon
Sizes 14, 16, 18
The Perdigon, simple and deadly. The word perdigón means “pellet” or “shot” in Spanish. It’s slender profile, smooth surface and tungsten bead allow it to sink fast and reach target depths at record speed. We often use it to imitate mayfly nymphs but we’re fine with whatever the fish think it is. We’ll fish this style fly in various sizes and colors, our favorites being olive, black and tan.
Sweetmeat Caddis
Sizes 14, 16,
This fly is a great imitation of an emerging caddis fly. Depending on what type of caddis is hatching at the time we’ll fish this in the tangerine or lime colors.
Peaches and Cream
Sizes 14, 16
This fly is a staple on the Truckee River. Imitating anything from a PMD nymph, Yellow Sally Stone Fly, and lighter colored caddis emerger. We fish it in the standard Peaches and Cream color as well as the Strawberries and Cream color. It will catch trout up and down the river however we’ve found it’s most productive on the Nevada side.
Nemec Stone Fly
Sizes 8, 10
This pattern was created by Jan Nemec, a Reno local and fly fishing legend. It’s as if this pattern was tied just for the Truckee River….
As a true imitation of our Golden Stone Fly this pattern it sinks fast and gets bit. We fish it in black, brown and yellow colors. A must have for any Truckee River angler.
UV Jig Streamer
Sizes 8, 10, 12
The UV Jig Streamer is a staple in our fly box here on the Truckee River. We tie a lot of these flys in multiple colors, hook sizes and bead weights. We find olive and black are our most productive colors however white, tan and chartreuse have gotten the job done too. Jigged by itself or used as an anchor in a tight line rig, this fly makes the list for sure.
Bead Head Flash Back Pheasant Tail.
Sizes 14, 16, 18
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it… This pattern has been around forever and it’s still as effective as the day it was created. Imitating various Mayfly nymphs it has a proven track record for getting bit. A must have in every fly anglers box.
Joe’s Mini Cray
Sizes 6, 8, 10
This Pattern has a slim profile and a heavy tungsten bead allowing for a fast sinking presentation. Imitating a juvenile crayfish during it’s molt phase. This fly makes a great anchor on a tight line rig and during certain times of the year, fish love it.
Olive Sculpinator
Sizes 4, 6
The Truckee River is home to the Paiute Sculpin. They have a dark olive barred appearance and molted color to them. They are typically a couple inches long. This fly is a great match, it’s effective in fast water and presents with a jig type movement when stripped.
Galloup’s Barely Legal
Size 4
A great trout fry streamer pattern. We fish it in a brown and rainbow trout version. Tied with a ridiculous amount of marabou and in a vertical offset style. Stacking the materials in this way creates a fly that swims when stripped and has a horizontal appearance when paused. Utilizing a heavy cone head or fish skull style bead creates a great jigging presentation as well. A great pattern for anyone looking to streamer fish the Truckee River.
Hulen’s Pool Boy
Sizes 4/6, 6/8
This Pattern was created by a fellow guide and friend of ours Brett Hulen. Brushes, Flash and Marabou make this pattern pop. The Fish Skull bead give the fly a great jigging action. This may very well be our most productive streamer pattern for the Truckee River. We fish it in a variety of colors however the olive tends to be our top producer.
Check out more of Brett’s work at his Instagram Page:
Tungsten Black Beauty Flashback
Sizes 16, 18
When the fishing gets tough due to cold temps or there’s just not much hatching we turn the a fly category we refer to as TBS (tiny black stuff). The Black Beauty and other variations like it play a key role in our fly box. Imitating a midge larva the small and dark appearance of this fly gets the job done even on the toughest days.
Don’t be fooled by it’s small size, remember elephants eat peanuts. Trout large and small will need to eat hundreds of these everyday to maintain their calorie intake. With odds like that you’re likely to run into a fish when fishing TBS.
Where to buy flies?
Flies can be purchased online or in store at many locations. We support local shops when we can. Below you’ll find links to where you can find these patterns on line and locally:
Increase you skills
Having the perfect fly isn’t enough. Knowing how and when to fish it is everything. learn more with our blog, guide trips and lessons: