Freestone · Mixed · Northern California, US

Truckee River

View across the Truckee River during a snowstorm at Truckee River Regional Park, Truckee, California.

Big-shouldered freestone that drops out of Lake Tahoe and heads toward Reno, with the dam up top and irrigation demand pulling on the summer flows — so what you get downstream depends on who needs the water.

Good · Rainbow Trout
Parachute Adams · 16-20
Goodlive now
A proper day on the water
River high but settled. Match the colour and fish the seams.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.27 mLast reading 6h ago
  • Water temp17.3°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Parachute Adams
Parachute Adams16-20
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.27 m
Last reading 6h ago
Water temp17.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather16°C
WindSW 24 km/h
Pressure1013 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.7 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Rainbow Trout
Ideal
17.3°Cideal 10–18°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Rainbow Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Good — water temperature is right today, though time of day could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 7am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 5 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Brown DunHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2
Mahogany DunHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Rainbow Trout fly box
SD
Sex Dungeon
2-6 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • CDFW season; some reaches open all year — verify the CA/NV-line rules.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Martis Lake
6.0 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Little Truckee River
12 km
80
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Milton Reservoir
40 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Rubicon River
50 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Upper Truckee River
55 km
80
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. View across the Truckee River during a snowstorm at Truckee River Regional Park, Truckee, California.
    Truckee River in snow
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Big-shouldered freestone that drops out of Lake Tahoe and heads toward Reno, with the dam up top and irrigation demand pulling on the summer flows — so what you get downstream depends on who needs the water. Strong wild browns and rainbows live in the pocket water and the deeper runs. It's mostly heavy nymphing and streamers, and the browns earn their keep. Autumn and winter are the prime time; in summer get your licks in early before it warms.

  • Mixed
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Truckee River' (CAR6351001019980805112246), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Sediment, Nutrients. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · CAR6351001019980805112246

The full read · show the working · for Rainbow Trout · confidence 75%
How the 79 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time50 × 13%6.5
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity52 × 12%6.2
Conditions total= 79
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout Last Saturday in April → 15 November
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts