Truckee-Tahoe is home to an incredible array of streams, rivers, and waterways to cast your line. From the casual novice to the ambitious expert, you’ll come home with plenty of fish stories to tell after wading our local waters.
Truckee’s waters are filled with fish but take local knowledge on what flies to use and where to cast your line. Maximize your fly fishing experience in Truckee and hire a guide.
Upper Truckee, Little Truckee, And Truckee?
To add a bit of confusion, there isn’t just one river in the Lake Tahoe region that has the name Truckee in it. The Upper Truckee river is located near South Lake Tahoe and meanders its way INTO Lake Tahoe. The Little Truckee River flows out of Stampede Reservoir into Boca Reservoir. And finally the Truckee River is the ONLY outlet out of Lake Tahoe which starts in Tahoe City.
The Truckee
Fed by the crystal clear waters of Lake Tahoe, this river is a fly fisherman’s playground. A classic freestone river consisting of runs, riffles, deep pools, and pocket water. It offers pleasant, small stream fishing for trophy sized rainbow and brown trouts. The river here is divided up into the upper, wild, and lower sections. The “Wild Trout” section just east of town begins at Trout Creek, and these waters are what made the Truckee River famous. The water is still relatively small but the fish are bigger, meaner, and all wild.
Little Truckee
Packs a big punch in its four mile journey from Stampede Reservoir. This tailwater is a fishery for its bigger brother the Truckee. Affectionately nicknamed the “LT,” you’ll find that the consistent, clear flows teeming with wild rainbow and brown trout are known for being picky eaters. Even so, if you know how to present a fly effectively and match the hatch, you’ll be in for quite a ride.
Lakes
The Tahoe National Forest is home to hundreds of ponds and lakes within arms reach of Truckee providing more than 20,000 surface acres of water to fish from. Using a boat or float tube is an often underrated method of fly fishing that can provide a shot at bigger fish than can be found in the rivers. They’re also a great option in the peak summer months when you’re looking for a bit of peace and quiet or when the conditions are less than ideal on low water years. Nearly all of the lakes remain open year-round with the exception being Stampede and Jackson Meadows. Prosser Creek Reservoir, due to its year-round access, makes it a popular spot for ice fishing in the winter months. It contains a large Brown trout population and is planted with Rainbows.
