The Truckee River was originally home to Lahontan cutthroat trout and cui-ui sucker. During normal years, adult trout ascended from Pyramid Lake and descended from Lake Tahoe to the Truckee River and its tributaries to spawn. Thousands of young fish returned as natural recruitment to these large lakes. It was probable that some young and adult cutthroat trout also occurred in the river throughout the year. With the influx of white settlers in the mid- to late-1800’s, water was diverted for agriculture and municipal use, stream habitats were degraded, the river was over-fished, and other fish species were introduced. Extinction of the Pyramid Lake cutthroat trout had occurred by the 1930’s. While cutthroat trout numbers were dwindling, many different sport fish species were introduced and today, rainbow and brown trout have become the most successful.
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- Region
- Western
- County
- Washoe
- Type of water
- River
Fishing Report
The Truckee remains high but is fishing well. We’ve been at roughly 900cfs for a few weeks but should see flows reduced slightly as we move further into summer. The fish are healthy and happy even with the spike in early summer temperatures and the clarity remained good all spring. No recent repots of USFW stocking the Lahontan Cutthroats but that should change as flows come down. Spin fisherman are catching a few fish on larger spoons and spinners around the western parks and a few good fish out east. Fly fisherman are finding a few little yellow stones and mayflies hatching throughout the day, but the high flows are limiting the dry fly activity. Large streamers continue to fish well in deep runs and pools. Nymph fishing has been excellent with larger stonefly and mayfly imitations. Look for the crayfish and caddis to become more active with the next round of heat and increase in water temperatures.
Truckee River Angler Guide Information
07-01-2024Stocking Updates
| Stocked | Species | Inches | Date Stocked | Year to Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5505 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.4 | 05-30-2024 | 86129 |
| 5165 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.4 | 05-28-2024 | 80624 |
| 5011 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.0 | 05-23-2024 | 75459 |
| 5012 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.0 | 05-21-2024 | 70448 |
| 5016 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.0 | 05-16-2024 | 65436 |
| 5010 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.0 | 05-07-2024 | 60420 |
| 5015 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.0 | 05-02-2024 | 55410 |
| 5046 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.0 | 04-30-2024 | 50395 |
| 5000 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.0 | 04-23-2024 | 45349 |
| 5000 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.0 | 04-18-2024 | 40349 |
| 5012 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.2 | 04-16-2024 | 35349 |
| 3181 | Cutthroat Trout | 10.8 | 09-13-2023 | 30337 |
| 728 | Cutthroat Trout | 10.5 | 09-13-2023 | 27156 |
| 3990 | Cutthroat Trout | 10.1 | 09-07-2023 | 26428 |
| 850 | Cutthroat Trout | 11.5 | 09-07-2023 | 22438 |
| 3431 | Cutthroat Trout | 11.6 | 09-06-2023 | 21588 |
| 1821 | Cutthroat Trout | 8.2 | 05-16-2023 | 18157 |
| 5636 | Cutthroat Trout | 8 | 05-11-2023 | 16336 |
| 5502 | Cutthroat Trout | 8 | 04-11-2023 | 10700 |
| 5198 | Cutthroat Trout | 8 | 04-05-2023 | 5198 |
Pertinent Information
The Truckee River originates at the outlet of Lake Tahoe and flows approximately 110 miles to Pyramid Lake. NDOW manages approximately 40 miles of fisheries between the California State line and Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation. This river is one of the most heavily fished waters in the state, supporting between 60,000 and 100,000 angler days per year. Anglers can fish for rainbow trout, brown trout, cutthroat trout, mountain whitefish, and largemouth bass (in lower sections). High runoff from March to June makes fishing difficult, but once flows return to normal in summer, the river becomes easier to fish. Some of the best fishing occurs in late spring and early summer and again in fall. Nightcrawlers and Power Bait fished in large pools work great, and fly-fishing and using small spinners are very popular.