Where are the fish? Return to the Little Truckee

   I spent a few hours on the Little Truckee this weekend. The conditions were great. The flows were good.
The water was cold. And there were bugs. Lots of bugs. The good kind of bugs. Especially a nice hatch of PMDs - Pale Morning Duns.
  There were also a lot of fly fisherman. But nobody was catching fish. All up and down the river. I spoke with several people who had not seen a fish - or hooked any - or landed any.

Dry Fly Water on Little Truckee

I saw one guy net a nice trout, but given the number of hours I was there, the great conditions, and the number of people fishing - which included a few guides with clients - there were very few trout caught.

    My photographer Walt Colby was with me (http://www.waltercolby.com). We watched countless numbers of PMDs flitting and skimming off the surface of the water. Often times they just sat on the surface and drifted along.
   Under normal conditions I'd expect to see trout feeding - grabbing the easy, tasty meal.
 But I saw nothing. Other than the trout I saw being netted, I didn't see any feeding, nor did I have any "hits" or "takes".

Scoping the target

I saw one guy with a spinning rod. Now, I did not personally check it out, but I had to wonder what he was

using for bait. The water was about shin to knee deep, and there was lots of thick green moss - as is typical on the Little Truckee. I had a dry and a small nymph dropper and had to clean them off every couple of casts.

    I didn't think there was any way the spinning rod guy could cast a lure or spinner. It would have been useless.

Changing flies

   It is possible he rigged his rod with a fly as I have mentioned in another post. But unless it was one of those things - was he fishing with bait - which is illegal.
   It makes me wonder. With state budget cuts, how many, if any Wardens are in the area.
Patroling a large area like the Truckee River Wildlife Area is a big task. With few if any Wardens, makes you wonder about poaching and overfishing the Truckee and Little Truckee.

The faster water

I could be wrong, but the thought crossed my mind. If you have specific and acurate information, feel free to share.  Better luck next time.

Casting in slight breeze