Middle Fork Feather River, Truckee River and Stillwater Fishing Report 6-12-26

Middle Fork Feather River

Summer has returned to the Lost Sierra and with it warm water and low flows. The fishing is spotty as the water temps approach the mid to upper 60’s and flows continue to drop. The Portola gauge reads 28 cfs and below Sloat is 135 cfs. These are late summer flows in June. Fishing in the mornings is still doable, but please stop when the water hits 68 degrees. I had 69 degrees at 4:30 pm on June 5th.

PMD’s, blue wings, and a few drakes are hatching mid morning and ovipositing caddis and yellow sallies are bringing some fish to the surface, but this has slowed way down. Nymphs are still catching a few fish. Concentrate on the deeper riffles and runs.

What’s Working:

Nymphs: Jigged PT (14-16), Jigged Yellow Sally (16), Iron Sally (16), Hot Bead Crystal Warrior (16), Rusty Jig (16), Czech Bomb Black/red, olive/yellow (16) Dries: Missing Link yellow sally (14-16), Parachute Adams (16-18), Film Critic (16), Chubby Chernobyl orange, pink (10)

Truckee River

The Truckee River is in great shape as we head into summer. Flows are 248 cfs out of Lake Tahoe, 280 cfs in town and 338 below Martis Creek. Water temperatures are perfect ranging from 55-58 degrees, but will warm up some as we ensure our first heat wave of the summer. Midges, baetis, PMD’s, caddis and yellow sallies are hatch throughout the day and evening and the green drakes should start up any day. There is a really fun dry fly bite mid morning with fish eating emergent/cripple caddis and mayfly cripples, mergers and duns. All methods are working at this time with the dry dropper rig being my first choice unless there are rising fish then its dry fly.

The river is busy with anglers, dog walkers and, in the afternoons, beach goers. I expect the bikini hatch to start up in earnest with the hot weather. It’s great to see all the different user groups utilizing this amazing resource.

What’s Working:

Nymphs: Electrolyte Baetis (14-16), Rusty Jig (14-16), Jigged PT (14-16), Plastic Surgeon (16-18), Czech Bomb yellow/olive black/red (16), Zebra May (16), Mercers Biot Epoxy Stone (8-10), Rubberlegs coffee/black olive/brown (8-10) Dries: E/C Caddis (14), Quigley’s Cripple (14), parachute Adams (14-18), Chubby Chernobyl orange, pink (10), Rubberleg crystal stimulator (10)

Stillwater

Webber Lake

Fishing at this backcountry gem is good for brooke trout and Lahontan Cutthroat trout (LCT). We are catching fish up to 25″ with most going in the 14-18″ range. Water temps are in the low to mid 60’s and while there are sporadic fish smacking the surface there isn’t a whole lot of insect activity. Some midges and damsel flies are present. There are tons of minnows available so minnow imitations are a good idea.

I’ve been concentrating my efforts along the drop off on the inlet side of the lake depending on wind direction and have also found fish near the outlet in 15 feet of water. Having a fish finder is very helpful in locating depth and the drop offs. Without one, look for the color change. Anchor up in the lighter color and fish the darker color water. I’ve been fishing balanced leeches and balanced minnows 6-8′ under an indicator with good success. The campground opens on the 19th and the gate will be open for the season then.

Thanks for reading this far! There are some great fishing opportunities in the Northern Sierra this summer. Get out and enjoy the great fishing!