This winter the Sierra Nevada received unprecedented late winter snow fall. The snow was both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it ensured that north state fisheries will have ample water throughout the summer. On the other hand, it kept anglers off water during the usually productive early spring season.

Now that warm summer like weather has arrived, the high country snow is rapidly melting and the fishing is improving daily. For anglers living in the Bay Area and Sacramento region, the lakes and streams along the I-80 corridor in the Truckee region not only offer easy access but outstanding opportunities to catch brown trout, rainbow trout, mackinaw, and kokanee salmon.

Up until about two weeks ago fishing at most Truckee area waters with the exception of Lake Tahoe had been pretty slow mainly due to low water temperatures. At this point the fishing at Lake Tahoe remains consistent while the action in Stampede Reservoir and the Truckee River is going strong.

At Tahoe both deep water trollers and top liners are nailing good numbers of mackinaw along with a sprinkling of rainbows and browns. If a limit of macks is what you desire, dust off your downriggers and work the Tahoe City Shelf, Agate Bay or the area offshore of Calneva Point. Lures will draw will certainly draw the attention of the lakers, but for top results there is nothing better than a rigged minnow injected with Pro-Cure Trophy Trout Super Gel trolled 10 to 16 inches behind a large white dodger.

Most of the fish will be holding tight to the bottom in 200 to 280 feet of water. Initially don’t be surprised if you don’t get hit. The macks stacked up at these depths are often inactive. You want to work areas where you mark fish with determination. This will allow the scent you added to your bait to spread and excite the lakers. If the bottom is sandy, you might also consider bouncing you downrigger balls on the bottom to raise some silt. This is an aggressive tactic used by Captain Gene St. Denis that really excites inactive macks and stimulates them to feed.

Top lining can be good at a number of different areas along the Tahoe shoreline. Good areas to explore include Deadman’s Point and Zepher Cove. Large Bombers and Rapalas trolled 300 to 500 feet behind the boat on 8 pound test line are the most consistent producers for large macks and browns. When top lining this way there is a fair chance that you will get skunked, but when a hookup does occur it is typically a quality fish. St. Denis was using this method a while back when he hooked a 25 pound mackinaw. For rainbows you’ll still want to troll with a long line, but you’ll want to downsize your lures. Minnow plugs will draw strikes, but rigged nightcrawler trolled behind a small Sep’s dodger are a better choice.

If kokanee salmon are your cup of tea, you need look no further than Stampede Reservoir, Rick Kennedy of Tight Lines Guide Service has been fishing Stampede regularly with an ever increasing level of success. During early April mackinaw were the primary fish being hooked. Around the beginning of May, kokanee began showing up and have continued getting more active ever since.

Kennedy gets on the water at first light and begins trolling the top 25 feet of water. As the sun gets progressively higher in the sky, Kennedy gradually drops his lures down to the 40 foot mark. One of the keys to success for Kennedy has been trailing a large set of flashers off his downrigger ball. Through experimenting Kennedy concluded that a ball adorned with flashers out fishes one with them at a ratio of 4 strikes to one.

Both the area near the islands and the mouth of Sage Hen Creek have been kicking out kokes. Most of the fish are respectable, running between 10 and 14 inches. A variety of lures have been working. The latest hot rig is a Sep’s watermelon colored dodger trailed by a Uncle Larry’s purple tiger spinner tipped with pink Pautzke Fire Corn.

For stream anglers, the Truckee is a solid destination for a mixture of browns and rainbows. In the general regulation area upstream from Truckee night crawlers, salmon eggs and dark colored spinners will all take fish. The river is running heavy so it is important to read the water and present your offering in near shore pockets that offer the trout relief from the main current.

This is not a run and gun situation. You want to work methodically moving upstream against the current. When you spot a productive looking spot present your bait or lure several times from a couple different angles. It’s amazing how often a strike won’t occur until the fifth or sixth cast.

Down stream of Truckee in the single barbless hook section, fly anglers are doing well while drifting stone fly nymph imitations on sinking tip lines and while working streamers such as woolly bugger both with and against the current. My two favorite flies for fishing the Truckee River during the early season are the muddler minnow and the marabou muddler. I like these flies because of the versatility they offer. I like to add some split shot to the line to get the fly down. I make a cast upstream at 45 degrees and dead drift it along the stream bed. Once it reaches a point directly down stream I allow it to hang in the current for several seconds before slowly stripping it back with staccato pulls and twitches.