Know Your Options

When you fish the Truckee, or any popular river in the summer you have to expect to run into people on the water.  Also, people usually plan on fishing the same runs too because there are a lot of popular holes.  Places that get hammered are in Mogul and all through Verdi in the trophy section (improperly named in my opinion).  When you fish those areas, expect for anglers to be up in your cool-aid, particularly if you are there on the weekend.  When there are people in the run you were planning on fishing, keep moving! It might be a blessing in disguise.  I have had days where I was gung ho about a certain run I was convinced would hold a pig, then got there to have someone already fishing it so I moved down or up the river and got into way more nice fish.  Not to mention a lot of holding areas get overlooked.  A perfect example of this was yesterday.  I got to mogul to see three anglers rigging up their rods in the parking lot.  I was all ready to fish but I asked them where they had planned on fishing before I walked to the water.  The guy told me the run that I had in mind which bummed me out but I let them have it anyway, after all they were there before me.  I walked 200 yards upstream and landed an awesome brown in a run I watched another two anglers walk right past.  You got to know your options on the Truckee and be willing to move.  If I am fishing a run I have never fished before I will move on if I get 10 perfect drifts with no bumps.  If I have gotten a fish there, seen nice fish landed, or heard a story of a big fish there I will give it more time, but in my experience, good drifts don't go unnoticed and no takes time after time usually means that you should move.  Know where to go next.  I like to head to the water with a plan of fishing at least three large runs.  This way I don't get bogged down in one too long.  As I walk from one run to the next I high stick the pocket water in between, again with only a few drifts.  The biggest key to this time of year is weight.  I fish a heavily weighted craw with a lead wrapped stone below it.  You might have a great drift, but if there isnt enough weight, then your flies wont be deep enough in the water column and they will go right over all those nice fish.