Truckee River, California

Tahoe City to Truckee

The Truckee leaves Lake Tahoe through the outlet dam at Tahoe City, where the first 1,000 feet are closed, and runs 14 miles north along Highway 89 to the town of Truckee. It is a rafting and bike-path corridor in summer, and its flow is only what the dam releases, which can be a trickle in a dry year. This reach fishes under statewide trout rules and holds smaller fish than the water downstream.

Trout Creek to Boca: Glenshire and Hirschdale

The wild trout water starts at the Trout Creek confluence east of downtown Truckee. Through Glenshire and down to Hirschdale the river gains Donner Creek, Martis Creek and Prosser Creek and becomes the technical pocket water the river is known for. Access is off Glenshire Drive and the Hirschdale exit from I-80. Boca Reservoir adds the Little Truckee just above the Boca Bridge.

Boca to the state line: Floriston and the Farad canyon

Below Boca the river drops through a canyon beside I-80 past Floriston to the old Farad powerhouse and the Nevada line. Releases from Boca keep this reach fuller and cooler than the water above it in late summer, and Reno and Truckee shops send anglers here first when the upper river is thin. It is big, slick, boulder water that rewards a wading staff.

Brown trout

Wild browns are the prize from Trout Creek down, and the river has a reputation for large, difficult fish. Skwala stoneflies in April are the first big dry, green drakes and golden stones follow in June, PMDs and caddis run through summer, and fall is streamer season as the browns stage to spawn. Leave the size averages to the fish surveys.

Rainbow trout

Rainbows share every run and take the summer caddis and PMDs more readily than the browns. Reno Fly Shop and Trout Creek Outfitters reports through late summer point anglers at size 16 to 20 baetis and midge imitations once the water clears and cools in September.

Season and regulations

Runoff usually pushes the river above 1,000 cfs from mid-May into late June. Fishflywater calls 150 to 400 cfs at Farad comfortable wading for the special-regulation reaches, and a Reno Fly Shop report called a steady 500 cfs at Farad excellent for the canyon; this page compares the Farad gauge to 150 to 500 cfs. Remember that Farad includes Boca's releases, so the river above Boca can be far lower than the gauge shows.

California rules from the 2026 regulations: from Trout Creek downstream to the mouth of Prosser Creek, open all year, artificial flies with barbless hooks only, zero trout; from Prosser Creek to the Nevada state line, 2 trout on artificial lures from the last Saturday in April through November 15, then zero trout on barbless artificials the rest of the year. Above Trout Creek the statewide trout season and limit apply. Confirm in the current CDFW freshwater regulations before you fish.