Stranger in a strange land

[Cfish]

Found this forum a few months ago while anticipating my upcoming move across the country, and having just arrived in my new home of Truckee CA, I thought I would take the chance to say hi and introduce myself.

A week ago today, my wife and I loaded up the truck in Greensboro, NC, wedged Mae the wonder dog into the back seat and hit the road. We had a great cross country journey on I80 and happily arrived in Truckee ready to not see the inside of our truck again for awhile. We found a great deal on a serious fixer upper house (occupied by an elderly woman who lived as a shut in, with lots of pets, for the previous 10 years...), so I am going to have plenty of work to do over the coming year.

We have picked Truckee to be our new home and look forward to the great outdoor lifestyle the area provides as we are both avid cyclist, trails runners, skiers, and most importantly love fly fishing! We have been amazed thus far in how warm our welcome has been, all of our neighbors have been great (we haven't cooked ourselves dinner since we arrived), and everybody we have met in town have been incredibly welcoming. On Friday evening we went to a fundraiser for the local humane society and were promptly signed up to volunteer. We met lots of great people.

My fly fishing experience is primarily salt water, though I have spent lots of time chasing small native brook trout in NC, as well as bass, carp, and an annual trip to the Everglades for snook, reds and tarpon. I am really excited to explore all of the local streams and rivers, and to learn about the still water trout fishing which will be a totally new game for me.

Sometime this week (fingers crossed), our shipping container will arrive, and with it all of my fishing gear and fly tying equipment. I am counting the days. I have already budgeted some time and money to work with a local guide to kickstart my learning about our local waters, but it would really mean a great deal to me to go out on my own for my first trip and catch my first CA trout on my own, with my own flies, and with my own efforts. Realizing this will not come easy, I just want to get my first one on my own...

If anybody has a suggestion for where I might make my first foray into this new world of fishing for me, I sure would appreciate it. I am assuming the Truckee itself might be a good bet, certainly it is the most local for us. I have been keeping up with the trials and tribulations of the Truckee over the course of the drought, thought it sounds like things are coming to the better with the recent rain and snow.

I look forward to participating in this forum and hopefully meeting some of you on the water over the coming months and years. Cheers -

Cullen

[clee]

Wecome to the People's Republic. You've chosen a very fishy area of CA. Lots of good water to explore. The Truckee both in CA and NV are difficult but rewarding. You'll be surprised when you find a baby-lobster sized crayfish on the water. Pyramid lake in NV is not far. East Walker down south. Many more up north, south, east, and west. Good luck and welcome aboard.

[silverlaker]

Welcome Cullen.
"We have picked Truckee to be our new home and look forward to the great outdoor lifestyle the area provides as we are both avid cyclist, trails runners, skiers, and most importantly love fly fishing!"
It sounds like you picked a good spot to enjoy all your activities. It's been a several years since I've fished the truckee area - but the truckee just out of town should fish fine. There are so many creeks and rivers in the area. I love the ones that connect the reservoirs too.

[k9mark]

Well, I dont know whether to welcome you or not. Most are looking to flee CA asap, myself included! That aside, there is great fishing all around you. Rivers, creeks, lakes, and reservoirs. Here is a great reading suggestion for you from amazon. Get a copy of bill sutherlands "fly fishing the sierra nevada" its a great resource. Here are some very good websites too,

http://www.ecoangler.com
http://www.highsierratopix.com
http://stevenojai.tripod.com
http://www.kiene.com/forums/
http://www.davessierrafishing.com

[Cfish]

Thanks guys!

I am heading down to Reno this morning to get a new dip tube and anode to install in our ancient water heater (don't think the wife will be too happy with my going fishing until I resolve our 5 minutes of hot water issues) and intend to stop by the fly shop while I am there to check it out. I took the wonder dog out yesterday and walked the path from Truckee to Glenshire along the river. While I did not see anybody fishing, I did see plenty of fishy looking water. We got a good bit of rain and snow over the past week, and it looks like it has made a dramatic difference in the river already - good to see.

k9mark - I picked up the book you recommended about a month ago and have been doing my best to pour over it along with some maps I picked up. I think one of the first challenges is going to be just narrowing down my options as there is clearly A LOT of fishable water in my immediate area. Not a bad problem to have

I will keep you posted, and hopefully a picture of my first CA trout will soon follow! Cheers -

Cullen

[Ants]

Welcome to CA.

When you chat with the fly shop, don't forget to get a copy of current regulations. Many waters are closed until springtime, but there are plenty of year round fishing opportunities. It is a good idea to know what is open.

Anta

[briansII]

Welcome!

Truckee is a cool little town. If you haven't already, go to Mountain Hardware/Ace Hardware and talk to the guys in the fly shop. They will be a wealth of information. Like everyone is saying, lots of opportunities in the area. It's just a mater of getting out and sampling them. The Big and Little T are open year around, so there's no reason to stay warm in the house if you don't want to.

briansII

[Cfish]

BriansII - I am going to be there this morning when they open at 7:00 with coffee in hand. That store is awesome BTW - great people and an amazing variety of stuff.

I went for a long hike / trail run yesterday off of Hirchdale (sp?) road past Glenshire and the river down there looks really cool. It is a bit of a scramble to gain access, but that almost certainly limits the pressure I am guessing. It is cool how different the personality of the water is on that stretch compared to the first few miles downstream from town.

I got a message from PODS last night that my container is supposed to arrive today. That gives me at least one day before the forecasted snow arrives to get out and fish. Thankfully my water heater project was a big success yesterday (turns out the dip tube was basically gone and the corrosion anode looked like something out of the movie Alien), so I am green light to chase down my first CA trout!

[midger]

Welcome to the forum and good luck chasing those finned demons in the Truckee. I used to fish it a lot when I lived in Northern California and I really like the water from Hirshdale down towards the Nevada border. There are some very nice fish in the river and it can be very challenging at times. Enjoy learning her secrets.

[WanderingBlues]

Welcome to the site. I've fished with a couple of NC guys (through the Drake). You're in an awesome locale for just about everything. You might want to check into The Kiene Board as well. It's primarily focused on NorCal stuff, though the vibe is a bit different.

Look forward to hearing about your exploits on the water and with the wonder dog.

[Cfish]

Thanks for all of the great feedback everybody! As promised, here is a report from my first CA trout fishing day. I got some good advice at Ace, and headed up to the Little Truckee below Stampede late this morning. Size 18 Zebra midge below an indicator produced my first CA trout about 15 minutes in:



Compared to the 8 inch native rookies back in NC, she was a monster! I was fishing downstream and found that the fish were tucked in tight to boulders and log jams. I apologize for the out of the water pic - I did not have a net (I will next time) and couldn't resist getting some pics from my first outing. I caught a couple of small browns after the first big rainbow, and then tied into a BIG brown that fouled me in a log jam and broke off. I was pretty bummed, but not too long after I picked this fish up - carbon copy to my first:



I ended up with six fish - not bad for bankers hours! I was amazed by the size of the fish and the scenery as well - this is an absolutely beautiful place. Fish were rising late in the day on some small bugs, but I only had a little box of nymphs and was only able to watch and enjoy the show. Stopped by 50/50 on the way home to grab a couple of treats



Cheers!

Cullen

[midger]

Pretty good for a first outing. Sure hope it doesn't spoil you.

I'll bet those beers tasted pretty good as well.

[WanderingBlues]

*, nice job!

[stanbery]

Welcome aboard and very nice first report.
Jon

[Ants]

That's a grand first outing!

There must be some intrinsic operator skill involved.

Welcome to CA fishing.

Ants