Little Truckee River

Fishing the Little Truckee River

The Little Truckee is a small trout river north of the town of Truckee and a tributary of the Truckee, broken into pieces by two reservoirs, Stampede and Boca. It starts as meadow water along Highway 89 north, fills Stampede Reservoir, comes out below Stampede Dam as a tailwater, drops through a canyon into Boca Reservoir, and leaves Boca for a last short run to the Truckee at Boca, near Exit 194 on I-80. The upper river runs from Independence Creek down past the Highway 89 bridge toward Stampede. It is meadow water with brushy banks, reached from the bridge and from turnouts along the highway for 1.5 miles beyond it, past Upper Little Truckee Campground, before private land takes over. Below Stampede Dam is the Meadow Area, the part of the river most anglers mean when they say Little Truckee. Three parking areas off Stampede Meadows Rd, the Upper, Middle and Lower Lots, serve it, and it is the busiest water on the river. Downstream, from Boyington Mill Campground to Boca Reservoir, the river runs through a canyon of riffles, runs and pocket water, with a narrow, deeper channel in places and pullouts along the road. The final piece, below Boca Reservoir, is short and serves mostly as the launch for rafts and kayaks floating the Truckee. The fish are rainbow trout. The upper river and the canyon both fish best once spring run-off has passed. Summer belongs to the Meadow Area: as a tailwater below Stampede it stays cooler than the Truckee, which warms in late summer as Lake Tahoe releases fall off. Around Boyington Mill, fish early or late in the day. On most of this river, wading beats fishing from the bank, because brush crowds the edges, and a roll cast gets a fly under the overhanging trees. In the meadow, expect pocket water, runs, riffles and tailouts below the Lower Lot, with room to walk. When the flow below Stampede drops to 30 cfs or less, anglers are asked to stop fishing the Meadow Area, so check the flow before you make the drive. Regulations change and differ by section, so check the current California regulations before you go.