Tahoe Quarterly

Fly-Fishing the Truckee

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Athlete: Ralph Cutter
Spot: Truckee

The Town of Truckee is ground zero when it comes to California fly-fishing. From chuckling spring-fed creeks like Sagehen and the quiet flats of Stampede and Prosser reservoirs, to boisterous "freestone" streams plunging down granite stairways and the powerful currents of the Truckee River itself, our area has something for every person of the fly-fishing persuasion.

Some people want to catch lots of small "easy" fish; others want to catch only trophies—the Truckee area provides plenty of both. And some people, like myself and my wife and fishing/business partner, Lisa, don't really care if we catch any fish at all—just as long as we're on the water in a beautiful place.

As Heraclitus wrote, "You can never step into the same stream twice." Despite the variety of angling the Truckee area offers, one can fish a single spot every day of the season and never get bored.

The moods of the water change, the bugs upon which the fish feed continually morph identity and form, and of course, the fish themselves move about and their desires shift by the minute.

We have spent the past 30 years fishing from the Arctic to the Amazon, but we always return home to our favorite water in the world—the Truckee River.

Stats: Fly-fishers Ralph and Lisa Cutter, who live in Nevada City, are both members of the Northern California Council Federation of Fly Fishers Hall of Fame and owners of California School of Fly Fishing. Ralph is author of Sierra Trout Guide, and the couple more recently released the book Fish Food as well as the film Bugs of the Underworld: the Natural History of Aquatic Insects.

Originally published in TQ Best of Tahoe 2008