When fishing during spring runoff, people often see the river as being too large and hard to fish. While it’s true that the river is larger, it also makes the fishable areas smaller. This means that the areas that fish can hold in are fewer and it makes it easier to know where they may be. This evens the playing field. Think about sections of the river that you’ve been to during the summer that are slow, deep, and may otherwise not hold trout most times of year, other than during the occasional dry fly hatch that pushes fish back into the slower water. These sections of “frog water” are where you would be looking to fish when the flows come up. You should also target the inside bend of sweeping turns, eddies alongside fast water, or just areas of slow-moving water near the banks. The latter will really be the best during peak flows of 2k or more. High flows also often mean diminished water clarity. Turbidity is another aspect of runoff that gets a bad rap. Yes, less than a foot of visibility is certainly not great, but a bit of color to the water will make fishing heavier tippet and larger flies more effective. Heavier tippet and larger flies (I.E. larger hooks) mean higher odds of landing those Truckee River trophies. The increase in flows also dislodge the larger meals such as stones, worms, crawdads, and eggs making fish feed with reckless abandon. Fish slow water, use 2x-3x tippet, add a good amount of weight and you’ll find fish, trust us