There’s no surprise that Pyramid Lake is world-renown trout fishery. People come from all over to fish for large, ancient Lahontan Cutthroat Trout. They are a specimen to see; that’s for sure.
Early in February, a colleague, mentor, and friend sent out a message saying that he was going to Pyramid Lake and asked if I’d like to join. My February workload was light, and I didn’t have much on the books into the first week of March, either. I had only fished Pyramid Lake one other time, this most recent Christmas but was only able to spend a few hours out there.
This opportunity would be a great way to get out there, enjoy time with Jeff, meet new friends, and learn a new fishery, that attracts people from all over the world. It didn’t take much convincing and soon after getting the text, I confirmed that I would join.
Friday March 1, 2024
My alarm goes off at 0400. I’ve got a few things left to throw in the truck and meet Jeff over at his place by 0500. Truthfully, I hit the snooze button a couple of times and then forced myself to get up. We would have about a 12 hour drive out to the western desert of Nevada. An early start would ensure us that we would be able to find a good camp spot, in the daylight.
It’s a relatively easy drive from Grand Junction to Pyramid Lake, pretty much all interstate. We took Jeff’s truck and he drove the whole way. I think this is the longest road trip I’ve been on that I didn’t drive at all, at least since my childhood. We made my typical stops for gas and food. Although, I had a lot of pre-made food with me on this trip it’s a tough temptation to resist a burrito and energy drink. However, the food in the cooler would prove to be quite handy, as the weather did not take it easy on us.
Weather-wise, our drive was free and clear until the outskirts of Reno, minus a very strong headwind which we battled all the way from Salt Lake. We made one last supply stop at Wal-Mart and on our way back to the truck, snow started falling. A light dusting continued to fall as we drove alongside the famous lake making our way to our camping destination, on Pelican Beach.
I brought my tent and cot and planned on making those my sleeping quarters for the trip. The weather would suggest that I pivot and sleep inside the truck. Jeff took the backseat, and I slept in the front seat. Tight quarters with gear and such but we made it work, after all this was trip done on a budget.
Saturday March 2, 2024
This would be our first day of fishing. Alarms went off early and this would our introduction to how people fish this lake.
Regulations allow you to start fishing 1 hour before sunrise. However, to make sure you get the spot you want to fish for the day, it’s often necessary to get up much earlier and place gear on the rock or spot in the water where you want to fish.
We got up around 0300 that first morning. Well, I should say that Lucas and Jeff got up around that time. The warm sleeping bag was much too comfortable for me to leave until much closer until 0400. Thankfully, we were able to grab the spots we wanted for the day and started fishing about an hour before the sun would crest the nearby mountains.
Jeff got the party started catching the first fish within the first 2 hours of the day. Things would get quiet for us after that. Lucas and Joe would catch one a few hours later. Then, there was a stretch of about 30 mins where Joe would hook up with four different Lahontan Cutthroats, one of which would be his personal best!
The closest I would get to catching a fish, on day one, would be netting Jeff’s. Day one made it clear that we were going to have to work hard to get fish on our lines.
Sunday March 3, 2024
This morning we’d wake up to a couple of inches of snow. It was cold, windy and when Jeff and I woke up, decided to get back in the sleeping bags and catch up on a little sleep. Lucas and Joe would fish the same area we fished the day before but with no success.
We rendezvoused with them about mid-morning and decided to utilize this day as a scouting day and game plan for the rest of our trip. As we left our camp and drove around the lake, I didn’t think we’d get much fishing in. The weather was supposed to be brutal all day, the worst of the trip.
We made a quick stop at Windless Bay but wasn’t feeling it. In the afternoon, we landed on Popcorn beach, on the South side of the lake. The wind and snow eased up and it became quite nice outside, relatively speaking. We saw a couple of others hooked up and decided to give it a shot.
It was mostly quiet, but patience and persistence would pay off and today would be my day! I hooked up with my first fish of the trip and in the state of Nevada. It took me almost two full days to finally touch one of these ancient fish, but the reward was so sweet!
Overall, this day was tough and that would be our only fish.
Monday March 4, 2024
We would depart from camp a little earlier this day and drive to our fishing spot, in the morning. We had high hopes for rocks off of Spider Point. Early on, I managed to catch a small trout but that would be the most action we would see. Collectively, we weren’t feeling the spot and decided to make a move.
This afternoon would be quite nice, weather-wise. This was the first time of the trip where we were able to sit outside, have a bite to eat, and just shoot the shit with good buddies. We took full advantage.
Fishing-wise, we found ourselves at the North Nets area, just down from Bobber Point. Lucas had some reports of Bobber Point being pretty productive with numerous hook ups. It was pretty crowded, so we decided to stay a bit south of the point and fish a similar shelf.
We walked the ladders out about 200 feet from the shore and fished the shelf. Jeff and I would have very quiet afternoon, but Lucas would have two hook ups stripping a foam beetle. Despite our best efforts, that would be the most action we would get.
This evening, we decided to drive into Sparks, grab some food, thaw out a bit, and gear up for our last day of the trip. Pizza Factory would be our temporary place of refuge. We decided to end where we started, Pelican Point.
After enjoying too much pizza, we drove back to the lake and found our campsite for the night. This night would be the first without wind or snow and we would actually enjoy chatting while sipping coffee.
Tuesday March 5, 2024
This morning wasn’t without hiccup, though. A car would pull up next to us just as out alarms were going off. They rushed around their car and sprinted down to place gear at the spots we had planned to fish.
We gave this group a metaphorical eyeroll and decided to grab “Party Rock,” where Lucas, Jeff, and I could all fish from. It was one of the coolest spots we fished all week and a highly coveted spot. Easy to see why!
I was the first to hook up, here. Giving me 3 days in a row with a fish to hand. However, the highlight of the trip came shortly after, when Jeff hooked into a solid 12-14 lb cutthroat. This seemed like a pretty fitting ending to a tough handful of days fishing.
I’d like to extend a huge thank you to our buddy, Lucas. He worked hard to figure out the best spots to put us in position to catch fish. He was more than generous with giving us flies and other gear and sharing everything he knew about the lake. Our trip would not have been as successful without him, that’s for certain.
While we didn’t catch a ton of fish, I feel like the trip was successful. Anytime you get to fish new water, getting a fish to hand is a success, especially when the fishery is as unique as Pyramid Lake.
Trips like these are special and are about so much more than the fishing. Battling through the elements, laughing through the freezing cold fingers, toes, and gear always builds strong bonds with those you’re with. These memories last forever and will motivate us to make trips like this happen again and as often as possible.
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