A couple '26 goals: fish new spots and catch new species - Pyramid Lake

I joined some friends who make the trip to Pyramid quite often. It was nice to have a "guide" on my first trip. My expectations were low as the weather forecast was pretty nice for the first 3 days of our trip - last Thursday - Saturday. We were all looking forward to Sunday and Monday - clouds, wind and new moon. It was indeed nice when we arrived around 2:00 on Thursday afternoon. We set up camp and started fishing (just from the bank - no ladders needed) pretty quickly. By 3 my friend was hooked up and actually landed 3 by 4:30 - me not a grab. We then packed up and headed to his favorite low light beach for the evening bite. The weather was quite pleasant so my expectations were still low. HOWEVER, my first cast produced this - not a bad first Lahontan Cutthroat!

Day1-04 first lahontan.jpg

This flop shot gives you some idea of how wide this fish was.

Day1-05 first lahontan.jpg

We didn't have a scale with us, but the guess was around 15 pounds. Soon after I got this smaller (maybe 25 inches) Pilot strain fish. Both ate the classic white/chartreuse popcorn beetle on the strip.

Day1-08 Popcorn Beetle.jpg

It was very nice to get the trip skunk off on the first day!

My luck continued the next morning with this 31" Summit strain fish - easily over 10 pounds followed by another smaller Pilot. This shit is easy!

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My boot is a size 14.
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Then reality set in. I didn't get another grab until Saturday afternoon.

Friday mid morning we left the beach to fish the rocky areas on the north end of the lake - all the rocks were taken - lots of people up there. We fished a beach and explored some unoccupied rocky areas - too shallow. We got back to camp to see if the mid afternoon bite would happen again - nope. Fishing the beach near camp was tough Friday evening and Saturday morning. Conditions were tough - sun and no wind.

Day3-01 Moonrise.jpg

Rocks up north again crowded mid day Saturday. We walked down to one spot and spent a good bit of time there with no action. I started taking pics of the strange tufa formations on the rocks. Pretty unique environment.

Day3-03 Tufa.jpg

Day3-04 Tufa.jpg

The walk back to the truck
Day3-07 Hike Out.jpg

I don't like fishing an indicator. I have had some success but not much. Saturday afternoon back at camp I was committed to fishing an indicator until I caught a fish. I caught 4! This small Pilot was the first

Day3-08 First Indo Fish.jpg

This 6.5 pound Summit was the best one of the evening.

Day3-09 Bigger Indo Fish.jpg

Sunday morning conditions were not too bad - a little chop on the water. I lost one small fish stripping and a friend caught a big Pilot - maybe just shy of 10 pounds. Then the weather just got really beautiful. The weather that was forecast to roll in was late. We fished hard but in conditions like this, we took a mid afternoon break.

Day4-06 Ladders.jpg

The evening bite never happened - skunking for 3 out of the 4 guys on the trip.

Monday morning the weather was starting to show up. This was taken after I landed a small fish on a tan over white balanced minnow that produced 3 of my 5 indicator fish.

Day5-01 Sunrise.jpg

Fishing was tough for the next couple hours so I packed up and headed home.

It was a fun trip. I don't think I will be making the 6.5 hour drive multiple times a year, but I do have some things I want to try to see if I can break the code a little better.
 
There has to be a way to get from 2 fish a day to 5!

It sounds like you moved to several spots during each day? A lot of the regulars don’t move at all during the day and grind out the slow periods, with the idea that they are fishing when the fish move through not driving.
 
You are missing a beer cupholder! Can you have 2 rods rigged differently but only fish one at a time and just have a one rod stamp or if you bring out 2 rods you need 2 stamps? I have 3 stripping baskets each condition specific. They make a real difference. I think march is a good time to get out there too. I need to plan better or other nonsense fills my calendar.
if you are only fishing one rod at a time you don't need the 2 rod permit
 
It sounds like you moved to several spots during each day? A lot of the regulars don’t move at all during the day and grind out the slow periods, with the idea that they are fishing when the fish move through not driving.
Yeah. I was thinking about this on the drive home. I am sure this is the best strategy, but damn it is painful
 
Most excellence, that place is on my bucket list... How do you tell the difference between the Summit and Pilot fish? Markings or fight?
You can tell by the fight. Pilot peak fish will take you into your backing and give you line burn on ur hand. Summit fish are much more docile.
 
@CanoeGuy
Awesome report!

Pyramid is a crazy place…lots of ups,and downs. I think you encapsulated how you can feel like you’ve got it dialed, and then………sometimes you can be next to someone, using the exact same thing, and they are hooking up consistently while ur skunked….ive been on both sides of that one. I always attributed it to how the fish were cruising the drop off.

We used to enjoy people watching at the pelican boat launch….always entertaining

I much prefer to fish indo with nymphs. Both those big fish were caught on big snow cones….if you zoom in on the summit fish you can see the white bead in its mouth.

When I lived down there I didnt fish Pyramid a ton. I’d try to time it when I knew I could fish Indos on the drop off. There’s other places in the greater Reno/Tahoe area I liked to prowl around…..lot less people too.
 
It sounds like you moved to several spots during each day? A lot of the regulars don’t move at all during the day and grind out the slow periods, with the idea that they are fishing when the fish move through not driving.
It can be a grind for sure. It’s a well suited fishery for steelhead guys….
 
Forget any "cracking the code'. Its the P. Moodiest biters of any fish I have ever chased. Some trips are great, others just ok, and some are total busts. Couple of years ago 4 of us went. Fished 3 days. Landed 5 fish between us. Now one of those was 18# but talk about slow. Its just how those fish roll.
 
I have lots of buddies that fish Pyramid regularly and @ifsteve describes it perfectly. I fished Pyramid a few years ago for the first time. I went with a buddy and my grandson and we fished 2 1/2 days, caught a few, nothing huge. Chase outfished my buddy and I so between that and spending time with both of them, the trip was a great success. The whole ladder, bobber, crowds, etc etc is just not for me. I will probably never go back. That said, it's a gorgeous spot, a unique fishery and I am glad I tried it the one time.

pyramid4.jpg

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I’m curious why more people don't fish the drop offs from boats…instead of ladders from the shore…
 
Me too, why aren't more boats being used????
My buddies say that boats are required to stay at least 250 feet from shore anglers. Plus once the wind comes up, Pyramid can become jackass in a heartbeat. It's a big lake with its own environment. I saw a few the days were were there - but only 2 or 3.
 
My buddies say that boats are required to stay at least 250 feet from shore anglers. Plus once the wind comes up, Pyramid can become jackass in a heartbeat. It's a big lake with its own environment. I saw a few the days were were there - but only 2 or 3.
saw a dude with stalled out motor get blown across and have to be rescued. The wind is no joke out there.

Personally, I always liked that the boat guys can’t crowd the shore guys. The boat guys can go find bait balls and fish those. That’s often what they do. Shore guys obviously can’t do that. It’s a funky place. It’s not for everyone, myself included, aside from a handful of trips in the spring and maybe a winter trip when my normal haunts were not fishable.
 
There are certain spots you can fish from shore without getting in the water…..that’s my style out there. Especially in the winter.
 
What's "Camp" like? Is camping at the lake, near shore a thing?

Thanks in advance,

Mark
Wide open camping on the beaches….not everywhere is “open” though. Since it’s on the Reservation, everything is dictated by them. They have regs on their site.

Pelican is a popular place to camp.

Another thing is to be aware of is the sand. You can bury a rig pretty easy.
 
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So…what are the other spots on your list for ‘26?
My retirement date is May 4th and my campervan is very close to being done - it has been usable for a couple years but no more shop time needed. With all that free time, I will hit quite a few spots in Oregon that are more than a day trip from Bend. I plan to buy a Washington license and get me a tiger musky and chum. I have not caught a carp either so the Columbia for that. Might hit the North Umpqua in a couple weeks? Or maybe some random lake out east. Would like to go to the Owyhee but don't have time right now - maybe in April.

The only international trip planned right now is an August/Sept visit to Pluma Lodge in Bolivia - been on my list for a long time and I am more than a little excited!
 
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