Denis Peirce: Time to Fish Pyramid Lake

October is possibly my favorite month to fish. The fall colors are coming on, the water is cooling and the fish seem to know that winter is on its way, with a need to put on the feed bag.

Being in the third year of a drought makes finding good water quite a bit tougher. To keep our rivers viable we have been drawing down our reservoirs. A case of damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Lake Oroville has only two launch ramps operational, Bidwell and Loafer Creek. Clear Lake is down to one marginal ramp at Lakeport, and Lake Davis’ at 48% full, the ramp is tough but still functioning. For boat anglers the answer can be lakes rather than reservoirs. Waters without the drain plug.

The best fishing within driving distance of home is Pyramid Lake Nevada, north east of Reno. It is the terminus of the Truckee River.

Pyramid is closed to trout fishing during the hot weather months and reopened on October 1. With the possibility of catching a truly huge cutthroat trout, the anglers have shown up in quantity. I am in contact with a number of anglers who have made the trek over the hill and the success has been excellent for those who can get out on the water and fish down to the 60 foot depth range. The water surface temperature varies over the course of a day from 68 up to 72 degrees. The warm layer extends down to the 50′ level. In the annual temperature cycle the lake cools to the middle 50’s sometime in November. This is when the trout and the bait fish move into the shallows and the shore fishermen can do as well or better than the boat anglers.

With the reintroduction of the original cutthroat strain 20 years ago, the size of the cutthroats in Pyramid have taken a dramatic step up. In the late 1990s, a fish over 10 pounds was noteworthy. Today a Pyramid cutthroat can be well into the middle 20 pound range.

Beyond genetics, the basis for such large trout is the food chain, mainly tui chub minnows. Screenshots from fish finders show massive bait balls below the surface with larger individual fish marks indicating feeding cutthroats. Some of the bait balls can be the volume of a two car garage. The key to a successful day on the water is finding bait and fishing close to it.

During these warm water times some anglers are vertically jigging next to the schools of minnows. The trolling anglers are using a variety of spoons, flies and plugs on down riggers to fish close to the schools. There is a group of fly fishing guides from Mammoth who fish heavily weighted fly lines to get down to depth and retrieve their streamer flies vertically up through the water column. This technique is a lot of work but it is successful.

The most popular location has been on the east side of the lake in an area known as “Hell’s Kitchen” or “The Wall” where the bank drops steeply into the lake and depths of 60 to 80 feet are just off shore. The problem with this is that you must cross almost 8 miles of lake to get to the east side. Pyramid Lake is notorious for its wind. The lake can go from a slight breeze to white capped waves in a quarter of an hour. Boats and anglers have been lost annually.

What I have noticed so far this fall is the lack of wind on Pyramid as well as many lakes in the Sierra such as Lake Davis. Yes, there are afternoon breezes but nothing to pose much of a navigation hazard. I recommend using a wind web site to get an idea of what to expect. I use https://www.windfinder.com/ , there are a number of these where you can save locations and get predictions for many days in advance.

Pyramid Lake is on an Indian Reservation and a tribal permit is required, no Nevada license is needed.

If you are a boat angler now is a great time to get over to Pyramid for the chance at a truly huge trout. Shore anglers should watch for cooling water in November.

Denis Peirce writes a fishing column for The Union’s Outdoors section and is host of “The KNCO Fishing & Outdoor Report,” which airs 6-7 p.m. Fridays and 5-6 a.m. Saturdays on 830-AM radio. Contact him via his website at http://www.trollingflies.com