BY Dave Hurley
SUTCLIFFE— The highly anticipated opening for trophy Lahontan cutthroat trout is October 1, and as the Pilot Peak-strain continues to dominate, Pyramid Lake has become an international destination for anglers. The opening months are generally dominated by boat anglers but fly anglers will be out on inflated vessels to take advantage of the big trout holding in deeper water. Anglers must obtain a Tribal Fishing or Boating license as a State of Nevada fishing license is unnecessary. Boats are required to possess current registration from their home state. Permits are available at https://plpt.nagfa.net/online/.
The slot limit for Lahontan cutthroat is 17 to 20 inches or over 24 inches, and you may keep 2 of the smaller sized trout or one small and one large. Only artificial lures are allowed as bait is restricted, and only barbless hooks are allowed, but two singles, two doubles, or two trebles are allowed per lure. There are only 19 guides permitted on the lake, and a list of authorized guides is available at:
SPALDING— Nothing has changed over the past few weeks as the Eagle Lake-strain trout continue to load up on Tui Chub minnows pushed into the ledges along the eastern shore of the lake. Tim Noxon of Fish Traveler Guide Service said, “We are seeing sizes of trout normally reserved for the months of October and November a month early as every fish is running from 3 to 5 pounds. We released a 6-pound trout this week, and it’s been a similar story. We are trolling along the east side of the lake near the Eagle’s Nest, and the trout are corralling the minnows into the ledges. Grebes and pelicans are also on the Tui Chub food wagon, and we are scoring trolling grubs at depths from 8 to 15 feet through the minnow schools. More and more pelicans are showing up. For the first time in many years, bobber fishermen are also scoring along the east side as well. This has been the best fishing in recent memory, and I can’t wait for the coming months as the trout will continue to grow into fat footballs.”
Lake Oroville kicking out huge rainbows
OROVILLE– Huge rainbow trout to 7.5 pounds are showing up within the deep schools of pond smelt at Lake Oroville, and the key is ‘matching the hatch’ and focusing upon the bait fish. Richard Kowski of Brown’s Valley was out on Friday with Frank Cencena and ‘Hawaiian’ Brian trolling small white hoochies tipped with an anchovy fillet behind an 8-inch 360 ‘Kowski Special’ Top Coat dodger at depths from 80 to 100 feet within the schools of pond smelt, and he said, “We found fat rainbows shaped like footballs, and they were loaded with the bait fish. We also landed three king salmon in the 5-pound range in addition to releasing numbers of 8/9-inch kings along the side of the boat. To allow these fish to grow up, we don’t net them as this will knock off their scales, and we just shake them off alongside the boat in the water. The fish shoot right back down to the bottom, and we didn’t experience a single floater. The kings we kept were spitting up bait, and these fish are very healthy. I don’t know if the smaller kings were a result of a natural spawn, but this is a very good sign for the coming years, particularly if we all release the smaller fish.”
Oroville produced numbers of double-digit kings three years ago before slowing down the past few seasons, but with the amount of bait in the lake along with small kings and big rainbows, the future is looking very bright.”
RAINBOW CONNECTION – Frank Cecena with a pair of quality rainbow trout stuffed with pond smelt at Lake Oroville. Photo courtesy of Richard Kowski.
