BY DAVE HURLEY
SUTCLIFFE, NV – The Lahontan cutthroat bite at Pyramid Lake has been best for shore fishermen, but this will be changing soon as the trout move out of the shallows into open water in a hungry mood.
J.D. Richey of Richey Sport Fishing said, “The bite has been good for the shore anglers as the trout are close to the shorelines. Since they are released at the launch ramps, they return to the area to attempt to spawn. Once they are done with this, they will move back out into open water and get hungry. This is basically the ‘last hurrah’ for the shore anglers while we should be able to whack them on the troll in the coming weeks.”
Miles Zimmerman of Trout Creek Outfitters in Truckee said, “This can be some of the most frustrating times of the year as the majority of fish are focused upon spawning and seem to be mostly uninterested in your flies. When fishing here, you will see thousands of trout swim by you, but they have only one thing on their minds, and it is not eating. We recommend that you not get caught up on the fish that you can see but instead on the ones that you don’t see. This means either stripping streamers or indicator fishing off of drop-offs and focusing upon fish swimming in water deeper than 10 feet. If stripping, we have been finding some fish on bunny leeches and sculpin patterns, especially the more subdued patterns with less flash. Woolly Buggers, Popcorn Beetles, and booby flies are also good fallbacks. Under the indicator, smaller remains better in terms of midges, but definitely don’t count out the standard trout flies such as Copper Johns, Prince Nymphs, or Bird’s Nests. The best action is in the early morning as the air temperatures by the middle of the day are now in the mid-80’s which are both tough on the fisherman and the fish.”
The season for Lahontan cutthroat closes for the summer on June 30, but the lake is open year-round for Sacramento perch with a 10-fish limit.