Pyramid Lake fishing report 2-13-14

 Bill with a great fish!!

 13 pounder!

A 17 pound giant about to be released...

Close up of a 16.5 pound cuttie...

Fishing at the Desert Lake is still hit or miss. It seems that there is one or two good days a week followed by lots of very slow days. There are still some great fish being landed as these pics show and if you are there when it goes off it can be epic! Midges seem to have taken over for the balanced leech as the top producer. Dark midges mostly but red still seems to get a grab or two.

The recent heavy rain in the Truckee River Basin brought some much needed fresh water to the lake and muddied up the south end for a few days, but that has cleared up now. The best fishing days are when the wind is blowing out of the southeast, but it is a crap shoot right now.

We are all looking forward to more consistent fishing as spring draws near!

We still have some space available for the Spring Clinic April 19th. Give me a call for more info. 530 414 1655

Pyramid Lake Clinic April 19 2014

 Mugshot of a 11.5# Pilot Peak male

I am pleased to announce that Doug Ouellette (master guide and designer of the "original" Popcorn Beetle) and I will be conducting a clinic at Pyramid Lake on April 19. We will cover access, equipment, stripping and nymphing techniques including indicator(bobber) and no cator, rigging, flies, what beaches to fish, and a whole lot more. This clinic is sure to sell out quickly. Contact myself or Doug(www.calvadaflyfishing.com) to book your spot.

Pyramid is kicking out some amazingly large fish this season and this clinic will help shorten the learning curve and build skills to get into the monsta's. Lookout for more details in the next few days.

Jay

A couple of good days...

After getting beaten down at Pyramid recently, I was able to experience a couple of decent days in a row netting 7 fish each day with the biggest around 9 pounds. The only thing that changed was the wind. A southeast wind around 10mph had the waves going and fish were responding. It was a great reminder of what this lake is like when it is on.

Here are a few pics from a guide trip last weekend. Fishing was tough but the clients were fantastic and we shared lots of laughs in the sand.

 Clay with his first cutthroat.

 Casting at Sand Hole Beach

 Wading an unnamed beach near Cattle Guard

Tools of the trade

 Will with a Cui-ui

 Good morning from Pyramid Lake!

The happy anglers.

With an actual storm on the horizon the fishing should improve somewhat. Water temperatures are in the low 40's and the fish are a bit lethargic but when the wind produces some wave action the fish definitely respond in a favorable way. Hot flies this week were the Popcorn beetle, black wooly buggers, rootbeer and Trojan midges. Fish were in decent numbers at the N Nets with a couple of big fish in the mix. Reports from the southern end of the lake indicate continued slow fishing there, but the chance at a real trophy still exists.

I have some availabilty so if you are looking for guide service give me a call at 530 414 1655

A Real Trophy

The fishing has slowed to a crawl at Pyramid, but my good buddy Rich Moomaw tied into a real bruiser of a cutthroat at Pyramid the other day. His only hooked fish of the day.

Rich was fishing a Moomidge (available from The Fly Shop in Redding) about 21' under a breakaway indicator in 33' of water when this 21# fish took his fly. After a lengthy battle, this fish was corralled in a net that barely contained it. Pics were taken and the fish released to fight another day! Man what a fish!!

Shore fishing is very slow and some fish are being caught by fishers in tubes. Hopefully things pick up soon.

More from Pyramid

 10.5# LCT

11# LCT

 A small but colorful Summit Lake strain fish

 Hook jawed 13# LCT

Weighing a 15.5# LCT in the net

 An 11.5# LCT

This fish was as long as my leg! 34" 17# behemoth!

 16# LCT

An incredible sunrise!

Fishing at Pyramid has entered into a typical winter pattern. Slow fishing with 1-5 fish a day being caught. 1 fish being good and 5 being great. With that said, we are seeing some exceptional fish being landed both on midges and stripping buggers and beetles. Large fish are being caught all over the lake with no one area being better. Cloudy days with some wind and choppy water seems to produce best but I have landed nice fish under calm conditions with bright overhead sun. The key is to fish patterns that you are confident in and heavy tippets and to keep your fly in the water. People do have a tendency to move around a bunch if they don't catch fish right away. I suggest sticking with a spot all day as you never know when fish will come by or hit a couple of spots.

Pyramid Lake

 A few midges on the drying rack...

 A 10# fish caught on a Trojan midge

 An 8# fish being released...

Red skies at dawn...


Pyramid has been fishing very well for December with a number of big fish being caught. Midges are still producing nicely. Beetles and buggers are working as well. I've been spending most of my time on the southern beaches with good access to deeper water but have also done fairly well at the North Nets. There are quite a few anglers out this year on the weekends but the weekdays are pretty quiet. Get out and fish!

Recent outings

 A nice Lake Davis fish...

A sweet MF Feather rainbow

 Casting to a sweet run on the Truckee

 Deep wading and casting to picky trout on the MF Feather

 Nymph box

 A nice Truckee 'bow

 Sweet!

 Pocket water producing!

 Chunky Davis fish

 All smiles on a chilly fall day

 Father and son

Killer Truckee 'bow

 A nice one from the MF Feather

 Camp on the Klamath River

 Yummy bourbon

 The chariot awaits

 Bear Track beach

 Klamath River dry fly eating half pounder steelhead

Hooked up to a hot fish on a great riffle on the Klamath.

Fall fishing has been fantastic in the Northern Sierra. Lake Davis has been hit or miss but when its on its been very good. Sheep Creek Specials have been my go to fly here. The MF Feather has been good with fish eating a variety of presentations. I'm still fishing dry dropper rigs mostly but have had a few dry fly opportunities lately as well.

I spent a week chasing steelhead on the Klamath River with good results. Its looking like a great steelhead season is upon us!