Pyramid Lake

Pyramid Lake is managed by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, not the state. The Tribe's fisheries department requires a tribal permit from age 12, returns trout under 17 inches and from 20 to 24 inches (fork length), and has rangers check that barbs are pinched down. Bait is prohibited. The tribal regulations effective October 2021 set two trout a day, only one 24 inches or longer, and one rod with up to two hooks per permit.

The rig story belongs to Arlo Townsend, a Reno guide on Guided EP # 14, published July 10, 2020. Arlo called March peak time, with April and May close behind, and said to fish the shelf where shallow water drops into 10 to 25 feet. With no trees or real ledges, that edge is the only cover big cutthroat have, so they cruise it around the lake. His normal setup: a 5-weight, 11-foot trout spey rod with a 360-grain floating line, a 3.5 to 4-foot butt of 25-pound mono to a micro swivel or tippet ring, an indicator, about 7 feet of 3X fluorocarbon to the first midge, and 18 to 23 inches to the second, both on non-slip loop knots. To strip flies he switched to a single-hand rod and a 25 to 30-foot sinking head. He also said it was rare to find a barbless fly among those he picked up around the lake, so check yours.

Ladders are part of the local method; tribal rules require them to be attended, tagged with owner details and out of the water by the end of legal hours. The Tribe's 2026-27 regulation changes list the Truckee within the Reservation, and the lake within a 1.25-mile radius of the river mouth, as closed, so check the map before you pick a beach.

Truckee River

The Truckee runs about 110 miles from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake, and NDOW manages about 40 of them between the California line and the Reservation. Rainbow and brown trout lead, with stocked Lahontan cutthroat and mountain whitefish. Arlo called it his main venue: about 75 percent of his guiding. The general limit is 3 game fish. From the East Mustang Road bridge (I-80 Exit 23) to Derby Dam it is artificial lures with single barbless hooks and 1 trout; the 1-trout limit also applies from 1,000 feet below Derby Dam to the Reservation line. NDOW's reports favor big stonefly and mayfly nymphs and large streamers in deep runs.

East and West Walker Rivers

NDOW says East Walker fish numbers are highest upstream near Rosaschi Ranch, where they spawn naturally, and that The Elbow is popular with fly anglers. Irrigation runs about April to October at 200 to 500 cfs, which makes wading difficult; winter flows of 20 to 50 cfs are easier, with streamers and bigger nymphs the best bet. The limit is 5 trout, except a catch and release section around the Red Wash Creek confluence, artificial lures with single barbless hooks only; read the exact boundaries in the 2026 Western Region rules. The West Walker is mostly private, with public water at Hoye Canyon and Wilson Canyon, and is generally wadeable from November through early April.

Ruby Lake, South Fork Reservoir and the Ruby Mountains

Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a spring-fed marsh at about 6,000 feet in Elko County. NDOW says trout there typically top 15 inches, and points fly anglers to dark Woolly Buggers near Brown Dike. The Collection Ditch holds rainbow, tiger and brown trout averaging 14 to 20 inches: artificial lures only and, per NDOW, no wading, in the open sections only. South Fork Reservoir, 1,640 acres, holds rainbows around 16 inches, bowcutts usually over 19 inches and wipers of 6 to 12 pounds. In the Rubies, Travel Nevada counts fish in more than a dozen lakes, and NDOW's Angel Lake, at 8,000 feet, is stocked with brook, rainbow and tiger trout and usually accessible from June to the first heavy snows.

Lake Mead and Lake Mohave

NDOW rates Lake Mead stripers most productive from May to December, when fish push shad to the surface in boils. Mohave's best window is April through November, early and late in the day; its upper 20 miles sit in Black Canyon, kept cold by Hoover Dam releases. Nevada's 2026 rules set no size or number limit on stripers at either lake, but the Colorado River below Davis Dam has a 10-striper limit. NDOW does not cover fly tackle here, so the fly plan is ours: a shad-profile Clouser or Deceiver for boils. Summer can reach 115 degrees, so carry water.