Pyramid Lake - Sunday February 8th 2015

Seeing as the river was blown out, and I was feeling like a good float I followed Thomas' lead and hit Pyramid Lake yesterday.  Lots of local reports indicating the late bite is as good as if not better than the early bite, so I elected to spare my sleep and end the day on the water.  I pulled up to North Nets beach at about 2pm and it was hip to hip like an ocean pier.  As I drove up the beach to the north end there was a point where the guys on ladders where almost doing the wave, setting hooks as I drove by, had to be a good sign. I parked at the end of the line and got my self rigged up on the pontoon.   Getting set up was uncommonly anxious, one fella hauled in a good 10lb cutt and a handful of other guys pulled in fish too.

I was trying something new on Sunday, pulling a page from the Pacific salmon folks who you'll see on TV fishing a fly rod but using heavy trolling tackle.  I had it scaled down a bit to the standard bugger lead trailing a beetle but above the bugger I added a couple beads, clevis with willow leaf spinner blade and then a couple more beads.   Being on the toon boat I wasn't worried about trying to cast the added weight but after fishing it all day, casting the rig wasn't overly unwieldy.  Add some wind and I might sing a different tune thought.

The rig's trial run started out silly, pulling the first fish in as I was stripping my line out.  I hadn't even eclipsed the line of ladders with my stack.   A float to the south end and back over the course of an hour didn't produce any more action so I went to the north point of the beach where there wasn't anyone fishing so I could get in some shallower water and not piss off anyone stuck on a ladder.  Floating parallel to the beach in a water that would be reachable by ladder was the ticket, boating two more fish, losing another and few strikes that didn't hook up.

By 6pm it was past legal light so I headed back to the beach and drove home.  The rain was so torrential it was a tough drive, literally terrifying.  It rained the whole time on the water too with perfect wind, couldn't ask for better Pyramid Lake fishing weather.

Key points:

• I don't know if the spinner blade rig vastly improved the activity but it certainly didn't hurt and casting it from a ladder wouldn't likely be the hardest thing you'll do.  After all, your already standing on a ladder in four feet of water whipping a stack of hooks around your head, just add a toaster and it'll make the dangerous jobs list.
• Big fish were getting caught, I was just hooking up with the average broads a-plenty.
• The afternoon bite and extra sleep were worth the wait.  The weather was perfect for fishing at Pyramid, bad for sun bathing or being warm.  I'd take the fishing weather any day though.
• The river peaked at about 2000CFS earlier today, suffice to say there will be a lot of extra food in there but the fishing will be tough for a minute.  All of that water was after they cut the flows out of Boca so pat yourself on the back , Pacific Ocean, you may have saved the Truckee River from turning in to a cobblestone walking path this summer.  Forecasts are calling for temps around 60 with little to no wind so the morning / afternoon sessions out at Pyramid may be your best bet until the chocolate fondue that is the Truckee River returns to water mode.  

-Bobby