February is proving to be huge fish month once again as the massive cutthroat that roam Pyramid lake Nevada venture into the shallows to suck down midges and drop bobbers.  This past week we have had a few insane days with some incredible numbers and truly astonishing cutthroat hitting the net.  The growth on these fish is downright mind boggling and the power posed in these massive tailed trout makes one giddy like a little kid on Christmas morning. 

I had the absolute pleasure of tussling with the biggest trout I’ve ever got to hand and it made my jaw chatter, tearing yawns started to develop, but like a grown little kid I managed to hold them back. 

The afternoon was heating up.  The fish begin dropping that little orange ball a bit more frequently.  A quick crappie twitch of the bobber generally grabs the fishes attention.  And it often shows it’s already in their mouth and most don’t notice that subtle stall out of the bobber.  After countless hours and days on end of staring at the bobber you begin to notice how it dances in the riffles.  Anything out of the ordinary grabs your attention when you live shooting lasers into your bobber.  I gave that bobber a quick twitch and adios she went.  My indicator sunk hard!  I set the hook and my fly line ripped off the water as the fish tore hard south.  After about a 40 yard run it rolled at the top and moved a nice bit of water.  And off he went!  I’ve never seen the bottom part of my reel so quickly.  This boy took off in a hurry and had me stressing in a hurry.  As I could briefly count the wraps of backing disappearing I noticed it was slow him down to try and turn him.  Or loose all my backing, fly line, flies and this pissed of Goliath at the end of my line.  I palmed that large Evo R salt spool and put some pressure on him.  And like a bat outta hell he flipped around and turned on the after burners right back at me.  We all know you can’t strip backing so I cranked that handle and applied hard side pressure north to maintain as much pressure as possible ti keep that sz14 in his mouth.  After two more hefty runs back into backing he finally presented himself.  Nico was already behind me with net in hand and we somehow got lucky.  The fish let me direct him in towards my net man and into the bag he went.  Teamwork allowed for a quick net job as soon as he presented himself.  As he hit the bag the little midge came right out and the biggest ear to ear grin appeared on my face.  Hugs were given, high fives followed and I was as content as can be.  Yes the fish we’re still going ham.  Bobbers we’re dropping every cast.  It was one of those magical days.  Yet after my 8th fish, my new pb I was happier than ever to sit lakeside and watch the boys stick fish after fish.  Even after well over a decade this lake still gives me the jitters, cold sweats and excitement as the first day I came here.  Pyramid lake I love you.

As we slide closer to spring we are seeing the crowds grow and the numbers of fish and big fish caught also rise.  Although it’s still fishing and this lake is a highly weather driven fishery.  Anaho island across from Sutcliffe is the biggest breeding ground in North America for the Great white Pelican.  So on the glassy high sun days the bite window is trypically a bit smaller as they are wary from the big predator birds. 

Clouds and wind are your friend when fishing this large inland sea.  Fish are beginning to concentrate around the middle of the lake a bit more as they prepare for spawn.  That being said they are still being caught all over the lake.

The bobber bite will always remain king this time of year as our flies are always fishing in the zone.  Midges are a much more prevalent food source as the fish can swim around like a whale eating plankton.  Mouth open, sucking down bigs as they ride the lakes currents.  The strip bite has also picked up a bit.  It never hurts to stay entertained and swap back between the two rigs throughout the day to keep the fish guessing.

As March draws nearer the bite continues to improve as the schools of fish get thicker and larger.  It’s been a wild February and it’s only getting better.  This next week we have a few storm systems sliding in that’s gonna really heat things up.  That being said, we have a few prime dates open in February and March.  Give us a call and let’s get you out on the water chasing the world’s largest trout.  After all, you can’t catch them from the couch.