Pyramid Lake Tuesday/Wednesday

[Terry Thomas]

Two friends and myself fished Pyramid this past Tuesday and Wednesday with Doug Ouellette of Pyramid Lake Guide Service. The fishing was pretty difficult for us on Tuesday as well as all of the anglers around us. We managed to land a few stripping flies. Things really picked up on Wednesday. We were very successful fishing midge patterns without indicators. I can't say enough about Doug, excellent guide and a true gentleman.
BTW, the crowds were not bad when we were there.

[Morgan]

Good to hear you guys had fun out there. The lake can be that way some days slow followed by a great one. You really gotta put your time in. And you can avoid crowds depending on the beaches you choose to fish. And of course weekdays are going to be quieter. It's like any other water shed, you gotta put your time in.

And yes Doug is a very nice gentlemen who knows leaps and bounds about the fishery. A very fun guy to talk with.

[Dick]

Terry,
When you were fishing midges w/o indicator were you using a floating line or sink-tip? Planning a trip up to Pyramid in early May.
Thanks for any "clues".
Dick

[Terry Thomas]

Floater with 10 ft Leader, straight 12 lb fluro. Fish two flies @3ft apart.

[Dick]

Thanks Terry. I would have been too light with the leader. Maybe a good story of "the big one that broke me off"

[ryanerb]

Floater with 10 ft Leader, straight 12 lb fluro. Fish two flies @3ft apart.

Terry, great info! I may be going up soon.

Did you let you flies sit far out or were you constantly retrieving and re-casting them?

When did the fish seem to like to hit it?

-Ryan

[PV_Premier]

Pyramid fish are not particularly leader shy. There is rarely a need to drop below 2x, especially if using fluorocarbon

[Terry Thomas]

Ryan,
Start with an immediate retrieve with short strips. Experiment, each beach is different. You may find that you have to count down and then retrieve. Most important, always fish your flies all the way back to your leader. Check out Doug Ouellette's site, Pyramid Lake Guide Service, for leader info and flies.

[ryanerb]

Ryan,
Start with an immediate retrieve with short strips. Experiment, each beach is different. You may find that you have to count down and then retrieve. Most important, always fish your flies all the way back to your leader. Check out Doug Ouellette's site, Pyramid Lake Guide Service, for leader info and flies.

Great info on that site!

Is it generally accepted that the floater no cator will catch more fish than fishing with an indicator? Or simply just personal preference?

[Terry Thomas]

By far, many more anglers fish indicators and rack up impressive numbers. Watching an indicator just isn't something I enjoy doing.

[ryanerb]

By far, many more anglers fish indicators and rack up impressive numbers. Watching an indicator just isn't something I enjoy doing.

Sounds good. Just got back from Pyramid, wasn't able to try the floater no cator, but got a few fish on the cator, few strippin, and a few on the jig.

[PV_Premier]

Was at Pyramid Saturday evening/Sunday morning.

Saturday evening slow @ Pelican on the rocks. I missed one grab as I was dilly dallying around not watching my bobber. Always seems to happen that way. Only saw a handful of fish caught.

Sunday morning was a little better, in waves. Started at N Nets, nothing from dawn to 7am, and quickly bagged that and went back to Pelican. Stuck 2 from 7:30-8:30, another 2 around 10am and two more at noon before calling it a day and driving back to SMF.

Saw a 10-15# caught by someone else but all my fish were the typical 18-24" variety...and all 6 fish on the same size 10 red chronomid w/ copper bead. Switched my top fly at least 6-8 times and no love at all for anything I tried.

With the main season opening on Saturday this was probably my last trip to the big lake for the season.

[cyama]

"By far, many more anglers fish indicators and rack up impressive numbers. Watching an indicator just isn't something I enjoy doing."
Fishing indicators is a good way to get started on Pyramid. Many days when the fish are chomping your arm will get sore bringing them in. As Ryanerb found out it is best to try different setups. Some days they will be hitting buggers only. Some days they will only eat a beetle and some days they will only hit a jig. The only thing I have figured out in the past two years is keep switching it up until you figure it out and keep casting until your arm is sore from casting or your feet are going numb from standing on a ladder. There is always that hope you will land a ten to twenty pound trout....

[ryanerb]

Thanks for this report! We stuck it out at North Nets Sunday morning and and it was slow all the way until 11am when we left.

I was using Red Mahalo Nymphs, sometimes I wonder if I would have got bit better on a Chronomid instead... Just gotta keep switching it up I suppose!

[Morgan]

Thanks for this report! We stuck it out at North Nets Sunday morning and and it was slow all the way until 11am when we left.

I was using Red Mahalo Nymphs, sometimes I wonder if I would have got bit better on a Chronomid instead... Just gotta keep switching it up I suppose!

Yes I bet you would have done better on chronamids. And with the crazy amount of cold water pouring in from the Truckee I have found that the afternoon bite has been best lately.