I took a drive out to the lake this evening, prior to the Tribal Council Meeting, and it looked so peaceful. There was not a single soul anywhere on the lake. However, that changes tomorrow, and there will be an all-out onslaught on the trophy Lahontan Cutthroat of this magical place. Their time of solitude is over, but they will still have plenty of places to hide from us.
After over a month of anticipation Pyramid Lake re-opens tomorrow, although it is not the entire lake, there will be fishing! None of this would be possible without the efforts of The Pyramid Lake Tribe, NDOT, The Red Cross, and everyone else who helped get it to its current state. There was over $10 million dollars of damages to the Lake and there is still a lot of work yet to be done in order for the lake to re-open fully.
I drove along the damaged stretch of Highway 446 and almost all the highway work seems to be done, except for a few places near Cattleguard Beach. However, the roads down to all the beaches are still severely damaged and are not ready for the public. The tribe has opened a small section along the west shore, from North Nets to Shot Dog, for the time being. The roads to these beaches are still damaged, so be careful out there. If you decide to go out, be respectful of all the hard work, i.e., don’t dig huge ruts in the newly grated roads…we want these access points to stay open.
(Click on the above image to zoom.)
Here are a few of the beaches within the open area that you can check out starting tomorrow.
The North Nets road looks great and there is very little change to the beach itself. There are some mounds and dips, but nothing a truck or SUV can’t handle. This is a great beach and can support a huge number of fisherman. The old standby of stripping a black wooly worm with a popcorn beetle should do the trick.
Separator beach looks great as well, the road has been freshly grated. However, be a bit more cautious here as the mud is quite thick and slimy; two-wheel drive vehicles are not suggested. The beach itself doesn’t look changed much and can support many fisherman as well. Both stripping and indicator fishing work well here.
Pelican Beach has a paved road that is in perfect shape, however you can no longer drive a vehicle down to the beach. Anglers who want to fish here must carry their gear down the beach, so there may be a spot or two open there tomorrow.
Windless Bay is another option with a freshly grated road. It is also a bit slick, so be cautious. Be sure to look out for the orange construction tape surrounding the large washouts on either side of the bay, the one on the south side is a good twenty to forty feet wide and near ten feet deep. The beach appears smooth, however there are some new mounds and dips. Stripping and indicator fishing work well here.
See you out there tomorrow, I will report back shortly with more pictures of the beach access, and an update of how the fishing is!