Lake Mead is Nevada's inland sea: America's largest reservoir, home to millions of self-sustaining stripers that boil at dawn against red desert rock. Water levels make headlines; the fishery quietly thrives at every stage.
Reports current for Friday, September 4
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
America's largest reservoir: stripers by the million, smallmouth on the rocks, and a fishery that thrives at any water level.
The desert inland sea of giant cutthroat: ladders, beaches and 20-pound possibilities.
The Sierra's escape artist: Tahoe's outlet river running wild browns through Reno's backyard, with trophy water on both sides of the state line.
Colorado River blue: Mohave runs cold and clear below Hoover, holding striped bass and rainbow trout in the same canyon.
Nevada’s high desert trout lake: Wildhorse grows rainbows, browns and bass at 6,200 feet in the Owyhee country.
The Nevada-California line lake: Topaz opens each January and stocks big rainbows in high desert water.
Nevada’s desert walleye water: Rye Patch holds walleye, wipers and crappie on the Humboldt River.
Nevada’s Carson River lake: Lahontan holds walleye, white bass and catfish an hour from Reno.
Elko’s home water: South Fork holds trout, bass and wipers in a high desert canyon.
Ely’s trophy trout pond: Comins Lake grows big rainbows and browns in eastern Nevada.
The East Fork out of the Sierra: the Carson runs stocked and wild trout into the Nevada desert.
A mountain reservoir above Ely: Cave Lake holds trout at 7,300 feet in eastern Nevada.
Species activity across the state's covered waters. Peak of the year: April.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.
Seasonal surface curve for this state's dominant water type (estimated).
| Water | Type | County | Live gauge | Peak month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Mead | Reservoir | Clark | modeled | Mar |
| Pyramid Lake | Lake | Washoe | USGS | Apr |
| Truckee River | River | Washoe | USGS | Apr |
| Lake Mohave | Reservoir | Clark | USGS | Mar |
| Wildhorse Reservoir | Reservoir | Elko | modeled | Apr |
| Topaz Lake | Lake | Douglas | USGS | Apr |
| Rye Patch Reservoir | Reservoir | Pershing | USGS | Apr |
| Lahontan Reservoir | Reservoir | Churchill | USGS | Apr |
| South Fork Reservoir | Reservoir | Elko | modeled | Mar |
| Comins Lake | Lake | White Pine | modeled | Apr |
| Carson River | River | Douglas | USGS | Apr |
| Cave Lake | Lake | White Pine | modeled | Apr |
Nevada's aquatic estate starts at Mead and Mohave (endless stripers, resurgent bass) but does not end there: Pyramid Lake north of Reno grows the largest cutthroat trout on Earth (Lahontans past 20 pounds, fished from ladders in winter), the Ruby Mountains hide alpine trout lakes, and farm-country reservoirs like Wildhorse produce hefty trout and perch through the ice. The state is a study in extremes: desert stripers and snow-country trout, one license.
October-April: Pyramid's ladder season for giant cutthroat: cold hands, historic fish. Spring: Mead and Mohave bass spawn in the coves while stripers chase shad. Summer: dawn boils on the Colorado chain, alpine hikes in the Rubies. Fall: everything feeds: the desert lakes' best all-around window.
Effectively no for eating-size fish: managers encourage harvest because the population outgrows its forage. Fill the cooler with a clear conscience.