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Cave Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A 32-acre trout reservoir in Cave Lake State Park near Ely, stocked with rainbows and holding wild brown trout.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~47 F est.
Air / High
40 / 42 F
Wind
NW 9 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Cave Lake fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. Today brings a mixed sky, wind NW around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 42. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:17 AM-11:17 AM and 9:46 PM-11:46 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Similar at 46 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Nevada requires a fishing licence from age 12, from $40.00 for residents. What a Nevada licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with NDOW before you keep anything. The season dates for Nevada, read off the agency, are on the Nevada seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp40 F
High / Low42 / 33 F
WindNW 9-13 mph
Pressure1015.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain31% cloud, 31%
Sunrise / Sunset06:56 / 17:48
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Cave Lake this week

Today is the pick of the week on Cave Lake, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:17 AM-11:17 AM and 9:46 PM-11:46 PM
Minor period
3:41 AM-4:41 AM
Sun
06:56 to 17:48
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 15 mph
Rain chance
31%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Cave Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Cave Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Cave Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 51 F, wind to 22 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 55 F, wind to 19 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 56 F, wind to 15 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Nevada requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Nevada fishing license; NDOW's license page lists no separate trout stamp. Check the current NDOW fishing regulations for limits. State park fees apply.

Access

Cave Lake State Park off US 93 (Success Summit Road) near Ely: improved ramp and dock, flat-wake boating at 5 mph or less, Elk Flat and Lake View campgrounds.

About this water

A 32-acre, 60-foot-deep reservoir in Cave Lake State Park, White Pine County, Nevada.

Fishing Cave Lake: the full guide

The reservoir

Cave Lake covers 32 acres inside Cave Lake State Park in White Pine County, with an average depth of 25 feet and a maximum of 60 feet (NDOW). Cave Creek feeds it and Steptoe Creek drains it; NDOW says both creeks hold wild brown trout.

Rainbows and browns

NDOW's year-to-date stocking totals for the lake list 26,443 rainbow trout and 1,134 brown trout, including a spring plant of 21,169 rainbows averaging 8.9 inches. Expect 8- to 11-inch rainbows and the occasional 9-inch brown; a few browns over 20 inches remain from before the lake was drawn down for dam repairs. Cave Lake produced Nevada's state-record brown trout, 27 pounds 5 ounces, in 1984.

Ice fishing

NDOW calls ice fishing popular from December through March, while Nevada State Parks gives December to February and says the ice can reach 24 inches in the coldest weeks. Most park roads are paved and kept clear, though plowing can lag a day or two behind a storm.

Park rules and facilities

Motorboats are allowed but may not exceed 5 mph (flat wake). NDOW lists an improved ramp, a dock, a fish-cleaning station, restrooms and showers; State Parks runs the Elk Flat campground from May to mid-October and Lake View all year. Day-use, boat-launch and camping fees apply, with lower rates for Nevada vehicles.

Common questions

Can I use a motor?

Yes, at flat wake: Nevada State Parks limits motorboats on the lake to 5 mph.

When is the ice fishing?

Roughly December into March. NDOW says December through March and State Parks says December to February, so check ice conditions with the park before you go.

Are there big brown trout?

A few. NDOW reports some browns over 20 inches that carried over from before the dam-repair drawdown, but most catches are 8- to 11-inch stocked rainbows.

Is fishing good at Cave Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Comins Lake7 miRuby Lake83 miSouth Fork Reservoir118 miMinersville Reservoir119 miPanguitch Lake149 miOtter Creek Reservoir160 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.1700, -114.6800 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.