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Comins Lake Fishing Report

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

Comins Lake: a 410-acre NDOW lake south of Ely with stocked trout, largemouth bass and northern pike that must be killed when caught.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~47 F est.
Air / High
48 / 48 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.

Comins Lake fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. Today brings cloud cover, wind NW around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 48. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:18 AM-11:18 AM and 9:47 PM-11:47 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.

Largemouth bassGood

Below about 50Β°F feeding slows sharply, Iowa DNR notes; use small, slow baits near deep cover and fish the warmest part of the day.

Northern pikeGood

Ice season: tip-ups with live bait near weed beds; where water stays open, slow live-bait presentations.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 53 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 temp48 F
High / Low48 / 35 F
WindNW 9-10 mph
Pressure1015.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain88% cloud, 20%
Sunrise / Sunset06:57 / 17:49
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 Comins Lake this week

Today is the pick of the week on Comins 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
9:18 AM-11:18 AM and 9:47 PM-11:47 PM
Minor period
3:42 AM-4:42 AM
Sun
06:57 to 17:49
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 18 mph
Rain chance
20%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Comins 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.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. Below about 50Β°F feeding slows sharply, Iowa DNR notes; use small, slow baits near deep cover and fish the warmest part of the day.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. Ice season: tip-ups with live bait near weed beds; where water stays open, slow live-bait presentations.

When to come: the Comins 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
Largemouth bass
Northern pike
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 Comins Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 24 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 59 F, wind to 24 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 61 F, wind to 17 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 62 F, wind to 16 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 2026 rules for Comins Lake: open all year, any hour; 5 trout and 5 black bass; northern pike must be killed, no limit. Water skiing only from 11 a.m. to sunset, flat wake at other hours.

Access

Boat ramp, dock, vault restrooms and covered picnic tables (NDOW). Camping and fires are not allowed on the Steptoe Valley WMA.

About this water

A 410-acre reservoir, maximum depth 15 feet, on the Steptoe Valley Wildlife Management Area 7 miles south of Ely off Highway 6/50, White Pine County, Nevada.

Fishing Comins Lake: the full guide

Lake and management

Comins Lake was created in 1953 when the realignment of Highway 93 formed its dam, says NDOW, and the department acquired it with the 3-C Ranch in 1999; it sits on the Steptoe Valley Wildlife Management Area. NDOW's 2026 angler guide gives 410 surface acres, a maximum depth of 15 feet and an average of 8, and manages it as both a quality coldwater and a quality warmwater fishery.

Trout and bass

Rainbow, brown and tiger trout are stocked every year; in 2025 that meant 20,394 rainbows, 8,532 browns and 3,677 tiger trout. NDOW says rainbows well over 20 inches and 3 to 5 pounds are not uncommon, with trout fishing best from March through June and in October and November. Largemouth bass are self-sustaining and average about 11.5 inches, with 17-inch fish documented; the best bass water is the south part of the lake.

Northern pike

Illegally introduced pike devastated the trout and bass twice, and NDOW chemically treated the lake in 1989 and again in summer 2015. Pike are present again: in 2025 suppression work found fish from 6.5 to 44.5 inches, and several pike over 20 pounds were caught. Since 2026 any pike caught must be killed, with no limit on how many may be kept. The lake receives year-round flow from Steptoe Creek but can drop 30 to 40 inches a year to evaporation.

Common questions

How large do the Comins Lake trout grow?

NDOW says rainbow trout well over 20 inches and 3 to 5 pounds are not uncommon; during 2025 pike work, rainbows averaged 15 to 18 inches.

Why was the lake treated?

NDOW treated it in 1989 and 2015 because illegally introduced northern pike devastated the trout and bass; pike have since returned, and anglers must now kill any pike they catch.

When is trout fishing best?

NDOW's guide says March through June and again in October and November.

Is fishing good at Comins 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

Cave Lake7 miRuby Lake82 miSouth Fork Reservoir117 miMinersville Reservoir124 miPanguitch Lake153 miOtter Creek Reservoir165 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.1469, -114.8039 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 7, 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 7, 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.