Share your catch
US

Pyramid Lake Fishing Report

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

The desert inland sea of giant cutthroat: ladders, beaches and 20-pound possibilities.

2/5
Slow. The wind owns today.30 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.
Lake level
3801.60 ft
Air / High
37 / 41 F
Wind
NNW 13 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 10336500, 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.

2/5Slow. The wind owns today.30 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Pyramid Lake rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. Today brings clear skies, wind NNW around 13 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 41. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:37 AM-11:37 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeGood

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Northern pikeGood

The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Tomorrow: Warmer 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 walleye 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 from PYRAMID LAKE NR NIXON, NV.

No recent gauge reading

USGS 10336500 has not returned a reading for this chart; it comes back when the gauge reports again. Until then conditions are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp37 F
High / Low41 / 35 F
WindNNW 13-14 mph
Pressure1019.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 67%
Sunrise / Sunset07:17 / 18:06
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Pyramid Lake this week

The best day on Pyramid Lake this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

30 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Solunar majors
9:37 AM-11:37 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM
Minor period
4:02 AM-5:02 AM
Sun
07:17 to 18:06
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 30 mph
Rain chance
67%

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

Species guide

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

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

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. The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

When to come: the Pyramid 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
Walleye
Smallmouth bass
Northern pike
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 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 Pyramid 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. 25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Walleye led the card at good. High of 46 F, wind to 25 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 53 F, wind to 17 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 54 F, wind to 13 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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

Tribal permit required (day/season); barbless artificials only; slot protections. Confirm with Pyramid Lake Fisheries.

Access

Shore beaches (Pelican, Windless, Blockhouse...) via tribal permits; boat launches at Pelican and Sutcliffe.

About this water

112,000 acres of terminal desert lake, Paiute Tribe land, NV: home of the rebuilt Lahontan cutthroat giants.

Fishing Pyramid Lake: the full guide

Lahontan legend

Pyramid holds the world's largest cutthroat trout: the recovered Pilot Peak Lahontan strain grows past twenty pounds on tui chub. Anglers fish ladders off the beaches October-June, stripping buggers and balancing leeches under bobbers. It is unlike anywhere else in American trout fishing: literally.

Ladder culture

Pyramid's shore game is unique: anglers cast from ladders planted on the drop-off, stripping buggers and balanced leeches through the cruising lanes. The Pilot Peak strain rebuilt the giants: 10-pounders are weekly, 20s annual. October-June season; winter is prime.

Respect and permits

The lake lies wholly on Paiute tribal land: tribal permits (not Nevada licenses) are required, and regulations protect the recovery that made the fishery famous again. Barbless singles, no bait: the rules that rebuilt a legend.

Ladder culture

Pyramid invented its own technique: anglers stand on ladders in the surf zone, casting flies over the drop-offs where Lahontan cutthroat cruise the shelf. The rebuilt Pilot Peak strain grows two feet long and better: 20-lb fish are annual now. October-June season, with winter's worst weather bringing the biggest fish shallow: a fishery of beautiful masochism unique on earth.

Common questions

Why fish from ladders?

The lake bottom drops steeply from wading depth: ladders put casters above the cruise lane where giants patrol just past the shelf. It looks absurd and works completely.

Do I need a tribal permit at Pyramid?

Yes: the lake sits on Pyramid Lake Paiute land and requires a tribal fishing permit (day or season): buy online or in Sutcliffe. Tribal rules govern everything: read them before rigging your ladder.

Is fishing good at Pyramid Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. The wind owns today. 30 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Nearby waters

Sparks Marina33 miLahontan Reservoir45 miTruckee River47 miStampede Reservoir47 miRye Patch Reservoir72 miEagle Lake77 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 10336500 β€” PYRAMID LAKE NR NIXON, NV
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-01 at 21:01 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.9994, -119.5555 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.
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 guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be 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.