The 2009-2010 Pyramid season is off to a very exciting start. It appears that the Tui-Chub, the main baitfish in the lake had a very good spawn this year. The lake is loaded with very trout friendly sized bait, and the fish are putting on the pounds. Fish are running heavier per inch than they usually do, and they are fat and fighting well. At this time last season, one fish over ten pounds had been weighed in at Crosby's Lodge. One month into the current season, there has been a 15.6 Lber weighed in, two 14.5's, a few 12's, and a couple of 11's and 10's.
Fishing has been best from a boat, as it typically is in the fall. At least one ten pounder was taken from shore by a guy tossing a spoon. Fly fisherman typically struggle at this time of the year, and this year has been no exception. It is kind of ironic, in the spring fly fisherman will catch the bulk of the fish, and undoubtedly the largest fish. In the fall, fly fisherman will struggle to catch fish, and most of their fish will be slot sized 17-20" fish.
For boat fisherman, the season starts out with wide open jigging action. It is not impossible to have 100+ fish days, and you may encounter a large fish or two mixed in. If water conditons are warm in the 65-70+ degree range expect a very good jig bite. As the water cools into the lower 60's and into the 50's, the jigging bite will get progressively tougher. The huge schools of bait that were present at the beginning of the season are beginning to disperse, and trolling will become more productive. Once water temps get into the low 50's, trolling scores will drastically go down. On the upside, you will catch fewer fish but they will likely be on the large size. When the water temps get into the lower 40's even trolling will get tough. At that time, usually in December or January, a few very large fish will begin showing around the "Nets." Fly and jig fisherman on ladders will get some big fish. January and December are characterized by long stretches between bites, but some brutes will be caught. If you are lucky enough to get bit, chances are good that you may hook a good one.
Undoubtedly, the hot producer this season had been the 4" size Lyman in various colors. Lahontan Cutthroat usually like bright colors and it is a good idea to have some flamboyant patterns on hand. Cutthroat usually prefer Lymans trolled around 3-3.5 MPH, but sometimes stopping or gunning your speed can trigger strikes. There will be days that the fish like a fast trolled lure, and there will be days that they will only respond to a slowly trolled Flatfish. Day in day out, the Sting King by Pro-Troll is a a solid producer. It is a good middle ground between zipping Lyman's along or grinding Flatfish. They work great between 2.2-2.7 MPH; a great speed for keeping your gear in the strike zone and being able to cover a reasonable amount of water.
All in all, this is shaping up to be a very good season. The red hot bite period of big numbers of fish will likely be shorter than last yea. Water temps are already running 4-5 degrees less than this time last year. November should be a good month for good numbers of fish, and few toads will be mixed in as well.
Best of luck, Mike McNeilly
