Fly Fishing for Nevada Native Trout

Nevada hosts a good number of native trout and other salmonids, including chars and whitefish.  This includes four subspecies of the Lahontan cutthroat trout, two subspecies of the Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout, two subspecies of redband trout, the bull trout, and the mountain whitefish.

Their combine native ranges encompasses all of northern Nevada.  However, to catch all ten of these natives within the drainages of their native waters only requires visiting at least 4 counties: Washoe, Humboldt, Pershing, and Elko.  However, visiting additional counties will make it a lot easier.

The Nevada Native Fish Slam has only requires 6 of these to be caught.  One Lahontan cutthrout trout and one redband trout, regardless of their respective subspecies, will do.  And catches anywhere in the state count.  So, for instance, a Lahontan cutthroat trout caught down in Clark County counts though no subspecies of Lahontan cutthroat trout are native to that county.   It is actually possible to complete the slam by just fishing one county, Elko County!

Note that some native trout fisheries, such as Pyramid Lake, are on tribal lands.  Tribal regulation apply when fishing on tribal land.

Lahontan Cutthroat Trout

The Lahontan cutthroat trout (O.  henshawi) is one of four species of cutthroat trout that comprise the cutthroat trout complex.  Their native range includes the remnants waters of ancient Lake Lahontan, including the Carson, Humboldt, Quinn, Truckee, and Walker rivers as well as Summit Lake basin which from time-to-time has been connected to the Lake Lahontan.  The Lahontan cutthroat range extends into the Alvord Lake basin and the Coyote Lake basin, including the Willow and Whitehorse drainages.  While most of their native range is located in northern Nevada, their native range extends into eastern California and southeastern Oregon.

 The Lahontan trout currently has six recognized subspecies, four of which are native to Nevada:

• Lahontan cutthroat trout (O. h. henshawi), the type subspecies;

• Humboldt cutthroat trout (O. h. humboldtensis);

• Quinn River cutthroat trout (O.  h. ssp.); and

• Alvord cutthroat trout (O.  h. alvordensis), presumed extinct,

The term Lahontan cutthroat trout can refer to collective to the species, including all six subspecies, or specifically to the type subspecies. The Nevada Department of WIldlife (NDOW) typically uses the term to refer to species and all of its six subspecies including in fishing regulations and stocking reports.

If you want a lake-form Lahontan cutthroat trout for the slam, pick up one at Pyramid Lake or one of the many lakes out in Elko County.  If your after a stream-form Lahontan cutthroat trout for the slam, your best bet is one of the streams holding Humboldt cutthroat trout in Elko County.

When fishing for cutties in streams, I've typically just put on a small (#16 or #18) Elk Hair Caddis or other high floating small dry fly.  They'll eat it most every time so long as it is presented well (e.g., a nice dead drift) and they haven't been spooked.  As they can be spooked fairly easily, especially in meadow sections that I prefer to fish, I typically use a soft, upstream presentation with a sufficiently long leader so I can get the fly above them while landing fly line itself well downstream of the target fish.

When fishing for cutties in small, shallow lakes, I like to fish from shore and sight cast dry flies to cruisers.  They can be picky so matching the hatch that they are actively eating is important. 

For large lakes such as Pyramid Lake, I've had my best luck fishing baitfish patterns: either Tui chub streamer patterns or Cui-ui lake sucker balanced patterns.  The former I fish with a sinking line or tip depending on the depth desired.  The latter I fish under a bobber.  If the water is choppy, you can chuck it and leave it.  If still, twitch the bobber and let settle, repeat until you need to recast.  I recommend Jan's ties.

These fishing technics work fine for Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout, too.

Lahontan Cutthroat Trout

The Lahontan cutthroat trout is native to the western portion of Lahontan basin, including the Carson, Truckee, and Walker river basins and the Summit Lake basin. 

Pyramid Lake is home of the massive lake-form catches... with 20 pounders being caught almost daily.   Tahoe Lake is stocked occasionally but they tend to get eaten pretty quickly by non-native fish, like lake trout (a.k.a. Mackinaw), that are reside in the lake.  While Marlette Lake holds Lahontan cutthroat trout as well, it is currently closed to fishing.

Finding them in stream-form is a bit of a challenge.  While stocked up and down the Truckee River, these get chewed up pretty quickly by resident non-native trout, namely large brown and rainbow trout.  The Lockwood area east of Reno is probably your best bets to get into one on the Truckee River.

There are a few remote small streams in western Nevada where Lahontan cutthroat trout can be found.  These typically required high-clearance 4x4 vehicles to reach.

Humboldt Cutthroat Trout

The Humboldt cutthroat trout is native to the eastern portion of the Lahontan basin, including the Humboldt and Reese river basins,  The Humboldt River basin extends across much of northern Nevada, from headwaters of the Humboldt River near Wells to the Humboldt Sink south of Lovelock and includes headwater streams of the East Humboldt, Jarbidge, Independence, Ruby, Santa Rosa, Tuscarora, Toiyabe mountain ranges that flow towards the main stem of the Humboldt River.

Humboldt cutthroat trout, in stream form, can be found a number of small headwater streams within the basin. My favorite Humboldt cutthroat trout fishery, purely for nostalgic reasons, is Gance Creek in the Independence Mountains.

Quinn River Cutthroat Trout

The Quinn River cutthroat trout is native to the northwestern portion of the Lahontan basin, namely the Quinn River basin.  The Quinn River was previously known as the Queen River.

The Quinn River headwaters are located on the eastern slope of the Santa Rosa Mountains above community of McDermitt.   Headwaters of the King River, a major tributary of the Quinn River, flow down the southern slope of the Trout Creek Mountains.  The Quinn River terminus is a sink located in Black Rock Desert in western Nevada.

A number of small streams coming down from the surrounding mountain ranges, namely the Santa Rosa Mountains and Trout Creek Mountains, hold native Quinn River cutthroats.  These streams are typically in rugged country requiring bushwhacking to get to from the nearest high-clearance 4x4 trail one can find. 

Alvord Cutthroat Trout

The Alvord cutthroat trout is presumed extinct.  They were native to the Alvord basin, the southern portion of which extends into Nevada.  The historic range included the Virgin Creek / Thousand Creek drainage in northern Nevada.   Virgin Creek turns into Thousand Creek as it enters the Thousand Creek Gorge at the northern edge of the Virgin Valley.  Thousand Creek typically runs dry before reaching Continental Lake east of Denio Junction.

The subspecies is considered extinct due to hybridization with non-native rainbow trout introduced 100 years ago.

Rocky Mountain Cutthroat Trout

The Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout (O.  virginalis) is one of four species of cutthroat trout that comprise the cutthroat trout complex. They are native to waters of Rocky Mountains and portions of the Great Basin.  The native range of two subspecies extends into eastern Nevada

• Bonneville cutthroat trout (O. v. utah) and

• Yellowstone cutthroat trout (O. v. bouvierii).

I fish for Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout using the same technics I use for Lahontan cutthroat trout.

Bonneville Cutthroat Trout

The Bonneville cutthroat trout is native to waters of ancient Lake Bonneville basin.  The western portion of their range extends into eastern Nevada, namely to waters on the east slope of the Snake Range in White Pine County.

The Great Basin National Park is located in the southern half of the Snake Range.  The National Park Service as worked to restore Bonneville cutthroat trout to a number of streams within the park, such as upper Snake Creek and Strawberry Creek.  Despite wildfires which have significantly impacted some of the populations, such as the Strawberry Creek population, it's not all too hard to find Bonneville cutthroat trout within the park.  I recently visited Strawberry Creek and got into some.  But the wildfire scarred riparian zone has made for difficult stream access.  Hence, for park waters, I suggest you try the upper Snake Creek instead.

There are lots of waters outside the park that Bonneville cutthroats.  In the northern Snake range,  Bonneville cutthroats can be found in many creeks, including Hampton Creek, Hendrys Creek, Silver Creek and Smith Creek and its tributaries. 

My purely nostalgic reasons, my favorite is Hendrys Creek as this is where, on my Nevada native trout hunt, I caught my first Bonneville cutthroat ever. 

Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout

 The Yellowstone cutthroat trout  is native to the Snake River drainage, including Goose Creek drainage which extends into northeastern Nevada.

Goose Creek runs from its headwaters in Idaho through the northeast corner of Nevada and then through the northwest corner of Utah before continuing back into Idaho on its way to Lower Goose Reservoir.   Goose Creek and its significant tributaries within Nevada hold native Yellowstone cutthroat trout.

The Yellowstone cutthroat trout fisheries in Nevada are mostly on private property.  Some property owners, if asked politely, will allow you to fish their property.  Others won't.  As willingness to allow access changes over time, I won't offer any particular suggestion as to whom to ask. 

As for the fishing, I've had my best luck up high.  But I know others have done just fine in the flat lands.

Redband Trout

The redband trout are a group of subspecies of rainbow trout (O. mykiss). The native range of two of these subspecies extends into northern Nevada.

• Columbia River redband trout (O.m. newberri) and

• Great Basin redband trout (O.m. gairdneri), 

Redbands behave the same as other rainbows so no special technics are needed.  When fishing for wild rainbows in relatively small stream, I like dead drift dry flies, focusing on seams between differing currents and anywhere you see foam on the surface... or just prospect fishy water.

In Nevada, the Columbia River redband trout has a far wider range and far greater population than the Great Basin cutthroat trout.  Hence, for those pursuing the Nevada Native Fish-Slam, you are far better off targeting the Columbia River redband trout.  Columbia River redband trout are commonly caught while targeting bull trout in Nevada.

Columbia River Redband Trout

The Columbia River redband trout is native to the Columbia River drainage. In Nevada, Columbia redband trout are native to Bruneau River drainage including the Jarbidge River drainage, as well as the Owyhee River and Salmon Falls Creek drainages. Of these, I prefer the West Fork of the Jarbidge River as it also holds bull trout and mountain whitefish.

Great Basin Redband Trout

The Great Basin redband trout is native to drainages of the eastern Cascades.  Most of their range is in southeastern Oregon but does extend into northeastern California and northwestern Nevada.  They occur in seven isolated drainages.  One of these drainages, the Warner Lakes basin has a distinct population of Great Basin redband trout, known as the Warner Lakes redband trout.   While the Warner Lakes are in southern Oregon, the basin extends into northeast corner of California and the northwest corner of Nevada.

Warner Lakes redband trout are a hard catch in Nevada due to their limited range within the state and low population within that range. I suggest you instead venture into Warner Mountains of Oregon and California to catch one.

Bull Trout

The bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) is a char native to the northwestern North America. The native range of the Jarbidge River population extends into northern Nevada.

Bull trout have similarly to other chars, such as brook trout.  They tend to like soft water.  I like to look for them in the tail outs of larger pools.  I prefer to offer them with a suitable dry fly using a downstream presentation on a long leader (at least 9').   Be sure to remember to let the fish turn after the take before setting the hook.

In all of Nevada, the best bet to catch one is on the West Fork of the Jarbidge River or a headwater tributary of the West Fork or the East Fork of the Jarbidge.  You find the most bull trout up high in the wilderness, at least 6800'. 

Mountain Whitefish

The mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) is a salmonid native to western North America.  Their native range extends across northern Nevada.

In western Nevada, your best bet to catch one are the East Walker River at Rosaschi Ranch or the Truckee River at Verdi.  In eastern Nevada, mountain whitefish can be found in the Bruneau River, South Fork of the Owynee River, and East or West Forks of the Jarbidge River. Of these, I prefer the West Fork of the Jarbidge River as it also holds bull trout and Columbia River redband trout.

Mountain whitefish typically forage for food on the bottom of river beds, using their fins to kick up aquatic insect larvae and other macro intertebrates in the evening hours.  They will also consume food that drifts by while resting.  They are rarely seen feeding on top but are known to eat hatching aquatic insects such as midges and mayflies.   To specifically target mountain fish, I recommend using a dropper/dropper rig with two fast sinking flies, with the lead fly being the larger of the two.  For most of the year, a #14 beadhead pheasant tail nymph trailed by a #18 beadhead zebra midge is a good combo. Then target gravel bottom runs in the evenings, presenting the flies on the bottom in a dead drift.  Use addtional weight if need be.  Bobber optional.