The trip to Pyramid Lake is set. Jeff Martin, Rick Allen, and I leave the morning of March 4. There is a guide service that has accommodations right on the lake and they will pick us up at the Reno airport to transport us out there. They also provide food and of course a guide. We'll be there for three days - March 5, 6, and 7. When we're done fishing on the 7th, the guide will transport us back to Reno, or Sparks, where we will stay the night. Our flight home is very early the next morning.

If you have never heard of Pyramid Lake, it is the remnant of a much larger body of water that held a type of trout called Lahontan Cutthroats. These trout grew to gigantic sizes and still swim the waters of Pyramid Lake, though now smaller in size. Still, there is a good chance for a fisherman to hook into a 10lb+ trout, and a remote chance to break the mythical 20lb threshold.

There is no outlet to Pyramid and it is fed by the Truckee River, which drains Lake Tahoe. The Truckee River is a pretty good trout fishery in its own right, and it also has a white water rafting run. There is what is called a white water rodeo in downtown Reno every year, where kayakers compete in various skills competitions.

For our first trip to Pyramid, we decided to hire a guide rather then do it ourselves. Subsequent trips we'll be on a budget and if the fishing at Pyramid is slow, we'll explore the Truckee.

March is a good time to be at Pyramid, since this is when the larger trout are cruising into the shallower water within reach of the wading fisherman. The tradition at Pyramid is to wade out as deep as you can with your rod in one hand and a step ladder in the other. You set up the step ladder and ascend as high as you feel safe and start slinging heavy flies on a sinking line as far out as you can. Then retrieve slowly and erratically. Wind is a constant out there, and March can be quite cold. We'll bring our woollies!