Lahontan Cutthroat Trout WNTC Fish #1

Morgan and I are participating in the Western Native Trout Challenge. Our goal is to complete the Expert Level Tier which consists of catching 6 species of trout across 4 different states in their native habitats.

The Lahontan Cutthroat Trout is the state fish of Nevada. It is native to drainages of the Truckee River, Humboldt River, Carson River, Walker River, Quinn River and several smaller rivers in the Great Basin of North America. It gets its name from Lake Lahontan, an ancient ice age lake that has since shrunk into today’s Pyramid Lake and Walker Lake in Nevada.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Lahontan cutthroats were heavily fished. Dams interfered with spawning runs to Pyramid and Walker Lakes in the early 1900’s. Tahoe’s cutthroat population became extinct by 1930 and Pyramid Lake’s population by 1943.

In the Truckee River system, only Independence Lake has continuously harbored its historic native Lahontan cutthroat population. The fish there have self-sustained for 10,000 years.

We decided to start our challenge by driving up to Independance Lake this weekend for a chance to catch the Lahontan Trout. We arrived shortly before lunch and walked to the Lake. On our way in, we were stopped by one of the preserve staff at the foot washing station to make sure we didn’t bring in any invasive species. We told him we were after the Lahotan cutthroat as part of our challenge and he suggested trying to find some deeper water farther down the lake.

Along the lake, we could see fish rising everywhere! There was apparently a large Carpenter Ant hatch and the winged ants blanketed the lake. We threw everything we had with us at the fish- spinners, spoons, and flies. They ignored us and kept eating the ants. After walking about half a mile down the Lake with no success, we turned around and headed back to the car to get our sandwiches.

Back at the preserve headquarters, we ran into the same preserve guy and his dad. While lamenting our failures, the dad, Dave, offered to take us out trolling on the boat to see if we could catch a trout. Giddy with excitement, we hustled to the car to eat our lunch and get back to the boat.

We set out on the lake, trolling tiger striped kastmasters. After working at the preserve for 11 years and being a fish biologist, Dave knew all the tricks to catching the Lahontan cutthroats. We had a great time talking about fishing, fish stories, conservation, and Independance Lake. Morgan and I each were able to catch 1 cutthroat. We know it wouldn’t have been possible without running into Dave! It ended up being an extremely memorable experience for the first fish of our native trout challenge. I can’t wait to get our next native trout!