Fly Fish Nevada

One of the quirks of fishing for the world famous Lahontan cutthroats at Pyramid Lake is the ladder.  Why the heck do you use a ladder, you might ask?  Well, Pyramid has a series of drop offs, usually easily seen from shore as a distinct change in the tint of the water from greenish-brown to deep blue.  Most of the year, the trout hang out near this drop off, ambushing food in the shallow water then returning to the relative safety of the depths. Now Pyramid is cold most of the fishing season and standing in chest high water to be able to reach the drop offs with your cast, especially when fly fishing, sucks.  So you get a ladder and get out of the water, at least mostly out of the water anyway.  This has a two fold effect for fly fishers.  Not only do you stay warmer and dryer, but you can more easily keep you back-casts out of the water.

My Pyramid Ladder Setup

Now, you will see a lot of ladders out there.  Some guys even rig them for sitting and a couple of outfits sell specialized ladders with chairs attached.  I’m not that fancy.  Above is my ladder.  Its a Werner and can hold 250 pounds (actually, I prove it can hold more).  I did a lot of shopping and this ladder has some features I really like.

First, it has wide steps.  Try standing on a standard ladder with those narrow steps all day.  Ugh!  Second, it has a an even bigger top step, so if I really want to go deep I have a big stable platform to stand, though I usually stand on the middle step sometimes with one foot or the other resting on the top step.  Third, the work platform is a great place to put that little stripping basket on.  I can cast further without the drag of the water on my fly line.  Last is a great little device made for hanging drills and such from the work platform.  Basically a bungee with a ball attached that hangs from a slot in the work platform.  I slipped it over  the handle of my net and its secure and handy.

I drilled holes in the feet to make sure the water gets out of the uprights.  We don’t want those rusting!  I also plan to permanently mount the stripping basket and add some kind of fingers inside to help prevent tangling (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, look here).  I also have an idea to make a bigger base to keep it from sinking to the first step into the sand.  That will allow me to go deeper and still remain warm and dry.  I would also love to add a R-A-M mount for my camera, so I can take pictures of myself holding fish and a cigar holder.

If you have a great Pyramid ladder leave a comment with a link to a picture, or send me the info and picture and I will post it.

Filed under: Tackle and Gear Tagged: | drop off, Fly Fish Nevada, ladder, Pyramid Lake, stripping basket