In the 1970s, the tribe began to restock the lake with Lahontan cutthroats from a different drainage, and the new population grew to a healthy fishable number. Although the new Summit strain fish never attained the size of the original Pyramid Lake fish, fish were still being caught over 10 pounds. In the late 70s, a taxonomist collected trout from a small stream in the Pilot Mountains on the Nevada/Utah border that he suspected were the original Pyramid Lake strain of Lahontans. It would be a long time later, but DNA testing confirmed his suspicions and in 2006, the tribe reintroduced the new Pilot Peak strain of cutthroats back into Pyramid Lake.
That was eight years ago, and the Pilot Peak Lahontans have bulked up considerably with some fish being caught in the 25 pound range. With the life expectancy of these Pilot Peak fish running around 14 years, the talk is that these fish are only going to get bigger. Sure, everyone on the trip was there to have a good time, but in the back of our mind, each of us couldn’t shake the thought of a big red fish grabbing one of our flies.
So with dreams of hoisting a 25 pound slab, we remained resolute on the top of our ladders for three days, hucking heavy sinking line with 8 weight rods into the relentless 30 mph winds and blowing dust. Tempting cutthroats with flashy flies and hoping for “big red” to take a bite, we endured all that Pyramid Lake could throw at us.