Pyramid Lake is enormous. At nearly 30 miles long and greater than 10 miles wide in places, this vast expanse of water looks more suited to trawlers and long lining than to fly rods. Nevertheless, you can locate foraging cutthroat virtually anywhere along the lake shore.

West shore. Most of the west side of the lake is skirted by state Route 446 and, north from the junction of 446 and 445, state Route 445, providing easy access to the lakefront. Many dirt roads allow anglers to drive very close to the lake at certain spots, while other locations require hiking through the sagebrush to reach the water. Except in places where the lake is bordered by low cliffs, getting to the shore on foot is easy, and any spot can produce good fishing.

Certain west-shore locations stand out as excellent starting points. The most famous and popular fishing location is known as the Nets. Named for offshore rearing pens that have long since disappeared, the Nets are just below the tiny town of Sutcliffe and are easily reached by turning right off Route 445 onto Sutcliffe Drive and immediately veering off to the right onto a dirt road that leads to the lake. The Paiute tribe's egg-taking station is located on the lake shore here, and a pair of buoys mark a corridor that is off limits to angling directly in front of the station. The areas on either side of the buoys are known as the North Nets and South Nets. Here the shallows gradually deepen, the lakebed is sandy and snag-free, and a steady supply of cruising cutthroats are attracted by the influx of water from the hatchery operation.

The presence of many large trout at the Nets ensures that there is almost always a lineup of anglers, mostly on stepladders, stretching for several hundred yards well out into the lake. Etiquette is simple: find a reasonable opening, scan the water for any floating or partially submerged objects that might indicate an unoccupied ladder (whose owner would be grossly insulted to have his spot poached while he was temporarily ashore), wade in, and start fishing. If the lineup is too thickly populated, head to the end of the line or to another location.

Just north of Sutcliffe on Route 445 a road leads to the improbably named Windless Bay, and a few miles farther north another road leads to Warrior Point. Both of these areas can provide superb fishing and, like the Nets, are good places to fish the lake.

East shore. Pyramid's east shore is unsettled and more challenging to reach than the west shore. A road runs parallel to the lake for much of the eastern shore's length, providing access to numerous bays and beaches. That road, though, can be rough and, in places, impassable. Drive as far as you dare and then hike.

Dago Bay and the area in the vicinity of the famous pyramid formation are two spots for prospecting. The solitude of the east shore is a striking contrast with the communal atmosphere of west shore locations like the Nets.

Pyramid's Lahontan cutthroat can be caught virtually anywhere, west shore or east. On most days the shore-line dropoff is clearly visible from the road or a similar vantage point and any spot, but especially those places where casts place flies beyond the dropoff, is worth trying. Beware of wasting time losing flies in rocky or snag-filled areas; either fish closer to the surface or move until you find a sandy area. Moving can mean walking a short distance to a new position or driving several miles to an entirely new part of the lake.