Fishing Calcutta Lake in Washoe County, Nevada

• Overview

  Washoe County in Nevada is where Calcutta Lake sits. The country here is farm and woodlot. Roughly 1,313 acres of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. With 5.7 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Size puts it in the front rank of our Washoe County list. You are 41 miles from Lakeview. Further out sit Alturas (51 miles) and Altamont (108 miles). It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Calcutta Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Washoe County records list tahoe sucker, great basin cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, brown bullhead and brown trout among the fish reported. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. At Calcutta Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put August near 66°F and January near 28°F. The year gives four workable seasons without severe ends. Cover comes and goes, so treat it with suspicion rather than trust. Autumn steadies things again once the heat lets go. Calcutta Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. It is recorded as intermittent, which means the basin empties in dry spells. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Cow Lake at 2.1 miles is the sensible second choice. Nothing on Calcutta Lake should be assumed from this page alone.