Fishing Racetrack Reservoir in Washoe County, Nevada

• Overview

  Racetrack Reservoir is set in Washoe County, Nevada. The water sits 5,738 feet up. With some 31 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. You are 44 miles from Lakeview. Reno sits 164 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. In the same area: Bald Mountain Lake after 3.1 miles, Swan Lake Reservoir lies 6.2 miles on, Catnip Reservoir after 6.2 miles, Calcutta Lake lies 6.7 miles on and Round Mountain Lake after 7.4 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Racetrack Reservoir

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Across Washoe County, recorded fish include tahoe sucker, great basin cutthroat trout and rainbow trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Racetrack Reservoir the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 29°F and August at about 67°F, the water has a wide range to work through. The season stretches long at both ends here. It is not guaranteed even in a cold spell, so check yourself. Autumn steadies things again once the heat lets go. Plan around that when you fish Racetrack Reservoir.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Public mapping marks it as seasonal water rather than permanent. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Sort the permit out before you load the car. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Bald Mountain Lake at 3.1 miles is the sensible second choice. What applies at Racetrack Reservoir may have changed since it was mapped.