West Lake in Washoe County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  In Nevada, West Lake falls inside Washoe County. What surrounds it is open valley. This is sizeable water at about 1,411 acres, and a boat opens up most of it. With 8.4 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. On our Washoe County list it sits near the top for size. The nearest town is Alturas, 47 miles away. Lakeview lies 53 miles off, Susanville another 98 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on West Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Washoe County cover tahoe sucker, great basin cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, brown bullhead and brown trout. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. On West Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year August sits at 67°F and January at 28°F. The swings are modest, so patterns change slowly. In milder years the edges alone go, and the middle never sets. April and May are the settled weeks, with October close behind. That shapes the year on West Lake. The first warm week of the year changes everything here.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Mapped as intermittent, it fills after rain and shrinks between. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Should this one be busy, Captain Johnson Reservoir is 3.5 miles off. Confirm before you fish West Lake.