Words: Laning Andrews

“On an unusually calm and sunny February morning I load my trailer, a 1976 Kit Companion dubbed the “Mutha Chuka,” and head to Pyramid Lake for a weekend of legendary Lahontan cutthroat trout. Eventually, I locate a friend’s campsite along the cliff’s edge of a dusty bay and quickly dial in the trailer. Preparing to join my compadres on the water, I rig up the nine-foot eight weight and grab my trusty six-foot ladder—at Pyramid Lake, flyfishing has evolved into an entirely quixotic and unique pursuit involving some sort of platform jammed into the sandy-bottomed flats to allow one to effectively cast for these leviathans.”

above The sturdy six-footer; requisite gear for the ladder fisher.