Lahontan Reservoir’s Three W’s: Wipers, Walleye and White Bass    By: Dan Bacher September 7, 2007 More Articles by Dan

Lahontan Reservoir, located in the desolate Great Basin country on the Carson River 45 miles northeast of Carson City, Nevada, offers anglers a unique chance to catch wipers, walleye and white bass all on one trip.

The largest and most exciting of these species to hook is the “wiper,” a hybrid between the striped bass and white bass. The only water where anglers can catch wipers (sunshine bass) in California is Irvine Lake in Orange County, where a few wipers are caught every year.

The “wiper” is a beautiful, robust fish produced by crossing a female white bass with a male striped bass, according to the Nevada Department of Wildlife. Hybrids closely resemble both striped bass and white bass, making identification difficult, particularly for young fish.

Walleye, considered to be the tastiest fish in freshwater, are found nowhere in California, so the closest place to catch them is Lahontan Reservoir. Rye Patch Reservoir, the Humboldt River below Rye Patch and Chimney Reservoir in northern Nevada also host good walleye populations.

A self-sustaining population of white bass, a popular fish with light tackle enthusiasts that thrives in rivers and lakes throughout the Midwest, also thrives in Lahontan. These scrappy bass are only found in one California lake, Lake Nacimiento.

Before I fished Lahontan Reservoir with Dan Hannum of Dayton, Nevada on September 5, I had never caught a wiper before. Hannum is definitely the foremost authority on Lahontan wiper fishing.

The former Lake Tahoe mackinaw kokanee guide set four Nevada state wiper records between July 1, 2002 and July 15, 2007. His first record was a 16 lb. 2 oz. wiper, while his most recent record was a 25 lb. 6 oz. fish.

“September and July are always the big fish time at Lahontan,” observed Hannum as we began casting JR5 and JR7 Rapala Shad Raps along the shoreline in the lake’s Narrows. “This is right where I caught my 25 pounder.”

He added, “When you battle one of these huge fish, you really get hooked on wiper fishing. Every one of these big fish I had to follow with my boat because of the long runs they made – I don’t think you could have landed one of those records while fishing from shore.”

On my second cast with my perch pattern Rapala, a huge fish stopped my lure. The fish surged hard and ripped off lots of line off my spinning reel. Thinking I had hooked a big wiper or walleye, Hannum got the net ready as I worked the fish towards the boat.

“It’s a big carp,” said Hannum disappointedly as he netted it. He pulled the plug out of its mouth and released it back into the water.

As we worked the shoreline, Hannum started catching wipers in the 12 to 14 inch range. After he boated his fourth fish, I realized that I forgot to put scent on my lure. So I put a combination of Bang and Pro-Cure scent on the Shasta Tackle Flea Bitty crankbait that I had switched to.

I tossed my plug towards the shoreline and immediate hooked a fish after I began cranking the lure. “These fish really fight hard for their size,” I commented as I released the 13 inch wiper.

Over the next several hours, we caught and released lots of wipers. There were two classes of fish – one in the 8 to 11 inch range and another in the 12 to 16 inch range. My biggest was 15-1/2 inches long, while Hannum’s was 16 inches long.

While the smaller fish looked similar to stripers, the larger fish had more of a distinct appearance. The adults have a deep body and an arched back similar to the white bass, making the fish look like very fat stripers.

We moved to a different spot with some unique rock formations similar to those you see at Pyramid Lake. The reservoir was named after the ancient Lake Lahontan that covered over 8,500 square miles of the western Great Basin during the Ice Age.

Hannum caught and released a golden-colored 8 lb. channel catfish, but the wipers weren’t at this spot in abundance. We went back to the shoreline where we had started and picked up a few more wipers, along with a couple of smallmouth bass, before trying another spot further up the Narrows.

At the next location, we could see wipers jumping on the water around the boat in pursuit of minnows. Hannum managed to catch a 16 inch walleye on a homemade spoon, although all of the rest of the fish we hooked were wipers in the 8 to 12 inch range.

We got off the water at around 6:00 pm after fishing it for 5 hours. We were lucky to be able to launch at Silver Springs, since the ramp was getting close to the bottom of the concrete.

We caught around 70 wipers, as well as releasing a big carp, a 8 lb. channel catfish, two smallmouth bass and one walleye. It was a great day of fishing – and the experience of catching wipers, walleye, channel catfish, smallmouth bass and carp in one day is something that you can’t do anywhere in California.

Hannum generally fishes the lake between May and through September until the lake level becomes too low to launch a trailered boat. The vast majority of the wipers Hannum catches are either record-class fish or smaller fish between 8 and 16 inches. “I have caught several 5 to 8 pound wipers this summer, but they’re not very numerous," he stated.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife stocks the reservoir every year with 5,000 to 10,000 2-1/2 to 3 inch wipers. However, the presence of so many young wipers in the lake leads Pat Solzberger, NDOW biologist, to believe that the wipers are successfully spawning with the white bass, creating a “back cross.”

“Large numbers of white bass spawn every year in the Carson River,” noted Solzberger,” and we see their progeny every year. According to the scientific literature, there is evidence of wipers and white bass successfully spawning at other lakes and I believe this is happening at Lahontan.”

Walleye are caught year round at Lahontan, but the best time to fish for them is in the spring. Many anglers troll spinners, tipped with nightcrawlers, and special walleye rigs for them, although Hannum catches the majority of his while tossing plugs like he does for the wipers. “My biggest walleye, caught on June14, 2003, went 11 pounds, while the average size is around 3 to 4 pounds.”

NDOW stocks 500,000 ½ to ¾ inch walleye fry in the lake every year. Although the Department used to stock rainbow trout during the winter, they don’t do it anymore.

Smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass are all found at Lahontan, but the voracious wipers and walleye appear to keep their numbers down. Hannum set the lake spotted bass record of 3 pounds in September 11 2004.

Lahontan also features yellow perch, crappie, bluegill and white cats. The main forage species for the larger gamefish are Sacramento blackfish, yellow perch and tui chub.

Catch and release is recommended at Lahontan. The Nevada Department of Wildlife and Nevada State Health Division recommend no consumption of fish from Lahontan Reservoir and the Carson River from Dayton downstream to the reservoir because of possible mercury contamination.  

Lahontan Reservoir Facts  

Location: Lahontan Reservoir is located in the Lahontan State Recreation Area on the Carson River, 18 miles west of Fallon and 45 miles northeast of Carson City, via U.S. Highway 50. You can access the park from two entrances: U.S. Highway 50 east of Silver Springs and U.S. Highway 95 south of Silver Springs.  

History: Lahontan Dam and reservoir are part of the Newlands Project, one of the first irrigation projects selected for construction following passage of the Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902. In 1905 it became the first to deliver water from works constructed by the United States government. The project diverts and stores water from the Truckee and Carson River Basins to irrigate lands near Fallon and to produce hydroelectric power. Drainage water from the irrigated lands flow into the Stillwater Wildlife Management Area. Lahontan became a Nevada State Recreation Area on July 1, 1971.  

Size of dam and reservoir: The dam, completed in 1915, is 162 feet high, 1,700 feet long at the top, and contains 733.00 cubic yards of earth fill. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 274,000 acre-feet of water. The reservoir is almost 17 miles long with 69 miles of shoreline and contains 10,000 surface acres when full.  

Entrance Fee: A fee is charged to enter the park, with additional fees for camping and boat launching. Current fees are posted at the park entrance.

Picnicking: There are two developed picnicking (day use) areas at Lahontan, one located directly across Lahontan Dam and one on Silver Springs Beach. Facilities include modern restrooms, tables, and grills. All new facilities will have areas that are easily accessible to handicapped visitors.

Camping: Silver Springs Beach #7 features developed campground facilities, with modern restrooms, tables and grills. Primitive on-the-beach camping is permitted in all areas except for day use and boat ramp areas.

Boat Launch Areas: Boaters with four wheel drive vehicles may launch off of beaches open to camping. Both sides of the park also provide paved boat launching and parking facilities. The Silver Springs boat launch is located near the day use area. The Churchill Beach boat launch, at the North Shore Marina, is located along U.S. Highway 50, one mile west of Lahontan Dam.

Facilities information: 16799 Lahontan Dam Road, Fallon, NV 89406, (775) 577-2235 Silver Springs Ranger Station, (775) 867-3500 Dam Ranger Station, region3@cccomm.net    

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