As an angler, I put a premium on variety.
While I do have favorite holes on my local stream that I return to again and again, what has kept the passion alive in me throughout my life is the sheer number of different places and species that fishing allows me to interact with.
As an angling generalist (happy casting an Adams or dropping deep on a downrigger), the Ruby Mountains provide a veritable playground of different angling experiences.
About the Rubies
Located in Northeast Nevada, the Rubies extend to 11,387 feet of elevation, with nearly 4,800 feet of prominence from the valley floor. As part of the Basin and Range province, the Rubies were formed due to tectonic plate shifts that created alternating patterns of steep, north-south mountain ranges with low valleys in-between.
Rising out of the arid Great Basin, the Rubies’ elevation allows for significant snowfall to accumulate on its peaks. This collective snowpack provides the watershed with invaluable cold-water inputs, supporting thriving municipal, agricultural, industrial, ecological and recreational uses.
Throughout the watershed, one can catch nearly a dozen different game fish species, including the native Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT). In a single day, you can catch high elevation lake trout, small stream LCT and trophy reservoir rainbows known to exceed 9 pounds or channel catfish over 30 pounds.
While most anglers would likely opt-out of the single day challenge, the point is that the Rubies supply an incredibly diverse range of options for any type of angler.
Fishing gems of the Rubies
The Alpine
The Ruby Mountains boast 25 high-alpine lakes, many of which contain populations of wild lake, brook and cutthroat trout.
The highest density of these are accessed via Lamoille Canyon. From the parking lot, you’re looking at roughly 6 miles of hiking with over 2000 feet of elevation gain.
For the enduring angler, the reward is standing atop the Ruby Crest, scouting your pick of several marvelous fishing lakes with native pika chirping in your ear. While Liberty Lake is the closest, taking the journey to Farve Lake and others that will remain unnamed in this story is well worth the additional effort.
Russell Kuhlman, executive director for the Nevada Wildlife Federation, considers the Rubies one of his favorite places to fish in Nevada. His favorite way to fish the alpine lakes in the range is to hike in a packraft and then tie on a balanced leach for consistent action.
“While the trip up is difficult, having that extra mobility on the lake produces results,” says Kuhlman.
Endless Blue Lines
For the intrepid blueliner, there are endless options to explore throughout the Rubies as melted snowpack cascades into seemingly endless numbers of small streams.
While many of these are seasonal, some boast thriving fish populations. The most well-known small stream is Lamoille Creek, which contains sections of both wild and stocked trout (rainbow, brook and LCT).
The beauty of exploring the small streams of this range is the fact that the entirety of it (nearly to the valley floor) is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, allowing for ample dispersed camping and backcountry fishing possibilities. Depending on the creek, the terrain and elevation, the blue lines can range from tight, raging pocket water to slow meandering meadows.
Of the places in the watershed, this is the author’s favorite type of angling in the Rubies. Fishing small pools with a 2wt, and a bead head nymph is an exciting way to entice these smaller fish. You can leave the bobbers and other hardware at home, and fish by feel.
Valley Floor Reservoirs
Whether you are a die-hard fly angler, feel at home with a bait caster in your hand or like to sit back and wait for your bobber to drop, the valleys surrounding the Rubies offer exceptional angling experiences.
Two of the major still-water fisheries in the area are the South Fork Reservoir and Ruby Lake.
On the eastern side of the Rubies, near Spring Creek lies South Fork Reservoir. There the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) routinely stocks wiper, bluegill, channel catfish and trout of different varieties. The lake also supports naturally reproducing populations of both largemouth and smallmouth bass. In 2011, the state record channel catfish was caught in the South Fork Reservoir; a monster of over 32 pounds!
To the southeast is Ruby Lake, one of nine National Wildlife Areas in Nevada. Established in 1938, this sprawling network of ponds and marshes boasts prolific fisheries for trout and bass species. With populations of rainbow, brown and tiger trout, NDOW reports that fish exceeding 20 inches are caught frequently.
For Kris Coston, Nevada Field Representative for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, throwing hoppers from the shore on fly rod for smallmouth is a favorite pursuit.
If you have a boat, he adds that, “you can also hook into a large wiper, and then you’re in for a good time!”
Current threats to the Rubies
This incredible portfolio of fisheries, as well as its numerous other uses, rely on the ecological and hydrological functions of the Ruby Mountains remaining intact and, in some cases, accessible to the public.
That’s why Trout Unlimited has been working since 2019 to protect the Ruby Mountains from oil and gas leasing. Most available leases in the Rubies would be speculative; restricting access and shifting management away from watershed and ecosystem health, without much chance of profitable development.
In late 2017, a proposal to allow leasing for oil and gas exploration on 53,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service land in the Rubies was announced. In response, a groundswell of public opposition formed, and when the public comment period on the proposal opened, 13,364 individuals and organizations spoke up for the Ruby Mountains and against the proposal.
Trout Unlimited and partners including Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Nevada Wildlife Federation and many more joined together to form the Sportsmen for the Rubies.
The U.S. Forest Service ultimately issued a no-leasing decision on the request, but given the importance of the Ruby Mountains, our coalition shifted to advocate for permanent protection.
In 2019, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto introduced legislation, the Ruby Mountains Protection Act (RMPA), to permanently withdraw the Ruby Mountains and the East Humboldt’s from leasing for oil and gas development. Shortly after, Senator Jacky Rosen co-sponsored the Ruby Mountains Protection Act. Additionally, Rep. Mark Amodei introduced a companion bill to protect the Rubies, making the preservation of this treasured landscape a bipartisan initiative. Seeing the need to get interim protections on the ground, members of Nevada’s congressional delegation took steps in 2015 to secure a 20-year administrative withdrawal from oil and gas leasing in the Ruby Mountains.
This effort initially succeeded but was ultimately rescinded in 2025, placing the Ruby Mountains into a two-year withdrawal period that will sunset and end in late 2026.
While this article focuses on fishing, we are Trout Unlimited after all, it is important to note that the water supply that comes off the Ruby Mountains is crucial for many more uses besides recreation.
Agriculture, industry and the people of Elko, Spring Creek and beyond rely on consistent flows moving their way through the watershed. Jeopardizing this with speculative oil and gas leases doesn’t bode well for fish nor people, and the Rubies should remain the way they have been, a wild and cherished resource for everyone.
It is a place worth visiting if fishing variety speaks to you. I can attest to that.
Protect Public Lands
Stand up for public lands and waters in the Rubies and beyond.