Fishing in Great Basin National Park

Great Basin National Park sits in the South Snake Range of eastern Nevada, close to the Utah border, rising from sagebrush flats to Wheeler Peak at 13,063 feet.

That elevation swing is what makes fishing here possible at all — snowmelt feeds cold, high-altitude streams and a handful of alpine lakes in country that looks, from the highway, like it holds no water worth mentioning.

The park's only native fish is the Bonneville cutthroat trout, a species that evolved in the Great Basin region and is generally silver to golden with large black spots concentrated toward the rear and orange-red slashes under the jaw.

They're found in the cold, high-elevation streams of the park — not in the lower-altitude water. Brook, brown, and rainbow trout are also present; all three are non-native and were stocked in park lakes and streams until 1986.

Lehman Creek is the most accessible water in the park. Take the Scenic Drive toward Upper Lehman Campground — there's parking opposite the campground entrance and near the Lehman Creek Trailhead.

A trail runs parallel to the creek between Upper and Lower Lehman Campgrounds, and this stretch holds high densities of brook and brown trout with some rainbow mixed in.

Johnson Lake and Baker Lake are the named high lakes with their own special regulations: artificial lures with single barbless hooks only, no bait of any kind, and catch and release — no fish may be kept. Those rules apply to all park lakes.

The Snake Range is most accessible after snowmelt clears the roads, generally June through September, though fishing is permitted year-round in open waters.

A valid Nevada fishing license is required to fish anywhere in the park — there is no separate park permit. Anyone 12 or older needs one.

Check current regulations with both the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the park's Superintendent's Compendium before you go, since federal rules supersede state rules where they conflict. The Bonneville cutthroat is worth handling carefully.

It's the only fish here that actually belongs here, and the high-country streams it lives in don't have much margin for pressure.