Heenan Lake

If you are planning a trip to Heenan Lake, then take note of the following: the lake opens for fishing on the Friday of Labor Day weekend and closes on the last Saturday of October (unless it falls on October 31st, then it's the Saturday prior). During that period, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are the only days anglers are permitted to fish.

 

Fly Fishing on Heenan Lake 2006

Fish counts per angler at Heenan Lake

Angler stats at Heenan Lake broken down by fly (bottom-left) and lure (bottom-right) hook-ups. Lures are highly effective at this fishery. In talking with another fly angler at Heenan we came to the conclusion that spinners provide a much greater "flash" factor and entice a greater number of strikes.

16 inch Lahontan cutthroat

This Lahontan displays the light olive green color and a small number of black spots above the lateral line that are typical of this subspecies.

Lahontan cutthroat trout

Top-down view illustrates (again) the low density of black spotting on these cutthroat.

Barn Swallow nests over Heenan Lake

A number of barn swallows shacked up above Heenan.

 18 inch Heenan Lake Lahontan cutthroat

This Lahonatan is notable for a couple of reasons. One, he's no slouch at 18 inches, and two, his gill plate is a bright silver color.

Releasing a Lahontan cutthroat back to Heenan Lake

One of my favorite photos for depicting the color and spotting of this subspecies of cutthroat.

 22 inch Heenan Lake Lahontan cutthroat

From nose to tail, this Lahontan stretched 20 to 21 inches. The typical length and weight of the residents in Heenan will likely surprize the first time visitor and probably keep you coming back year after year.