Thursday, June 10, 1999 | 9:55 a.m.
Paula DelGiudice's outdoors notebook appears each week. Reach her at [email protected].
Three fishing derbies are scheduled for southern and eastern Nevada to celebrate the state's annual Free Fishing Day on Saturday.
Las Vegas-area youngsters are invited to participate in Clark County Parks & Recreation's Free Children's and Teen's Fishing Derby. The Derby is open to everyone age 17 and under.
Registration will start at 7:30 a.m. The derby runs from 8 a.m. until noon. After prizes are awarded, there will be a free casting contest.
Prizes will be awarded in two categories: ages 1-11, ages 12-17. The first three anglers in each category who catch the largest catfish will be awarded prizes as well as the first three who catch the largest of any other game fish in the lake.
Prizes also will be awarded to the three best casters. You needn't catch a thing, though, to take home a prize as no derby participant will leave empty-handed. The prizes for this year's derby include: fishing gear, bowling passes, sporting goods gift certificates and admission to GameWorks, Mountasia, MGM Grand Theme Park, Sahara Hotel and Casino's Speedworld and much more.
Participants will need to furnish their own gear, bait and tackle.
Please call 455-8289 in advance if you need to arrange for mentally and physically challenged accommodations.
Another free derby will be held at Echo Canyon State Park, located east of Pioche. The event will take place from 8 a.m. to noon. The Nevada Division of Wildlife will hold a fishing clinic at the park at 7:30 a.m. for youngsters who do not know how to fish.
Another derby is also scheduled for Cave Lake State Park south of Ely. It is slated to run from 8 a.m. to noon. On Free Fishing Day, anglers can fish at all public waters in Nevada without having a fishing license. All other regulations, including limits, will apply that day.
For information about the Cave Lake and Echo Canyon derbies, call the Nevada Division of Wildlife at 486-5127.
While neighboring states also hold Free Fishing Days, only California and Nevada have set theirs for Saturday. Arizona and Utah free fishing days were held last Saturday.
* CATFISH HUNTERS: Just in time for Free Fishing Day, the Nevada Division of Wildlife has scheduled catfish stockings today at Floyd Lamb State Park and Sunset and Lorenzi parks.
There have been delays in stocking the ponds this year because the agency was forced to change suppliers. The catfish due for release were purchased from a commercial grower in Texas. Stocking is scheduled to occur monthly until fall, when water temperatures drop low enough to allow the stocking of trout to resume.
Limits at the parks are three game fish per day and three in possession. Anglers 12-older are required to have a Nevada fishing license when fishing at the parks (except on Free Fishing Day).
* SAFE FISH: If a trip to Walker Lake to catch Lahontan cutthroat trout is in your summer travel plans, you needn't worry about risking your health by eating the fish. Tests conducted by the Nevada Division of Wildlife show that fish from Walker Lake do not have abnormally high levels of mercury in their tissues.
Initial concerns that there might be a mercury problem with the fish in the lake were raised in the spring of 1998, when blood samples taken from migrating, fish-eating loons showed elevated levels of mercury. Scientists believe the loons must be picking up the mercury from fish elsewhere on their migration route and not from the trout or tui chubs at Walker Lake.
* KEEP ON TREKIN': If a three-day sailing voyage on a Turkish Gulet, a week of hiking along the Black Sea Coast and a half-day of horseback riding in Cappadocia are your cup of tea -- and you happen to be over the age of 50 -- you might be interested in ElderTreks.
ElderTreks is the world's leading adventure tour operator for travelers 50-over. It provides "soft adventures" for travelers who are looking for active, small group tours that go off the beaten path. There also are more challenging adventures awaiting those who are interested. These include trekking, rafting, camel safaries and hot air ballooning. The group is planning a 17-day adventure tour of Turkey. For more information, check their website at www.eldertreks.com.
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