Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Fine fishing is within easy reach

Paula DelGiudice

Wednesday, April 18, 2001 | 10:25 a.m.

Paula DelGiudice's outdoors notebook appears Wednesday. Reach her at desertdenizens@aol.com.

Now that the weather is finally starting to warm up again, it's time to consider spring fishing opportunities. Anglers in Southern Nevada needn't travel great distances to find excellent fishing because some great opportunities are right in our back yard.

NDOW angler education coordinator Ivy Santee said one of her favorite getaways is along the Colorado River below Laughlin where good fishing can be found for largemouth bass and sunfish in the lagoons. She reports catching rainbow trout in the 12-16 inch range there recently.

Santee said anglers have been catching black bullheads and a few largemouth bass at Nesbitt Lake, which is located at Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area north of the town of Hiko.

Anglers who have been fishing at Upper Pahranagat Lake at Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge in Lincoln County have been catching largemouth bass that range from 13 to 15 inches. Ponds at Floyd Lamb State Park, a little closer to home, have been a good place to fish recently and are good spots to introduce youngsters to fishing.

Several largemouth bass weighing more than five pounds have been caught there recently. Rainbow trout and sunfish are also being caught at Floyd Lamb, Lorenzi Park and Sunset Park.

This is also the season to catch largemouth bass, bluegills, crappie and channel catfish at Lake Mead. Santee encourages casting lures into spawning beds to catch largemouth bass. Bluegills can be caught with flies or live worms. Catfish are enticed by live worms, stink baits, shrimp or anchovies.

Wildlife viewing is also widely available in Southern Nevada when you take a break from the excellent angling of the season.

According to NDOW biologist Cris Tomlison, the Desert National Wildlife Refuge is a good spot to watch birds. The refuge is the largest in the lower 48 states. Though it was established to protect bighorn sheep, the 10-acres of spring-fed ponds at Corn Creek are a bird watcher's paradise. Yellow-rumped warblers, yellow-headed blackbirds and phainopeplas are fairly common.

The Red Rock National Conservation Area is another spot with excellent wildlife diversity. More than 100 songbird species provide excellent spring and fall viewing. The area has a 13-mile scenic drive that leads to trails and canyons where it is not uncommon to see roadrunners and several upland game birds. Red Rock Canyon is also the home of about 160 desert bighorn sheep that may be seen frequenting the basins at La Madre, White Rock and Willow Springs.

For more information about the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 646-3401. For information about Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, call the Bureau of Land Management at 363-1921.