Fishing report: The wait is over: Lake Mead fishing shows improvement

Friday, Aug. 27, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE

Both shore anglers and boaters are catching stripers by casting Pencil Popper lures at Hemenway Harbor and Special Events Beach.

On Monday morning, a boater reported to the Nevada Department of Wildlife that he caught 15 stripers in that area. Other areas that have produced stripers recently are Government Wash and Black Island.

Sporadic success has been found as well near the tires at Lake Mead Marina. Fishing was slow over the weekend for the few boaters who took to the water in the Overton Arm.

NDOW creel census clerks checked only one angler on Saturday at Overton Beach Marina and he failed to catch a fish after putting in six hours of effort. On Sunday, creel clerks only saw one fish at Echo Bay Marina, a 1 1/2-pound largemouth bass that was caught at the islands in front of the marina.

It appeared that everyone was successful and several limits of 10 trout were caught. Striped bass fishing continues to be fair to good at Cottonwood Cove, but most of the fish weigh a pound or less.

The fish are being caught around the narrows above Cottonwood by boaters who are fishing with anchovies and squid.

Anglers were not as successful using PowerBait. A few bass were taken with crank baits and small spinners.

A few hand-size crappies were taken with gigs. The water level is still low but anglers are still catching fish.

Maes checked a couple of fish that measured 16 inches, but the majority averaged 13 inches. Anglers fishing both Haymeadow and Cold Springs reservoirs took trout with Powerbait and artificial worms.

As is common this time of year, weed growth has started to become a factor. Haymeadow's weed growth is worse than Cold Spring's, but both reservoirs are still fishable from the shore.