Columnist Barb Henderson: Fly-fishing class offered locally

Barb Henderson

Friday, Feb. 27, 2004 | 9:57 a.m.

Barb Henderson is an outdoors enthusiast, freelance writer and producer/host of outdoors radio television programming. Her column appears Friday in the Sun.

If you are interested in learning to fly-fish, that desire may not be hard to achieve.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife will present a free introductory fly-fishing class Saturday at Floyd Lamb State Park. NDOW staff along with volunteer instructors will be covering fly-fishing basics such as equipment, terminology, tying knots, casting and how to hook and land a fish with a fly rod.

Volunteers lending a helping hand include members of the Las Vegas Fly Fishing Club and the Southern Nevada Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Enrollment for this free fishing class is limited.

Ivy Santee, angler education coordinator with NDOW, said these free fly-fishing classes always fill up quickly. However, in the event that this particular fly fishing class is full, NDOW encourages interested people to contact the NDOW office to find out about future fly-fishing classes that are being planned.

Why all this interest in fly-fishing?

"People are interested in learning a new technique for fishing, as well as, being intrigued by the beauty of the sport," said Santee.

For the most part, when experienced fly-fishers think of Southern Nevada, they would not consider this a premier destination.

"But its location to many quality waters make it a prime area for the Nevada Department of Wildlife to offer classes," said Santee. "Striped bass fishing with a fly rod is also a growing sport on Lake Mead and NDOW looks to help its Southern Nevada anglers to enjoy all aspects of fishing local waters."

For information on upcoming fly-fishing classes and/or additional fishing opportunities found in the southern Nevada area, contact NDOW at 486-5127 ext. 3504 or click on the internet at: www.ndow.org

This warning does not include the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort and will likely remain in place until the current storm passes through the area.

For more information, contact the U.S. Forest Service at 515-5400 or visit the local office at 4701 N. Torrey Pines, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Helpful information can also be found at: www.avalanche.org or www.csac.org.

Shotgunner Jorge Rodriguez of Henderson, rifleman Richard Aitken of Colorado Springs and archer Tim Gillingham of Orem, Utah, won their respective qualifiers.