Fishing report: It’s still striped bass for Lake Mead boaters

Friday, Nov. 12, 2004 | 9:22 a.m.

NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE

The Las Vegas Wash area continues to hold stripers and boaters are catching them by trolling, drifting with anchovies, jigging and casting top water lures. Anglers have been telling the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) that it appears the fish are beginning to move as they are now being caught at Sand Island and a few have appeared below Lake Mead Hatchery.

Stripers have not come close to shore this fall and this has resulted in poor fishing for anglers who are fishing from the shoreline. An occasional catfish is about the only luck anglers have had recently.

Largemouth bass fishing has been fairly good for boaters who are catching released tournament fish along the Callville Wall across the lake from Callville Bay Marina.

NDOW will begin its weekly rainbow trout plants on Tuesday, Nov. 23, with stocking taking place at Hemenway, Horsepower, Pumphouse and North Saddle coves.

Stripers ranging less than a half-pound to 2 pounds are being caught on the Arizona and Nevada sides of the lake from the narrows above the marina to Owl's Point. On Saturday, NDOW creel census clerks checked a 40-inch striper that tipped the scales at slightly over 22 pounds.

The lake's low water level is causing some hazards for shore anglers who are fishing for trout and stripers following the rainbow trout plants at Willow Beach. The low water makes the fishing more difficult as well because there is very little cover to keep the fish close to shore.

Last Friday night, Butch Ivey of Las Vegas caught a 26-pound, 12-ounce striper from shore at Willow Beach with a Bomber Long-A lure. It was the only strike that he and his fishing companion had during several hours of casting.

One angler reportedly landed a rainbow trout that measured 16 inches, but the majority of the fish caught were recently stocked fish.

Anglers who were fishing at Cold Springs and Haymeadow reservoirs over the weekend have had good luck for both recent planters as well as larger rainbow trout. Dan Maes, NDOW area technician, said that during the weekend he checked a number of trout at the two lakes that ranged from 14 to 16 inches. One fish that measured 19 inches and weighed 2 pounds, 4 ounces was checked as well.

Stocked rainbow trout are being caught at Adams-McGill Reservoir. No larger trout were seen over the weekend.