Fishing report: Drifting anchovy the lure to use

Friday, March 25, 2005 | 9:10 a.m.

NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE

LAKE MEAD: Fishing continues to be fair for boaters who are drifting with anchovies for striped bass at Las Vegas Wash, but fairly slow elsewhere on the lake.

One angler told said he worked the shoreline Monday morning between Hemenway Point and Pumphouse Cove and caught no fish. He said that he saw only one striper caught from shore that morning.

Another angler said he caught a half dozen stripers over the weekend at Hemenway Point. The fish ranged from 2 to 3 pounds and were caught with a yellow Bomber Long A lure.

Boaters who have been fishing in the Overton Arm have had some recent success in back of Fish Island. Chumming and fishing with anchovies are taking those fish as well.

Largemouth bass fishing should be improving since the fish are now entering their spawn. Butch Padilla, retired NDOW biologist, said the larger bass traditionally move into coves at this time of year to build their nests in protected areas, such as the back of coves or in pockets in coves. They build their nests in areas protected from the wind, which can destroy the nests.

Padilla said the bass spawn will peak in about two weeks and will gradually taper off after that time. The fish that spawn toward the end of April have very little success in producing offspring.

LAKE MOHAVE: Very good fishing was found last Friday after the rainbow trout plant at Willow Beach. The fish stayed in the vicinity and anglers had excellent luck in catching fish that weighed as much as 5 pounds. A number of 10-trout limits were taken.

Stocking will be taking place each Friday at Willow Beach through the end of the year. Approximately 2,000 trout meauring about 12 inches each will be stocked weekly from Willow Beach Hatchery. A few 5-pound fish will be stocked each week for the next few weeks.

There is relatively slow fishing for striped bass in the Cottonwood Cove area. A few small stripers have come from the narrows above Cottonwood, but anglers have had to invest quite a bit of time on the water to catch the fish.

WAYNE E. KIRCH WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA: Anglers continued to report success on all reservoirs throughout the management area, according to Daniel Maes, area installation technician. A Boy Scout troop was extremely successful, landing 17 rainbow trout that ranged 14-20 inches. An 18-inch rainbow was also caught from Cold Springs reservoir.

Daytime temperatures were in the high 50s while the nights were in the low 30s.

EAGLE VALLEY RESERVOIR: Anglers reported fair results for stocked rainbow trout. Success rate was expected to increase after Monday's NDOW stocking.

ECHO CANYON RESERVOIR: Ben Johnson from Nevada State Parks said that anglers experienced success for rainbow trout. A few anglers caught their limit of five fish. The water is still a little murky, but it has not affected fishing. NDOW was scheduled to stock the reservoir Wednesday.