Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Fishing fans catching up on lake’s shore

Veteran Memorial Park fishing

Heather Cory

Boulder City resident, Tony Haller, spends a relaxing afternoon fishing at the Veterans Memorial Park fishing pond on Jan. 27. With the pond freshly stocked by the Nevada Department of Wildlife, Haller has no trouble finding fish to nibble on his line.

Veteran Memorial Park fishing

With the Veterans Memorial Park fishing pond freshly stocked by the Nevada Department of Wildlife, Tony Haller has no trouble catching a fish on Jan. 27. One of the city's most popular spots, Haller spends a few days a week at the pond to try his luck.
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It is a rare sight to travel past the fishing pond at Veterans Memorial Park and not find someone along the shore hoping to get a bite.

The lake is stocked with everything from a trout, catfish, blue gill and bass.

Boulder City resident Tony Haller and Las Vegan Rick Campbell are two of the regulars at the pond and have become fishing buddies.

"It's a very clean pond with nice people here. It's well kept and they do a great job of stocking it," Haller said.

Campbell said he found the pond by accident. He was in Boulder City and driving on Buchanan Boulevard when he noticed some people fishing.

"I always keep my gear with me, so I pulled into the parking lot and started fishing," he said. "I caught two that day."

The job of stocking the pond falls to the Nevada Department of Wildlife, which stocks the pond twice a week between November and March, and once a month between April and October.

Each restocking brings in approximately 1,200 fish, or 2,300 pounds. The trout are brought from the Mason Valley hatchery in Northern Nevada because the Las Vegas Hatchery is closed because of the quagga mussel infestation.

Blaine Merrell, a game warden for the wildlife department, said the department carefully measures each stocking.

"The one thing you don't want is to overpopulate the pond with too many fish. We try and keep it a healthy aquatic system," he said.

The pond was constructed in 2001 as a joint project between Boulder City and the wildlife department. It was part of the master plan for Veterans Memorial Park, which also included two soccer fields, four baseball fields and the model boat pond. The pond is approximately 3.5 acres in size with a maximum depth of 15 feet.

"Veterans Memorial Park is the flagship of our parks system. A lot of people come here, and we're quite proud of what we provide," Hall said.

A Nevada fishing license is required to fish at the pond and there is a limit of three fish per day.

The pond is taken care of by the city's Public Works department, which checks the pumps on a daily basis and uses a fish-friendly dye to prevent algae growth, Parks and Recreation director Roger Hall said.

Hall said the pond is a minimal cost to the city and doesn't foresee any changes taking place.

"The majority of the infrastructure is in place, so it's just the cost of running the pumps, and the water cost and occasional maintenance," Hall said. "Besides, a lot of people would be mad if we got rid of it."

That's a relief to the fishermen like Campbell and Haller.

"It doesn't matter if we catch anything or not. You can't beat coming out here and relaxing and fishing," Campbell said.

Brent Hinckley can be reached at 990-7822 or [email protected].

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