Southern Nevada Fishing Report 7-23-10

[Saltwater Fishing]

Southern Nevada


QUAGGA REMINDER: NDOW is asking boaters to take the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of quagga mussels from the Colorado River system to other waters. Thoroughly clean, drain and dry your boat, trailer and towing vessel before traveling to another water.

EAGLE VALLEY RESERVOIR

Few anglers have been visiting the area due to the warmer temperatures. Anglers traveling from Las Vegas will appreciate the 90 degree weather during the day and the 40 degree weather at night. Fishing is considered fair with only a few trout caught off the dam and dock on PowerBait and worms. Weeds are making fishing more difficult.

ECHO CANYON RESERVOIR

Bass fishing has been very good along the edges with small lures such as gitzits in brown and white as well as green and white. Trout fishing is fair for anglers using PowerBait and worms. Crappie fishing has slowed down.

LAKE MEAD

Anglers are finding good top water action in the Vegas Wash area as well as the Overton Arm. No big boils, but lots of slurps from stripers. Boating anglers are finding more fish than shore anglers. Finding the fish is the key to success on this reservoir. Baits of choice continue to be cut anchovies or sardines while still fishing for both stripers and catfish.

LAKE MOHAVE

Fishing at Cottonwood Cove is fair to good with occasional scattered clouds and some light winds. Large and smallmouth bass are being caught using a variety of top water and shallow diving lures. Striper fishing is only considered fair with the occasional fish caught while trolling with anchovies 30-to 40-feet deep. Catfish are also biting both day and night with several prepared baits. Anglers are finding good success for trout using PowerBait, lures, salmon eggs and flies.







Here are some of the successful anglers from Lake Mojave. From left to right: Bruce Silat with a 42-inch, 41.46 pound striper, Gavin holds up the fish he pulled in at Willow Beach.
LAUGHLIN

Anglers reported good fishing for large rainbows along the Colorado River below Davis Dam. Popular techniques have been using small lures or PowerBait from either boat or shore.

WAYNE E. KIRCH WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA

Bass fishing has been good for anglers using plastics and hardware. One angler recommends using top water plastics. Avoid the heat and fish the sunset for some awesome fishing. Trout are slurping emergers in the morning before heading to deeper water as the day heats up. Weeds will be a problem for bait anglers fishing off the bottom.

URBAN PONDS

Sunfish have been the name of the game at Floyd Lamb Park. Anglers have been catching several pan-sized fish using mealworms. At Floyd Lamb and several other urban ponds, catfish are still biting cut and prepared baits such as shrimp, hotdogs and stink-baits.
The heat is upon us and that means that bass fishing should be good and trout fishing will start dropping off, especially in the middle of the day. Already signs are pointing to trout moving into deeper water and the weed growth is coming on strong.

This also means that as the surface temperatures of the water climb into the 70’s, that anglers practicing catch and release need to take extra care. Don’t fish during the heat of the day if you are going to release the fish, and use appropriate strength line so that you don’t fight the fish to long and tire it.

The warm surface water has little oxygen and the trout tire quickly. Then when put back into the water it takes a while for them to recuperate due to the oxygen depleted water. So anglers should take extra care and make sure that the trout are revived before releasing them.

Today is the Angel Lake Fishing Derby at Angel Lake just outside of Wells and the surface water temps there are still cool and the fishing is good. If you read this early enough, bring your kids out for a fantastic event with great fishing, great booths, lots of prizes and a free lunch for all participants. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. and the derby starts at 8:15. Call the Wells Chamber of Commerce at 775-752-3540 or NDOW at 775-777-2305 for more information.

ANGEL LAKE


Fishing was good here this past weekend with many anglers catching limits. Green seems to be the magic color and those anglers fishing green PowerBait right off of the bottom were catching limits in under an hour. Green wooly buggers fished deep were also catching fish with one anglers catching 20 fish in just a few hours. Anglers should have success using worms, PowerBait, small spinners, small wooly or crystal buggers and nymphs. The campground is open and it is much cooler here than in Elko or Wells, so get up and beat the heat.

CAVE LAKE

Fishing has been good for 8 to 12 inch fish with many anglers catching limits. 4000 fish averaging a bit over 10” were stocked this week. Most anglers use worms or nightcrawlers underneath a bobber, but small spinners, nymphs and crystal buggers all work well here. Mornings and evenings are the best times to fish here. The inlet end of the lake is a great area to float tube and flyrodders should use Cave Lake specials, small crystal buggers, assorted dries and nymphs.

COMINS LAKE

A few bass have been showing up, but no trout due to the pike infestation. Pike fishing has also been poor. There are few if any trout left in the lake also due to the pike infestation.

ILLIPAH

At Illipah the water levelas are low, but the outflow is turned off and the level is stabilized. This is an irrigation reservoir, with water rights that are legally obligated for irrigation and stock use, and it is common for this to happen. That being said, fishing has been good for holdover fish averaging 12 to 14 inches in size, using worms, PowerBait, spinners and flies. Small black or olive crystal and olive wooly buggers as well as damsel fly nymphs and zug bugs should all be effective here.

JAKE'S / BOISE RESERVOIR

Fishing has been fair to good for bass and fair for trout. Bass anglers should be using rubber gear or crankbaits, while trout fisherman should be using worms, PowerBait, damsel fly nymphs, midge larva patterns and wooly buggers. Anglers can expect fish ranging from 10 to 15 inches, with the good carryover from last year. This week the lake was stocked with a couple of hundred 6 to 8 inch catfish.


JIGGS / ZUNINO RESERVOIR

Unfortunately, Jiggs has dried up within the last couple of weeks.

MOUNTAIN STREAMS & LAKES

Flows are subsiding and many streams are becoming fishable. However, streams in the Rubies, like Lamoille Creek are still experiencing higher than average flows for this time of year. Start with the beaver ponds and larger pools where the flow is a bit slower. Fish a nymph, small streamer, or worm below a strike indicator or bobber in the larger pools and deeper water including cut banks. At lower elevations, hoppers are starting to appear, and over the next week or two, anglers may be able to switch to dry flies.

There is still a lot of snow and ice at the higher elevations and as of last weekend, some of the lakes were still ice covered. As of Thursday morning Lamoille Lake was 70% ice free and the fish were hitting beadhead olive buggers in the open water with some approaching 10 inches in size. Island Lake was open and the same flies were working, but the fish seemed to be averaging only around 6 inches in size. Liberty should also have plenty of open water.

RUBY LAKE NWR

Bass fishing is starting to get good, but the best is yet to come. Afternoons have been the best bet, though with the highs in the high 90’s that are forecasted, fishing should be good for most of the day now. and rubber gear, minnow imitations and streamer flies should all work. Unless your presentation is weedless, plan on losing some gear, so bring extra. If it is a very still afternoon or evening, try throwing some poppers. Trout are being caught in the main body of water, though it is slowing down. Trout fishing is just fair on the main body of the lake as well as in the collection ditch. Fish the collection ditch with streamers, woolybuggers, minnow patterns or bright spinners for a chance at a trophy trout. Fly rodders should use dark streamer patterns, dragonfly and damselfly nymphs. If new to the area, get a copy of the special regulations for this water at the NDOW office in town or at the Ruby Lake NWR headquarters at the Refuge. The collection ditch is artificial lures or flies only.

SOUTH FORK RESERVOIR

The south end and the shallows are starting to weed up. The bass have finally abandoned all the nests, there were a few malingerers last week, and anglers should be targeting structure. Fishing has been fair to good for trout, fair to good for bass, fair for wipers and fair on catfish. The usual worms, PowerBait, gold spinners and light colored lures should work. Fly fishermen should be using damsel fly nymphs or midge larvae patterns fished just off of the weed beds. If those don’t work, switch to dark colored wooly buggers, streamer and crawfish patterns. The bluffs along the northwest side of the lake were producing a few fish as was the south end of the lake below the buoy line. Trollers are catching fish fish along the face of the dam and along the old river bed in the middle of the lake. Fishing below the dam is still fairly good, with the lower flows concentrating the fish in the larger pools. Wipers, bass, catfish and trout are all being caught in this area. Below the dam red seems to be the magic color whether fishing with bait, lures or flies.

WILDHORSE RESERVOIR



The water level continues to drop at a rate of about a foot a week to 10 days. That being said, fishing has been fair to good for trout, fair to good for black bass, fair for wipers and slow to fair for perch. Anglers are still catching limits of 12 to 15 inch trout using everything from worms to PowerBait, lures and flies. The occasional 20-inch fish is showing up in the creel. Green PowerBait fished near the bottom in the canyon by the dam continues to work well. Shore anglers were also doing well on the beach just north of the state park boat ramp. Bass fishing continues to improve with the warm water temps and anglers report good luck fishing structure. The wipers appear to have left the south end of the lake, so try the mouth of the canyon leading to the dam and the mouths of Penrod and Hendricks arms. A few anglers report some luck with perch, but they are still not showing up in any kind of numbers. The road between the state park headquarters and the boat ramp is still under repair and is fairly rough. However, you can get to the boat ramp and campground, just take is slow and be aware of the construction workers.

WILLOW CREEK RESERVOIR

This reservoir is full, though as those who have followed the saga of Willow Creek over the last few years know, there aren’t many fish. Several thousand catfish were planted last year as well as a few hundred crappie and some bass. Anglers are being asked to return all crappie and bass back to the water until a fishery is firmly established. This may take several years depending upon water conditions. However, the catfish that were planted were good sized and should make great eating.

WILSON RESERVOIR

The lake is no longer spilling and the fish are concentrated in the pools below the spillway. Please keep any fish caught there, up to the legal limit. The water has actually cleared up nicely and trout are being caught around the lake. Trout are averaging 13 to 15 inches with an occasional 18-inch fish filling the creel. The hot presentation is, drum roll please, pink flatfish. That’s right, pink. Small spinners, gold spoons and bead head olive woolly buggers should also work. Worms, PowerBait, damsel fly nymph and midge patterns should all work. Bass fishing The road has been graded.

DUCK VALLEY INDIAN RESERVATIONS

NOTE: Any waters in the Duck Valley Indian Reservation are not waters managed by NDOW. They are managed by the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, Shoshone-Paiute Tribes and are managed by tribal regulations and license requirements. NDOW makes no guarantee of the fishing or waters reported here.

Looks like another beautiful weekend on tap at the Reservation. Highs in the upper 80s with lows a comfortable 58-60 degrees. Mountain View – As has been the case for a good part of the season, fly fisherman still have the edge. Not terribly busy at the reservoir the last few days but today one angler caught 10 fish in 1.5 hours, with all being in the 17 – 19 inch range. He was using black leech w/a flashy tail. His buddy however, only caught two in the same amount of time. No creel survey yesterday but on Tuesday catch rates were 3+ fish per hour. My lone bait fisherman on Tuesday caught 2.5 fish per hour. Sheep Creek – Bass fishermen were out there today and one harvested a 17 ½”, 4.14 pound bass. Another angler harvested a 16 incher. Fishing was slow for fly fishermen at this reservoir today. Lake Billy Shaw – While it was pretty quiet over the weekend, the anglers that did hit Billy Shaw were not disappointed as they reported high catch rates and feisty fish. A 20 incher was caught on the 4th.


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