County fair attendees relate interesting tales

In case you missed it, the Clark County Fair took place last weekend at the fairgrounds in Logandale, a rural community about an hour north of Las Vegas.

During its five-day run, I talked with hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts who attended the fair. Among them were two whose stories caught my attention.

The first is an angler, and the second an avid archer from England. Unfortunately, I failed to catch their names, so I’ll call them Bill and Sue.

Bill shared an abbreviated story of catching his first tiger trout while fishing at Eagle Valley Reservoir. This 65-acre impoundment is located within Spring Valley State Park, about 18 miles northeast of Pioche. Though rainbow trout are the reservoir’s primary game fish, it also is home to largemouth bass and brown and tiger trout.

Bill explained how exciting it was to catch such a scrappy fish as the tiger trout seemed to be. Others have given me similar accounts. He explained that he knew tiger trout are a hybrid, a cross between two species, then asked what those species were. With confidence, I proceeded to answer his question.

“Brook trout and … brook trout and … um,” I said, but the other half of the equation seemed to elude me.

Bill walked away with his question unanswered, and feeling a little embarrassed, I was determined to resolve that glitch in my personal memory chip.

A quick reference for information about fishing is the website takemefishing.org. After a brief visit, I can clear up the tiger trout equation.

This unique fish is a cross between a male brook trout and a female brown trout. Though the tiger is primarily an artificial cross, this hybrid has been known to occur naturally in the wild, but the fish cannot reproduce. The tiger trout does not really resemble either of the parent species, but is characterized by brown colorations and yellow, worm-like markings or vermiculations on its back and sides.

Tiger trout are a surface feeder, stockier than either the brook or brown trout, and known to be an aggressive eater with strong fighting abilities. Since it does tend to feed near the surface, the tiger trout can be caught with fly tackle and light spinning gear.

In her easily recognizable British accent, Sue explained that she was an avid archer but had little use for the compound bows to which so many of us Americans have taken a liking. Obviously, a statement like that called for further discussion.

As it turns out, Sue competes in what she calls “King Henry VIII” style archery. This approach to the sport of field archery involves shooting traditional bows while using techniques that mimic those once used in battle. Forget 20- to 30-yard distances over clear terrain, 50 yards is an average distance. Sue and her fellow competitors shoot distances surpassing 100 yards over terrain that is anything but level and definitely not clear.

She described one station in which the archer is required to shoot over a tree to hit the target. When I asked how they managed that, she said you just have to raise the bow to the right height. In other words, they use good ol’ Kentucky windage. While the thought of shooting in such situations is intriguing, my skills would be lacking on such a course. I have given that shot considerable thought in the past few days. While I may not be ready to take it, I would like to see such a shot.

■ NOTE — By a 16-5 vote, the Nevada Senate passed Joint Resolution 11, which calls for an amendment to the state constitution that would protect hunting, trapping and fishing as a right. The resolution has been forwarded to the Assembly for consideration. On Friday, the bill was assigned to the Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining for study.

Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His “In the Outdoors” column, published Thursday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDOW. Any opinions he states in his column are his own. He can be reached at intheoutdoorslv@gmail.com.