Urban ponds offer fishy fun
If nobody has called Ivy Santee the fish whisperer yet, somebody needs to.
OK, so Santee doesn‘t actually talk to fish. But Santee, aquatic education coordinator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, is so attuned to their ways that she can spot even the most bashful fish hiding in the cozy depths of Lorenzi Park‘s pond.
Once Santee points out a bluegill or a catfish or even a turtle crawling onto the shore of the tiny island across the way, it‘s easy for others to see it, too. And that, in turn, is reassuring evidence that catchable creatures do, indeed, live in the Las Vegas Valley‘s urban ponds.
In fact, for those who love to fish (or those who just want to find out if they do) urban ponds offer close-to-home opportunities for anglers to wet a line and enjoy a classic summertime activity.
Carol Siores and her kids are no strangers to the feeling of dropping a line and easing into the rhythm of a summer day. During a recent outing at Lorenzi Park, Siores notes that, during a visit just the previous afternoon, the kids caught a bluegill (Siores has the photo on her cellphone) and they seem to be having fun today even if they end up catching nothing at all.
Urban ponds can be found at Sunset Park, 2601 E. Sunset Road; Lorenzi Park, at West Washington Avenue at Twin Lakes Drive; Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, 9200 Tule Springs Road; and Veterans Memorial Park, 1650 Buchanan Blvd., Boulder City.
Collectively, the ponds rank among the busiest fishing waters in the state, Santee says. And while the valley’s urban ponds can get busy during prime fishing hours, "you can get out there at certain times and have the place to yourself."
Santee says early mornings and late afternoons and evenings are the most productive summertime fishing hours at the ponds. During busy periods, anglers probably will share the shoreline with a broad swath of Southern Nevada residents.
"You‘ve got young people, older people, disabled people. You‘ve got folks who have barely ever fished before going out," she says. "We get people from all over. We get people from every walk of life."
Similarly, urban pond anglers include recreational fishermen and "people who are out there sustenance fishing," Santee says. "They‘re, maybe, on a fixed income, so if they can go catch a few fish every day to subsidize their meals, that can help a lot."
Urban ponds are welcoming places for newcomers to learn the ways of the sport, and because the Nevada Department of Wildlife regularly stocks the ponds, even beginners can experience encouraging success.
"There are actually more fish per acre of water in urban ponds than there are at bigger lakes," Santee says. In addition to trout stocked during the winter months and catfish stocked during warmer months, "we also have some reproducing bluegill and a few other types of fish that reproduce in mass quantities."
In fact, she says, "right now we‘ve got bluegill like crazy in all of the ponds, and they‘re tons of fun to catch. Pound for pound, I‘d rather catch bluegill than anything else."
Santee says she also has seen ‘some awesome largemouth bass‘ at Lorenzi Park.
Still, catching fish in urban ponds "takes perseverance and a little bit of knowledge," she adds. "You can‘t just throw out anything and expect to catch fish, which brings my job into account. I do fishing classes and teach people how to catch them." (Visit http://www.ndow.org/Education/Angler_Ed/How_to_Fish for tips about fishing in Nevada and links to free classes and clinics.)
Siores and her group of young anglers can vouch for both the pleasure and the productivity of urban pond fishing.
According to Siores, one of her sons saw young learners at a Nevada Department of Wildlife learn-to-fish event at Floyd Lamb Park in June and wanted to give it a try himself. "We got them their fishing poles and, now, they just love fishing. They don‘t even want to leave. They just want to fish," she says.
What does son Terrence, 5, like best about fishing? "Putting the fish back," he says.
Santee says a good entry-level rod and reel can be purchased new for about $25, although "a good piece of equipment is going to be more $50 to $75." She recommends that families who are new to fishing invest in only one or two rod-and-reel combos. That way, a child and an adult can fish at the same time.
Adults and youths who fish also will need licenses. Nevada fishing licenses (which run annually from March 1 to the last day of February) cost $29 for people age 16 and older, and junior licenses for people ages 12 through 15 are $13. A trout stamp, which costs $10, also is required for anybody who is fishing for, or fishing in a pond in which they might catch, trout. Single-day fishing licenses also are available for $9.
Adults may supervise children without having a license. However, if the adult baits, casts or helps children reel in their catch, they will need one.
Adults also should familiarize themselves with Nevada fishing regulations. (For more information, visit http://www.ndow.org/Education/Publications/Fishing_Guide)
Fishing at urban ponds is legal only during park operating hours, Santee adds.
Introducing kids to fishing can give them a sport they can enjoy for the rest of their lives, says Santee, who does much of her angling education work with second- and third-graders.
"We find if we don‘t get kids introduced to fishing before the age of 12, when they get to high school they don‘t think about doing stuff like that," she says.
Santee also has noticed that many urban pond anglers are adults who have taken up or, maybe, renewed their relationship with fishing after retirement and who even may be surprised that Southern Nevada offers so many close-to-home angling opportunities.
"Many people have the idea we‘re in the desert, so there‘s no water here," she says. "It‘s a matter of getting out of (that) perception and learning that, even though we‘re in the desert, we are a place where you can fish."
Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280, or follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.
