According to the thermometer on the instrument panel, the temperature was already nearing the mid-80s when Roger drove the truck down the launch ramp at Temple Bar Marina at Lake Mead’s upper end. Since it was still quite early — just after 5 a.m. — that could mean only one thing. It was going to be a hot day. We could only hope the fishing action would follow suit.
In The Outdoors
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.
intheoutdoorslv@gmail.com
When the Nevada State Board of Wildlife Commissioners meets this weekend in Reno, it will have a full agenda to contend with, including big-game tag quotas for the 2014 hunting seasons and a possible change in the regulation defining legal black powder substitutes for use when hunting with muzzle-loading firearms.
When news broke in December that the Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery no longer would raise and stock rainbow trout along the lower Colorado River, it sent a shock wave through the recreational fishing communities in Southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Anglers experienced disbelief and feelings of betrayal, and community leaders voiced concern about the financial impact on local economies.
There is something exciting about slipping up to the edge of a small mountain stream with a fishing rod in your hand, especially if the stream is one you have never fished before. It is like a blank canvas to an artist who has yet to determine where to begin working with his first brush stroke.
There is no shortage of tall tales on the bookshelves of fishing lore. Perhaps the most common are stories about the ones that got away, and they are probably the most frequently updated. Not far behind are big-fish stories followed by tales of precious time spent with special people, but among my favorites are those that combine reality with humor to create a picture of the near miraculous.
One of the greatest stories rarely told is the one that details the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, which according to the Association of Fish &Wildlife Agencies “is the world’s most successful system of policies and laws to restore and safeguard fish and wildlife and their habitats through sound science and active management.”
During its meeting Saturday in Reno, the Nevada State Board of Wildlife commissioners voted to regulate the gathering of shed antlers by commercial and recreational shed hunters, a first for the state. Though the board chose not to make possession of a hunting license mandatory for shed hunters, it did vote unanimously to prohibit the gathering of shed antlers from Jan. 1 through April 15.
If you have been waiting to peruse the pages of Nevada’s 2014 Big Game Seasons and Application Regulations, your wait is over. Though the printed version isn’t expected to hit shelves until early next week, the online version is already available. And whatever you do, don’t pass up the Important Information page.
While talking with a couple of Lake Mead fishermen recently, the subject turned to gizzard shad. Since they showed up in Lake Mead in 2007, gizzards have displaced threadfin shad as both the primary forage fish in the lake and the live bait of choice for many anglers. But what if the quick-darting baitfish could be more than just another source of bass food?
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to fish for walleye and sauger at Lake of the Woods, a rather large body of water located where Minnesota and Canada come together. While there, I learned just how tasty walleye and sauger can be and had my first introduction to the use of downriggers.