Hi everyone,
I just moved from Eastern Idaho to Las Vegas. Fishing was great in Idaho, and I'm not sure what to expect from lake mead. Although, I'm looking forward to "understanding" lake meade and its fishing patterns.
My question is, I won't be an "in-stater" for 6 months. Is it worth getting an out of state license for $69 (or $79, I can't remember) that will only last until March? Bass like warm waters, do the bass around here slow down in the winter months like they should or is it warm enough to still do well?
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welcome to Vegas.
Lake Mead is one of the better fisheries in the west. It is huge though and can be daunting. LmB and SMB fishing is great but you will likely need a boat to target them seriously. In the winter the water is cold and the bass do slow down.[fishin]
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The bass fishing might slow down in the winter but not the striper fishing. In fact the stripers appear healthier in the winter possibly due in part to the trout plants that occut weekly in the winter time. Lake Mohave seems to give up 20 pund fish and larger in the winter time on a consistant basis. Several have been caught over 50 pounds and the state record of 67 pounds was caught on Lake Mohave.
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I have never caught a Striper but I want to add that to my collection of catches. Do stripers like deeper water or will they hang close to the shore?
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Welcome you can get striper from shore or like vegaskid said get a boat to target lakemead bass seriously. I was kinda bummed out when I first moved here from washington/oregon but come to love lake mead and good luck [cool]
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Welcome to the board and state RRF.
I would suggest buying the proper license before going fishing. I believe the fine for fishing without one is around $300. The license will cover you for the next six months until you are a resident and can buy the cheaper license. Striper fishing probably won't die off until November or so and you can fish for trout during the colder months. So there still fishing to be done this season and it should be worth it to buy the license.
Have fun and good luck.
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Thats great news. I was getting fishing depressed as I was driving away from Idaho. I'm glad Lake Mead keeps you satisfied, I'm sure I'll feel the same way.
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[quote REAL_RAT_FINK] I'm glad Lake Mead keeps you satisfied, I'm sure I'll feel the same way.[/quote]
not only that but living in vegas u also have urban ponds that hold good bass, sunfish, and catfishing in the late spring, summer and early fall months, then late fall they start stocking trout into sunset park, lorenzi park, floyd lamb state park, and boulder city pond, as well as lake mead,and that goes on throughout winter into spring till it gets too hot. lots of fast action there, so should u buy a license? if u are really missing fishing; then yeah its worth it, u will use it the rest of the year, cause there is always something biting. get with some of the anglers here, like the whizzle, sil240sxrwd, erawk, willy702, just to name a few... they all know a thing or 2 about the hot spots and techniques. welcome aboard.
~chris
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Welcome to Nevada!
There is good fishing to be had all year long here -
Striper fishing is good all year, with the summer and fall being great for quantity. You can catch over one-hundred fish a day if you know what to do. In the winter, you can try to catch one of the elusive 20 - 50 lb stripers that roam the shallows looking for a freshly-stocked rainbow trout to chew on. ([url "http://maps.google.com/maps?expIds=25651,25657,25900,25961,26119,26325&sugexp=ldymls&cp=5&hl=en&wrapid=tljp1283110394390110&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=willow+beach&fb=1&gl=us&hq=willow+beach&hnear=Paradise,+NV&ei=_bV6TJa0JoyksQOBtuzsCg&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&resnum=4&sqi=2&ved=0CC8QtgMwAw"]Willow Beach[/url], an area on the Colorado river about an hour from here, is a world class striper fishery. Dozens of 50+ lb fish have been pulled from those waters. Persistence pays off here.) Avg 1-2 lbs.
Largemouth bass start biting in the spring before they spawn. The prespawn bite can be killer, with those big cow females picking the best spawning sites. Summer brings a whole new challenge to the bass fishing, with day-time temps getting over 115°. Fall is great for just about everything that swims in the lake. The threadfin shad are fat, and everyone is feeding on em. You can catch bass all winter if you know how to hunt for em. Good luck. Avg, 1-4 lbs.
Smallmouth fishing can be great any time of year. They like deep rock piles and long rocky points. Avg 1-3 lbs.
Channel catfish are a viable option in the warmer months, with early spring, late summer and fall being the best time to target them. Avg 1-5 lbs.
You can alway carp fish too. Lots of big, strong fish. They like corn with some garlic scent added. Avg 2-10lbs.
Trout get stocked all winter starting in November usually, and you can catch a limit on stock days (friday mornings). They get eaten up by the big stripers pretty fast, so you might be wasting your time fishing for them on any other day. Typical 9" stocker fish.
There are also bluegill, tilapia, white catfish, green sunfish, and probably an alligator or two swimmin out there. See what you can catch, take a picture, and share it with us!
The Whizzle
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Theres tilapia in mead whizzle?
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I need to find one of those alligators, I could use some new boots...[cool]
[url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1999/Aug-11-Wed-1999/news/11732555.html"]http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1999/Aug-11-Wed-1999/news/11732555.html[/url]
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[quote vegaskid]I need to find one of those alligators, I could use some new boots...[cool][url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/...9/news/11732555.html[/quote[/url"]http://www.reviewjournal.com/...9/news/11732555.html[/quote[/url[/url]]]
DIDN'T SOMEONE GET ONE IN SUNSET PARK LAST SUMMER TOO? CARELESS PPL, GETTING THAT CUTE BABY GATOR OFF THE INTERNET AND IT OUT GROWS THAT 10 GALLON TANK WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR.... WHAT TO DO NOW? I KNOW!! LETS LET IT GO!!! BIG DUMMIES
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[center][url "http://www.wayneswords.com/cgi-bin/wayne.pl?noframes;read=64675"]Wayne's Words [/url]
[center][url "http://www.wayneswords.com/cgi-bin/wayne.pl?noframes;read=64675"]2002 Lake Mead Tilapia article[/url]
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has any one on bft ever caught a tilapia? the article says that they do not take the lure very well..
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[quote lvrider]has any one on bft ever caught a tilapia? the article says that they do not take the lure very well..[/quote]
I dont think anyone ever will [
] but I believe they were once there but no longer. also in the ndow handbook I saw a lake mead record in the 70's of 30 pound coho (silversalmon) theres believed to be crappie in mead too.
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Frozen peas work well. The fish are small and very skidish. We tried the cast net but the always see the shadow and swim away.
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They are small and it's hard to tell what they are until you see them up close. Boulder harbor has some in the shallow weed area by the fishing pier. Also in the boxcar & Crawdad Cove area. They are in shallow warm water and look like perch schooling around like baitfish.
Alamo lake in AZ had some up to 14" about five years ago. They don't have the instinct to go deep in the winter and die in the cold shallow water.
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Thanks iamthesmf [blush]
Might have seen them bfore but would of thought they were sunfish. lake mead is fairly new to me nice to know some new info. I know Az puts em in the canals to keep down on cleaning. thanks again
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i think i got into them once. it was deep clear water i seen them in and i thought they were blue gills and put the smallest hook i had in my back pack on and a piece of gulp corn. i hooked them and got them bout half way up and they would pop off and dive back down, i think they were just holding on and not actually hooking them cause the hook was too big. they were really dark black and shinny in the water.
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About 8 years ago, I got a hawaiian sling (spear), and I went out to the lake with some goggles for a swim. I found a big cove back in Government Wash that was LOADED with big 2-4 lb tilapia. They were all nesting in some shallow, stained water. Some of the fish had these wild red patches on them. They change colors a bit when they are spawning. I nailed 4 big tilapia that day with my spear - they all went over 2 lbs. As far as catching them on hook and line, frozen peas are supposed to work, but I've never tried.
I saw some bigger-sized tilapia last spring, spawning in Boulder Harbor. Thought they were carp at first, but then the wind died down and we could really see them.
I have seen a lot of smaller fish schooling together. Mostly 4"- 6" fish. Hope the bass are chewin on em...
The Whizzle
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