Fishing Forum

I am fairly new to the Las Vegas area. I live in the northwest side of town very close to Floyd Lamb. I have 4 kids ranging from 12 down to 3 that enjoy fishing. I am looking for an area to take the kids and actually catch fish. I am not all that picky on what type of fish to catch. Although, I have found that the kids enjoy catching crappy/blue gill type of fish. Catfish are not at the top of the list.

Things I am looking for if possible:
1. Fun Fishing is #1.
2. Relatively close to home. I would like to find a place within 45 minutes to go more often but will travel once in a while to go somewhere new.
3. My kids enjoy bobber type fishing. Easy for them and easy for me to monitor all of them at once. The older kids could use other tackle but I don't really want to mix too many things up.

I have been up to Sand Hallow in St George but we got skunked. Went at a bad time of day when it was too warm. I don't have a boat to get away from the shallow shore either.

Any suggestions to get a line wet with the kids and make it fun? Thanks for the help and info.
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Great question man... Being born and raised in Vegas you would think I would know haha! Pretty much haven't fished Nevada in the last 20yrs now that I'm older and got kids myself I want them to have the memories I do of that great fishing hole growing up "box car cove" was the spot when I was younger we pulled big stripers out of there every weekend "it was a blast!!" now I have been out of it and the lake being up and down etc. There really isn't any where to shore fish... Searching the net the last week I found hole 33 but it looks like quiet the hike and that's gonna be tough with little ones "5,7,9".... We spent last weekend at willow beach I hadn't been there in 25yrs lol. Well it was hot and miserable camping out there in a pop up trailer with no ac.... Anyways I fished from 2am till noon and didn't get squat tried it all chovies, big plugs, swim baits etc. The kids had worms, power bait etc going for trout but dad was going for that big stiper "wishes" and nothing..... Couple boats pulled up with some nice catches sat morning including a 25lb striper caught on a "big lure" .... Really stuck on what to do I drove for 3hrs sunday to cottonwood cove and back just to see what It was... It was really nice but again no shore fishing just boats and thousands of swimmers... So for now I guess I'm stuck with urban ponds "which I hate" but it's easy for the family to acsess and have fun.... I'm thinking about hitting up eagle valley resi in the next couple weeks I have never been there did most of my fishing up in beaver Utah lol
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i don't have requirements besides where i can find a shore to fish from lol... i know how to fish and have caught plenty just looking for a accessible one for my little ones....my son is really into fishing atm and i wanna capitalize on it...sorry you feel kids are a terror at the ponds that sucks for you fishing with your kids brings joy to my life i look at it different i guess....

i checked the shore fishing sticky are any of the spots accessible without a mile long hike??? i hate to drive out to each one just to find a spot that's easy enough to get to the water when im sure someone here has the knowledge already..... btw what's up with the attacks on the new guys??? jeez maybe i'll try a different forum..[pirate]
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[font "Calibri"][/font]I am a , soul. []

here is a map

[inline "33hole Map 4poundonly.PNG"]
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Sorry about 4poundonly. He has a way with words... or doesn't, I guess. He doesn't have kids, either, so he doesn't understand. Seems I have to apologize for him often.

We all welcome you here, and there are plenty of people full of good information willing to help.

The Boulder Beach area of Lake Mead is an easy-access spot. You can drive right down to the water's edge, even in a small car, and there is a small fishing pier. Stripers, catfish and carp are all options in this area. You may find small bluegill in the deeper weed-beds off the end of the pier, too. To get there, drive through Boulder City to get to the lake, and once you pass the toll booth, take your first right towards Hemminway Marina. Signs will take you left before you get to the launch ramp, taking you towards PWC Beach and Sailboat Beach. The fishing pier is the first area.
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Boulder Harbor to the West a couple miles is open again, but I haven't been back to check it out. There used to be a fishing pier there too.

Kingman Wash can be awesome, and it has a 3 mile bumpy dirt road to get there, but you can do it without 4x4.
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The urban ponds hold good numbers of bluegill if you need to catch a fish, but the lake will do you good if you spend enough time at it.

Other than here, Sand Hollow in Utah is about 2.5 hrs from Vegas, and can have stellar bluegill and bass fishing. Those big bluegill hang out in 12-25' of water around the sunken trees. You can usually see the tops of 'em.

Good luck, take pictures, and let us know how you do!
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Thanks bro no hard feelings lol... Another member was kind of enough to pm me most of the answers I was looking for and was a great help!!! I'll keep his name anonymous but sure he will speak up here most likely.. Man I was out there Sunday checking stuff out since it was to hot at willow and the kids wanted to swim I almost took 2 of those roads but ended up taking the cruise boat and taking them swimming at boulder beach...."it was rough the poles and tackle were in the car" I was ready to hike off and go for it haha!!! Man the times have changed it was cool back in the day to shoot out the Vegas wash and hook big stripers all night with chovies.... Been out of it for a long time but now I'm older and in the mist of getting a boat in the next month hopefully and studying alan Coles board for the last month I'm ready to go trophy hunting!!! Gonna buy a arsenal of ac plugs and give it hell man it might be a pipe dream at the moment but I won't stop until I get one!!!! My first fish was a 12lb striper down in boxcar cove around 86 lmao!!! I'll never forget that day I went with my next door neighbor since pops was working and after we got home Sunday morning and my dad saw those fish it was a weekly thing every weekend sleeping in a fold up chair pulling good size stripers for months!!!!"good times, good times". Looking for those to share with my kids now my son is 9 so he's a prime age to get hooked and I need a get away from the neighborhood so this is perfect... Well when the weather cools down...I see one thing hasn't changed best time to fish is from dusk to dawn..
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Yes, it may seem I have as many requirements as a "craigslist ad" but I am just trying to find something that will be enjoyable for my kids. I grew up fishing and one thing that made me want to continue fishing was the fact that when my dad took me as a kid I actually caught fish. I didn't have to wait for hours trying new tackle/bait all day just to get one bite. He would take me to the places where a wet line and basic tackle/bait would catch fish. Because I had good experiences as a kid I continued to fish. Too many people have bad experiences as kids and never want to fish again, ie getting skunked all day. So the requirements are needed and specific for a reason. If my kids don't have fun then while will they want to fish with me when they get older.

I am not opposed to the urban lakes at all. Just trying to find a fun, enjoyable fishing spot for the kids and get them some fish on the line. I don't care if they are small. I grew up fishing places that you would get bites all the time and caught fish everyday. That is the experience I want to pass to my kids. Just looking for a place to enjoy from time to time. Not looking to steal someones "secret" spot.

Any other suggestions besides stay away from where you are fishing to make sure my kids don't make any noise? Apologies that kids, like we all were a time ago, like to make noise, throw rocks into the water and run around while fishing. I know that when I was catching fish and getting bites I spent a lot less time making a "ruckus" around other fisherman.
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[quote Troylee]Another member was kind of enough to pm me most of the answers I was looking for and was a great help!!! I'll keep his name anonymous but sure he will speak up here most likely..[/quote]

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Often overlooked is Nesbitt lake outside of Alamo Nv. Its a bit of a longer drive than you were looking for, about 1hour and 15. But if you want to get your boy into some largemouth bass and big gills this is the place. The bass are all small, the lake is pretty bass heavy so they are stunted, but It was easy to catch 50 bass in half a day on palstics, mostly 10-12 inches, but a good way to get into bassin. The weeds are really bad there in summer, best time is March-May and October till close (no fishing in duck season) Its been a few years since I moved to Texas (fishing here is AWESOME!) so I have no recent report, but I am sure its still the same game. Good luck!
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Alan is a member of our Striper Club and donates at least one AC Plug to raffle at our monthly meetings.
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Thanks for the info. I will give it a shot one of these days with the kids.

Follow up question: When is the best time of day/year to fish around the areas listed above?
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[quote rcwso]
Follow up question: When is the best time of day/year to fish around the areas listed above?[/quote]

the best time is night to early morning, but the time of year varies from person to person, personally i think early to mid spring is favorable mostly cause of the weather for the stripers and late spring through summer for the catfish, i find it a little too hot for me to be out with the 2 yo during the summer months. bu like i said everyone has a different favorite time of year but the time of day is pretty much universal[fishon]
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Lmao!!!!! That's some funny ish right there!!!! I belong to many forums mostly saltwater and reef forums actually saw a couple names I know like jimboslice from one of them.... I didn't take it to heart man I just wasn't gonna get punked on my first post I see this being a problem on many sites and every one says back off the newbs etc... I just wanted to make a statement as you did [bob] like I said no hard feelings.... I'm sure if I met ya we would get a long just fine my kids don't act like that I would whoop there azz!!! Haha. It's all good bro with that being said I'm hitting the lake tonight with this stormy weather the fishing should be decent for stripers.... If I don't make it tonight I will be there by 4am I'm a early bird I get up every day at that time.... I'm sure we will cross paths some day fwiw..... Hopefully we pull some fish in I'll be sure to post pics....[]
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Well went fishing about 10 min after my last post.... Got skunked and boulder harbor so after 2hrs went and found the pier at hemming way.... Man it delivered!!!! Caught about 25 stripers and my son pulled the first in a a little bass or "green trout haha!". Fishing was great they were small but man it was fun kids had a blast the second your line hit the water it took off.... I could have caught a 100 if we had more worms lol.... All and all it was fun the kids left with big s....[ the fish ranged from 3" to 10" lmao!!!!


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nice work man I'm glad u found the pier and got your kids onto some fish. I too have had those dinkster fest days they are fun, I still have never caught a smallmouth out at lake mead so you are one up on me for that baby smallie u got, and kids dont care if they are 3 inches or 30 lbs fish are fish to them and that is the best way to keep them stoked about fishing. u coulda kept all them and pan fried em up for some fish tacos. [cool] good job out there! way to end summer vacation [fishon]
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It was cool man first time I seen a small mouth come outta there myself it was the first fish we caught then stripers went nuts!!!! There had to be thousands out there man I didn't matter if you casted 60ft out or just dropped your line off the pier a foot down you could hook one.... Some of the stripers were tiny man like 2" As soon as your sinker hit the water click your reel and yank they were on the hook.... We pulled at least 8 or so straight out of the water on the hook set lol... The kids caught more than I did since my pole is set up for the big boys I didn't feel most of the bites... Between that and baiting the kids poles every 5 seconds I didn't get much done.... There stoked thou and can't wait to go back.... As soon as the sun started setting about 7 or so it was non stop.... I was using some big lures but never got a bite the worms and dinks was were it was at.... My 8" ac casitas was bigger than all the fish we pulled in..
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[quote troylee]I was using some big lures but never got a bite the worms and dinks was were it was at.... My 8" ac casitas was bigger than all the fish we pulled in.. [/quote]

they're out there bro check out this post from back in feb. from one of our other members click on the pix at the bottom of his post

http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/Nevad...ead#unread
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Nice I know there around there I see the big boys eating at the marina they steal all the food including popcorn from the carp haha.... Kids are jonesin to go back clouds are moving in... Just spooled a couple of my old reels "ultra lights" and looks like were heading out for round 2.... Hopefully some big guys today... Regardless I won't mind since it's all c&r regardless unless it's a trophy fish then it might go on the wall...
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* note to self *. DO NOT FISH there on Sunday's!!!!! Man 21 poles in a 10'x10' square don't cut it.... Very frustrating..[mad] luckily no one caught a fish or every one would have left after the mess haha!!!! Oh well.... Shad were boiling like crazy but all the poles out there had shrimp... I couldn't cast my lure with all the damn lines...
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Good work Troylee [cool] +rep
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