Fishing Forum

Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone has used an inflatable raft at Lake Mead before to fish. Is it safe?
I'm visiting Vegas for vacation from California in December and thought about bringing my Sevylor FishHunter 360, it has one of those Minn Kota trolling motors on it.

I've only taken it on small, calm lakes, where if something happened, I could just row back.

But with Lake Mead, I'm assuming there would be lots of real boats and possible strong winds.

So is Lake Mead one of those lakes where one minute everything is calm, and the next minute, there are 60mph winds (i.e. Pyramid Lake) blowing me to Arizona?

Anyone done it? Thoughts?

(I did do a forum search, but it thread progress more into Kayaks)

I'd appreciate any feedback!

Thanks
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Depending on where you launch, you should be fine. I would recommend Government Wash. Even if it is fairly windy out it is usually not too bad back on that area. And it is right in the middle of some good fishing areas. I would stay away from any of the formal launch ramps. You would have a long haul to get to anyplace decent (unless you stayed by marina/tires at LV Boat Harbor).
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[quote dsmacey] I would stay away from any of the formal launch ramps. You would have a long haul to get to anyplace decent.[/quote]

I agree with that.

Inflatables are fine on Mead if you know your limitations. Check the weather reports from more than one source before you go. I like to cross-reference [url "http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=36.0851756090981&lon=-114.76524369140623"]NOAA[/url] and [url "http://www.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/graph/Lake+Mead+National+Recreation+Area+NV+NVNPSLAME:13:US"]Weather.com[/url]. [url "http://www.windfinder.com/forecast/lake_mead_crawdad_cove"]Windfinder[/url] can be good too, if you figure out how to read the data.

Boats aren't too much of a concern this time of year - Memorial Day isn't a good day to be paddling around , but there isn't enough traffic to be a problem now. Don't forget an emergency whistle, and wear visible clothes if you are worried about it.

Waves can get nasty out there, but usually only when the wind is nasty, so plan accordingly.

Don't forget - your boat needs to be registered if you have the trolling motor on it. California registration is fine.

Overall, it's probably safer than you think. Like Dsmacey said, Government Wash is probably a good bet. A bit of a dirt road to get down there, but not much boat traffic and good fishing nearby.


Good luck!

Take some pictures and let us know how you do!
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weather.com is the most reliable weather site I know of. I also listen to the NOAA Radio on my marine radio which is pretty reliable also, but weather.com has never let me down
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I prefer weather.com as well. You can even view hourly reports which I like a lot.
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