Southern Nevada Fish Reports

The striper bite is beginning to pick up in the Cottonwood Basin. Fish up to 5 pounds are taking soft swimbaits and anchovies. Near the dam, anglers are reporting better luck when trolling jigs. Black bass anglers are having success with topwater baits and soft plastics in coves.  

Anglers are catching bluegill, catfish, and a few bass. The best action continues to be early in the morning and after sunset. Catfish are taking stink baits and hot dog chunks. Bluegill are biting mealworms, green grubs, and night-crawler pieces.  

Stripers are chasing threadfin shad near Echo Bay. Bone-colored topwater baits and soft swimbaits are popular choices to throw into a boil. Black bass catches are hit and miss. Some anglers have had luck with crankbaits in bluegill patterns. Catfish are hungry for anchovies and taking baits overnight in weedy areas.  

Steady heat has kept water levels low and made fishing difficult. Some areas are becoming more fishable as the weeds dissipate due to cooler nighttime temperatures. The best time to fish is at sunrise and sunset to beat the heat. Bass are active throughout the morning and hitting on plastics and creature baits. Trout are hitting on hoppers and worms. 

Shoreline anglers at Katherine Landing are having luck with black bass and striped bass in the early morning hours. Topwater lures and Rat-L-Traps are tempting fish in the coves. On the north end of the lake, black bass are hitting drop shots with soft plastic worms in brown and green. At Willow Beach, striped bass and rainbow trout are the target species. Jointed swimbaits fished

Striper boils are popping up intermittently throughout much of the Boulder Basin, Overton Arm, and close to Temple Bar. Fish are attacking light-colored topwater lures and medium diving crankbaits. Black bass action is slow, with just a few catches under 2 pounds reported in grassy coves. Catfish are eager to take anchovies overnight from shoreline anglers at Kingman Wash, Hemenway, and Echo Bay.  

Anglers have been catching 10- to 12-inch rainbow trout in the early mornings. The aquatic vegetation that has hampered anglers is starting to dissipate slowly. Anglers are dropping green and white jigs off the boat or fishing them below a clear bobber. Bass are biting hoppers and plastics.

Some areas are becoming more fishable as the weeds start to dissipate. Trout are hitting worms at sunrise, but the action drops off through the day. Crappie are biting on worms or jigs fished four feet below a bobber. Bass are active throughout the morning and hitting on plastics and creature baits.

River anglers are enjoying an increase in striper activity. They are catching the fish from both boat and shore. Live bait is preferred, but bright and flashy jerkbaits are an excellent alternative. Smallmouth bass are hanging out in shaded areas with an abundance of vegetation. The fish are quick to bite a variety of lures in blue, green, and red.

Many anglers are catching rainbow trout at Willow Beach. Mice tails and Panther Martins are fooling fish near the fishing pier. Anglers are catching striped bass when trolling trout-pattern lures or casting swimbaits during the overnight hours. On the main body of the reservoir, black bass and striped bass action is slow. Anglers near Katherine Landing report moderate success for stripers while throwing shad swimbaits, but

Summer temperatures continue to bake southern Nevada, so fishing remains best at sunrise and sunset for sunfish and bass. Small night crawler pieces set off the bottom are working very well for bluegill and green sunfish. Bass are hitting on spinners and crankbaits.

Striper boils continue to occur across the Boulder Basin and in the Overton Arm. Stripers are taking shad swimbaits and topwater lures when thrown into a boil. Black bass action is tapering off, but a few patient anglers are having luck throwing Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits near rocky points. Anchovies and worms fished off the bottom are attracting catfish in the shallows overnight.