Southern Nevada Fish Reports

Despite stormy conditions, Spring Valley State Park was full over the weekend. Anglers have been catching rainbow, tiger, and brown trout. Cloudy days bring some good fishing, but be mindful of thunderstorms. The hot lure over the weekend was a Mepp’s spinner in red and gold. Bass and trout are both hitting black Woolly Buggers, but remain under a catch-and-release regulation until June 30. 

 Rainbow trout action has been good. Anglers are catching the fish with PowerBait or spinners. Largemouth bass and crappies are taking various lures and jigs fished throughout the lake. Campsites at Echo Canyon State Park are fully open.

The striper bite is on for anglers fishing near Davis Dam. Anchovies are the bait of choice, but some anglers are reporting success with shad lures as well. Black bass have come off their beds near the Laughlin Lagoon and are looking for food. Jigs and swimbaits are working better than topwater lures.

Anglers are reporting the most consistent bass bite is taking place in the early morning. Smallmouth are hitting topwater lures and crankbaits, while largemouth are closing in on soft plastics. Striper anglers have had success working Rat-L-Traps and other crankbaits near coves. Willow Beach is still offering quality striped bass to anglers. Trout-patterned swimbaits are tempting fish lager than 10 pounds.

Bass and catfish action is improving. Black bass are hiding out in vegetation. Swim jigs and soft plastic worms are getting hits near Callville Bay. Anglers fishing from shore at Hemenway Pier have been catching stripers using anchovies. Catfish are showing a preference for bait fish and worms fished along the shorelines overnight.

Rainbow trout are hitting on gold or silver spoons and rainbow-colored PowerBait. Even crankbaits brought in tiger trout this past week. The bass bite is good, and one lucky angler reeled in a 9.5-pound largemouth. Bass are catch and release through June 30. 

 Crappies are starting to hit jigs at this Lincoln County water, as are largemouth bass. Trout are hitting Kastmasters and spinners off the dam and along the south end of the reservoir using. Campsites are fully open, and hook-ups are available.

As air temperatures increase, so does striped bass activity. Anglers are catching fish between 2 and 6 pounds from shore and boat. Anchovies are the bait of choice, but some anglers are reporting success with pencil poppers as well. Black bass anglers are expecting the action to heat up for topwater and crankbait lures thrown near vegetation.

Willow Beach boaters are catching striped bass weighing between 5 and 10 pounds on plugs. Shoreline anglers are experimenting with PowerBait and spinners to land rainbow trout up to 4 pounds. The best bite for trout and striper takes place overnight and into the early morning hours

On the reservoir, black bass and striped bass are starting to come up for bone-colored topwater lures. Stripers are active just above Davis Dam, while the black bass presence is heavy in the Cottonwood Basin.

Night crawlers, mealworms, and PowerBait grubs are working well for stocked bluegill. Largemouth bass are taking plastics and spinnerbaits in most of the ponds. Catfish like hot dog slices, night crawlers, and chicken liver. The Nevada Department of Wildlife stocks catfish once a month during the warm months of the year. The one exception is July when temperatures are too hot for transporting the fish.

Striped bass anglers are having success trolling anchovies in the early morning throughout the Boulder Basin. Others are getting bites on a variety of swimbaits, spinnerbaits, and live bait thrown from shore. Black bass are hitting light-colored spinnerbaits and swimbaits near Callville Bay and in the Overton Arm. Corn and anchovies are working well for catfish throughout the day.