Lake Mead fishing tournament a crowd pleaser
SPECTATORS are an important part of the sporting world. Some believe spectators and their excited expressions of support can change the outcome of a contest, but have you considered their role in the fishing sports?
Spectators enter the fishing game when competitors bring their catch to the scales for a weigh-in after each tournament day. It’s not exactly the best time to be an outcome changer, but it’s the place to cheer, clap and show appreciation for big fish and heavy bag weights. A bag is just that, a plastic bag that holds a competitor’s catch for the day, which can include no more than five fish.
On Saturday, I attended the second-day weigh-in of the Lucas Oil Western Classic Championship, the culminating event on the Wild West Bass Trail fishing circuit. The threeday pro-am event was based out of Callville Bay Marina at Lake Mead, and the weigh-ins took place in the marina parking lot.
Amateurs were randomly paired with one of the pros as a co-angler, but each angler fished for his own five-fish bag. Pros competed against pros and amateurs against amateurs, but despite those designations, and regardless of the weight of fish each angler brought to the scales, the crowd cheered for each competitor with equal enthusiasm.
And in an interesting twist for a sporting event, competitors cheered for one another as total bag weights determined the top 10 in each category.
“Lake Mead always is a challenge. Some anglers caught 20 to 25 keepers a day, and others struggled for a five-fish limit,” tournament co-owner Gary Dobyns of California said by email. “Overall, I’d rate fishing as ■ Tournament anglers found fishing for black bass to be a mixed bag over the weekend. Some found good action while others struggled to fill their 5-fish bag. Anglers fishing out of Temple Bar have found good fishing for bass in the 1- to 3-pound range. The fish are taking plastic jigs. Striped bass are hitting cut anchovies and live shad fished near the bottom. Make sure to keep the anchovies frozen. Fishermen are seeing some boils early in the morning, but they are short in duration and few in number.
■ Large striped bass are hitting trout-colored Bomber Long A and Glide Swimmer lures outside of Willow Beach. Trout imitations are the key to catching the line sides. Fish them slow and near the surface. Anglers are catching catfish with cut anchovies.
■ Rainbow trout were stocked last week below Davis Dam. Spinners and Rainbow Powerbait will catch the fish whether you are from boat or shore. Above Big Bend, anglers are catching catfish in the marshes and black bass along the edges. Catfish are taking cut anchovies fished off the bottom.
■ The action around the ponds continues to be best for sunfish, such as bluegill and green sunfish, while the bass action has been a bit slower. A channel catfish plant is on tap for Floyd Lamb, Sunset, Lorenzi and Boulder City Park ponds the week of Sept.18.
■ very good. We had lots of limits and some very nice quality fish caught up to 6½ pounds.”
Dobyns said the key to catching bass at Lake Mead is flexibility and the willingness to change with conditions.
“Usually, anglers have to adjust and move around a bit to catch winning limits,” he said. “The striper population is huge, and they move the bait around quite a bit. Some days the bass are in the backs of the coves, and the next day the stripers aren’t pushing the bait and the bass are out on the points. These
Thunderstorm activity has kept most people off the reservoirs in recent days and created murky water conditions. Traditionally, the action tends to pick up this time of year with cooling water temperatures and weed growth dying off. Trout should begin hitting on a larger variety of baits and lures as fall weather patterns start to move in.
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Fishing has been slow this past week. Rain and thunderstorm activity has held anglers at bay. Runoff from the rains has made the water a little murky. Seasonal weed growth is beginning to break up as overnight temperatures are showing signs of cooling down.
■ Little to no action was seen this past week due to the active thunderstorms in the area. Water levels are starting to rise from the rains and reductions in irrigation activity. Trout fishing should improve as fall temperatures arrive.
■ The Nevada Department of Wildlife will hold a free Introduction to Fly-fishing Class on Sept. 23 at 9 a.m. in the NDOW Las Vegas office, 4747 Vegas Drive. Participants will learn about equipment, terminology, knot tying and more. At noon, the class will move to Lorenzi Park for instruction in casting basics. Attendance for the entire class is recommended. On-line Registration is required and may be completed at www.ndow.org/ Education/angler_ed/classes/. For more information, contact call 702-486-5127 x 3503 Monday through Friday. are the challenges that anglers face daily. The challenge of figuring out the fish, beating the hot temps and weather, and then beating the other anglers is what keeps it exciting to tournament anglers.”
California angler Nick Salvucci won the pro competition with a total of 34.87 pounds, the only participant to weigh in double-digit bags on each day. Californian David Valdivia was second at 29.19 pounds, and Arizona’s Tai Au third at 28.71. Au was named the WWBT Pro Angler of the Year.
On the amateur side, first-year angler Seth Meyers of California took first with 23.5 pounds, Tara Borofka of California was second with 16.46, and Jacob Shull of Arizona third with 16.29. Brandon Smith of California was named the WWBT Co-angler of the Year.
Dobyns said the WWBT plans to keep Lake Mead on its list of tournament sites.
“Lake Mead is fishing well, with the water up about 5 feet from last year,” he said. “The new growth that’s in the water is giving Lake Mead a ‘new lake’ scenario, which makes for a strong fishery. We’ve had two great spawns in a row, and this will help fishing for years to come on Lake Mead.”
Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
His “In the Outdoors” column, published Thursday in the Las
Vegas Review-journal, is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDOW. Any opinions are his own. Find him on Facebook at @ dougwritesoutdoors. He can be reached at intheoutdoorslv@gmail. com.