OUTDOOR BRIEF

THAT TIME OF YEAR

Trout plants scheduled to resume Tuesday

Southern Nevada trout anglers who have been waiting for the Nevada Department of Wildlife to begin its annual fall and winter trout stocking program no longer have to wait. The first trout plant of the year is scheduled for Tuesday and will take place at the four urban ponds in the Las Vegas Valley. Those ponds are at Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, Lorenzi Park, Sunset Park and Veterans Park in Boulder City.

"Our plan is to plant trout in the urban ponds every other week," said Lake Mead Fish Hatchery Manager Clyde Park. "That should give anglers an opportunity to enjoy the fishing experience without having to drive very far. These ponds are an excellent place for kids to get involved with the fishing sports."

Trout plants are also set to resume at Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. Plants at Lake Mohave will begin Nov. 15 and take place every other Thursday. The first plant at Lake Mead will take place Nov. 19. The second plant will happen on Nov. 30 and subsequent plants will occur every Friday thereafter. As a general rule, NDOW plants trout in Southern Nevada waters beginning in November and continuing through March. Water temperature is the determining factor.

Because of the closure of the Lake Mead Fish Hatchery following the discovery of quagga mussels in the Colorado River system early this year, trout for the urban ponds will come from NDOW's Mason Valley Hatchery near Yerington. That will be the case until the Lake Mead Hatchery is reopened. While the tentative stocking schedule calls for plants every other week, actual dates and times will be dependent on road conditions and travel time between Mason Valley and Las Vegas.

"Our goal is to provide as much opportunity for anglers as we can. By bringing fish from the Mason Valley Hatchery, we can do that. However, anglers will need to realize that travel conditions can and do change. That possibility, coupled with the fact that these fish will be coming from so far away, could affect the stocking schedule," Park said.

NDOW is raising trout for release in Lake Mead and Lake Mohave in pens at the Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery about 12 miles downstream from Hoover Dam.