Frolicking fish near Carson River in Nevada could be spawning, official says

CARSON CITY — The Carson River is having its first healthy water year in quite some time and dozens of large fish were frolicking in a shallow wetland near the river on Thursday.

Wildlife Department Public Information Officer Chris Healy said the fish are likely carp and were probably spawning,

“They could also be pursuing a food source,” he said. “If you inundate a wetland that has been dry for awhile it stimulates a lot of aquatic insects.”

The Carson River is running high in the warm weather as the snow melts in the Sierra. Carp, which humans introduced in Nevada as a potential food source more than a century ago, spawn in the spring. So there is a good chance that was the behavior seen in a video, he said.

“Love is in the air and you see it in a lot of different ways,” Healy said.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.