Area bass anglers, duck hunters thriving

Striped bass are one of those fish that can give first-timers, second-timers and even third-timers a bit of trouble.

Sometimes they can be so finicky that they send even the most ardent anglers home in frustration. But the past week or so hasn't been one of those times. In fact, now is your opportunity to get a little revenge for those times when the fishing hasn't been so good.

In recent days, anglers at Lake Mead have found a steady supply of stripers that are willing to take cut anchovies, live shad and a selection of shad imitations. From the back of Vegas Wash to 33-Hole and Government Wash, anglers have been able to find top-water opportunities in the early-morning hours and bait-fishing action later in the day.

And now some of that action has begun to show up in the Boulder Harbor and Hemenway area.

Roger and Voe, a couple of my fishing buddies, hit the water this week while I was strapped to one of those uncomfortable chairs they give you to sit on during a conference in a hotel ballroom. Any self-respecting fishing buddy would have shown solidarity by staying home and working in the yard or doing something productive. Instead, they took advantage of my absence and made an early-morning foray to the launch ramp at Boulder Harbor.

"When my lights hit the water, the shad literally jumped out of the water, a bunch of them onto the pavement," Roger said when I called for a report. "The stripers were chasing them, and when the light hit the water, the stripers exploded, and the shad tried to get away."

After launching the boat, Roger and Voe began trolling with white Super Fluke tails threaded onto a jig head. Then, "Boom! Voe gets hooked up. He caught an 11-pound, 7-ounce striper. Right off the bat when we started fishing. He ended up catching 19 total, and I caught 24," Roger said, in explaining what I had missed while I was "enjoying" the conference and my thinly padded chair. Other anglers reported similar success.

Anglers aren't the only sportsmen finding success in their outdoor pursuits. Duck hunters have found good hunting at Overton and Key Pittman wildlife management areas, where Brock Perry, a lifelong duck hunter from Henderson, said he is seeing large bird numbers. As a result, hunters are experiencing excellent hunting conditions.

"It's absolutely amazing out there right now," Perry said. "It's never been this good, I don't think, for this long. But we have three million more ducks (overall) than we did last year or the years prior."

Hunters at Overton are beginning to see a few pintails, though Perry said mallards make up the bulk of the birds right now. Hunters also are seeing some teal, gadwall, widgeon and a few divers. In the morning, the birds are flying until 8:30 or 9 o'clock, when it slows and remains sluggish through the middle of the day. The afternoon flight has been getting under way at about 1 o'clock. If it's windy and cold, the birds will move out earlier, Perry said. He has been using a soft-calling technique to attract the mallards and suggests including mechanical decoys in your spread.

While mallard hunters might want to ply their trade at the Overton WMA, diver hunters might want to give the Key Pittman WMA a whirl.

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 he states are his own. He can be reached at inthoutdoorslv@gmail.com.