Place to camp and fish?

[PShabi]

Hello,

This is my first post, but I have read most of the thread on here. Been in Vegas for 4 years, but haven't fished out here yet. Lived in S. Florida before this for 5 years. I owned a souped-up johnboat and did a lot of fishing in urban canals, lakes, and sometimes the everglades for largemouth bass. I'm getting the itch again. Fishing was a big part of my life back then but my career out here has made it hard to get into it. Plus, in Florida I could go out after dinner and find a lake in a housing development and get a line wet within 10 minutes. Fishing out here seems to be more of a hassle.

Anyway, I'm pretty much only interested in largemouth...just me. I'm close to Floyd Lamb and I'm going to check that out soon. What I'm really interested in finding someplace I could take my wife and two sons for a little overnight camping trip with some fishing available too.

We're just going to camp in tents. Looking for somewhere within 3 hours of Las Vegas where we could pitch a tent on a Saturday afternoon, do some hiking and sightseeing, get in some fishing in the evening before dark, and then campfire at night. Wake up at the crack of dawn by myself to get away from the family and fish for several hours.

Anybody know of a place that is good for this type of excursion? Looking for bass, no boat, so bank fishing. I looked at some information on Beaver Dam State Park. Most of the stuff is old that I read online. I read about them having to drain the reservoir. Is there anything worth doing at that State Park? Still fishing there? Only trout? Any info is appreciated.

Another place I saw was Echo Canyon State Park in Pioche, NV. Anybody know anything about fishing there? Any bass?

I'm open for suggestions and promise a nice trip report w/ pics. Anyone wanna convince me to take up trout? Seems like everywhere around here is stocking trout.

Thanks in advance for any help. Excited about becoming an active member of the forum!

P
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[jebusmc]

I see people camping out at Lake Mead all the time, in some places right on the shore. I'm pretty sure Lake Mohave is set up the same way.
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[BigE]

[cool]Echo Canyon does have LMB. They are small but there is the occasional kicker at about 5lbs. It is a small lake but lots of good shore fishing. If you can use a floattube or canoe. This will get you to the better areas by the brush. There is a great hiking trail starting in the back of the campground, like a mini grand canyon. There is Eagle Lake also just a bit further up the road(I think 5 or 7 miles). It mainly has trout in it.
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[PShabi]

I'll probably check out Echo Canyon. Should be fun! I was looking into Float Tube's this morning. I may have to pick one up. Still open for other suggestions! Thanks for the replies men.
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[jakegonefishin]

Without a doubt I recommend Sand Hollow, it is an easy drive north on I15 just outside of Saint George, Utah just a few miles east of the Zion exit before you reach Hurricane. It's about a 2 hour drive from most parts of Vegas. I just fished/camped there 4/18-4/19. LMB fishing there is awesome. The bass are shallow and spawning, the camp ground is new, clean and has hot showers. There is also primitive camping anywhere along the shore. As far as hiking, there's a little park N.P. called Zion nearby, but closer there is Snow Canyon in St. George and the red sand dunes and sand stone surrounding the lake itself. There are tons of bluegill in Sand Hollow as well but they have not moved up yet. When the bluegill do come up you'll be suprised they are huge. The largest bass I've seen pics of from Sand Hollow was 8 lbs, but the lake is new and the fish are still growing. Most fish there average a little over 2 lbs. The bass were hitting white spinner baits, top water baits, dark colored zipper worms, Yamamoto Spider jigs color 208 and 196, drop-shotted oxblood red robo worms, watermelon red/purple fleck gitzits and large beaver tails. I found fish in all water depths and in all stages of the spawn. If there is a lot of fishermen on the lake slow down and fish tight to the brush and cover, also work the sand stone near the main ramp where boats are prohibited, I saw a few beds there after I got blown off the lake today.

Echo Canyon near Pioche is fun but the bass and crappie are little.

If you dont mind a spartan camping trip, check out Nesbit Lake it is 100 miles north of Vegas, just north of Alamo. It is part of Key Pitman Wildlife Refuge, I only fish it in the spring and late fall to avoid bugs and the heat, but it is a fun lake. It has bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. The lake fishes like a southern lake, lots of cover and grass. This time of year I throw a spinnerbait and a wacky wormed senko to get the bass, but as it gets warmer I switch to frogs.

I attached a few Sand Hollow pics, didn't catch anything over 3 lbs on this trip so didn't pull out the camera. If you fish for bluegill at Sand Hollow right now tho, you might be suprised by what other bigger panfish you will catch, that officially the rangers deny being in the lake.
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[PShabi]

Wow! Thanks, Jake. Big fish, beautiful scenery...might have to give it a try. Would I be able to fish from the bank or do I need a tube @ Sand Hollow? That place looks magnificent.
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[jakegonefishin]

There is shore access around the entire lake, except for parts of the dam. A float tube helps, but even wading will get you to more fish. Sand Hollow bass will remain close to shore from now till late fall, then they head deep. The developed camp grounds are near the entrance and over in "the sandpit" near the red sand dunes and atv area. You can camp anywhere along the shore and there is a paved/dirt road which circles 3/4 of the lake. Good luck if you head up there, post some pics if you do.
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[TheWhizzle]

Sand Hollow is awesome - I hate the weekends there though. A very popular lake that isn't big enough to escape from all the boats when it is busy. The fishing though, is off the hook. You can have a 50 fish day there in the warmer months, and shore fishing is extremely successful.

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Lake Mead has a very good, but highly pressured, bass population- largemouth and smallmouth. And both can be caught from shore this time of year.

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Shore camping can be hard at mead without a boat to get you to a secluded spot though.


I just got home from a camping trip to Lake Havasu. It only takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes to get there (from Henderson) and it has friggin awesome bass fishing. It boasts a population of smallmouth bass that exceed 4 pounds, with big numbers of 2 lb fish. The largemouth there are also well fed and plentiful. The south end of the lake really has amazing cover and outstanding fishing. In my opinion, the best fishing within 3 hours of here. They even have big flathead catfish (30lbers and up, I am told) and red ear sunfish that top 3 lbs. Plenty of good tent camping, too.

For a change of scenery, you can drive down to Willow Beach for world class striper fishing. Lake Mead is known for numbers of fish, but Willow hold quality stripers. Big rainbow trout-imitating swimbaits and AC-Plugs are the norm here, and this is a good time of year to target double-digit fish. This is within 90 minutes of town, including a scenic drive over Hoover Dam. (I don't know about camping at willow.)
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This monster was taken just a little bit downstream of willow beach-

[left]All Tackle and Arizona record striped Bass [/left]
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[left]Jeff Smith holding his 67-lb. 1 oz. new all-tackle Arizona record striped bass taken from the Colorado River on August 15, 1997
- Lure - A.C. Plug[/left]
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Good luck out there. It may be a desert here, but there are fish everywhere.

The Whizzle
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[PShabi]

Wow. This has turned into quite a brag thread for you guys! []

Is fishing still enjoyable on the weekend @ Sand Hollow? Really jonesin' to get out there!
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