Trout fishing in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (CN) — Dottie Eastwood visits Sunset Park before sunrise almost every morning. She works night shifts at a local hospital and likes to come by to fish after work.

A recent morning in late December was no exception: After settling into her usual fishing spot, Eastwood balled up a wad of PowerBait-brand between two fingers and secured it to her hook. She cast her line about 10 yards offshore.

“I use this as bait after a few people recommended it,” Eastwood said. “Some people who fish do not like to share tips and secrets, but not here.”

Winter weather in Southern Nevada is often wet and windy. This day was different, the clear blue skies interrupted only by a few small clouds.

Three anglers — Eastwood and her companions Enrique Morales and Douglas Smith — fished along the southern shore of the pond. They were vastly outnumbered by the geese, ducks and other waterfowl that wandered through the park or floated gracefully on the pond’s surface.

Originally from Long Beach, California, Eastwood has been visiting Sunset Park regularly for the last year. Over that time, she’s gotten to know the other regulars and picked up some fishing tricks along the way.

Some people here eat what they catch — but for Eastwood, it’s more about relaxing after work. “I mostly catch and release,” she said, “or I give what I catch away.”

Big-time gamblers in Nevada are often referred to as “whales,” but at the manmade Sunset Pond just four miles off the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, the fish are rainbow trout, catfish, bass, and crappie.

The pond is part of Sunset Park, a sprawling 214-acre green space in the heart of Sin City. Clark County describes it as “the crown jewel in the county’s park system.”

First opened in 1967, Sunset Park features tennis courts, softball fields, disc golf courses, dog parks and walking trails. The surrounding parkland preserves many of the more than 200 plant species that are unique to the Mojave Desert and cannot be found anywhere else on Earth.

For Eastwood and others, though, the real draw is the fishing hole in the center of Sunset Park. State officials stock it with fish from elsewhere in the Silver State. At its deepest, it reaches 12 feet.

Eastwood and fellow angler Douglas Smith had been at the park since sunrise. Smith, also a regular at the fishing hole, reeled in his spinner lure, found it empty and cast it again.

They were joined a bit later by Enrique Morales, who also regularly fishes at Sunset Pond. “I come out here almost every morning,” Morales explained. “I have been fishing here since I was a kid, [when] my mom would drop me off.”

As Morales fished, his dog Cowboy, a Shepherd-Labrador mix, lounged on a pillow. Across from Cowboy was a propane stove and the remnants of breakfast: A cast iron skillet with bits of scrambled eggs at the bottom.

For Morales, fishing at Sunset Park isn’t just about relaxation: It’s also a grieving ritual. He lost his sister Chelsea to Covid-19 in 2020. A memorial plaque now sits beneath a nearby tree.

“Especially because of the holidays, I’ve been in my feelings," Morales said as he put the handle of his pole into a crevice in cracked concrete on the pond’s shore. “I come out here and sit, think about her and reflect on life.”

The Nevada Department of Wildlife stocks Sunset Pond for various purposes, including to enhance recreational fishing opportunities and support fish populations. Stocking helps ensure that anglers have a better chance of catching fish, attracting more visitors to the area.

Additionally, NDOW may introduce specific fish species for ecosystem management and ecological restoration. Stocking also helps research and educational initiatives related to fish behavior and conservation.

From November through March, officials stock Sunset with rainbow trout. From April to October, it’s channel catfish.

That’s on top of other species, including sunfish and largemouth bass. While most of the fish in the pond are stocked, some species, including largemouth bass, are known to spawn naturally in the pond.

As for the NDOW deliveries, “the fish come from the Mason Valley Hatchery,” Debora Herndon, a longtime fisheries biologist at the agency, explained in an interview. Fish deliveries start early in the morning, arriving in Las Vegas around 2:30 p.m.

The fish truck’s first stops are fishing ponds on the north side of the city, like the one at Floyd Lamb park. Sunset Park in the heart of Las Vegas is the final pond of the route.

“They pull a lift gate up, and then the fish shoot out a pipe,” Herndon said, describing a typical fish delivery. “They’re getting stocked anywhere from three to four times a month in the winter months.” In 2023 alone, she said, Sunset Pond received over 21,000 rainbow trout.

On average, the trout here are around 10 inches long — though they can be bigger. The biggest on record — weighing in at 12 pounds, 10 ounces — was landed in April 2003 by Gerald Trotter, a Las Vegas resident, according to documents on “Lake and Stream Record Fish” kept by the state.

But rainbow trout are just one of the species of fish in the lake, and other species can get even bigger. In October 2015, resident Brandon Boone reeled in a 25-inch, 29-pound carp, marking what’s probably the biggest catch to ever come from Sunset Pond.

Nevada may be the driest state in the union, but it still boasts plentiful fishing opportunities. With more than 200 lakes and reservoirs and around 600 rivers and streams, the Silver State has nearly 400,000 acres of recreational fishing areas, according to the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

For those looking to try their luck, the state offers a range of licenses and permits for Nevada residents, including a $40 annual fishing license for adults and day-use permits for $9. Tourists can also join in, though the rates are slightly higher for out-of-state visitors. Anyone 12 or older must possess a valid permit to fish.

Back at Sunset Pond in December, the fish were biting. Within an hour of arriving, Eastwood, the former Long Beach angler, had already caught a rainbow trout. She gave it to Morales, who had staked out his own fishing spot about 30 yards away.

“I like bass, but rainbow trout are good to eat too,” Morales said as he pulled his line out of the water. A 9-inch rainbow trout wriggled on the end of it, catching Cowboy’s eye.

“I’ve seen there’s these two Japanese carps here that are like five feet long,” Morales added, reflecting on the other species he’d come across in the pond. The carps often swam right next to each other. Morales figures they’re a couple.

Morales, though, was not prepared to snag carp. “If I hooked him with this pole, I would have problems.” Morales said. “I am not set up for a 40-pound fish."

Smith cast out another line. His record for Sunset Pond, he said, was around a dozen fish in just over two hours.

“I am mostly just out here practicing my cast,” Smith said. “There are a lot of rainbow trout here, but I am a bass guy.” For bass, he preferred the Las Vegas Wash on the east side of the city.

Even still, Smith made it down to Sunset Pond several times a week — and sometimes more than once a day. It was a convenient place to practice casting, and he enjoyed talking to the other fishers.

By now, he knew the other regulars. They chatted about technique and what they were pulling in.

“I saw Dottie catch that rainbow trout,” Smith said, sharing some of the recent Sunset Pond fishing gossip. “Enrique and I have been helping her get used to fishing here.”

Because Eastwood was from the California coast, he explained, she was more used to pier fishing in the ocean.

“I am just enjoying myself,” Eastwood added contentedly. “It is a beautiful day, and I am surrounded by beautiful people.”

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