Dipping my toes in Lake Mead

An exciting time for me as an angler. My first time fishing Lake Mead. After exploring my options online, I decided to head out to Upper Government Wash. It is easy to get jaded after seeing the same views over and over. That’s just human nature. But as an outsider seeing the sites, vistas, colors, and landscapes for the first time, it was just magical. Along with the excitement, there is always the fear of the unknown. Trying to find a new fishing spot for the first time.

Having made my way down the hills, the little dirt road ended up on a fork down by the water. I chose to take the left side. As the morning continued and more people started showing up, all of them headed right. The thoughts of “do they know something I don’t” was soon replaced with a bend in my rod. Fishing Lake Mead for the first time, I opted to use the “good old trusted” earthworms.

That is how I ended up catching my first channel catfish. I tried some lures for bass fishing but had no luck. In a span of five hours, I ended up catching and releasing a total of three catfish. The first time, first of these specific species of catfish, all in all, a good day. Not knowing the fish species at the time, I had to do some research to determine the type of catfish.

It was during this research and exploring the spot I caught the fish in, that the question was finally answered. Yes, the local fishermen did indeed know something I did not. Lake Mead has drastic fluctuations in water levels during the seasons. As this was in April the water level had risen from snowmelt higher in the mountains.

The right-hand side is not affected by this as it is a deep drop-off into the lake. The left-hand side is another story.  A few months earlier, there was no left side. It was an open patch of land. The particular spot that I had chosen, turns out that was the road to drive on to the other side. I was fishing on a flooded dirt road.

And yet, due to the unpredictable nature of fishing, I had been successful in landing three catfish from this road. You can have all the skill in the world, but sometimes, a little luck is all you need.