Eagle Wash

 

A couple miles south of Hoover Dam, on the Nevada side of the Lake Mead Recreation Area, one can find a little mining ghost town called Nelson. Not truly abandoned, there is a small settlement nearby and a store in the old town with some interesting décor scattered about the area. The road through Nelson leads down to Nelson’s Landing with one of the coves here called Eagle Wash.

Eagle Wash was my first fishing trip to the Colorado River. This is, after all, the river that runs through the Grand Canyon. This section of the river is rather different from the pictures I have seen in travel magazines; you are surrounded by canyons, just not canyons of that scale. The river itself is also different as it is not fast-flowing and rather wide at this point. This is because it is actually not a true part of the river, but the upper parts of Lake Mohave.

Our first outing to this location was one filled more with exploration and less with fishing. But fishing is always some part of the plan, so I packed some basic gear to see if I could get lucky. It was late in the afternoon when I got a lure in the water. I hooked up with my first smallmouth bass but was unable to hold on to it as it came loose just a few feet away from me. The one that got away. That is the moment the fish actually hooks you; a challenge that gives you this urge to want to go back and try again.

That feeling finally won as we made our way out there for another go. This time around, I complicated things by taking absolutely everything to try to catch anything. Not having a clear idea of what you want to do often leaves you confused and struggling, with luck playing a bigger role in your success on the day. But luck was on my side and I managed to catch a nice-sized largemouth bass and some sunfish. It takes a lot more than two trips to figure out a location, but I definitely cannot complain about the trips I have had to Eagle Wash.