Las Vegas Bay

 When using the Henderson entrance to the Lake Mead Recreation Area, the first location you reach is Las Vegas Bay. Once a popular boat launch and camping location, today it is used as dry boat storage. This is one of the areas no longer connected to the lake itself. It is the close proximity to Las Vegas that has kept a small store and the ranger station running in this ghost town. A large amount of parking spaces and picnic spots, no longer in use, is a reminder of how popular this spot once was.

Today, there is a small creek running from Las Vegas Bay to Lake Mead right next to the old boat launch ramp. From the end of the ramp, there is a 12-foot drop to get to said creek. It is extremely difficult to stand in this location and try to imagine what it looked like back in the heydays. Not even being able to see the lake adds to the eeriness of this spot. Las Vegas Bay is not completely abandoned or forgotten. A popular hiking trail runs the course of the creek. So why not fish it?

The creek consists of the same treated water from Lava Butte just a few miles upstream. This might be a factor in why people don’t fish here. It might be that the dominant fish are catfish and carp; fish not prized by most anglers. My first visit here was also met with discouragement. Standing on the ramp, there is no visible way down the drop-off to reach the water. My reaction was thus, it is not safe to fish here so go and find another spot. For weeks it bugged me that I did not try to reach the creek.

Finally, I decided to make my way back and try to fish this spot. This time around I noticed that the hiking trail runs down to the creek. I was really excited to see all the structures and deep holes that seemed like good fishing spots. Sadly, I did not think things through. The day prior, Las Vegas had a much-needed and rare, rainstorm. The creek was overflowing and muddy from all the rain runoff. Thus, I did not catch any fish but I am still captivated by the possibilities this location holds.