Nesbitt Lake

 I do not recall how or even what the first fishing video was that I watched on YouTube. Steelhead fishing in the great lakes; salmon fishing in Alaska; big bass in Texas or Florida. These are but some videos I have watched over the last few years without even knowing that I would one day make my way to the USA. One particular region I don’t recall ever seeing videos from would be the deserts. To be fair, fishing is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about a desolate, dry desert.

A river can have a major impact on the livability of a desert. In South Africa, we have the Orange River between the Karoo and Kalahari deserts. The Nile in Egypt, up in North Africa. And here in the Mohave desert, it is the Colorado River and the dams built on it. But compared to the other deserts, the region around Las Vegas has a surprising amount of water. Most of the water is not useable as it comes from geothermal springs. Some are snowmelt-mountain springs that are temporary.  As a scarce resource in the desert, it is only natural that people often try to utilize these sources.

One location where this is evident is the Pahranagat valley. Driving on the US 93 north around Upper Pahranagat Lake, there is a green valley out in the desert. Along this stretch of road, you will find some farm lands surrounded by dry desert landscapes. For large parts of this valley, the water looks to be just underground, but it is here where you will find a few lakes in the valley. This is probably used for irrigation, but one of the lakes is known for fishing; Nesbitt Lake.

Nesbitt Lake is known to have Largemouth bass, Bluegill and some Crappie. These are all species that had to be introduced to the lake at some stage. Although they don’t grow to big sizes, they seem to thrive in these waters. But without a complete ecosystem this lake has a few setbacks. As we discovered, in summer months this lake gets overgrown with grass making fishing almost impossible. We did however find an open spot and landed a few bass. It is the opportunity to catch a bass out in the middle of nowhere, in a desert, that makes this a surprisingly enjoyable spot.