Surface water temperatures are in the 70’s

Wild Horse Reservoir - Owyhee, NV (Elko County)


by Nevada Department of Wildlife
8-26-2022
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Surface water temperatures are in the 70’s and algae is thick along with scattered weed beds and trout are holding deep except for very early in the morning.  This is not the time of year for catch and release for trout. Anglers report fair fishing for trout from boats or float tubes in deeper water, especially in the canyon by the dam, while shore anglers report fair fishing early in the mornings and slow to poor fishing the rest of the day. If fishing from shore be out at first light for the best opportunity. Shore anglers will do best where the banks are steep as the water gets deep closer to shore. Bass fishing is good while perch fishing is slow. Fly rodders will find difficult fishing conditions as it is difficult to get presentations to the depths that are required. For trout, the best flies are chironomids or balanced leeches fished very deep. Wooly buggers, PT nymphs, gold ribbed hares ears and damsel fly nymphs may also producing fish at first light in shallower water. Fly fishermen need to use a fast-sinking line to get down deep enough to put the presentation in front of the fish. A good technique is to use a fast-sinking line, fishing without casting or an indicator, letting the presentation sink straight down in the water column from a boat or float tube. Balanced leeches along with the usual assortment of nymphs and chironomid patterns work well this way. With the above average temperatures and lack of snowpack this year, the thermocline is a few feet deeper than normal and will be down between 20 and 23 feet deep so fly fishermen will have a hard time getting down to that depth. Boaters will do well trolling flashers tipped with a worm using downriggers.  For bait anglers fishing from shore, try fishing an inflated worm a few feet off the bottom using a slip sinker in deeper water.  Another option would be to roll some PowerBait to make a bell shape and fish it in a similar fashion to the inflated worm using a slip sinker and it will float up a couple of feet above the bottom.  Smallmouth bass fishing continues to be good.  For bass, dark colored soft plastic grubs and crankbaits are working. Poppers early in the morning or late in the evening when there is no wind may be productive. The riprap along the highway in the Penrod arm is a good place for bass.   For wipers, target the mouths of Penrod and Hendricks arms on the north east side of the lake though expect wiper fishing to be slow to fair.  Wipers are piscivorous (a big word for eating other fish) and so swimbaits and minnow imitation lures fished with a fairly fast retrieve should be used. Wiper fishing has been slow to fair. The limit is one black bass and one white bass hybrid with a minimum size of 15 inches.