For anglers, pond is more than just for fishing

The Boulder City Urban Pond draws crowds from in and outside Boulder City to enjoy the weather, fishing, and cleanliness.

The Boulder City Urban Pond was constructed in 2001 as a joint project between Boulder City and the Nevada Department of Wildlife to provide opportunities for anglers to fish. Measuring approximately three surface acres with a maximum depth of 15 feet, the NDW manages the fishery as a cold-water urban fishery during the colder months and a warm-water urban fishery during the warmer months.

According to Boulder City Parks and Recreation, pond stocking varies with rainbow trout in the winter, channel catfish in the summer, and occasionally bluegill. The cooler weather yields more trout activity, which attracts more anglers to enjoy the pond during this season. Located in the Veterans’ Memorial Park in Boulder City, the pond brings in anglers of all experiences.

More than just locals

Some anglers come from as far away as Pahrump to enjoy a day at the pond. Angel and Tamara Moreno brought a sister from their church, Heather Kittle, along to join them in their fishing experience in the Boulder City Pond after canceling plans to go kayaking in California. The weather in California was too windy in the forecast, so they instead decided to travel to the pond to enjoy what it had to offer.

“It’s a beautiful day our Father has given us,” Angel said. “Even if we don’t catch anything it’s still a beautiful day. It’s always better to fish than sitting doing things at work.”

The three anglers were celebrating Tamara’s birthday, starting a three-day adventure at the pond.

“I used to never fish before I met my husband,” Tamara said. “Now, it’s what I want to do for my birthday weekend.”

Angel and Tamara used to fish in tournaments, primarily bass fishing. However, after selling their bass boat, nowadays they enjoy more relaxing fishing. Although this group did not catch many fish, they enjoyed their time there and recommend fishing to as many people as they can.

“Fishing is relaxing, fun, and challenging,” Angel said. “We’re just out here having fun, it’s beautiful.”

Experience trumps the catch

While the pond attracts seasoned tournament anglers, it also attracts families. Eddie Cabrera and his son, Cruz, came from Henderson and enjoyed the pond in hopes of catching fish, but despite being there since 6 a.m. they only yielded a couple of bites.

“We go to Willow Beach every now and then, but we’re usually here, especially when they stock, but we like it here a lot,” Eddie said. “It’s nice, clean and peaceful. Compared to other ponds we’ve been to because we’ve been to all of them, this one is better. Cruz loves this pond for sure.”

Similarly, to the other groups of anglers, the pond does not seem to attract crowds for the fishing gains, but rather the overall experience. The Cabreras did not catch any fish that day, but they still said they had a great time. Eddie explained that Cruz knows that now and then he’ll catch something, and sometimes he won’t. He said he enjoys spending time with his son and his son enjoys the pond.

“This is the cleanest pond of all of them,” Eddie said. “We’ve tried all of them and the others just have homeless. Here, I can let Cruz run around and play without worrying.”

An angler who was fishing alone moved into Henderson from California, bringing his perspective to this pond as well. In the two times that Gregory Ressel visited the pond, he’s caught four trout. He noted that along with the warmer weather on a sunny day discouraging trout activity, the ducks have played a role in anglers not being able to catch any fish.

“It’s like the fishers are against the ducks,” Ressel said. “Ducks get them every 15 minutes. The bigger ducks can dive down and get trout, swim back up, and toss them into their mouths.”

Despite the conflict between the anglers and the ducks, he said it’s still a nice pond and enjoys coming over even though Sunset Park is much closer to him. Being from California and fishing from a young age, he has known nice fishing and has enjoyed the Boulder City Urban Pond in the short time he has known it.

As the weather warms, the pond will be stocked with channel catfish. Prepared catfish baits, hot dogs, and chicken liver have been used successfully to catch channel catfish. Angling for stocked trout and catfish is best within a week of stocking, though holdover fish may remain from previous stockings, Parks and Rec said.

Regulations include a fishing license required for anglers 12 years of age or older; the season is year-round during park hours 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., the limit is three fish. The use of live bait is prohibited, and boats and other flotation devices, including float tubes, are prohibited. Stocking updates can be found on the NDOW website Fishing Calendar at www.ndow.org/calendar/