News Briefs

Regular rainbow trout stocking restarts at Willow Beach

For the first time in three years, Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery has begun releasing rainbow trout into the Colorado River.

Every Friday year-round, 1,000 fish will be released near Willow Beach Marina. The stocked fish will be around 12 inches long.

A new pump and conveyance system was installed to deliver cold water to the federal fisheries facility, providing for proper trout growth. The hatchery, built in 1959, is 12 miles downstream from Hoover Dam on the Arizona side of the Colorado River within Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It is one of 70 such facilities in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Hatchery System.

“It gives me no small delight to see rainbow trout come back into production at Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery,” said Benjamin Tuggle, regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southwest Region. “Many concerned folks put their shoulder to the wheel to see this through — to design and build a new water conveyance system, and jump-start trout production with fish from our state partners. The hatchery once again serves the angling public.”

At Willow Beach, anglers will find an accessible fishing pier just downstream from the hatchery that is open 24 hours a day, along with a fish-cleaning station. The marina store sells fishing supplies and bait.

Along with trout, anglers may also catch striped bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, catfish, walleye and crappie from the Willow Beach area.

To obtain a fishing license for Nevada, visit http://bit.ly/2jLNYYQ. To obtain a fishing license for Arizona, visit https://www.azgfd.com/license.

Small explosive device discovered at Lake Mead overlook

A suspicious device was found within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Jan. 28.

The device, which was the size of a ping-pong ball, was found by a park employee who was cleaning the area at Longview Overlook off of Lakeshore Road. Law enforcement rangers were called to the scene, and the overlook was temporarily closed to visitors.

The bomb squad from Metropolitan Police Department in Las Vegas confirmed the device was explosive and removed it from the park. The area was thoroughly searched for additional devices before the overlook was reopened.

The incident is under investigation.

Park officials advise visitors to maintain a safe distance and call 911 if they come across a suspicious device.