Columnist Paula Del Giudice: Fishing gives many families chance at new experiences

PAULA DEL GIUDICE has been an outdoors freelance writer, author and photographer for 13 years. Her column appears Wednesdays.

FOR MOST of us who learned to fish from their dads, going fishing recalls powerful images and lots of memories. The happy memories that are evoked stir my desire to be streamside somewhere with my own children.

We don't fish every Sunday, nor do we live in the country with fields lining the gravel roads all the way to our favorite farm pond. And life seems infinitely more complicated than it did once.

The quiet streams that we tangled our lines in when I was a child now require a long drive. It's hot here. There are groceries to buy, house to clean, soccer to practice, golf lessons, too. And before I know it, another Sunday has gone by without fishing.

When did fishing cease to be so important to me?

I remember fishing nearly every day when I lived in Reno and the Truckee River beckoned daily. One could hardly drive across town without crossing the river, and seeing all that water was too much for an angler to bear.

It demanded to be fished.

But Lake Mead is far enough away that it is out of sight. And fishing is out of mind, especially because we're not making boat payments.

But I want my kids to have those quiet times, when the only sound is the clickety-clicking of the reel, the trickling of the stream or the breeze gently ruffling the quaking aspen leaves. So I will store this delightful moment for a time early this fall when it won't be so hot, when nothing else will matter -- except a hook and a worm and two eager kids waiting for a fish to bite.

* HAWKING DOVE: Drawings for opening day and the first two weekends of dove hunting at Overton Wildlife Management Area will be Monday, Aug. 31 at 8 a.m. at the Nevada Division of Wildlife, 4747 Vegas Drive. For more information, contact NDOW at 486-5127. Reservations will be limited to 55 hunters on the opening day and first two weekends. NDOW will begin accepting reservations for vacancies following the drawings. Nevada's dove season is set Sept. 1-30.

* CATFISH HUNTERS: Channel catfish are scheduled to be stocked in ponds at Floyd Lamb State Park, Lorenzi Park and Sunset Park on Thursday. Each urban pond will receive approximately 800 catfish. Fish for the plants will be purchased from private growers in Arizona. Limits at the ponds are three game fish each day with three in possession. Anglers 12-older are required to have fishing licenses when fishing the ponds.

* NDOW NOW: Topical information from the Nevada Division of Wildlife's Las Vegas office can be accessed 24 hours per day by calling 486-5127. Included on the system are fishing reports, fish stocking schedules, upcoming hunter education classes, fishing clinic schedules and upland game bird hunting seasons. NDOW updates the information weekly.

* GO FOR A TROLL: Good things do come in small packages as proved once again by the publication of The Troller's Handbook by Ray Rychnovsky. Rychnovsky, a prolific California writer and author, takes trolling to new levels with his experience and education as an engineer in the field of aerodynamics. Anglers in this area will be particularly interested in what Rychnovsky has to say because he writes about angling that is close to our area. He writes about high-speed trolling in the ocean, backtrolling for trout and salmon, downrigging, and trolling with lead core. A 92-page paperback, it's inexpensive at $12.95 from Frank Amato Publications.

* RED ROCKERS: Families are welcome at Red Rock Canyon Friday to explore the little pools along First Creek on a hike that progresses back into the mouth of First Creek Canyon. Saturday's special feature will be a family stargazing trip with the Las Vegas Astronomical Society. Red cellophane will be provided for your flashlights. A family hike will take place on Sunday along Pine Creek.

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