Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Kirch campers get good news

Paula DelGiudice's outdoors notebook appears Wednesday. Reach her at [email protected].

What's fixed, what's broken, and thinking about hunting ... With just a few short weeks remaining in the summer, at least before school starts, many people are in the midst of heading out for a few days of camping and fishing.

Those going to Kirch Wildlife Management Area will be happy to learn that repairs have been completed to the campground water system and potable water is now available, according to the Nevada Division of Wildlife (NDOW). Drinking water has not been available at the campground for nearly two months due to a broken chlorinator.

Kirch WMA is located in Nye County approximately 170 miles north of Las Vegas adjacent to State Route 318. The area is popular for fishing and camping.

Those who were interested in fishing the late summer bite at Groves Reservoir in Kingston Canyon should know that NDOW has begun a partial draw down of the water in the reservoir in order to make needed repairs to the dam and bed of the reservoir.

After the draw down, repairs will begin to curtail a persistent leak that has plagued the lake since it was constructed in 1970 and to repair vandalism to the water control structure. The $72,500 project includes an excavation followed by the placing of a thick plastic sheet on the lake bed which then will be covered with soil. Funds are coming from sportsmen through the Wildlife Heritage Trust Account.

What will remain of the water in the reservoir will amount to a small pool near the dam. It is anticipated that as the lake dries the fish will wash downstream into Kingston Creek or make their way upstream. NDOW plans to assist stranded fish that may be in peril.

Once the repairs have been completed in the fall, NDOW plans to restock trout into the popular lake.

It's not too early to start thinking about hunting. If you were one of the unlucky who didn't draw a tag this year, there are still some available.

For adults, there remain many buck deer archery tags (both resident and nonresident). Although most archery hunts opened last weekend, tags will be sold until the last day of the season. Also remaining are junior deer hunt tags for youths 12-15.

Remaining deer tags are only available to hunters who have not yet received a tag for the upcoming seasons. Applications for the tags may be obtained at NDOW's Las Vegas office, 4747 Vegas Drive, and the Henderson office, 744 South Racetrack Road.

* DOVE HUNTS: Dove hunt reservations for Overton Wildlife Management Area's opening day, first two weekends, and a youth hunt day will be held Monday, Aug. 30 at 8 a.m. at the Nevada Division of Wildlife, 4747 Vegas Drive.

There will be a limit of 55 hunters allowed on the area during the opening day and first two weekends. Hunters may only make reservations for a single day and cannot make subsequent reservations until after their hunt day has passed.

A special youth dove hunt is scheduled for Saturday Sept. 11 for youngsters 12-15 years of age. A maximum of 30 youth hunters, who must be accompanied by an adult, will be allowed on the area that day. During the youth hunt the area will be closed to adult hunters.

Dove season is scheduled to open on Wednesday, Sept. 1 and close on Thursday, Sept. 30. The daily limit is 10 with a possession limit of 20.

* SIGHT-IN DAY: Hunters should mark their calendars for Saturday, Sept. 11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Desert Sportsman Rifle and Pistol Club, 10000 West Charleston Blvd. Targets will be provided at no charge and a certified range master will be on hand throughout the day. To reserve a shooting time, call the Nevada Division of Wildlife at 486-5127. The event is sponsored by Desert Sportsman and NDOW.

* NO SHAD: For the second consecutive year, NDOW biologists have found no threadfin shad in Lake Mohave during annual surveys of the small forage fish.

"Shad used to be very abundant on the lake but they went into decline in the late 1980s and early '90s as the striped bass populations began to build," said NDOW fisheries biologist Mike Burrell.

Surveys are conducted each June by trawling at night with fine mesh nets. Trawls take place from Cottonwood Cove to Eldorado Canyon where shad traditionally were abundant.

The surveys are done during June because that's when fish are spawning. At night, the larval fish produced from the spawn are on the lake's surface where they can be easily captured.

Burrell attributes the lack of shad to an abundance of small striped bass that are now found in the lake. Shad are an important source of food for striped bass and other game fish in Lake Mohave and Lake Mead.

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