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Board backs NDOW proposals to require killing of Northern pike, update bait rules and allow larger ice holes for spearfishing
Summary
Carson City advisory board voted to support proposed regulation changes including a requirement that Northern pike be killed if caught, regionally consistent bait rules, an exemption allowing larger marked ice holes for spearfishing, and removing a specific striped-bass size/limit complexity at Lake Mead/Mojave.
Carson City County Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife voted to support Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) proposals that would require anglers to kill any Northern pike they catch, align bait rules across regions, and allow larger, marked ice holes at some reservoirs to enable spearfishing.
Travis Hawks, NDOW Western Region fisheries supervisor, told the board the department proposes to require that all Northern pike caught in Nevada be killed because pike are listed as injurious aquatic wildlife and are not native to the state. “We are proposing to require all pike caught in the state to be killed,” Hawks said. He said the change would add an enforcement penalty if an angler were observed releasing a pike back into the water.
Hawks also described proposed bait-regulation updates that would allow commercially caught, pre-prepared nonnative bait (brined/salted) in the Eastern Region to make that region consistent with others. Finally, NDOW recommended changing Cummins Reservoir ice‑hole size limits to allow larger openings (Hawks said the draft language moves toward roughly a 3‑foot by 2‑foot opening) and requires marked, wooden lathe markers and refilling to avoid hazards for snowmobiles and other users.
Separately, NDOW proposed removing the long-standing commission rule that limited striped bass over 20 inches at Lake Mead and Lake Mojave to a 20‑fish per‑day limit; the department said the historical limit had not produced measurable changes in size structure and that the rule’s complexity caused angler confusion.
After hearing the presentation the board moved to support the fisheries changes. The motion to support items 10F and 10I (fisheries motor restrictions/mandatory pike kill; season and bag adjustments for striped bass) passed unanimously.
Board members asked about enforcement and whether pike populations were introduced illegally; Hawks confirmed pike in Nevada are nonnative and most populations resulted from illegal introductions. Members also described local fisheries of interest (Hobart, Marlette, Bailey Pond, Carson River watershed) and said they welcome clearer NDOW outreach on the new requirements if adopted.
