Cold Springs in the Kirch WMA

The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) manages the State’s thirteen Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) for the purpose of “conservation and protection of wetlands and waterfowl, including the use of WMAs for recreational fishing and hunting.” They also publish brochures such as the one for the Wayne Kirch WMA (which currently includes a photo of FisherDad lifted from this blog).

The White River Valley was settled in the 1870s. Homesteaders and ranchers were attracted by the meadows that provided reliable water supplies. By the early 1900s the Adams-McGill Company ranch began raising livestock in the fertile meadows. Adams-McGill owned and operated a successful ranching empire for several decades on 100,000 acres of ranch land and associated federal rangeland. In 1959 NDOW began to see the wildlife and conservation potential of the area, so they purchased some of the land. Nine years later they established the Wayne Kirch WMA on 14,815 acres which include five man-made reservoirs, of which four are fishable ( click these hyperlinks for the NDOW fishing regulations as of the date of this post: Dacey, Adams-McGill, Cold Springs, and Haymeadow).

The Kirch WMA lies in the White River Valley.  It is somewhat isolated even for open range states like Nevada and Utah. Estimated driving distances calculate to 180 miles north of Las Vegas, NV, 210 miles west of Cedar City, UT, 250 miles south of Elko, NV, and 390 miles east of Reno, NV. There are some shorter route distances if you are willing to drive on Nevada county graded dirt roads, but special travel preparations and precautions are advised, even for those of us familiar with driving these roads.

I have not posted any information about the Kirch WMA for a couple of years. My first post was 17 years ago, and it also highlighted Cold Springs Reservoir. Eventually I discovered that Dacey Reservoir had special regulations which enhanced the trophy Rainbow trout fishery (see the above hyperlinked regulations for Dacey). The notably remarkable Dacey fishery spurred me to fulfill a life-long ambition to write a story for a national fly fishing magazine. I submitted my unsolicited Kirch WMA manuscript to “Southwest Fly Fishing” (now consolidated into the “American Fly Fishing” magazine) which was published the fall of 2014. You can read about that experience in the Kirch Photo Shoot post from 10 years ago. While my blog has a very modest readership, publishing an article in a national magazine provides exponentially greater exposure, and that exposure has curbed my desire to publish stories on my other favorite Nevada angling waters.

We entered the Kirch WMA from the north so that my fishing partner Luis could see the tiny Sunnyside community and the Sunnyside Creek. I was hoping we could fish Dacey, but there was a weed flotsam blocking the primitive small dirt launch ramp. No one was on the water, and while I thought I could make a path for Luis to follow behind as I oared my float tube towards the open water, the reverse action of coming in against the flotsam would be much harder as the mass of vegetation compressed against the dirt launch ramp. So, we opted for Cold Springs.

In the four-plus hours we fished Cold Springs I experienced 18 hookups but could only manage getting 11 into my landing net. Three of my lost trout did some angry head shaking after feeling the sting of the hook, but the fly dislodged before I could see their size. My friend Luis landed four vibrant Rainbows. We both used a black/burgundy leach pattern with a small beadhead and some flashabou, although Luis started the day casting a large nymph pattern. Perhaps the smaller trout we failed to land did not get the entire fly into their mouths.

I was pleased when my good friend Luis agreed to join me on this trip. Luis just started fly fishing slightly over a year ago. He has progressed quickly, and while the casting mistakes that all beginners make (as well as many “seasoned” anglers like me) cause some frustration, Luis genuinely takes pleasure being outdoors in our Lord’s creation and enjoys both the challenges and rewards of fly casting for trout and bass. Luis does catch fish on a fly rod, and those successes often provide the foremost instruction and incentive. Best of all, we enjoy each other’s company and use our Great Basin drive time to share our Christian faith experiences with each other.

Your love must be real. Hate what is evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves.

Romans 12:9–10 (NCV)