IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Idaho => Ice Fishing Idaho => Topic started by: KozinKenny on Dec 16, 2021, 05:34 PM
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I have fished Wild Horse Res., in Nevada many times over the last 25 years or so. We stayed at Dunn's when it was up and running. We did real good on Perch and a few big Trout, but over the last several years I have not gone to Nevada. Dennis Dunn sold out and the new owners closed down their motel (If you can call it that) but kept the RV park open. The Perch Fishery pretty much died out over the years. Nevada does not have an Ice Shanty Forum Site so it is hard to communicate with our Brothers and Sisters across the Border. I live in Meridian ID, and the drive is about three hours. It would be nice if we had contact information or someone that can post on the conditions and places to stay besides Mountain City. I heard the Perch have made a great recovery and even heard reports of some Jumbos being pulled up thru the ice. It was always a great Hard Water Fishery over the Years Past! Any help would be appreciated. Good Fish'n, Kozin Kenny.
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Good Info. Thx!
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I'd call Nevada fish and game, that reservoir serves the reservation and they ain't shy about pulling water, with the dry year this year it might not be fishable.
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Wild Horse went off the radar for a few years. About three years ago I saw a few people ice fishing it again. I called Nevada Fish and Game, and after a lot of tries I got a Biologist in Elko that had worked on Wild Horse. The Res has both large Trout and Perch. F&G believes they now know how to manage for a good large Perch fishery. I got zip info out of Duck Valley Res. Covid really shut down most Motels and stores down there, a trip may be necessary to find info sources.
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I'm willing to make the trip and check out places to stay and places to play (Ice Fish). I just don't want another wasted trip and out of state license fee. I used to be in contact with the State Park they were a good source of info but not avid Ice Fisherman.
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Wild Horse went off the radar for a few years. About three years ago I saw a few people ice fishing it again. I called Nevada Fish and Game, and after a lot of tries I got a Biologist in Elko that had worked on Wild Horse. The Res has both large Trout and Perch. F&G believes they now know how to manage for a good large Perch fishery. I got zip info out of Duck Valley Res. Covid really shut down most Motels and stores down there, a trip may be necessary to find info sources.
There's no motels down there.
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I used to travel down to wild horse every year to ice fish for perch, we averaged about a hundred a day , then nevada fish and game decided perch were a bad thing and intraduces wipers to eradicate them, it worked and no perch, no perch no business, in the winter so dunn's closed there lodgeing, I talked to a fish and game person about their lack of wisdom useing cascade as an example of the importance of perch to a winter economy, It cost cascade a million dollars a year in revenue when the perch fishery collasped. maybe they wised up and are recovering the perch fishery, I don't no much about it any more because I live in north idaho now and probably will not travel that far to fish, but you ever do go, there is an awsome basque resaurant out the back door accros the street from stockmans casino in elko, I mean it,s the best basque food I ever ate in my life and if it's still there would be worth the trip
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The Nevada Dinner house... it's been like 25 years since I lived near Elko, and I still remember that place ;D Do they still bring out soup and salad and bread and pasta before your main course?
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There's no motels down there.
But the State Park has cabins to rent for $90/$95 a night. ;D
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Those must be new, wasn't any there when I was down there.
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The Nevada Dinner house... it's been like 25 years since I lived near Elko, and I still remember that place ;D Do they still bring out soup and salad and bread and pasta before your main course?
Yes they do, it's a great meal.
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Those must be new, wasn't any there when I was down there.
Cabins: Situated at the south end of the park, with stunning views of Wild Horse Reservoir and the surrounding mountains, the park has three cabins available for rent year-round. Cabins feature:
A covered front deck, living room with sleeper sofa, eating area with table, chairs, mini-fridge, microwave (no cooktop or conventional oven), bathroom, heating and air conditioning. Wifi is not available and AT&T is the only cellular network that services the area.
Cabins 1 and 3 - 1 bedroom/1 bathroom (toilet and sink) plus an additional bunkroom, can accommodate up to six occupants.
Cabin 2 - 1 bedroom/1 bathroom (toilet and sink), is designated as ADA accessible, can accommodate up to four occupants.
Cabins are not equipped with showers; however a shower building is located roughly 300 yards from the cabin sites.
View reservation procedures/cabin rules and photos.
Reservations can be made by filling out the Cabin Reservation Form and emailing to [email protected]
Cabins are $90/night for Nevada residents and $95/night for out of state guests.
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Yes they do, it's a great meal.
Nice. We used to go there and Showboat Catfish to eat quite a bit.
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All good info. I prefer lakes in the Middle O Nowhere. If I don't Ice it Ill get there in my boat.
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I like others have fished Wildhorse over the years. Been good times and bad. Perch are making a comeback! State record (small compared to Cascade -under 2 lbs) caught there in 2019. The state park does have 3 cabins to rent. You can reserve them 6 months out. However the Ranger has said the weekends book fast. They have rv hookups and heated restrooms. Be aware that they charge more for out of state rigs. Dunns reopened a few years ago but the rooms were in bad shape. Not sure if new owner fixed them up. Elko motels are 1 hour south.
I took my boat there in June this year (2021). Lots of rb’s and lots of perch (6-10”). Will find out in a month or so if those perch have grown. Motel in mtn city looked closed.
Cheers!
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One more thing. Wildhorse is about half full even after the hot dry summer. Ice is almost always 10-12 inches, if not thicker.
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If you're all the way down to Elko, you may want to give South Fork a shot, if it's frozen. It's just out west of Spring Creek a bit, maybe 15 miles SSW from Elko. We did ok for rainbows out there through the ice a couple times.
All good info. I prefer lakes in the Middle O Nowhere. If I don't Ice it Ill get there in my boat.
Wild Horse, Wilson, and Willow Creek are all definitely in the middle of nowhere, and generally freeze. Never fished Wilson myself, but it's in the neighborhood.
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???
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Can you get into willow creek and Wilson in the winter
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Check the Elko Daily Free Press, outdoors section for fishing updates. The latest report said you can get into Wilson with 4wd. Nothing on willow.
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Just curious, they're out in the middle of nowhere, so I'm sure with some snow, it'd probably take a snowmobile in to them, I get some time, I might try wild horse this winter.
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Willow Creek Reservoir has had some dam issues the last couple years. If you’re planning on going down there, I would contact NDOW before driving down. I fish Wildhorse quite often, feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
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Still, they've had a lot of issues with that dam for quite awhile. Is there quite a bit of water in wild horse after this summer, know it gets drained in years like this.
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Yea, at Willow Creek Reservoir, they accidentally drained the lake, because of a faulty valve, then they fixed the valve, filled the lake up, restocked fish in it, then realized they planted the wrong strain of fish so they had to drain it again ::).
At Wildhorse, The water level is down about 8 feet from last year. The island off from the boat dock is under about 2 feet of water, you could check google earth and you'll see which one i'm talking about.
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I like others have fished Wildhorse over the years. Been good times and bad. Perch are making a comeback! State record (small compared to Cascade -under 2 lbs) caught there in 2019. The state park does have 3 cabins to rent. You can reserve them 6 months out. However the Ranger has said the weekends book fast. They have rv hookups and heated restrooms. Be aware that they charge more for out of state rigs. Dunns reopened a few years ago but the rooms were in bad shape. Not sure if new owner fixed them up. Elko motels are 1 hour south.
I took my boat there in June this year (2021). Lots of rb’s and lots of perch (6-10”). Will find out in a month or so if those perch have grown. Motel in mtn city looked closed.
Cheers!
Thanks for the info
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Fished Wildhorse this past weekend. Lots of little perch. A few nice rainbows. Overall- slow. Good ice for sleds and side by sides. Great weather but need this high pressure to leave and storms to stir things up!
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I see that someone from Elko broke Nevadas perch record with the fish caught from Wildhorse a few weeks ago. Great! That’s good news considering the perch die off a couple years ago. Just google Nevada perch record to see the article.
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Buddy of mine fished Wildhorse last weekend. Slow slow slow. 2 rainbow and no perch.