Ross Gold Park just became a fishing local

Odd as the snow may make it seem, trout fishing became the newest offering Monday from the Carson City Parks and Recreation Department.

The pleasant pond at the mostly unknown Ross Gold Park became home to 500 trout bred at the Nevada Division of Wildlife's Mason Valley Hatchery just north of Yerington.

The fish measure roughly 8 to 10 inches at the put-and-take fishery. A fishing license and trout stamp are required to fish at Ross Gold Park just off Snyder Avenue at the south end of Carson City.

Fishing is open to anybody, but NDOW and Parks and Rec would like to see people fishing at Ross Gold for whom it may not be as easy to get into the mountains to fish.

"This is for the benefit of seniors and young children," NDOW spokesman Chris Healy said.

Parks and Rec Director Steve Kastens even prefers to see just children fishing at the pond.

"The reason I'm pursuing this," Kastens said, "is for the kids of the community. I think there are a lot of kids who could fish at Ross Gold who would never have an opportunity to fish."

Children under age 12 do not need a fishing license. Juniors age 12 to 15 and seniors age 65 or older pay $5 for a license, which costs $21 for those 16 to 65. An additional $5 trout stamp is also required.

The park is city-owned but the fishery is operated by NDOW, which also supplies several city parks with fish in Reno and Sparks.

"Any time we have a chance to expand fishing opportunities, we want to meet the goal of serving (seniors and youths)," Healy said.

The city has never stocked or planted Ross Gold Park for fishing, though many people have dumped goldfish and other fish in the pond that has a small island reached by a bridge.

Kastens is pleased to expand his department's offerings. The city has quietly explored creating a fishing pond somewhere.

Kastens still wants to build a full-scale fishing facility but Ross Gold will provide fishing in the meantime.

"We have skateboarding, soccer, BMX," Kastens said. "Now we have a fishing pond."

Fisheries stocked by the wildlife division are restocked based on an allocation system. For now, no plan is in place to replace the 500 fish once they are taken.

"Because it is a new body of water (to be stocked by NDOW), an allocation has not been arrived at yet," Healy said. "Allocations are usually determined in February. Ninety-five percent of stocking is done in March, April and May."

Healy said stocking in November presents no problems for fish. The problems can occur when the water gets too warm in late spring rather than in fall or winter.