Fishing... in Lake Mead and Lake Mohave

Below Davis Dam, the Colorado River is again as it was below Hoover Dam, cold, clear and fast. It once more becomes trout water; for maybe 15 or 20 miles.

So, to tell the full story of the fishing offered by Lake Mead and Lake Mohave and the Colorado River below Davis Dam is difficult. It requires space, and time. There's no feasible beginning, or ending.

It's something like the time Jack Jack Denton and I had flown up to Murl Emery's: we were trolling for trout up by The Caves. And, we were getting them! Nice, plump, heavy rainbows. It was a day and a half squeezed into one for me, even though Murl did knock off the biggest rainbow I've ever hooked while attempting to net it.

Perhaps to divert and allay my anguish Murl regaled us with stories in true Western tradition. Murl Emery had settled on the Colorado River long before Hoover Dam was built, in fact, he and his brother ferried the first engineers up through Black Canyon to make the preliminary survey for this concrete structure which has since become one of the seven engineering wonders of the world. Yes, Murl kept us under his spell; he told wild yarns, fanciful stories and true tales, as we reeled in the fish and he jockeyed the boat.

Finally I forgot the big trout and asked Murl how he happened to settle there. He explained it this way: "My folks were taking us to California. We came to the old aerial ferry, which was called 'The Searchlight Ferry.' Dad had the money to pay for everyone's passage except mine, and I didn't have thirty-five cents either." There was a long pause, and he gave us the punch line, "So, I had to stay.

But I know better. Murl had the 35c. He just likes to fish, and he's found the right place.

THE STORY OF DAVIS DAM

"Davis Dam? Where's that?"

These two brief questions sum up the usual visitor's reaction to a dam which is little known to the traveling public-or even to many residents of the nearby region. Yet this dam, located sixty-seven miles down the Colorado River from the site of its famous cousin, Hoover Dam, is not only a beautiful and interesting structure performing duties of considerable value, but it is also situated in a very scenic area.

Perhaps the location of the dam has something to do with its lack of visitor interest. Situated as it is off the main lines of travel, most people driving to the coast from the East pass to the south, and simply do not take the time necessary to go see it. Or it may be that, having seen Hoover Dam, the traveler believes he has already seen all there is of a worthwhile nature to see. Perhaps the fact that it is situated on the edge of the Mohave Desert causes many people to stay away, especially during the season of high daytime temperatures. Whatever the reason, Davis Dam does not receive the visitation it really deserves. Certainly if it were located almost anywhere else in the entire country, it would be considered an attraction of great importance.

The purposes for which the dam was built are sometimes not too clearly understood. It is more than simply a means of producing more electrical power in a region that has great need for such energy. With the building of Hoover Dam, the Colorado River no longer posed a threat to the region downstream, but additional "DAVIS DAM" BY JOSEF MUENCH. Here is another Ameri-can achievement to control the Colorado and create power. Total cost of the Davis Dam project is $120,000,000, of which $65,300,000 has been spent for the cost of dam and reservoir, power plant and terminal structures. Cost of project will eventually be returned by the sale of power.