From November 10, 2025 through March 3, 2026, the Nevada Department of Wildlife released 19,027 rainbow trout into the upper pond at Floyd Lamb Park. From January through late September 2026, the same pond got 871 channel catfish. Measured by fish in the water, the pond at 9200 Tule Springs Road is mostly a winter trout fishery, and that winter is about to start.
Most of the year's stocking happens between early November and early March, which is almost exactly when the City runs the park on its shorter winter hours.
The ledger, season by season
NDOW posts every stocking at Floyd Lamb on its Floyd Lamb Park/Tule Springs Ponds page, with the count, the species, the average length and the date. The fall trout runs line up from year to year:
| Fall season | First trout stocking | Last December stocking | Trout stockings, Nov–Dec |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | November 6 | December 18 | 7 |
| 2024 | November 6 | December 17 | 7 |
| 2025 | November 10 | December 22 | 7 |
Last fall's seven loads ran from 1,215 to 1,616 fish each, for 9,675 rainbow trout before Christmas. Their average lengths ranged from 8.5 to 10 inches. Six more stockings came between January 7 and March 3, 2026, adding 9,352 fish.
NDOW has not published a schedule for the 2026–27 season. Its table is a record of stockings that have already happened, not a promise. Still, three years in a row the first trout went in during the first or second week of November. By that pattern, the first loads of this season would arrive this week or next.
Why a northwest valley pond can hold trout at all
NDOW says the Floyd Lamb ponds are fed by wells and artesian spring flows, and the spring water keeps summer temperatures cooler than at other urban ponds in the valley. The four ponds sit on the site of a historic pond and marsh complex that Native Americans used for thousands of years. Starting in the 1930s, the land was a private guest ranch before it became a public park.
Trout still need winter, though. NDOW's current fishing report for the city ponds says a few trout remain in many of them, but they are "slow to chase as water temperatures rise." In the warm months the main catches are bluegill and catfish.
Where the fish actually are
There are four ponds, but NDOW stocks only the largest, uppermost one. When the water is high, a few fish can swim into the middle ponds. The upper pond covers about five acres and is about 15 feet at its deepest. Anglers can fish its whole shoreline except parts of the west side, where vegetation is dense.
For rainbow trout, NDOW lists small spinners, Power Bait, salmon eggs and flies as effective. The pond also holds species NDOW does not stock regularly, including bluegill, redear sunfish, green sunfish, crappie and largemouth bass. They breed around fish habitat placed in the water. Spinner baits and rubber worms are NDOW's picks for the bass.
The winter clock and the gate
Trout season runs on a shorter day. The City of Las Vegas keeps Floyd Lamb Park open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from April through September and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from October through March. In practice, every stocking in last season's run happened during the 5 p.m. closing months. A trip after work in December means an early start, not an evening cast.
Getting in costs $6 per vehicle, and the gatehouse no longer takes cash. Bring a debit or credit card. If you only have cash, the City says you can pay at a city community center and bring the receipt to the gate. Regular visitors can buy a Household Yearly Pass for $50, or a Senior Household Yearly Pass for $25 if you're 50 or older, online or at the gatehouse.
The City's 2026 free-entry calendar has two dates left that fall inside trout season:
- Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving Day
- Friday, December 25: Christmas Day
Free entry doesn't cover fishing. The only 2026 day the City listed as a no-license free fishing day was June 13, and it has passed.
The rules that come with the trout
The City's park page says fishing is allowed with a license from the Nevada Department of Wildlife. NDOW requires a license for anglers 12 and older. NDOW's license page also addresses people who assist an angler, and it is worth reading before a family outing.
Under NDOW's 2026–2027 fishing seasons and regulations, Clark County community fishing ponds, Floyd Lamb included, have a daily limit of 3 game fish and a possession limit of 6. NDOW's 2025 Tule Pond angler guide says bait fish are not allowed and that the fishing season runs year-round during park hours.
This is general information, not legal advice. NDOW's current regulations and the signs at the pond are the final word for your own trip.
The rest of the 680 acres between bites
A three-fish limit leaves plenty of time for the rest of the park. The City describes Floyd Lamb as 680 acres of wildlife, plants and lakes with views of the Sheep and Spring Mountain ranges. The historic Tule Springs Ranch sits inside the park and shows what a working ranch and early Las Vegas life looked like. You can take a self-guided tour.
The City's amenity list includes a restored hay barn, horse trails, walking and jogging paths, mountain bike trails and a pump track for BMX riders, a volleyball court and reservable picnic areas with barbecue grills. The Nevada Division of Forestry's Las Vegas State Tree Nursery also operates inside the park, with its own hours and prices. NDOW notes there is no overnight camping. The day-use areas have restrooms, shade shelters, picnic tables and barbecues.
One City rule applies everywhere in the park, the ponds included. Feeding the wildlife is prohibited.
December 5: the park's holiday Saturday
In the middle of trout season, the park also hosts its biggest holiday event. A Cowboy Christmas & Classic Car Show listing on Eventbrite, with the City of Las Vegas as organizer, sets the event at Floyd Lamb Park on "Saturday, December 5," from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The listing doesn't print a year, though December 5 does fall on a Saturday this year, while the City's own event page still shows last year's December 6, 2025 date. Check the listing again before you go. It lists a classic car show, holiday shopping vendors, a live DJ, performances and a visit from Santa. Admission is marked free.
The listing doesn't say whether the $6 vehicle fee is waived that day, so bring a card. Last year the event fell on the first Saturday in December, inside the same weeks when NDOW was stocking the upper pond about once a week. That makes it easy to fish when the gate opens at 8 a.m. and walk over to the car show by 10.
If Floyd Lamb's winter routine is part of why you love Centennial Hills, and you're thinking about a home closer to Tule Springs Road, I'm happy to help in English or Spanish. Cintia Ayala can walk you through which northwest streets put the park gate a few minutes away. Let's Connect.
