The refuge is managed primarily for waterfowl, but fishing is the most popular recreational activity.

Anglers on the marshes can also expect rainbow, brown, cutthroat, tiger and brook trout in addition to largemouths.

In 1992, Kurt Covely of Elko reeled in a monster brown that weighed 25 pounds and measured nearly 35 inches long.

Fish like that one aren't the norm, but the marshes do provide anglers with opportunities to catch some big trout.

The marshes also produced a 13-pound, 13-ounce tiger trout (brown-brook hybrid) -- the new state record -- as well as a rainbow that weighed the same.

In the spring, no boats of any kind can be on the water until June 15. But anglers can still fish the area known as the Collection Ditch. This portion of the marshes is designated as an artificial-fly- or lure-only fishery, but is closed to wading.

Woolly Buggers and patterns mimicking dragonfly and damselfly nymphs are generally good choices.

"A black-bear-haired streamer in number 6 or 8 is popular with the locals," Doucette said.

"It has a chenille body with black-bear hair for a wing."

These flies should also work well when the boat restriction is eased on June 15.

Though spring fishing is always good at the marshes, Doucette said the very best time to fish them is in fall when others are focusing on hunting season.

"September is great," he said. "October is incredible."

For trout, Stager said, you want to use what he calls a "money clip" because that's what it looks like. He couldn't recall the name of the lure, but described it as gold with red spots.

After some digging around, I believe Stager was referring to the Jake's Spin-A-Lure. My father-in-law always called it "a Las Vegas Special," because it resembled a pair of dice with a treble hook on the end. Anglers looking for trout should watch for disturbances in the middle of open ponds and pockets in the marshes. Those will be made by trout because unlike bass, trout will stay out in the middle.

"When you see the disturbance, wing that thing (the "money clip") out there," he said.

"And in almost 100 percent of the cases, when you're bringing that in, he'll hit it. And it'll be a big trout. We almost never catch the little ones. So either the money clip or the PowerBait would be my way of fishing the marsh."

The key to fishing the Ruby Marshes is learning where the springs are. "Those trout will lie in those spring beds," said Stager.

"If there's not a lot of moss in a spot, and it's kind of circular, and there's only sand there, that's kind of a sign that there's a spring there."

And where there's a spring, there are probably some trout.

You still won't find towering pines or quaking aspen along many of Nevada's fisheries, but you can find a trout-fishing Triple Crown.