Colorado River Northwest
May 8th, 2008
| Colorado River Northwest |
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LAKE POWELL – The weather in warming and Lake Powell is filling a foot every fourth day. Bass are guarding deep nests but the fast-rising water makes sight fishing difficult. Not to worry! Bass fishing is great with feisty smallmouth bass waking up and getting with the program. Work the rocky structure to find willing smallmouth. Earlier in the spring all the bass action was in the backs of sandy coves with brush. Now bass are staged near the primary rocky points leading into those coves. It is not time yet to fish the main channel drop-offs. Start at the back of the canyon where muddy water meets the rich green color. That is the bass hotspot and many other species of fish like the green productive zone. Technique varies with personal preference. The most common approach is to use a plastic grub, tube, Senko or other bait of your choosing. That works great as does retrieving a spinnerbait or crankbait across rocky structure. I like to have the option of using both techniques. Just have a tube rigged on one rod and a crank or jerk bait on the other. Use a tube for a while and then switch to the crank. Let the fish tell you which they like best. Do not be afraid to fish deeper water. The shoreline at the current lake level is devoid of brush. Old brush is buried 10-15 feet deep while the new shoreline brush won’t go under water for a couple more weeks. The lake has to exceed last year’s high water mark of 3611 before new brush is flooded. Walleye are perking up with warming conditions. They should be caught more often now particularly in murky water after an afternoon wind muddies a cove or floats a mud line into a clear water bay. Crappies are still being caught in the brush at the ends of the canyons. Use a bobber to suspend a tiny curly tail grub just above the brush zone. Stripers are schooled in 25-45 of water waiting to spawn. Trolling and graphing across deep points and drops in bays is the best way to located them. They will come up from 25 feet to hit a bevy shad, Rat-L-Trap or Wally diver running at 10-12 feet. I keep a floating fish marker handy and toss it out each time a good school is graphed. When tired of trolling, go back to the various makers, chum and fish bait over the stationary marked schools to catch a cooler full of stripers. Chum brings striper off the bottom. While they are easy to catch on bait, they are searching for food and will also take a spoon, crank, or swim bait while swimming in the chum field. Fishing is great right now whichever species or technique is your personal favorite. LEES FERRY – From Lees Ferry Anglers, Today’s Fly Fishing: I wish I could report that the fishing is off the charts but, it is not. Fishing is OK we are not catching a whole bunch of fish but the fish we are catching are good size fish. The numbers are down the sizes are up. Pick your poison! We are still mostly drifting in the boats fishing the long deep runs and it’s paying off. The weather has been great the past few days, pleasant. Having said that I am sure it will take a turn. Walk in: I have spoke to a few anglers that fished this area in the past few days. It is a little slow mid- day then tends to pick up in the evening. Upper Colorado River Basin Hydrology The current elevation of Lake Powell (March 2, 2008) is 3,590.5 feet, 109.5 feet from full pool elevation of 3,700 feet. Reservoir storage is currently 10.86 million acre-feet, or 44 percent of capacity. The water surface elevation of Lake Powell is now near its seasonal low. In April, anticipated snowmelt runoff will cause the water surface elevation to begin to increase. Under the current inflow forecast, Lake Powell would reach a peak elevation of about 3639 feet in July 2008. The peak elevation for Lake Powell in 2007 was 3,611.7 feet. Fishing Synopsis and Forecast by Terry Gunn 4/19/08 Lots of stuff happening at the Ferry and it is all good! Due to the higher than normal runoff conditions and the desire to equalize Lake Powell and Lake Meade, water releases were increased on April 14. The projected increase amounts to more than 600,000 acre feet of water to be released between now and the end of the water year in October. This means that water flows will be higher than normal for the months of April, May, June, and July. Steady flows are planned for September and October. Read below how I predict this increased flows will affect fishing. It has been a very different spring than most years. The air (and water) temperatures have been much cooler than normal and as a result, the midge hatches occurred much later than in past years. The swallows did not arrive until the first week of April, the exact same time as the midges started to hatch (how do they know?!). The swallows normally arrive Feb. 28 and this is the latest arrival that I have seen in my 25 years on the river. Most of the ducks are still here and they should have migrated several weeks ago which tells me that it is going to be a cool spring going forward and winter is going to be hanging on later than normal The trout spawn began in early December which we have not seen in several years. It was a good strong spawn until the start of the experimental flow. Immediately following the high flow experiment the trout spawn began in earnest. It looked like every fish in the river was spawning at once and was the strongest spawn that I have ever witnessed. It was an inspiring sight, fish spawning everywhere and in areas that I have not seen them use in years. The spawn occurred in mostly deep water (up to 40-ft. deep!) with very little shallow water spawning taking place. The deep water spawn should translate into a “bumper crop” of fry and the survival rate will likely be off the charts. This is going to be a year to remember at Lees Ferry…there are so many good things happening at once which will make this THE YEAR that will set the stage for great fishing for years to come. First and foremost: the current snowpack in the Colorado River drainage is 121% of normal, (Lake Powell is predicted to rise 50-ft!) and if the ducks are an indicator as to whether winter is lingering, the snowpack is likely to continue to increase. When the snow melt begins in earnest, the streams that flow into Lake Powell will be raging and stir-up all the accumulated sediment at the stream entrance. This sediment is nutrient laden and the suspended nutrients will be distributed throughout Lake Powell. All these nutrients will be transported and arrive in the river below the dam in a few months and the river will explode with algal growth and there will be lots of food for the fish. The high runoff will provide the river with a huge nutrient load that will result in tremendous growth of aquatic organisms and plants (trout food). The spawn from 2007 survival rate was substantial; the river is currently full of 7 to 8-in fish and the increased productivity of the nutrients should arrive just in time to stimulate growth of these juvenile fish. These fish will be 12-in and larger by this next fall and be catchable. The nutrient load should last at least a couple years even if next year’s snow pack is below normal. One strange phenomenon regarding juvenile fish at Lees Ferry is that once the fry reach 3-in long, they “disappear” until they reach 12-in and then suddenly they reappear and populate normal fishing lies. We’ll be seeing these fish this next fall. I have already told you about the trout spawn from this year. The number of trout fry will likely be off the chart and the survival should be good. The river conditions should be perfect for survival and growth of these young of the year fish and they will show up as 12-in or larger fish in the fall of 2009. In the short term the higher water will make fishing conditions tougher. The trout normally stop feeding on sub-surface midges when the water flows exceed 12,000-cfs and the flows will exceed this value for the remainder of this season. The fish will shift their diet to worms and scuds in the higher flows which means we will be using heavy nymph rigs and be doing more drifting than wading. Overall the trout are in great shape and the average size is larger than we have seen in several years. I predict that the size and condition of the fish will continue to improve this spring and summer and we should continue to see great fishing for the remainder of 2008 and into the future LAKE MEAD – Lake Mead water levels continue to drop as the elevation is projected to dip below 1,109 feet above msl later this week. Water temperatures are running between 65 and 70 depending where you are on the lake. Backs of coves are warming up nicely and largemouth bass are starting to move in for the spawn. Striper fishing was good over the weekend. Anglers using artificial lights were catching as many 13 to 18-inch stripers as they wanted to clean. Catfishing under lights was also very productive using anchovies. May 5 was the dark moon so all this week, the fishing under lights with anchovies should be good. Launching conditions at South Cove have continued to deteriorate with the dropping water. Both the dirt ramp and the new concrete the National Park Service just completed are one lane ramps with buoys marking the edges. Use caution not to go off the sides of the metal extensions at either side. According to the Bureau of Reclamation, water levels are projected to dip as low as 1,105 feet above msl later this summer before rebounding slightly by October. Important notice: With the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Mead, Mohave and Havasu, proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please drain and dry your livewell and bilge on land. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see. For more information, go to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s web pages at azgfd.gov or visit http://100thmeridian.org/. Angler report:
Biologists from both Arizona Game and Fish Department and Nevada Division of Wildlife installed fish habitat in Carp cove on Dec. 12-13. A total of 84 wood pallets and 16 4X4-foot PVC structures were put into Lake Mohave in an attempt to increase angler success. On Jan. 29-30 an additional 54 wood pallets and 16 4X4-foot PVC structures were put into Lake Mohave at Box cove. On March 28-29 brush bundles pallets and PVC structures were installed in carp cove. Additional habitat will be added at several locations over the next two years. These structures are fish magnets. There is a wheelchair accessible fishing pier just south of the main launch ramp at Katherine’s Landing. If you fish Mohave and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others. Important notice: With the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Mead, Mohave and Havasu, proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please drain and dry your livewell and bilge on land. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see. For more information, go to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s web pages at azgfd.gov or visit http://100thmeridian.org/. Where:Lake Mohave WILLOW BEACH - Trout are stocked every Friday. The fishing for trout has been good from shore immediately following the stocking. Try using a Jake, Panther Martin, or other spinner’s or spoons. If that doesn’t work you can always use Power Bait. I’m starting to get reports of the striper bite picking up around the monkey hole area. Important notice: With the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Mead, Mohave and Havasu, proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please drain and dry your livewell and bilge on land. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see. If you fish Willow beach and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others. TOPOCK MARSH –Water level is up, but still be careful while launching. The catfish are biting on night crawlers and anchovies. Bass bite is still not bad. Crappies have shut down. Try night crawlers or anchovies for catfish. Game and Fish biologists surveyed the Marsh starting on the week of Jan. 15. The largemouth bass population was observed to be very healthy, as well as channel catfish. Crappie were also present, but in smaller numbers. You can access the marsh by boat at North Dike, Catfish Paradise, and Five-Mile Landing. All three also provide plenty of area for shoreline fishing too. For more information on the marsh, contact the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge at (760) 326-3853 or go to http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/arizona/havasu/index.html. Important notice: With the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Mead, Mohave and Havasu, proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please drain and dry your livewell and bilge on land. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see. For more information, go to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s web pages at azgfd.gov or visit http://100thmeridian.org/. COLORADO RIVER BELOW DAVIS DAM –The striper bite is picking up. Trout were last stocked on March 24-25. This was the last trout stocking until next winter. Fish and Wildlife Service stocks once a month in this area. A few days following the stocking look for trout to be across the river from the Riverside. The fish are stocked in two locations; Davis Camp and near The Riverside. I am getting some reports of the largemouth bite picking up. Water levels on the river fluctuate, so be careful. You can check the Bureau of Reclamation Web site for flow predictions http://www.usbr.gov/lc/riverops.html before you go. If you fish the river below Davis Dam and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others. Important notice: With the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Mead, Mohave and Havasu, proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please drain and dry your livewell and bilge on land. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see. For more information, go to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s web pages at azgfd.gov or visit http://100thmeridian.org/. |
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I went out Largemouth fishing on Lake Mohave the other week and pulled in 6 nice size smallmouth’s along with one largemouth. I’ve been fishing Mohave since the late 70’s and I’ve never seen a smallmouth in this lake….Nevada department of wildlife says they’ve always been there but I disagree.
I’ve seen many cycles and changing dynamics on this lake but I can’t believe the small mouths have always been there. could it be they just avoided my hook all these years?
Moqui;
To say there have been there is probably correct – they are certainly in Havasu. I am just guessing (our regional folks may know more), but the population there has probably been pretty small and it is a large lake, creating pretty long odds of catching one. They often like areas that largemouth avoid (rock cobble etc.), which means you likely don’t fish their prime habitat.
Rory