Arizona Fishing

LAKE HAVASU – Striped bass are in their pre-spawning stages and will likely start their full spawn sometime within the next month due to the steady rise in water temperature. These fish are temperature specific with an optimal water temperature of 63 degrees and will begin to migrate to their spawn areas, which will be any waters where there is a slight current or steady movement of water. The bigger fish are affected by water temperatures more than the smaller ones.

Focus on optimal water temperature areas rather than structure of the environment right now. The bigger fish are often lazy, and can be caught on cut bait since they sometimes wait for scraps missed by the smaller faster fish, instead of using their energy to chase down their meals.

The use of anchovies, herring, or squid is working well right now. The topwater feeding pattern of the striper has not quite fully opened up but there have been reports of some bigger stripers being caught during the pre-dawn hours before sunrise on baits such as Vixens and Sammys.

The stripers are up in the shallow waters during the dark hours feeding on crawdads and the use of these topwater baits during the dark pre-dawn hour is beginning to produce hits. Gradually these fish tend to move to deeper waters as the sun rises and this is when the use of the cut baits will work best. The main basin of the lake, the island and as far down as Havasu Palms have been the target areas at this time, again pay attention to water temperatures for the most successful results.

Largemouth and smallmouth bass bite is very good right now with lots of nice record sized largemouth being caught in the 9 and 10 pound range! These largemouth bass are in their early stages of spawning and can be seen on or near their beds right now. The Smallmouth bass are in full spawn right now and they are locked on their nests and quite aggressive. The use of soft plastics such as 4 inch worms and senkos will get them to bite in the calm waters, the best colors to use right now are Bed Bait II, War Mouth, Bold Bluegill or Oxblood with red flake. When or if the wind picks up the use of stick/jerk baits like the Pointer 78 in Chartreuse Shad,and the deep diving cranks that hit the 10 to 12 foot range work well. Use these baits on the rocky points in the main basin of the lake when the wind kicks up and you will get both species of bass to bite.

The following report was provided by Karen Coats, Sandpoint Marina:
* 3-23 Mike Fisher Jr. Of Oceano CA got a 2 pound largemouth bass using a small silver spoon over at Cattail Cove.

* 3-25 Karen Coats Of Sandpoint got 2 stripers using anchovies off of Karen’s Point the total weight was 4.5 pounds. Mike Fisher Jr. Of Oceano CA got a 1.8 pound largemouth bass using worms at the courtesy dock. Mike Fisher Sr. Of Oceano, CA got a 1 pound smallmouth bass using worms at the courtesy dock

* 3-26 Alesha Neumann of Grover Beach CA got a 7.8 pound Carp using bread at the courtesy dock. Mike Fisher Jr. Of Oceano CA got a 1.8 pound smallmouth bass using a small silver spoon at c dock

* 3-28 Fred Tedesco Of East Helena MT got a 3 pound smallmouth bass using a jig off Karen’s point

* 3-30 Dale Stanton Of Sandpoint got 8 stripers using anchovies at the Bill Williams River the total weight was 6.4 pounds

* 3-31 Karen Coats Of Sandpoint got 3 stripers using anchovies at Karen’s Point the total weight was 8.8 pounds.

Striper bite is improving as water temps warm up into the mid 60s. Bottom fishing and trolling with anchovies during the daytime hours is producing plenty of small to medium size striper limits. Target striper schools that are moving alone the old river channel drop-off in 40 to 55 ft of water. There is a decent evening bite around Site 6 area using the good ol’ green tailed Bass Assassin and even a few fish are being taken on topwater Sammys.

Smallmouth and largemouth bass are spawning in shallows now. There are lots of fish cruising in the 2 to 10 ft. depth range. Target these fish in the early morning with spinnerbaits, Jackall squirrel or LC Pointer jerkbaits. Drop-shotting chartreuse tipped Robo Worms is very effective for catching smallmouth in the shallows.

Angler report
Where:
Lake Havasu Site Six
When:
03/14/08
Caught:
Striper
Technique:
Live shad and anchovies
Comments:
Wife and I caught six and the guy next to us snagging shad caught a stringer full of 2 pounders
Name:
Dave Torres

Where:
Lake Havasu
When:
03/12/08
Caught:
Striper
Technique:
Live shad with ¼-ounce split shot or with out weight. Also, white Rat-L-Traps worked real well.
Comments:
Site Six was hot. Fished all night with consistent good size fish. Early morning, big boys came out. Everyone on dock was catching 3- to 5-pound fish with an occasional 8 or 10 pounder. Exciting!!
Name:
Eddie Salazar

PARKER STRIP – Fishing is really HOT right now along the Strip. Wildlife Manager Dee Pfleger said every angler she spoke with over the weekend had been catching fish. Most were catching bass, largemouth and smallmouth. They were hitting on jerk baits and plastics, green or purple worms, and even beef hot dogs. Got a report of an 8-pound striper on anchovies from a couple a weeks ago as well. Redears are starting to group up in the grassy areas and should be moving to beds shortly. Catfish are still a bit slow, but some places upriver are producing.
Important notice: Quagga mussels have been found in Lake Havasu so proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please move to the parking lot, DRAIN your live-wells and bilge where the water does not return to the lake. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, INSPECT your watercraft 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.

ALAMO LAKE – Well folks, I’m happy to say things are picking up. Bass fishing is o.k. Senkos and spinnerbaits are the way to go right now. The bass are staging to spawn. They should be going on beds anytime now. I’m still holding my own throwing green/red flaked lizard and grubs in 0 to 12 feet of water. I’m going to mix it up a little just for grins and throw 2-inch grubs tonight. The only bummer about that is that I loose a lot of jig heads by getting stuck in brush. It’s one of those “gotta pay to play” deals.

Crappie fishing has turned on for the most part. Anglers are reporting catches of 15 to 20 daily. It’s the same old spring routine. Roadrunner jigs with a minnow trailer in the upper end of the lake, trolling in 19 to 25 foot of water. You want to get an early start because the winds have been picking up daily around noon. Once the winds pick up the crappie bite turns off. No good reports on shore fishing. No reports on cat fishing. The lake level is at 1,126 with releases of 40 cfs.

Starting next Monday there going to do a 2,000 cfs release for a day. That’s guaranteed to mess up the fishing for a few days. Fish & Wildlife likes to do mini floods so they can monitor there cottonwood trees down river. They like to do this during the spring when the cottonwoods drop there seeds. The mini floods help the seeds take root and reproduce baby cottonwoods. Besides the effect on fishing, lake level, and boat ramps, they do this during spawning season. Anyway, that’s as far as I’m going with this or I’ll get so honked off I’ll throw the keyboard out the window. The bright side of this, if you see a bright side, is that the fish are not on beds yet. So, when they start the release it will confused the fish and who knows when they will spawn. I gotta go fishing and cheer my self up. That’s all I got.

Angler report:

Where:
Alamo Lake
When:
03/30/08
Caught:
Largemouth Bass, Crappie
Technique:
We caught the majority of the bass on a 4-inch worm Texas-rigged with an 1/8-ounce weight. We also caught two fish on a shad colored crankbait and six bass on a Pop-R
Comments:
I have to say when I read the report last week that said Alamo would be releasing water starting Monday I was pretty bummed, since we were getting there Sunday night. When we arrived Sunday the wind was an easy 30 mph, but we decided to go out anyway. We got on the water at around 5:30 p.m. I started fishing crankbaits while my partner threw the plastic worm. After she caught two fish in the first 20 minutes to my zero, I grabbed my worm. Ten minutes later I had my first fish weighing about 3 ½ pounds. Sunday evening we ended up with about eight fish, and just as many lost thanks to the wind, and all were on worms. Monday morning we awoke to calm winds, so I started with a topwater for about 45 minutes with no success. I went back to the worm and immediately started getting hit. For the whole day we ended up with about 40 largemouth between the two of us, and one 13-inch crappie that hammered our Power Worm. Our main technique was fishing in about 10-15 feet of water on and in the vicinity of points. I was not catching any up shallow. The bite was very subtle and the fish did not seem very aggressive at all. I did manage five fish on topwater in the last 30 minutes of daylight Monday night, which made my day. All and all it was a good trip, we just had to work a little harder for the fish than usual. Depending on the time of day water temp was between 60 to 64 degrees.
Name:
Frank VanLuvanee

Where:
Alamo Lake
When:
03/21/08
Caught:
50 + Largemouth
Technique:
Working crankbaits (with rattle) along the shoreline. Casting into the reeds and retrieving it slowly, bouncing it off of as much structure as possible. The lures used were black on top, orange on the bottom, and chartreuse in the middle, with double red treble hooks
Comments:
All fishing was done from a bass boat. There were two of us fishing, we fished for three hours on Thurs night and caught 27 largemouth. We fished for four hours on Friday morning and caught another 26 largemouth between the two of us. All slot fish about 1-3 pounds. We didn’t see any bass on beds but they are close, We saw at least 20 large females cruising the shallows not interested in any lure with any presentation.
Name:
Doug Ebel

Where:
Lake Alamo
When:
03/13/08
Caught:
Bass
Technique:
Slow retrieve. Spinner bait
Comments:
Over the course of 3 days the 2 of us caught 30 to 40 bass. 3 were overs with one weighing 6 pounds. One of the best trips to Alamo in years.
Name:
Chris Massahos
SPRING OUTLOOK:

ALAMO LAKE – The lake elevation continues to be good. Largemouth bass are present in all sizes and fishing is expected to be good to excellent throughout the spring. It looks like most of the bass are in the protected slot with a fair number over the slot. Exactly what is going on with the crappie is unknown. The bite has not developed as usual but we anticipate fishing to be fair to good throughout the spring. Channel catfish will be good to excellent this spring and throughout the summer. There are other fish present such as bluegill, redear sunfish and carp that are a lot of fun to catch. All types of bait should work. As the weather warms a shift from slowly working plastics in deeper water to crank baits, spinner baits, and top-water lures for bass. For channel catfish any of the prepared catfish baits as well as chicken livers, shrimp, and anything else you can think of should work.

Both of the boat ramps are useable at this time and the store at the lake is still closed so you need to bring everything with you. If you run short of anything you might be able to pick it up at the Wayside Inn or in Wenden. The certified scale that was located at the store is now located at the Alamo State Park Office and the park office also has live bait for the crappie fishermen.
LAKE HAVASU & TOPOCK GORGE — Largemouth bass, as well as smallmouth bass are expected to be good to excellent this spring. The size will range from 13 inches and up with an occasional fish greater than 5 pounds. Striped bass will continue to be excellent for small fish (12-18 inches) with occasional fish over 3 pounds. The lake is also full of smaller striper that will make it challenging to catch the larger fish. Channel catfish as well as bluegill and redear sunfish will be good to excellent. Flathead catfish fishing should be fair at the lower end of the lake (Bill Williams River Arm) through the spring. Sizes of flathead catfish can reach as high as 40 pounds. When fishing for them select the interior points in the coves and the areas where artificial structure has been placed.

The warmer weather causes the bite to increase making crankbaits and topwater lures a good choice. Also, spinner baits, jigs, cut fish, live shad, etc. should work depending on the species you are looking for.

Take precautions to make sure your boat and equipment is clean before leaving the water to make sure you don’t spread quagga mussels to other water by accident.

COLORADO RIVER (PARKER STRIP AREA) — It is expected to be good to excellent for smallmouth bass with fish over two pounds this spring. In addition, redear sunfish should also be good to excellent in the pound plus sizes. Channel and flathead catfish fishing will be fair to good in this section of the Colorado River as the weather warms up.

Take precautions to make sure your boat and equipment is clean before leaving the water to make sure you don’t spread quagga mussels to other water by accident.

COLORADO RIVER (BETWEEN PALO VERDE DIVERSION DAM AND WALTER’S CAMP) — This area should be fair for both smallmouth bass (in the channel) up river from the I-10 Bridge and largemouth bass (in the backwaters) throughout the entire area. Channel and flathead catfish are always fair to good in this section of the Colorado River. Most of the flathead catfish will be in the 2 to 5 pound size range with an occasional fish over 40 pounds. The time for fishing for both species of catfish will be late spring and throughout the summer. Generally speaking, when fishing for catfish the hotter the weather the better the fishing.

This section of the Colorado River all the way down to Yuma is where invasive species known as Giant Salvinia is located as well as quagga mussels. If using a boat make, sure the boat, live wells, engines, and trailer is clean before leaving the area. The last thing that we want to have happen is the movement of invasive species to other waters.

COLORADO RIVER (BETWEEN WALTER’S CAMP AND PICACHO STATE PARK) — This section of the Colorado River is relatively remote and can only be accessed by boat from either end. Fishing is expected to be good to excellent for flathead catfish with sizes over 40 pounds. The best time will be late spring and on into the summer (the hotter the better). The various backwaters will be good for largemouth bass and other sunfish (bluegill & redear). Other species available in the main river are smallmouth bass, channel catfish, and striped bass.

This section of the Colorado River all the way down to Yuma is where invasive species known as Giant Salvinia is located as well as quagga mussels. If using a boat make, sure the boat, live wells, engines, and trailer is clean before leaving the area. The last thing that we want to have happen is the movement of invasive species to other waters.

COLORADO RIVER (BETWEEN PICACHO STATE PARK AND IMPERIAL DAM) –
This area is expected to be good to excellent for largemouth bass, channel catfish, and flathead catfish. Bass and channel catfish in excess of 5 pounds are present along with flathead catfish as large as 40 pounds. Other sunfish such as bluegill and redear are also present in the various backwaters as well as an occasional striped bass will be caught in the backwaters and main river channel.

This section of the Colorado River all the way down to Yuma is where invasive species known as Giant Salvinia is located as well as quagga mussels. If using a boat make, sure the boat, live wells, engines, and trailer is clean before leaving the area. The last thing that we want to have happen is the movement of invasive species to other waters.

COLORADO RIVER (BETWEEN LAGUNA AND MORELOS DAMS) — This area will be good for largemouth bass and flathead catfish. Bass in excess of 5 pounds is common and flathead catfish over 20 pounds is a good bet. In this area accessibility to the river is dependent on the amount of water being released. Usually shallow draft boats are a must. The lower end has had some dredging work done and the larger boat will be able to get on the river in that area.

This section of the Colorado River all the way down to Yuma is where invasive species known as Giant Salvinia is located as well as quagga mussels. If using a boat make, sure the boat, live wells, engines, and trailer is clean before leaving the area. The last thing that we want to have happen is the movement of invasive species to other waters.

With the increase in border issues and illegal activity on the lower end of this area I would away from that area (Pilot Knob to Morelos Dam).
REGIONAL HOT SPOTS:

Alamo Lake will be the hot spot for Largemouth bass and channel catfish. Since there appears to be more fish in the lake at the present time I recommend keeping as many of the smaller bass as you can legally possess in order to try and reduce the population a little. Next choice would be Lake Havasu for striped bass, Parker Strip for smallmouth bass and redear sunfish, and the Colorado River below Walter’s Camp for flathead catfish.

If you need any additional information or additional don’t hesitate to contact the Yuma Regional office at (928) 341-4051 and I will be happy to accommodate you.