ALAMO LAKE – Well folks, here’s something really cool that happened out here this weekend.   On Saturday Sept. 27, Kendra Homsher and Bill Kelly decided to ‘tie the knot” at our group use campground.  This was not your everyday traditional wedding.  In fact it was far from it!  Kendra arrived at the alter riding in a bass boat, being towed by a pickup truck, with her dad Jack Homsher. Both the bride and groom looked good wearing Stratos shirts and blue jeans.  See attached photos. At  8 a.m. the knot was cinched, followed by ” let’s go fishing!”

They held a mini bass tournament with friends and family and had there weigh in a 3:30.  This was followed by a reception and dinner. The “Kellys” went on to report they caught bass on a variety of baits.  Everything from spinnerbaits, topwater and drop shotting worked for them.  And of course it was mentioned that they caught some nice size bass off of points using Texas-rigged lizards; like you have not heard that before.

Anyway we wish them years of happiness and good fishing.

Crappie fishing is kind of a mystery right now.

We know there starting there migrating back to the upper end of the lake but that’s about it.  Bob and Bill stopped by and said they caught a few last night in the upper end in about 20 feet of water. The bite started at 11:30 and ended quickly. They put the hurts on cat fishing. Between the two of them they caught 30 catfish, with three going over 5 pounds.  They were using night crawlers and worked 10 to 15 feet of water.

Shore fishing is o.k. at best. The lake level is at 118 with releases of 50 cfs.  The releases should be cranked down to 25 cfs at the end of October if I remember right.  That’s the bummer about getting old.  You hurt all over and start to forget things.  Where was I?  Oh yeah,  we’re going to start pounding nails and build the deck for the new store.  We’re still shooting for January for the opening.  Till then were still operating out of the main office.

LAKE HAVASU/TOPOCK GORGE – The following report is courtesy Georgia with Capt. Doyle’s River Excursions/Fun Fishing Guide Service: This is my in between reports, so news is skimpy.
Water in the Topock Mash is beginning to cool down and the bass have gone deep.  North Dyke has been fairly consistent with bass up to 2-pounds hitting 6-inch shaky-tail worms in a black/red flake color.  This week stripers in the Topock Gorge are holding steady at 2-pounds.  They’re in deep water and haven’t responded to swim baits at all. The better action has been on anchovy and crawdad imitators. Catfish activity is light.

Sandpoint Fish Report for Sept. 25 courtesy Karen Coats (Sandpoint Bait and Tackle Shop Supervisor)

9/18 Joe McCoy of Blythe CA got 6 cats 19 pounds total weight, 1 carp 5 pounds, and 1 striper 1 pound he was using anchovies and night crawlers at Coyote Cove

9/20 Lou Villa of Sandpoint had his family here from Lake Havasu City, Chris, Jocelyn, Hailee, Alexia and Bryson. They fished off the jetty and used anchovies to catch six catfish up to a pound and a half, 1 small striper and lots of bluegills.

9/23 Ken Ashworth of Death Valley CA got a 7-pound catfish at Standard Wash Cove using Mackerel

OUTLOOK:
Alamo Lake: The lake elevation continues to be good. Alamo Lake has had a couple years of good reproduction, and the fishing should be excellent for largemouth bass and crappie. There are a fair number of bass over the protected slot, and a couple of strong year classes of smaller bass that have grown into, or are just about to enter the slot.  We believe that the bass population would benefit from a higher harvest of the smaller bass.  Fishing for channel catfish is expected to excellent this year. Our netting surveys indicate there are incredible numbers of smaller catfish in the upper portion of the lake. Given the ideal water levels all of the boat ramps will be useable this summer.

The store at the lake has not yet opened, so you need to bring everything with you. If you run short of supplies, you might be able to pick it up at the Wayside Inn in Wayside, or in Wenden. The certified scale that was located at the store is now located at the Alamo State Park office. The Park office also carries live bait.

Lake Havasu & Topock Gorge:  Fishing for largemouth bass, as well as smallmouth bass, is expected to be good to excellent. The size will range from 13 inches and up, with an occasional fish greater than 4 pounds. A 12-pounder was landed this spring. Striped bass will continue to be excellent for small fish (12-18 inches), with occasional fish over 8 pounds. Fishing for channel catfish, as well as bluegill and large redear sunfish, will be fair to good. If your interest is flathead catfish, fishing should be fair at the lower end of the lake (the Bill Williams River arm) late in June, and on through the summer. Flathead catfish in Lake Havasu have been caught as large as 40 pounds, although they can potentially become much larger.

Colorado River (Parker Strip Area, between Parker Dam and Headgate Rock):
Fishing is expected to be good to excellent for smallmouth bass, with fish over two pounds in size common. The best smallmouth bass fishing can be found in the upper half of the Parker Strip, while largemouth bass are more numerous in the lower half, in very respectable numbers. In addition, redear sunfish should also be good to excellent in the pound-plus sizes. Our surveys last fall turned up good numbers of redear sunfish in the two-pound range. That is dinner-plate sized, folks! Channel and flathead catfish are always fair to good in this section of the Colorado River.

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 smaller ones, in the 2 to 5 pound size range, with an occasional fish over 20 pounds. Our annual surveys in the spring each year generally turn up a couple of fish in the 40 to 50 pound range, so trophy flatheads are always a possibility. Look for large deep pools formed at eddies for the larger fish. The best time for fishing for both species of catfish will be all summer and on into the fall months. Generally, the hotter the weather is, the better the cat-fishing.  Nighttime is the best time to go after both species of catfish.

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 reaching over 40 pounds. The best time will be summer and on into the fall months. The hotter the temperature the better the fishing is. 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.

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 relatively numerous, along with flathead catfish as large as 40 pounds. Our survey this spring turned up an 89-pound monster that should still be lurking in the waters where it was found.
Bluegills are also present in the various backwaters. Occasional striped bass will be caught in the main river channel, especially near Imperial Dam. Fishermen did quite well on small stripers this spring between Martinez Lake and Imperial Dam.

Colorado River (between Laguna and Morelos dams):
This area will be good for largemouth bass and flathead catfish. Accessing the water can be a problem, as river flows are much lower than historically, and launching a boat can be a challenge. Accessibility to the river is dependent on the amount of water being released upstream.

A small shallow-draft boat or float tube should get you into some good fishing. Bass in excess of 5 pounds are common, and larger ones definitely exist. Flathead catfish over 20 pounds are also a good bet in the deeper pools. The lower end has had some dredging work done, and larger boats may be able to get on the river in that area.
Because of the increase in border issues and illegal activity on the lower end of this stretch of the river, we recommend using extreme caution while fishing the area from Pilot Knob to Morelos Dam.

If I were to pick a hot fishing area for summer in the Yuma region, I  would have to go with the Colorado River below the Palo Verde Diversion Dam (near Blythe), all the way down to Imperial Dam (near Yuma) for flathead catfish. There is an incredible amount of flathead catfish biomass in the river. In seven days of survey this spring, we handled (and released) a total of 2500 pounds of flathead catfish.  Another good bet would be Alamo Lake. It should be good to excellent for largemouth bass, crappie, and channel catfish, with the bluegill fishery also picking up.

If you need any additional information or additional areas covered don’t hesitate to contact the Yuma Regional office, at (928) 342-0091, and we will be happy to accommodate you.