Parker Strip, Lake Havasu fishing report

LAKE HAVASU

Lake Level 448.77.

Striper bite continues fair with a few morning shad boils from the entrance to the river south to Black Rock. Be sure to use smaller lures no longer than 4- or 5-inches as

shad are averaging around 2-inch long. Deep78 trophy minnows or super spook juniors are good choices now.

Cut bait fishing anchovies or sardines producing smaller limits than using artificial lures.

Evening/night fishing for bigger channel and flathead catfish has been excellent. Use live sunfish or bluegills from 2.5- to 4inch long rigged on a Carolina rig with three-quarter to 1-ounce sinkers with 12- to 15-pound test with a 24- to 36-inch leader.

Redear fishing with crappie tubes and night crawlers around submerged grass beds producing some quality redears over 2-pounds.

Smallmouth bass bite is excellent using cinnamon colored jigs or hula grubs hopped down rocky ledges and gravel reefs.

Report courtesy of John Galbraith of Anglers Pro Shop, Lake Havasu City.

LAKE POWELL

There are now mandatory boat inspections at Lake Powell to ensure you are not Moving A Mussel or other invasive species. Mostly, the inspection stations are open dawn to dusk, but you cannot launch without one.

Best bet is to make sure your boat is quagga free to begin with. Clean, drain and dry your boat following each outing, and be sure to wait at least five days before launching your boat on any other lake (if you are a day user).

Last week I chased striper boils from Wahweap to Padre Bay and caught one fish from every third boil. This week I caught one fish in every other boil and two fish in some. Since the frequency of sighting boils also increased, my determination is that fishing for stripers in boils is getting better. Tight 'Slurp' of stripers feeding on larval shad.

Here is a closer look at techniques. The best lures are those that cast great distances with accuracy. We had good success with large rattletraps because many schools were headed down as the boat got in range. 'Traps' dive and could be effectively presented to fleeing fish.

The best lure for me was the full size Jumpin' Minnow. It is heavier and therefore casts further than anything but a heavy spoon. Fish are feeding on top so the surface lure was just right. You should fish with your best "confidence" lure. If a lure has been good for you in the past it will be good now.

Still it is imperative that the lure is cast in front and beyond the lead fish. As the lure hits water quickly work it into the racing striper school. Stripers are looking toward the surface. They swim fast enough to beat their schoolmate to the next shad. A larger 'fish' (lure) will be eaten if it is in just the right spot. Casting into or behind a moving school is fruitless. Perfect placement results in a hook up with a 20- to 25-inch striper. Anything less is ignored.

Boat handling is key. Fish in boils are vulnerable for 5- to 30-seconds. Move quickly into range trying to parallel direction of fish travel. I shut off the motor when in range and grab the rod while the boat is slowing to a stop. Sometimes the school will stay on top long enough to put one cast into the school. More likely the school will sound and then resurface. The most effective cast is to the resurfacing school. Hopefully, fish come up in range and the first cast goes beyond the lead fish. Spend some time watching the school and make one good cast instead of three errant ones. I only stay with a pod of stripers long enough to see them resurface three times. After that they are wary and I move to find a fresh school.

Boils cover the length of Lake Powell and are continuous from daylight to dark when the water is calm. Wind may put them down for an hour but they come right back up as soon as the lake calms. Boils are strong from Wahweap to San Juan and Escalante. Reports are less from Rincon to Good Hope.

Report courtesy of Wayne Gustaveson.

LEES FERRY

Summer arrived with mild temperatures and calm winds, a welcome relief from our crummy spring weather. The weather has warmed of late and the cicadas are starting to sing and the fish are just now starting to key in on them. It is too early to tell what “kind” of cicada year it will be…every year is different. I have seen the bite last only two weeks and other years last well into late August. Our cicadas are unusual in the fact that they hatch every year, most places they occur every 7 or 14 years. I have seen four hatches that were so intense that the fish would come up off the bottom in the middle of the river to eat a cicada that has landed on the water.

The water flows will increase in volume for July and August. These two months usually provide the best and most consistent fishing of the entire year here at Lees Ferry and they are also the least crowded. In the higher water most all of our fishing is done from the boat, drifting with heavy nymph rigs or casting big cicada dry flies into the rocky shores. The largest fish of the year are usually caught in the summer months and it is during these two months that the trout experience tremendous growth rates due to the high water transporting large quantities of food around.

For the first time in many years we are catching fish of all sizes, from 10- to 20-inch, which is typical of a very healthy river. The only downside is that our average fish size has dramatically decreased; the river is still chock-full of big fish but the challenge is getting your fly past the smaller and not so smart little fish.

The current health of the river is outstanding…better than it has been in years. Last year’s above normal runoff into Lake Powell delivered and stirred up countless tons of nutrients into the water and this nutrient rich water is passing through the dam and into the river. Algae is everywhere in the river and this provides food and habitat for the aquatic food base that the trout depend upon. Lake Powell has risen more than 30-feet this year and is still rising which is good news for all of the people in the southwest who depend on this water for household use and electrical generation. The rising lake and the nutrient load will guarantee this trend of healthy trout populations and good fishing will continue for the next several years.

Report courtesy of Terry Gunn.

LAKE MEAD

Water continues to drop slowly, falling about 1-foot over the last three weeks. The current level is 1,095 feet above msl.

The striper bite has been great. Both trolling and fishing under lights at night yielded large numbers of fish. The lights are more productive when used around the new moon, on dark nights. Two-pound stripers are not uncommon.

Launching conditions at South Cove will continue to deteriorate as the water level continues to drop. The concrete ramp the National Park Service completed last year is one lane with cones marking the edges. Use caution not to go off the sides of the metal extensions at either side. National Park Service is working to keep the ramp open. Temple Bar launch ramp is two lanes. Launching conditions in general are better at Temple Bar than South Cove.

LAKE MOHAVE

The lake level is around 641 feet above msl.

Fishing for stripers seems to be pretty good in the southern portion of the lake. Submersible lights are very effective for stripers when used on dark nights, but keep in mind there is a full moon July 8. Bass are located both in shallow and on fish habitat in 15- to 20-feet.

Biologists from both Arizona Game and Fish Department and Nevada Division of Wildlife with the help of volunteers, National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation personnel have continued to install fish habitat in Carp Cove, Box Cove and now Shoshone. Fish habitat consists of PVC structures, wood pallet structures, Tamarisk bundles, and some Christmas trees. The largemouth, bluegill and catfish are really utilizing the new structures. Additional habitat will be added at several locations over the next two years.

WILLOW BEACH

Trout are stocked every Friday. The trout fishing has been pretty sporadic. About 30 percent of shoreline anglers are having success. The majority of these anglers were after trout and fishing with Power Bait, night crawlers, spinners, Super Duper lures, Power Worms, and marshmallows. No stripers were reported from shoreline anglers on Friday.

Boat anglers had a little more success with about 67-percent of anglers contacted having caught fish. One angler reported catching two stripers, approximately 10- and 12-pounds each on an AC plug.

The desert bighorn sheep are in the rut, so this is a great time to fish and possible see some rams bumping heads.

TOPOCK MARSH

The water level is up and the bite has been pretty good. Both bass and catfish are biting well. Catfish are biting on anchovies and night crawlers.

You can access the marsh by boat at the North Dike, Catfish Paradise, and Five-Mile Landing. All three also provide plenty of area for shoreline fishing too.

PARKER STRIP

It’s flathead season. Anglers have reported catching flatheads as large as 30-pounds already. Live goldfish work best.

Bass are also becoming more abundant along the strip. Frogs, Senkos, T-1 Terminator spinnerbaits and jigs, these are all great baits for large and smallmouth bass this time of year. Try matching your baits to the color of the bottom where you are fishing.

Below HeadGate Dam, this is the end of the river known for big catfish and a lot of smallmouth. Use live goldfish for bait if you’re fishing for flatheads. Anchovies work well for channel cats as well as night crawlers.

Bass can also be caught using a variety of artificial baits. Seven-inch Powerworms, as well as jigs, work very well for catching some of the many smallmouth that inhabit this area.

Report courtesy of Anglers Central and http://www.FishParkerAz.com.

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