Water temperatures are now hovering around 59–60° in the early mornings, warming to roughly 62° by the afternoon thanks to light winds and above-average air temps. The lake is still in the process of turning over, especially in the backs of coves and bays, but overall water clarity has noticeably improved compared to earlier in the fall. Each week it’s getting a little cleaner, and that’s helping the bite. Bird activity has been hit or miss, so I’ve been starting every charter with a clean slate and letting conditions dictate the game plan. I spend a lot of time glassing the water and watching bird behavior. You don’t always need birds actively diving or circling to know shad are present. Pay attention to birds sitting on the water or stacked along the shoreline—especially when multiple species of waterfowl are grouped together. They aren’t there by accident; they’re feeding, and where there’s shad, stripers are usually close behind. So what’s been working? Trolling has been a strong starting point. I’ve been running 4" River2Sea D-Walker 100 paddle tails in pearl on 1 oz jig heads, along with white Zoom Super Flukes rigged on ¼ oz albino Pulse jig heads. Nearly every trip starts with trolling proven water from the previous few days. This allows us to cover ground and locate active schools. Stripers are a pelagic species—they don’t live tight to structure. They roam open water, and right now food is the main driver. Water temps are fair, spawning isn’t a factor, so locating bait is everything. When I troll through a school—especially one holding close to shad—I mark it on the graph. If we hook up, we’ll either circle back and work that mark with flutter jigs or continue trolling through the school, depending on conditions. What I’ve noticed is that a school is usually either fully active and feeding or completely shut down while digesting. If trolling and jigging don’t produce, I’ll drop anchovies straight down. If that still doesn’t trigger bites, we move on and find a more active group of fish. Overall, fishing has been steady, and with improving clarity and cooling temps, things should continue to trend in the right direction. If you’re looking to get on the water, December is filling up fast, so give me a call or text to book your trip.

Water temps have now settled into the low 60s, fluctuating slightly depending on wind and daytime highs. Sunrise is around 7:30 AM, and with early December forecasted to bring highs in the upper 60s and lows in the upper 40s, I expect surface temps to continue dropping. Winter patterns are setting in, and the fishing is shifting right along with them. With a lake as large as Havasu (19,300 surface acres), this report reflects what I and my clients have personally experienced based on the areas we’ve focused on. There are several fantastic guides on this lake, and many fish different zones or use different techniques. The best advice I ever received—and what I still live by—is to always stay humble, stay curious, and keep learning from others. None of us will ever “know it all,” and every angler brings something valuable to the table. The past two weeks have been packed with charters, and I’ve spent fifteen straight days on the water. We’ve had some incredible action mixed with some tougher days that required grinding it out, but overall the bite has been solid. Most of my time has been spent from Twin Palms down to Cattail State Park, and that’s where this report will focus. In this stretch, water temps have consistently run about 1–2 degrees warmer than the north end. This zone has been holding plenty of shad and striper, and the bird activity has been steady every morning. The timing of the boils has been inconsistent, so it’s very much a matter of being in the right place at the right moment but the signs are there. Even when they’re not blowing up on the surface, birds circling low or making short dives tell you you’re in the right neighborhood. During boils, our best producers continue to be white/pearl paddle tails on ½–¾ oz jig heads and ¾–1 oz jigging or flutter spoons. With paddle tails, I have clients cast past the boil and work the bait through it with a mix of steady retrieve, pauses, and rod pops. For spoons, we’re doing two things: • Vertical jigging when we’ve got schools stacked directly under the boat — drop straight down, pop the jig a couple of times, then let it fall on a slack-ish line so it can flutter. Most hits come on the fall. If your line stops sinking unexpectedly, reel down and set the hook immediately. • Casting spoons by bombing them past the action, counting down 7–12 seconds, popping the jig upward, then letting it flutter back down before repeating. This is a deadly technique when the fish are spread out or the boil is small. We’ve made a few attempts to net shad in the Bill Williams River, but the schools aren’t dense yet. They’re there—just not in big numbers. You might have better luck, so take that info for what it’s worth, and feel free to share if you crack the code! Overall, clients have been extremely happy with the steady action and high catch rates. The bigger fish are starting to show, the water is cooling fast, and we’re just now entering my favorite stretch of the entire striper season. It’s only going to get better from here.

Striper fishing on Lake Havasu has been steady as we move deeper into fall. Sunrise is now around 7:15 AM, and water temps are finally holding under 70°, sitting near 67° all day on the 16th. With the storm system that rolled in on the 15th and expected to linger until the 21st, plus daytime highs only in the mid-60s, we should see temps continue dropping and the lake gradually clearing. I’ve spent most of my time from Standard Wash to Havasu Springs, where I’ve consistently marked heavy bait schools. Yesterday my clients slid onto a quick morning boil at Standard Wash and landed 5–6 stripers in about 20 minutes. Before the storm, I was getting reliable 2–4 lb fish between Black Meadow Landing and Bluegill Cove by watching the birds and relying on the graph—several mornings the screen was stacked top to bottom with striper. Reports up north have been mixed, with some anglers catching on jigs and others only on bait. During a recent three-hour trip with a family of six, the Sod Farm was loaded with fish, producing steady action even though size was smaller. Birds are becoming more aggressive each day, and with cooler water settling in, we should see the pattern tighten up soon. Most of our recent fish have come on jigging spoons and anchovies, though I’ll be adding paddle tails back into the rotation as clarity improves. Overall, conditions are shaping up for a strong late-fall bite.

Water temps have cooled off, sitting around 68° in the early mornings and warming to about 71° by the afternoon. Sunrise is just after 7 AM, and mornings have been calm with light wind—building out of the south later in the day. The lake is still turning over, leaving the north end pretty green and murky, while the south end is starting to clear up thanks to more wind and current flow. Trolling has been on the slower side overall, but the fish we’re catching have been solid quality. On Nov 5, I landed a fat, healthy striper just shy of 5 lbs on a 6" paddle tail. I’ve been running 4"–6" pearl and white paddle tails on 1 oz jig heads, as well as dark-colored lipless crankbaits early and white once the sun hits the water. With visibility still low, I’ve been adding a touch of Pro-Cure gel scent, which has made a noticeable difference in converting short strikes into hookups. Productive trolling and casting zones include Pilot Rock down to Standard Wash, The Sod Farm, and Copper Canyon up to Grass Island, all holding good bait and striper activity. Boils have been inconsistent—no solid pattern yet—but when they go off, it’s fast and furious. The Three Dunes area continues to produce the best morning action, with boils starting 20 minutes before sunrise and lasting about an hour. Fish there have been 2–4 lbs and hitting jigging spoons, paddle tails, and blade baits. Up north, Thompson Bay has seen smaller, 1–1.5 lb fish, but the boils there sometimes linger into the late morning, giving anglers more time to work them. When the bite slows, bait fishing with anchovies remains reliable and brings plenty of mixed catches—stripers and channel cats. Some of the best bait spots have been Grass Island, Thompson Bay, and out in front of the Casino. Clients have been catching non-stop schoolie striper mixed with a few quality fish throughout the day. Overall, fishing has been steady to strong, and with water temps continuing to fall, the bite should only get better!

Water temps over the last few days have been holding in the low 70s during the mornings and climbing to around 72° by late afternoon. Sunrise has been right around 7 AM, and overall conditions have been steady with light winds and mild fall weather. I’ve been all over the lake the past few days running charters and scouting, so here’s a breakdown by location and technique. Sod Farm to the Casino: I haven’t spent a ton of time up this way recently, but I did dedicate a morning to checking it out. We started working the Sod Farm and had mild success pulling fish on a 6” paddle tail. I marked a fair amount of bait, though the shad are still grouped in smaller pods rather than big, dense schools. Once the water cools off a bit more, we should see those shad bunch up tighter and attract more aggressive striper. Out in front of the Casino, the bite has been fast and furious right as the sun hits the water, but it slows quickly. You’ll often see a solid school on the graph one minute and it’s gone the next — they’re clearly chasing and feeding on the move. Thompson Bay to Steamboat Cove: There’s tons of bait in this stretch, and it’s been producing good opportunities for striper boils. Many of the fish in this area have been quality 2–4 pounders, especially if you can get on the boil early. The biggest fish this week actually came from this area — my 4-year-old son landed a beautiful striper just over 5 pounds! The boils here have been short-lived, firing up as soon as the sun breaks the horizon and tapering off within the hour. Once that happens, switch gears to bait fishing or throwing lures. The lake is still turning over, so visibility is limited, but as that clears, expect the jig bite to improve once the morning boil dies off. Be sure to keep a pair of binoculars handy — scanning for birds working the water is the best way to find active fish. On Sunday, despite 15 mph winds, I located a large group of birds over Thompson Bay. Even in tough conditions, we were able to throw lures and pull a few solid fish from those boils. From Pilot Rock to Steamboat Cove, I’ve been marking good striper schools working shad, and we’ve had excellent success casting jigs directly above them for quality fish. Black Meadow Landing, Three Dunes, & Cattail Cove: These areas have been producing boils with much more consistency. I’ve also been marking tons of bait, and they’re balled up tighter together than in other parts of the lake. My customers have been throwing blade baits, paddle tails, and jigs in all the coves throughout this stretch and continue to catch high numbers of striper of all sizes — even when we’re not directly on an active boil. Bonus Note – Catfish: Channel cats are starting to school up with the fall pattern in full swing. We’ve been catching back-to-back channels in the same holes — often while fishing for striper. Don’t hesitate to drop a bottom rig to take advantage of the opportunity. If you catch one, there’s a good chance another is nearby. Fishing is only getting better as the lake cools down!

Sunrise was just before 7 AM, water temps were holding around 72°, and the wind was light. The lake is still turning over, so water clarity isn’t great, but the conditions finally came together for an incredible morning. I’ve been saying for weeks that the north end of the lake had all the ingredients for boils — bait, striper, and birds in the air — and today was the day! I had two Havasu locals on board for a 3-hour trip to learn how to fish our beautiful lake. As we were heading toward Pilot Rock for some early morning trolling, I noticed a shad get tossed in the air by a striper. I stopped the boat, pulled the jigs out, and by then, the birds were diving — it was game on! They ended up landing 9 nice stripers in total! We eventually tried trolling, but the bite had slowed. We finished the morning over in Thompson Bay, where short, scattered boils were still popping off. We switched to bait fishing and picked up our fair share of schoolies to end a great morning. Reports from the south end near Three Dunes show strong morning boils the last couple of days — a perfect starting point if you’re heading out this weekend!