Fresh Lake Havasu Fishing Reports

We had several charters this past weekend, and instead of the usual play-by-play, I’ll break things down by location and species since it was a true multi-species weekend. A strong pressure system moved through on Thursday, bringing a heavy storm that lasted most of the day. This dropped surface temps to 79–80°F by Friday and dirtied up parts of the lake, which slowed the bite somewhat, but we still managed solid numbers and good action. Mesquite Bay: Plenty of fish in 20–25 feet of water. Most have been smaller “dinks,” though the occasional 2-pounder showed up. Large amounts of bait marked throughout the area. Sod Farm (North Side of the Island): Large schools of stripers holding in 35–50 feet. The upper water column is loaded with 12–14" fish, but if you work below them, there are solid stripers in the 15–19" range. Best bite has been mid-morning and again in the late afternoon. Bait has been a little thinner here, but still enough to keep fish around. Thompson Bay: Lots of activity here. Tons of baitfish and strong marks on sonar. We boated plenty of 16–18" stripers just off the no-wake buoy line in 30+ feet of water, with fly-lined anchovies and jigs being most productive. Pilot Rock – Standard Wash: Fewer striped bass schools but massive balls of baitfish everywhere. Trolling in 30–50 feet produced better quality fish in the 2 lb range. Havasu Springs: Loaded with bait and stripers, with some impressive late-afternoon boils starting to form. This spot is shaping up to be excellent as the fall pattern sets in. Striper Recap: Trolling has been slower overall but still producing quality fish. Anchoring up, heavy chumming, and either free-lining cut anchovies on small circle hooks or working jigging spoons paired with a wounded minnow fly on a dropper loop about 14" above has been the ticket. Anchovies are key right now—don’t be shy with the chum. Our total for the weekend was 83 stripers released and 2 kept. Catfish: We ran a catfish trip Friday night down on the south end. Bait fishing was solid with tons of sunfish caught, plus a few surprise largemouth bass and a channel cat while targeting bait. The evening bite was a little tough with the lingering pressure system, but action was steady. We landed a nice flathead and a solid channel cat, and both were safely released after a great fight. Overall, a productive night with quality fish despite lower numbers. Fishing is transitioning as temps cool, and things should continue improving as we move into fall.

This morning we picked up a husband-and-wife team for a 3-hour striper charter. Conditions were calm with no wind to speak of, water temps holding steady at 81°F, and air temps climbing from 79 into the low 90s after sunrise at 6:25 AM. We started the trip trolling in 25–45 feet of water, running a mix of baits including a lipless crank, a pearl swimbait, and a bucktail & fly combo. The troll was slow, with just one fish coming early on the fly tied just above the bucktail jig. By 7:30 AM, with only one fish in the boat, I decided to switch gears and run to one of my honey holes to anchor up and jig. Once set, we started chumming to pull fish in and quickly had some action going. After a few on jigs, I switched the couple over to fly-lined cut bait, which proved to be the ticket. The bite really picked up, and they steadily put fish in the boat as the morning went on. By the end of the charter, they had landed around 25 stripers and kept 7 quality fish ranging from 14–21". A tough start turned into a solid morning, and our anglers left with big smiles (and dinner!).

Saturday was a busy day on the water with two charters. We kicked off the morning at 6:00 AM with a 3-hour striper trip celebrating a young man’s birthday with his father. We started trolling in 35–45 feet near Pilot Rock, running about 2.5 mph. The marks were light, but we did manage to land a solid 19" striper on a lipless crankbait. From there, we moved over to Mesquite Bay and picked up a few more fish before finishing with a double hookup over the “Sod Farm.” The morning wrapped up with 7 stripers total, all between 14–20". That evening, we hosted a bachelor trip for a group of four starting at 3:30 PM. The timing wasn’t ideal for striper fishing, but we made it work. We headed north to Mesquite Bay to escape some of the boat traffic and picked up a few fish in the 14–16" range before the bite slowed down. As the sun dipped, we moved to one of my night-fishing spots near the island. The guys got to watch birds diving on bait — always a cool sight — before we set up with cut bait on dropshots and began chumming. Once the green light went in, the action lit up. We transitioned the group to jigs in the final hours and kept chumming to hold the school. By the end of the night, the bachelor crew had boated around 60 stripers, ranging from 12–18", and kept 12 smaller ones for fish tacos back at camp. A fantastic day of celebrating, fishing, and making memories!

We had a 3-hour striper fishing charter this morning, the first after the busy holiday weekend. Boat pressure has finally started to ease up, though traffic on the water was still moderate despite the gloomy, stormy skies. Like most of my shorter striper trips, we focused on trolling rather than bait fishing—while it sometimes produces fewer fish, it consistently brings better quality. Our first fish came by 7:50 AM, and by the end of the trip we put around 15 fish in the boat. We started trolling in about 30 feet of water at 2.5 mph, running a River2Sea D Walker Pearl swimbait on a ½ oz head, a custom-painted white jerkbait, and a Rapala Shad deep-diving hybrid crankbait. Early on, we weren’t marking many bait balls, just scattered fish, so I decided to adjust our spread. Swapping over to a custom-painted white lipless crank and a smaller Cotton Cordell shad lure, while keeping the swimbait in play, made all the difference. That adjustment paid off quickly—we had a few double hook-ups and steady action throughout the morning. Once again, the swimbait proved to be the top producer. Most of our stripers landed were in the 14–16" range, with only a couple of small dinks mixed in. All in all, it was a solid trip with a happy client.

Air temps were in the low 100s, water temp held steady at 82°F, and we fished depths ranging from 20–40 feet. As many of you know, my wife and I are expecting our baby soon—originally planned for September 4th. But like most good things in life, expect the unexpected! She began contractions Wednesday at just 37 weeks. With several catfishing trips already booked for September and a few hours to stay close in cell service, my very understanding wife gave me the green light to sneak out for some scouting before the big day. I launched around 5 PM and planned to fish until about 11 PM. Bait was first on the list, though the red ear sunfish I was finding were more trophy-size than bait-size! Finally, at my third stop, I managed four smaller bluegill for the livewell. My first anchor set was at sunset on a transition line where a deep hole met a shallow flat. With flatheads being creatures of routine, my rule is 45 minutes per spot unless I get a bite. That first spot was quiet, so I moved on. At spot number two, I hooked into two flatheads under 10 lbs before things shut down. My final move—just 150 yards—produced a solid 8 lb channel cat on cut bait to wrap up the catfishing. Before calling it, I dropped the green light for some video and to see if I could grab a few stripers for dinner. Within 15 minutes, a good school was under the boat, and I managed to land a few keepers. Great scouting night, and the bite is only going to get better as temps start to cool down.

Water temps this past week have ranged from 82–87°F with air temps between 94–115°F. Sunrise has been around 6:01 AM with sunset at 7:15 PM. Winds have been all over the place, from glass-calm mornings to 15 mph gusts, and we even had one monsoon storm on Friday the 15th that brought rough evening water for a short time. Last week was jam-packed with back-to-back 3-hour striper charters. Many clients wanted to target quality striped bass, and the bite was steady but definitely changed with the wind. Trolling produced most of our action, with River2Sea Pearl Swimbaits, Cotton Cordell hard baits, Rapala deep divers, and custom-painted jerkbaits all getting bit. The standout lure for the week was the River2Sea swimbait, consistently producing solid fish. Most trips started just north of Site Six, working through the “Sod Farm” where striper were stacked up in 25–30 feet of water. Some days it was wide open, other days the fish had lockjaw. If that slowed down, we pushed into Mesquite Bay or Thompson Bay when time allowed. Midweek through the weekend, fishing got tougher and daily counts dropped, but the majority of fish were quality in the 14–19” range. Later in the week, I switched gears and headed south, trolling from Pilot Rock to Standard Wash. That adjustment paid off big — we were back into steady action, landing 30+ fish most trips, mainly in the 14–17” class with a few smaller ones mixed in. We also started bait fishing in 20–40 feet of water using cut bait on fly lines and drop shots. Keeping a chum bucket going was key to holding fish under the boat, since there’s so much natural forage right now. On Sunday I had a day off and used it to scout. I worked the Intake area for the first time since winter and landed about 15 striper trolling lipless crankbaits in 30 feet. On the way back, I picked off a few more near Cattail Cove, where fish were shallower and even chasing bait into boils late in the morning. Monday evening, I switched gears again to target flathead catfish. I hustled to catch bluegill for bait before dark, then set up anchored on one of my favorite spots. With a Santee Cooper rig and live bluegill, plus a slide rig and cut sardine, I managed a nice flathead just under 10 pounds. Lost another fish to structure and had a few short runs, but I think more live bait would have really dialed them in. Later in the night, I dropped a green light and picked up several 2–3 lb striper that moved in to feed — an awesome sight if you’ve never watched them school and crash bait under the light.