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.

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!).