Arizona Lake Fishing

Bass are predator fish and they follow schools of baitfish to prey on. So, if you can find the schools of baitfish, chances are pretty good that the bass are close by. But how do you locate the baitfish?

How to locate the baitfish and intern the big bass

1. Easiest to spot are the small minnows jumping out of the water and if your lucky swirls of bigger fish swimming close behind. If you see these tiny jumping fish, there is a school of baitfish swimming around just under them.
2. Loons also love baitfish. They feed on them regularly. The benefit of seeing loons feeding on fish is that they are easier to spot from a distance than jumping minnows. Follow the loons to the baitfish and the baitfish to the bass.
3. Gulls also prey on fish. You’ll often see them circling in one spot. This is a good place to head out and fish.
4. Herons are another bird species that prey on fish and are easy to spot in the air or on the shore.
5. If you see small dimples on the surface of the water chances are there is a school of shad near the surface. These dimples might look like little raindrops falling over a small are of water.
6. Use a depthfinder. On a depthfinder, a school of fish will look like a ball of solid mass.
7. And finally, when you see a group of boats fishing in one area, it’s probably a good spot to fish. Man also likes to prey on fish and they are very easy to spot in their boats with fishing poles.

So now you found the baitfish, what do you do?

Tips to use the baitfish to your advantage

• For your lure or bait selection, try to match the size and shape of the baitfish swimming around.
• Vary your depth to find the feeding fish (largemouth bass but also crappie, walleye, muskie, hybrids, white bass, striped bass)
• Get as close to the food source as possible to increase your odds of catching the fish you set out to catch.

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The water temp is getting warmer in the basin of Lake Havasu and the larger fish are beginning to move into the cooler water at Willow Beach.

The trout stocking takes place every Friday giving shore fisherman a 50/50 shot at going home happy. But most of the success has been around the new pier. Try Power Bait, green Power Worms, or salmon eggs.
For best results: Get out on the water early. The action seems to be dieing off by 7:30am. Use green Power Bait on a hook with a small sinker about 2-3 feet above the hook.

The bite from stripers has been picking up as well.

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Out at Lake Powell, striped bass are still being caught in big numbers. Trolling seems to be working best. Just throw on a shallow-running crankbait and troll through a boil. You’ll sure to get a hookup each time. If the cranks don’t work for you, try plastics swim baits or a spoon.

Hite is still the best location for fishing. The full moon has slowed the boils to an evening only event. You can expect the slurps to begin around 2pm but they disappear quick. The best you can do is get out just before 2 and get into position. The most active areas for the boils are between buoy 129 and 131. This stretch has many surfacing schools.

For best results: Get out there and troll. This is the most effective method right now. The hardest part will be trying to predict the boils but they occur often enough to keep the fun going.

San Juan is also a nice fishing area but it’s not as active as Hite right now. If you’re out on the San Juan, Spencer’s Camp has always been a dependable fishing hole.

Jack Arch has been nice in the evenings and into the night.

If you go out to Piute Canyon, get out early, catch your fish and get out, otherwise you’ll be fighting with houseboats and jet skies the rest of the day. Piute Canyon is a hot spot for boils and the bite has been good.

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