Where the Fishing is Good

You don't like bass fishing - you prefer trout. Or, maybe, it's vice versa. At any rate Lake Mead National Recreation Area offers both and all year long.

For the bass fisherman, there's Lake Mead. And in Lake Mohave, just below Hoover Dam, where the water is drawn from Lake Mead at low levels and comes out a uniform fifty-five degrees, monster-size rainbow trout are caught. Then on down Lake Mohave, toward Davis Dam, where the still waters have warmed up, you again find fabulous bass fishing.

Lakes Mead and Mohave have been ranked by some among the top ten fishing spots in the nation but to the Southwestern fisherman they rank tops. Although both lakes have their best season, you can change your lure or bait and get good results any time.

Before the Colorado River was impounded by Hooverver and Davis Dams, forming Lake Mead and Lake Mohave respectively, there were a number of native fish: Hampback suckers, Colorado River salmon, Verde trout, catfish and some others.

No one knows exactly where the largemouth black bass came from, but it didn't take anglers long to discover cover that Lake Mead had largemouth bass gobbling up every lure that hit the water. The guess is that the bass were the "green trout" (a Southeastern common name for bigmouth bass) released in the Virgin River Basin about the time the lake started to form. Seeking to establish a "food chain" for the bass, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission released crappies and bluegills which Were to serve as food for the gourmandizing bass. Both of these did so well that they have now joined the bass as game fish in Lake Mead. And when angling for largemouth black bass, you probably will get some crappies and bluegill.

For about twenty miles below Hoover Dam, trout fishing is at its best. Just below Eldorado Fishing camp, the cold water flows under and the warm water flows over in a rolling motion. This natural barrier of a coldwarm water front is the line of demarcation between the trout and the bass fishing. So for another forty miles to Davis Dam the water is warm containing largemouth bass, bluegill, crappies and channel catfish to equal that of Lake Mead.

To keep Lake Mohave supplied with trout, the Fish and Wildlife Service opened a trout hatchery at Willow Beach, some fifteen miles below Hoover Dam. Covering nearly forty-eight acres, this valuable facility will hatch rainbow trout for those parts of the lower Colorado River and Lake Mohave where habitat is favorable. It will assure continuance in upper Lake Mohave and the river above Eldorado Canyon of some of the West's best rainbow trout fishing.

It makes no difference what time of year you fish these lakes. If you are a wise angler, you know where to find the elusive fellows.

Spring, of course, is best. That's any time after February, until the heat of the summer months. During this time, there are insects and new spawns of shad, so nearsurface lures will take bass, and the trout rise to darting flies and wobblers. You can set your outboard motor at idling for trolling and plug casting with great success. Bass will hit chuggers as soon as the plug hits the water.

When summer comes, then bass take topwater plugs and bugs, and the trout will come up for flies laid gently. Fishing normally starts tapering off at this time of the year until fall, principally because of the sweltering heat on the lakes, but there's still good fishing to be had early in the morning or late in the evening.

Fall fishing is wonderful on both lakes. There's very little wind at the time, and you can stop near a rocky ledge or sandy point dropping your weighted lure (artificial red worms are good) or live bait between the crevices and rocks. Then you can lazily wait for the fish to do the work. Some big ones are hooked this way. The bass seem to have more life themselves this time of year. Probably the bracing fall air puts new life in the fish.

Record bass can be taken in the winter on deeprunning lures or live bait (usually waterdogs). The trout fishing is good, too, on lures or salmon eggs.

Although most anglers concentrate on bass, many take advantage of the good catfishing on Lake Mead. Overton Arm and Vegas Wash are favorite spots for catfishing "holes," especially for bank fishermen. While some of the larger catfish occasionally are caught on live minnows or even a plug at times, the best bait is "ripe" shrimp.

Both lakes have a variety of carp, really a goldfish, which was inadvertently introduced by fishermen using them as live bait. These goldfish, relatives of the carp family, are vegetable eaters. Their mouths are so constructed that they move along the bottom sucking up algae, moss and small water plants like a vacuum cleaner.

Very, very seldom does a fisherman catch a carp on an artificial lure. And if he does, you can be certain he'll toss it back.

Bluegill are caught along rocky cliffs or ledges, the best bait being regular old doughballs. One of the best holes for bluegill is Wishing Well Cove in Boulder Canyon.

During the past year fishing news brought forth some fishing firsts on both lakes. At Willow Beach, just below Hoover Dam, a kokane salmon, twelve inches long, was caught. It was the first salmon to be caught from a plant of 100,000 made in April, 1961, just below Hoover Dam. The kokane were one inch long when released and have grown to twelve inches in about two and one-half years. This salmon is the landlocked variety of the sockeye salmon and will reproduce in fresh water. For those interested in trying to catch this species, try jigging with small artificial flies or use small wobblers or spoons and either jig them or troll with them. Go down deep with either method and try eddies or pools as well as riffle areas.

And there's been a change on the Upper Lake Mead, where the Colorado River flows through the Grand Canyon. After closure of the gates at Glen Canyon Dam, 370 miles upstream from Hoover Dam, the sediment which was dumped in Lake Mead began to drop in Lake Powell behind Glen Canyon Dam. As a result, the river below Glen Canyon is clear. Bass as well as trout which formerly could not or would not live in the muddy stream, today thrive in the clear "new" Colorado River.

Remember, when fishing either lake from a boat, you need a regular fishing license from Nevada or Arizona and a $2 stamp from the other state. This entitles you to fish any of the waters which separate both states. If you haven't got a use stamp, stay on the bank don't get out on the water.