Lake Havasu Bass Fishing

Awesome Lake Havasu bass fishing trip! My dad told me he heard there were giant Smallmouth bass to catch here at this awesome lake. The water gets a little warmer earlier in the spring, and it is relatively close to home. When I heard about it I decided to jump all in.

My dad told me about Lake Havasu at the end of February, and I was itching to scratch my spring bass fishing fever. We wound up taking off for a quick Friday, Saturday trip the weekend of March 1st, and 2nd 2013. This was my first bass trip of the year and it turned out to be epic! My Father and I only caught three fish, but they were three of the biggest Smallmouth’s I’ve ever caught in my life! I learned a ton about bass fishing Lake Havasu, and know we could’ve crushed us a lot more Smallmouth had I known what I’m going to share with you now. It takes time to know where to go, and what to throw. Bottom line though is everyone needs to go down to Havasu for a chance at those once in a lifetime Smallmouth bass! This post will help you get em!

Conditions:

Here is what I gleaned from fishing the lake, and things you should take into account when you are digging through your tackle box.

We were a little too early. The surface water temperature was only 54 and by the time we left it was at 57. One week later and those bass would’ve been “Kraken” hot. Ideally those bass start hitting their spawning beds, and get super aggressive when that temp hits the 58 – 61 degree’s.

The temperature of the water was warmer in the lower part of the lake by the damn then the upper end where the Colorado comes in. The cool river water coming out of Mohave and Lake Mead chills that upper end off.

(Note to self to catch bass at lake havasu the bass will be moving in to spawn earlier in the lower end of the lake than the upper end. In the summer the upper end will be cooler housing more fish than possibly the lower end, and in the fall the lower end will stay warmer longer to get those fish hanging on before the winter months)

Where to go?

The hardest part about going to a new lake is figuring out where the bass will be with the conditions at hand. My dad and I always say  bass fishing is 85% knowing where the fish are at. We used google and listened to a local, then decided on two places  to go try Mesquite Cove & Copper Canyon.

Mesquite Cove was a hit! Except a lot of the area is closed to motorized boats. We found a point that came out and caught our first and only big bass of the day there. My dad caught it on a 12-15′ deep diving shad colored crank bait. We were stoked! The other place we went Copper Canyon turned into a bust.

I was blown away by how clear the water was, and when I looked down we wound up drifting over cages, and crates all created  for structure and cover for the fish. Those crates, and things where everywhere! No wonder Havasu is such a great fishery. Awesome.

The first day we didn’t see any fish in that crystal clear water, but the second day we did! They were starting to move in after all that sun. At the end of the second day, I busted another two monsters. After those two fish it made me feel more confident on where to go. Here is a map I pinned with where we caught our fish. Plus, some points and coves where we saw fish that would’ve produced had we figured out what to throw earlier.
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View Lake Havasu Bass Fishing in a larger map
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What to Use?

When asking around and getting on the internet. We found the best way to fish these bass in this crystal clear water was the drop shot rig. I used it most of the trip, but used a larger 4″ senko and didn’t get a nibble. I switched later in the evening to a 3.5″ Yamamoto Watermelon kut tail worm on the drop shot, and caught two monsters within 30 minutes of each other. Wished I would’ve been throwing a kut tail worm a lot earlier in the trip. Small 3″ baits in green natural colors seemed to be the magic bullet. If you don’t know how to do a drop-shot rig just Google it. You can find all the rigs in the world on the internet. I like to rig my drop-shot baits weedless texas style. This way it won’t snag up in case you get your bait hitting up against those bait cages in the lake.

Hope this helps all those of you wanting to take a “Krak” at those big bass down at Lake Havasu. Feel free to email with any questions. Hope this will help you in trying to figure out Lake Havasu to get you “Kraken” some bass. Also, let me know what else I could include on my posts to help you in your next trip on the water.

jb@krakenbass.com
Always Stoked!

Here are the links to where you can pick up the baits and gear we used that caught us fish on this trip:
Yamamoto Kut Tail Worm Bait, Green Pumpkin Black Flake, 5-Inch
Strike King Pro-Model Silent 5XD Series Crankbait, Sexy Shad, 5/8-Ounce
1/4 Finesse Lead Drop Shot Weights Hand Poured (10 per pack)
Gamakatsu Extra Wide Gap Worm Hook-6 Per Pack (Black, 1/0)