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Winter Bite on the Colorado River and Lake Mead Near Vegas
Published 4 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Colorado River/Lake Mead Vegas-side fishing report.
We’re sliding into the winter pattern now. According to Weather Underground, Boulder City and the upper Colorado below Hoover are starting in the low 40s at first light, topping out mid‑50s to low‑60s with light north breeze and clear skies. Sunrise is right around 6:40 a.m., sunset close to 4:30 p.m., so you’ve got a tight prime-time window at dawn and again the last hour of light.
No real tides here, but Lake Mead levels have stabilized a bit after fall rains in the basin, according to the Center for Colorado River Studies. That’s kept launches workable and given baitfish a little more consistent shoreline to hold on, which is helping the bite.
Fish activity: classic winter mode. Stripers on Mead and the river are schooling deeper but pushing shad up when the sun hits. Local chatter the past week has been strong on schoolie stripers in the 1–3 pound range with a few bigger 5–8 pound fish mixed in, plus steady smallmouth and a handful of largemouth off rock piles and points. Catfish are still showing after dark on the slower current seams.
Recent catches around Willow Beach, Cottonwood Cove, and the stretches just below Hoover have been mostly stripers and smallmouth. Folks running electronics and staying on bait balls are reporting easy limits of smaller stripers when they get over a good school, with bonus smallmouth hanging around the same structure.
Best lures right now:
- For stripers: **1/2–1 oz white or pearl jigging spoons**, soft plastic flukes on 3/8–1/2 oz heads, and small shad-colored swimbaits. Vertical jigging in 30–60 feet over humps has been money.
- For bass: finesse **drop-shot worms** in natural shad or green pumpkin, and **3-inch tubes** in brown or goby tones dragged slow over rock.
- For reaction bites on cloudy or breezy spells: **medium-diving crankbaits** in shad or craw around points.
Best bait:
- Live or frozen anchovies are still king for stripers on both the lake and river. Nose hook them on a small circle hook with just enough weight to stay near the school.
- Nightcrawlers and cut shad/anchovy on a simple Carolina rig will pick up catfish and the occasional bonus striper in the current breaks.
Couple of hot spots to put on your list:
- **Willow Beach stretch of the Colorado River**: Work the deeper runs and eddies with anchovies or spoons. Trout plants upstream keep predators hanging around; early morning you’ll see boils when they pin bait.
- **Temple Bar and points just off the main river channel on Lake Mead**: Idle around until you mark bait in 40–60 feet, then drop spoons or flukes straight down. Stick with it — once you’re on them, the schoolie striper bite can be fast.
- For shore anglers close to Vegas, the **Hemenway Harbor area** still kicks out striper and the odd largemouth at first and last light with cut anchovies and small swimbaits.
Pattern-wise, think slow and subtle. Let that water warm a degree or two and watch for birds picking off shad — that’s your sign to move in. Midday can still produce if you go vertical and stay glued to your graph.
That’s the rundown from Artificial Lure out here on the Colorado River by Vegas. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe.
This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
We’re sliding into the winter pattern now. According to Weather Underground, Boulder City and the upper Colorado below Hoover are starting in the low 40s at first light, topping out mid‑50s to low‑60s with light north breeze and clear skies. Sunrise is right around 6:40 a.m., sunset close to 4:30 p.m., so you’ve got a tight prime-time window at dawn and again the last hour of light.
No real tides here, but Lake Mead levels have stabilized a bit after fall rains in the basin, according to the Center for Colorado River Studies. That’s kept launches workable and given baitfish a little more consistent shoreline to hold on, which is helping the bite.
Fish activity: classic winter mode. Stripers on Mead and the river are schooling deeper but pushing shad up when the sun hits. Local chatter the past week has been strong on schoolie stripers in the 1–3 pound range with a few bigger 5–8 pound fish mixed in, plus steady smallmouth and a handful of largemouth off rock piles and points. Catfish are still showing after dark on the slower current seams.
Recent catches around Willow Beach, Cottonwood Cove, and the stretches just below Hoover have been mostly stripers and smallmouth. Folks running electronics and staying on bait balls are reporting easy limits of smaller stripers when they get over a good school, with bonus smallmouth hanging around the same structure.
Best lures right now:
- For stripers: **1/2–1 oz white or pearl jigging spoons**, soft plastic flukes on 3/8–1/2 oz heads, and small shad-colored swimbaits. Vertical jigging in 30–60 feet over humps has been money.
- For bass: finesse **drop-shot worms** in natural shad or green pumpkin, and **3-inch tubes** in brown or goby tones dragged slow over rock.
- For reaction bites on cloudy or breezy spells: **medium-diving crankbaits** in shad or craw around points.
Best bait:
- Live or frozen anchovies are still king for stripers on both the lake and river. Nose hook them on a small circle hook with just enough weight to stay near the school.
- Nightcrawlers and cut shad/anchovy on a simple Carolina rig will pick up catfish and the occasional bonus striper in the current breaks.
Couple of hot spots to put on your list:
- **Willow Beach stretch of the Colorado River**: Work the deeper runs and eddies with anchovies or spoons. Trout plants upstream keep predators hanging around; early morning you’ll see boils when they pin bait.
- **Temple Bar and points just off the main river channel on Lake Mead**: Idle around until you mark bait in 40–60 feet, then drop spoons or flukes straight down. Stick with it — once you’re on them, the schoolie striper bite can be fast.
- For shore anglers close to Vegas, the **Hemenway Harbor area** still kicks out striper and the odd largemouth at first and last light with cut anchovies and small swimbaits.
Pattern-wise, think slow and subtle. Let that water warm a degree or two and watch for birds picking off shad — that’s your sign to move in. Midday can still produce if you go vertical and stay glued to your graph.
That’s the rundown from Artificial Lure out here on the Colorado River by Vegas. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe.
This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.