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Striper Schoolies and Trout Limits on the Colorado River Las Vegas
Published 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Colorado River Las Vegas fishing report.
Out here below Hoover Dam, the river’s running clear and cool, mid‑50s to low‑60s, perfect for winter stripers and trout. Flows are steady and predictable with dam releases, so you don’t have true tides, but you’ll see those mini “tide swings” when they bump power generation up and down; plan your drifts around rising flows for more active fish.
Weather-wise, we’re sitting under stable high pressure: cool mornings in the low 40s climbing into the low 60s this afternoon, light north breeze, bluebird skies. Sunrise is right around 6:45 local, sunset near 4:30, so your prime bite windows are first light to about 10, then again the last two hours of daylight when shadows hit the banks.
Reports from local guides and marina shops along the river corridor say the last week has been solid on **striped bass**, with a mix of schoolies and the occasional fish pushing 5–8 pounds coming on small swimbaits and live shad. Rainbows stocked below Hoover are giving up easy limits on bait and small spinners, and there’ve been a few bonus **channel cats** after dark on cut bait. Panfish talk is light, but the back‑eddies are still holding a few sunfish if you downsize.
Best producers right now:
- **Lures for stripers**:
Small shad‑style swimbaits in ghost or pearl, 3–4 inch soft jerks on 1/4‑oz jig heads, white or chartreuse bucktail jigs, and medium diving crankbaits in natural baitfish patterns. On bright days, go natural; if the water muddies up from wind, switch to chartreuse or something with flash.
- **Bait for stripers and cats**:
Live shad or trout (where legal), chunked anchovy, and sardines. For cats, fresh cut shad or chicken liver on the bottom in slower holes.
- **Trout setups**:
Salmon eggs, PowerBait in garlic or cheese on light line, or tiny gold/bronze spinners and 1/16‑oz marabou jigs drifted with the current.
Fish activity is classic winter: not a numbers bonanza all day, but when they turn on, they chew. Stripers have been cruising edges where deep runs roll up onto gravel bars; trout are stacked in current seams and soft pockets behind big rock.
Couple of local hot spots to circle:
- **Willow Beach stretch**: That run from Willow Beach Marina upstream toward the base of Hoover is money for both big stripers and fresh plantered trout. Work those steep rock walls early with swimbaits and jerkbaits, then slide into the seams with bait for trout once the sun gets up.
- **Davis Dam to Laughlin**: Downriver near Laughlin, around Casino Row and the deeper slots just below the dam, has been giving up steady schoolie stripers and some nice cats after dark. Slow‑rolling bucktails along the drop‑offs has been a consistent ticket.
If you’re launching today, bring a couple rod setups: one medium spinning outfit with 8–10 lb fluoro for trout and light stripers, and a heavier baitcaster with 15–20 lb for tossing swimbaits in that heavy current. Keep an eye on flow changes; when you feel the river start to rise, that’s your cue to work reaction baits before settling back into bait fishing.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss tomorrow’s river run‑down.
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.
Out here below Hoover Dam, the river’s running clear and cool, mid‑50s to low‑60s, perfect for winter stripers and trout. Flows are steady and predictable with dam releases, so you don’t have true tides, but you’ll see those mini “tide swings” when they bump power generation up and down; plan your drifts around rising flows for more active fish.
Weather-wise, we’re sitting under stable high pressure: cool mornings in the low 40s climbing into the low 60s this afternoon, light north breeze, bluebird skies. Sunrise is right around 6:45 local, sunset near 4:30, so your prime bite windows are first light to about 10, then again the last two hours of daylight when shadows hit the banks.
Reports from local guides and marina shops along the river corridor say the last week has been solid on **striped bass**, with a mix of schoolies and the occasional fish pushing 5–8 pounds coming on small swimbaits and live shad. Rainbows stocked below Hoover are giving up easy limits on bait and small spinners, and there’ve been a few bonus **channel cats** after dark on cut bait. Panfish talk is light, but the back‑eddies are still holding a few sunfish if you downsize.
Best producers right now:
- **Lures for stripers**:
Small shad‑style swimbaits in ghost or pearl, 3–4 inch soft jerks on 1/4‑oz jig heads, white or chartreuse bucktail jigs, and medium diving crankbaits in natural baitfish patterns. On bright days, go natural; if the water muddies up from wind, switch to chartreuse or something with flash.
- **Bait for stripers and cats**:
Live shad or trout (where legal), chunked anchovy, and sardines. For cats, fresh cut shad or chicken liver on the bottom in slower holes.
- **Trout setups**:
Salmon eggs, PowerBait in garlic or cheese on light line, or tiny gold/bronze spinners and 1/16‑oz marabou jigs drifted with the current.
Fish activity is classic winter: not a numbers bonanza all day, but when they turn on, they chew. Stripers have been cruising edges where deep runs roll up onto gravel bars; trout are stacked in current seams and soft pockets behind big rock.
Couple of local hot spots to circle:
- **Willow Beach stretch**: That run from Willow Beach Marina upstream toward the base of Hoover is money for both big stripers and fresh plantered trout. Work those steep rock walls early with swimbaits and jerkbaits, then slide into the seams with bait for trout once the sun gets up.
- **Davis Dam to Laughlin**: Downriver near Laughlin, around Casino Row and the deeper slots just below the dam, has been giving up steady schoolie stripers and some nice cats after dark. Slow‑rolling bucktails along the drop‑offs has been a consistent ticket.
If you’re launching today, bring a couple rod setups: one medium spinning outfit with 8–10 lb fluoro for trout and light stripers, and a heavier baitcaster with 15–20 lb for tossing swimbaits in that heavy current. Keep an eye on flow changes; when you feel the river start to rise, that’s your cue to work reaction baits before settling back into bait fishing.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss tomorrow’s river run‑down.
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.