05-13-2014, 05:09 PM
Jellyworm,
I don't know what a "major production" is for you. If I am prepared, it is about 90 minutes from when I decide to get on the water till I am launching. I'm 34 miles from Callville launch.
I tried the ponds and for me they are a waste of time and money. When I first started fishing here in 1994 I got skunked a lot and then skunked some more. I came from Southern California where the bite is really tough yet with some work I became pretty consistent, but Mead pretty much handed me my hat for a long time.
The harsh truth is you need a boat to fish Mead and Mohave. Wolfs4ever and I have nice bass boats (I planned for that before retiring in 2010), but I fished Mead a number of years out of a 12 ft. fiberglass Sears boat with a 15 hp outboard and a homemade mounted 35lb. thrust trolling motor. I sold that rig in 2004 for about $600. You could tow it with most any vehicle. I car topped it. But I was younger then.
You can find a used smaller open boat around $2000 by the time you get a decent mill on it or used bass boat priced at maybe $5000 to $7000. You likely won't find that good deal in Vegas but if you are willing to go to AZ or CA you can. That would give you more flexibility to go out on slightly breezy days and also keep you more stable when the skiers and water fleas are out. You want a reliable rig fishing Mead or Mohave. This is no place to have engine trouble.
Being a senior, your Lake Mead entry fees are discounted and camping at Mead and Mohave is $5/night Going out for multiple days and camping out is one way to stretch your fuel budget. Another way to save is buy the AZ nonresident fishing license. That allows you to fish any water on the Colorado River drainage and all of Arizona. You can get your AZ license start date set on the day you pick. I don't trout fish any more but AZ has some trout fishing in the mountains. AZ fish and Game maintains a decent online site.
If you are bass fishing, then sure Mead and Mohave can be very tough. Be patient and begin to learn some spots. The features you see above water are not always continued under the surface so until you drive over the terrain in a boat you don't know the structure. Eventually you will have a list of places that consistently hold fish. A Sonar/GPS with waypoint capability will get you started. One thing to always consider and something that a couple US Open champions have reiterated is the bass at Mead ...if they are present.. often bite on the first or second presentation. They just relocate a lot following the food. At Mohave it can be different but it seems the whole reservoir bite turns on and off at the same time. Just saying. We joke about how Mead has a 5:00 PM bite...it happens a lot.
First there were quagga mussels and that took some adaption. Then the smallmouth population began to grow. In my mind the introduction of Gizzard Shad a few years back has and is altering the lake ecology. Places that used to consistently hold fish don't have bass as often right now. Factor in the falling water levels - I was here fishing quite a bit in 2010 during the last low water period - and it seems the lake is "new" each time you go out. With this kind of draw-down the river channel has current and the fish orient accordingly. Used to be the wind would "stack" the plankton which located the threadfins and you could almost "call" your spots. Not so much now.
Before Gizzard shad, typically right now the bass would be keyed in on bluegills and blue/green would get bit. They would be holding from the edge out to 20 ft near 45° chunk rock, steep walls and deeper flats. With dropping water and gizzard shad present I don't know. It was mentioned on this forum that the shad were, right now, back in coves
A little searching in this forum will give you several places to productively fish from shore. If you haven't already, get together a drop shot rig and go try it. Fishing uphill is my tactic of choice this time of the season. From shore for bass I'd carry 3 set ups. Standard worm rig which doubles for jigs, surface bait rod which could throw small crankbaits and a dropshot rod. You might also check out a float and fly rig on You Tube. To deal with the heat, I bought a long-sleeve "bonefish" shirt and a wide brim hat from Bass Pro Shop. Kind of pricey but once I committed I found the shirt and hat make a huge difference in what temps I can tolerate.
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I don't know what a "major production" is for you. If I am prepared, it is about 90 minutes from when I decide to get on the water till I am launching. I'm 34 miles from Callville launch.
I tried the ponds and for me they are a waste of time and money. When I first started fishing here in 1994 I got skunked a lot and then skunked some more. I came from Southern California where the bite is really tough yet with some work I became pretty consistent, but Mead pretty much handed me my hat for a long time.
The harsh truth is you need a boat to fish Mead and Mohave. Wolfs4ever and I have nice bass boats (I planned for that before retiring in 2010), but I fished Mead a number of years out of a 12 ft. fiberglass Sears boat with a 15 hp outboard and a homemade mounted 35lb. thrust trolling motor. I sold that rig in 2004 for about $600. You could tow it with most any vehicle. I car topped it. But I was younger then.
You can find a used smaller open boat around $2000 by the time you get a decent mill on it or used bass boat priced at maybe $5000 to $7000. You likely won't find that good deal in Vegas but if you are willing to go to AZ or CA you can. That would give you more flexibility to go out on slightly breezy days and also keep you more stable when the skiers and water fleas are out. You want a reliable rig fishing Mead or Mohave. This is no place to have engine trouble.
Being a senior, your Lake Mead entry fees are discounted and camping at Mead and Mohave is $5/night Going out for multiple days and camping out is one way to stretch your fuel budget. Another way to save is buy the AZ nonresident fishing license. That allows you to fish any water on the Colorado River drainage and all of Arizona. You can get your AZ license start date set on the day you pick. I don't trout fish any more but AZ has some trout fishing in the mountains. AZ fish and Game maintains a decent online site.
If you are bass fishing, then sure Mead and Mohave can be very tough. Be patient and begin to learn some spots. The features you see above water are not always continued under the surface so until you drive over the terrain in a boat you don't know the structure. Eventually you will have a list of places that consistently hold fish. A Sonar/GPS with waypoint capability will get you started. One thing to always consider and something that a couple US Open champions have reiterated is the bass at Mead ...if they are present.. often bite on the first or second presentation. They just relocate a lot following the food. At Mohave it can be different but it seems the whole reservoir bite turns on and off at the same time. Just saying. We joke about how Mead has a 5:00 PM bite...it happens a lot.
First there were quagga mussels and that took some adaption. Then the smallmouth population began to grow. In my mind the introduction of Gizzard Shad a few years back has and is altering the lake ecology. Places that used to consistently hold fish don't have bass as often right now. Factor in the falling water levels - I was here fishing quite a bit in 2010 during the last low water period - and it seems the lake is "new" each time you go out. With this kind of draw-down the river channel has current and the fish orient accordingly. Used to be the wind would "stack" the plankton which located the threadfins and you could almost "call" your spots. Not so much now.
Before Gizzard shad, typically right now the bass would be keyed in on bluegills and blue/green would get bit. They would be holding from the edge out to 20 ft near 45° chunk rock, steep walls and deeper flats. With dropping water and gizzard shad present I don't know. It was mentioned on this forum that the shad were, right now, back in coves
A little searching in this forum will give you several places to productively fish from shore. If you haven't already, get together a drop shot rig and go try it. Fishing uphill is my tactic of choice this time of the season. From shore for bass I'd carry 3 set ups. Standard worm rig which doubles for jigs, surface bait rod which could throw small crankbaits and a dropshot rod. You might also check out a float and fly rig on You Tube. To deal with the heat, I bought a long-sleeve "bonefish" shirt and a wide brim hat from Bass Pro Shop. Kind of pricey but once I committed I found the shirt and hat make a huge difference in what temps I can tolerate.
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