Fish Reports

Fly fishermen are catching trout and bass with Woolly Buggers in olive and black colorations. Night crawlers and marshmallows below a bobber are catching trout from shore. Crappies are starting to bite offshore. Pistol Pete’s and jigs caught a few crappie’s attention over the weekend. Bass are catch-and-release only until June 30.

The crappie bite is picking up. The fish are taking small jigs. Bass and trout are taking almost everything thrown at them. Rainbow trout will take olive Woolly Buggers, earthworms, and PowerBait. Water levels are steady with shore fishing limited by vegetation in a few spots.

Stripers are cruising the stretch of river from south Casino Row through Big Bend State Recreation Area. Fish larger than 5 pounds are hitting trolled anchovies. Some anglers are also reporting an increase in topwater activity when using pencil poppers. Black bass are attacking soft plastics in the shallows of Laughlin Lagoon.

Shoreline anglers at Willow Beach are finding rainbow trout in the 2-pound range just north of the fishing pier. Yellow, red, and chrome spinners are getting hits. On the south end of Lake Mohave, striped bass are chasing trout and shad swimbaits. The Cottonwood Basin is busy with black bass anglers from both shore and boat. Soft plastics finessed in the shallows are producing fish larger

Many anglers are waiting for reprieve from high winds. In the Boulder Basin, stripers, catfish, and black bass bites are steadily picking up. Anchovies are working well for both stripers and catfish, while a variety of plastics are producing black bass bites. Anglers in the Virgin Basin are attempting to zone in on schools of crappie. The fish are showing a preference for 2- or

No change here as fishing has been fair to good depending upon the day and location, with high water levels and turbid water.   The fish that are being caught are with leech patterns, balanced leeches, crystal buggers, #14-16 hare’s ears, and #16-18 PT nymphs.  Other flies working include the usual small nymphs, olive soft hackles, red or blue copper Johns, and prince nymphs. On warmer

Wildhorse is now ice free and open for fishing!  The dock is in the water at the boat ramp for launching boats. Fishing has been good for trout with surface water temperatures in the 40’s. Fly rodders have had success with balanced leeches and chironomids.  Expect buggers and small nymphs such as copper Johns, hares ears and PT’s to all be working.  Bait anglers should

Fishing was good last weekend with anglers catching fish using a variety of presentations.  For the bait anglers, worms seem to be working better than PowerBait.  Spin fishermen should be using black spinners with gold blades.  Fly rodders were having good luck with purple wooly buggers.  Since Wilson often fishes similar to South Fork, bring the chironomid patterns.  The water level is down about 6

Surface water temperatures have moved into the low 50’s, almost perfect trout temperatures.  The dock is in at the main boat ramp and the water level is good for launching a boat here. However, the boat ramp at Jet Ski Beach is not useable due to a drop off at the end of the ramp which will get your trailer tires stuck.  Fishing has been

Cave Lake is sitting approximately 15 feet below normal water level and is now ice free.  No recent reports on fishing conditions but expect it to be fair to good using worms, PowerBait or small spinners.  Fly rodders should be using small nymphs, chironomids or buggers.  Expect soft, muddy shorelines. Cave Lake was recently stocked with approximately 5,000 rainbow trout.     

Comins lake is ice free.   So far fishing has been good this spring with 16-to-20-inch Rainbow Trout being caught. Bass fishing is slow. Anglers will do well on nightcrawlers, a variety of spinners, wet flies behind a bubble, and even PowerBait.  Minnow imitations and large streamer patterns have been working for northern pike, many of which have been staged for spawning on the southeast shoreline. 

Illipah is ice free and sitting at approximately 90% of capacity. Anglers will do well on nightcrawlers, spinners, and PowerBait. Fly rodders should be using olive or black wooly buggers, black leeches, red copper Johns, GR hares ears, PT nymphs and prince nymphs.