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It took millions of years for the Colorado River to cut down
through the sandstone and metamorphic rocks that barred its way
from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. Hoover Dam closed
the chokepoint in Black Canyon in 1935. It was a marvel of its
time with 660 foot thick, 727 foot high walls that backed up 110
miles of Colorado River water which formed Lake Mead. It only
took seven years from the initial 1969 stocking to produce Jim
Brady's 47 pound striper. Today, large stripers, as everywhere
else, are not common, but you can expect many three to five pound
fish plus an occasional fish in the "teens" on most
trips. Considering the superb scenery and the well-known
diversions of Las Vegas just over the hill, it should be no
surprise that Mead stripers and black bass attract so many
Southern Californians. It's just a shame more people don't fly or
drive in to enjoy quality fishing and low cost recreation.
Lake Mead and its downstream companion, Lake Mohave, also
attract those who enjoy fishing, water-skiing, houseboating,
camping, hunting and other activities. Weather keys the action in
the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which comprises Lakes
Mead and Mohave. Fall and spring offer the best fishing and
finest weather most years, although you need to be prepared for
extremely hot days in Indian summer and occasional spring storms.
Winter is lovely if you avoid windy days that blow you off the lake. A
majority of the six million annual visitors find hot summers most
comfortable in air-conditioned houseboats or motels or when they
zip around the lake.  Serious anglers
might want to plan to come early or plan a longer stay to enjoy
the other attractions of the area. You might book a trip with a
guide who can help you learn the lake fast. Make sure you mention
"big stripers" and "artificial". Otherwise
you will doubtless end dunking anchovy over a small school of
stripers in the two to five pound range. I find I catch fewer,
but much larger fish casting or trolling lures. So we only fish
with anchovy when we want channel cats.
Like most fishing writers, Annette and I always fished with Al
Cieri. I was his sponsor for membership in Outdoor Writers of
America. Al did more to protect Lake Mead striper fishing than
anyone I know. Unfortunately, Al died a few years back. Now they
have built a prototype fish cleaning station on the lake and
named it, and a tournament, after him. You might remember him
when you go by.
Going With Guides
Some guides pick up in Las Vegas; others meet you at the lake.
If you book a guide, you can use his boat, tackle and expertise.
Then, after you learn the basics and see where fish lurk, you can
do well on your own. Don't forget, the water backed up behind the
726 foot tall Hoover Dam covers a huge area and fish can be hard
to find.
Note: wise fishermen head for shelter when strong winds
blow too!
If you try the lake on your own, expect to spend much time
looking for fish even after you pick up the latest information at
the marina or ramp. In past years we have gone in with another
couple or two, and rented houseboats so we could stay on the lake
all day and night. Night surface action does key fish. You can
hear slashing stripers after dark if you run up the lake, then
drift with your motor off.
Houseboat rentals also cut your food costs and keep you away
from slots and such. If you combine houseboats with your striper
or bass boat or a rental craft, you maximize your time on the
water and improve your chances of finding stripers and black
bass.
Angler's Indicators
Several indicators can help you find fish. First, look for
flashing, diving seagulls or terns that savage baitfish schools
from above as stripers feed. You'll spot two types of grebes
besides the gulls that always show action. The Western Grebe sits
on shad down to 100 feet deep. The smaller Eared Grebe is a
shallow diver; if you see Eared Grebes, you know shad, and
stripers, are more shallow. Even birds sitting on the water
suggest fish that are deep before or after a feeding spurt.
Second, check for trollers or bait fishermen who often school
up to hit stripers. In particular, watch for guides, who you can
spot by their deep tans and pasty-colored passengers. Take care
not to zoom in over schooled fish. This kills the action for
everyone.
Third, watch your depth finder carefully, and you may see
stripers. A recording depth finder improves results for me. I
find it gives me a better picture of the bottom, which I can use
to project likely striper movement. Find threadfin shad and you
should find stripers. Shad run up to seven inches long, so
shad-finish lures do the job. Larger nine inch plugs in rainbow
trout finishes also produce. Medium slab spoons jigged over deep
bait work. Early and late in the day, I favor topwater poppers. I
toss these, and two ounce silver Kastmasters with a 12 foot long
surf stick armed with 12 pound test. At night, or when the light
is off the water, I use a long shock tippet of 20 pound test to
keep lures from popping off.
If water is extremely clear, as is not uncommon in the fall, I
drop down to a ten foot steelhead stick and six pound test during
daylight hours. It's tough to set the large trebles on big plugs
with this, so I replace trebles with ultrasharp single Siwash
hooks when I can.
Favorite Areas
You probably can find stripers in the Overton Arm or somewhere
along the sloping shores of Virgin Basin anytime. We fish this
area from Echo Bay Resort where rental craft run from skiffs up
to 12-sleeper houseboats. Nearby Cathedral Cove, where
overhanging cliffs offer a super background for photography, is a
must see. If you houseboat, moor at Middle Point where herons
nest above some of the best striper trolling waters in Mead.
The 17-mile wide Virgin Basin where the Overton Arm joins the
Colorado River Arm of Lake Mead can kick up a monster chop in
windy weather so boat cautiously! We find fishing best near
Guardian Peak and off the Big Gypsum Ledges. If you drive here
you can launch at Bonelli Landing or Detrial Wash.
Temple Basin just east is most easily explored from Temple Bar
Resort nearest Gregg Basin and Grand Wash where Colorado rafters
flush out onto Mead's calm waters. The resort's warm swimming
pool is a treat. You can launch at Pearce Ferry too! Watch for
sand bars when the lake level drops. Some are buoyed. Many are
not.
We don't do very well on stripers in this area, but do catch
some monster trout and the odd large striper on trolled plugs. I
suspect such trout stray from the Colorado River. Columbine Falls
is the reason we go into this area. It is simply too pretty to
pass up as it cascades down the walls of Emery Canyon. All sorts
of desert flowers bloom here. There is decent quail hunting in
some areas and several primitive campgrounds too.
From Virgin Basin, boaters thread through the Narrows -- keep
an eye out for "zoom" boats which rush through at high
speed -- before they reach Boulder Basin, the main body of Lake
Mead which offers the best striper action late fall and winter.
In frigid conditions locals fish large minnows and dead baits on
bottom.
Trolling off Saddle, Pyramid and Sentinel Islands with large
plugs should produce in early fall if you get your lures down to
the right depth. It's no problem toplining when stripers are on
top. Tests do show side planers or long rods that take lines
outside the wake hook more fish. Still, when stripers lurk deep
you may need downriggers. I tote portable downriggers we add,
with a portable depth finder, to our houseboat. No
sense trolling "bare" when you can enjoy equally good
results with a kitchen and bathroom along!
The Overton Arm is another favorite striper spot for tossing
topwater plugs up near the bank early and late in the day. It
reaches over 60 miles north to the mouth of the Virgin River. We
often fish the wide bays to the east. The "haystacks"
on the northern shore where the Overton Arm joins the Virgin
Basin is a hot spot. Check with the locals to find out where the
Christmas Tree cover spots are located and try these with slab
spoons too.
You can troll up stripers from the back of a houseboat with
small Rebel or Rappala minnow-type plugs just about anywhere in
the lake. So this is a good system if you know fish are in a
certain cove or arm, but are not sure where. Once you hit fish
you can simply circle back and rerun the productive area. If you
prefer to cast, stop the boat and fling silver 1/2-ounce
Kastmaster or Hopkins Spoons to any surface swirls you spot. If
you don't see swirls let spoons or white HairRaiser jigs down to
the level of the suspended fish you see on your depth finder.
Early and late in the day, flip topwater plugs such as Zara
Spooks up into coves for stripers and black bass which you can
spot in the clear waters of Lake Mead. If you want a very large
striper, and don't mind lots of casting, try a red and white
Cotton Cordell Redfin 1000. I fish this with a nine foot long
spinning rod to maximize casting distance and six or eight pound
test line so I don't spook fish.
I look for long points that slope gradually and position our
boat in about ten feet of water well off the point. Then cast
along, not across the point toward the shore -- In this way two
fishermen can work both sides of most points. When the lure hits
the water, wait until the ring dies, tighten the line and reel
slowly so the lure barely wiggles on top and leaves a long
V-shape wake. This system takes very large stripers "now and
then" in the spring and fall, but it requires much patience
and confidence in the method, which seems effective on all
landlocked stripers. 
I release such big females as may contribute to striper
fishing in Mead. Besides, we prefer to eat smaller school
stripers that ice down in the cooler when we catch them so they
keep fresh for the trip home.
Black Bass Basics
While black bass now take a back seat to stripers, Mead does
produce good specimens of these fish. Spring and fall remain the
ideal seasons. Arms with cover and areas such as Temple Basin,
the Overton Arm along the Overton Wildlife Area and Quail Bay
produce big bass in the spring. You can, if you do not own a boat
and do not rent one from one of many good Marinas on Mead, drive
to Overton and fish along the shore.
SIDETRIP: If you drive to this area, visit the Valley of
Fire State Park for its unique red rock towers and other odd
geological formations. You'll find petroglyphs too. The Lost City
Museum of Archaeology built on the Restored site of Pueblo Grande
de Nevada also deserves a look.
Two methods take black bass consistently for me at Mead. In
spring shallows I do very well with a motor oil Bobby Garland
plastic bait slipped onto a 1/8-ounce jig and fished on an
ultralight spinning rig and four pound test line. I pitch this up
tight against cover, let it sink and watch the line. When the
line twitches I set the hook and hang on. This system also takes
panfish like crappie that, frankly, I'd rather eat than bass. 
Bank fishermen can catch bass in coves -- the cove near the
campground at Echo Bay also produces stripers -- but you really
need a boat to do well at Lake Mead. We have used all sorts.
Prams, john boats and canoes suit protected coves and work as
tenders when we houseboat. Houseboating does let you see more of
the lake, and moor right on the best fishing. Skiffs or ski boats
get you around the lake faster. So you have the choice.
Water skiers do zoom through these areas. Still, we find the
protected waters downwind from islands in the Boulder Basin a
good hideout from the ski set. Boulder Basin isn't a bad spot to
troll or drown bait for big striped bass during winter months
either. Callville Bay and Lake Mead Resort and Marina offer all
services and boat rentals. You'll find additional shopping in
nearby Boulder City.
By the Dam Site
No visitor to Lake Mead should miss a chance to tour the dam.
If you don't boat, consider a cruise with Lake Mead Yacht.
Helicopter flights over the lake and up into the Grand Canyon
offer decent value and there's much to do in Las Vegas. It's a
good family town away from the tables and slots. RV parks are
first class too.
Costs are extremely low for those who avoid or win at the
tables. Name entertainers -- we like cocktail shows better than
dinner shows -- deserve a look. Still, some of the best
entertainment we have found is in the lounges where tomorrow's
stars perform. With so much to do besides the fishing, it's easy
to see that you need more time in Vegas.
Downstream from Lake Mead, Lake Mohave offers a superb fishery
for rainbow trout and decent black bass. Major California access
is Cottonwood Cove off Highway 95 from Searchlight. A variety of
primitive campsites along shore suit campers. RV visitors in
search of full facilities do best off Highway 93 on the Arizona
side of the river. Willow Beach gives access to the upstream
sections with the best trout fishing. Lake Mohave Marina suits
those who enjoy the striper and bass action near the dam.
It's the chance to see unique desert terrain and wildlife
that, when added to the fine fishing and boating on these two
lakes, make them so attractive to visitors. It's a long haul from
Idaho, but we visit at least once a year. If you are lucky enough
to live closer you can visit more often.
Information: Lake Mead National Recreation
Area, 601 Nevada Highway, Boulder City, NV 89001
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