By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor


Anglers with Left Coast roots swept the Top 5 positions last week on the initial leg of the Bassmaster Elite Series Western swing at the Sacamento River/California Delta. It wouldn't be a big surprise to see a similar occurrence go down this week at Lake Havasu.

The circuit will conclude the first half of its 2015 campaign at a lake that, from a bass-fishing perspective, has become the jewel of the Desert Southwest. The 112 competitors will be treated well in service-oriented Lake Havasu City and they'll even get a break from Mother Nature as the air temperature in that oft-baking region isn't expected to hit 90 degrees until Sunday.

At a little less than 20,000 acres, the lake is small by tour-level standards and the mostly clear, relatively shallow impoundment can become quite stingy when it receives excessive pressure. However, it's now home to a lot of bass (both largemouths and smallmouths) in the 4-pound-plus class, which wasn't the case a quarter-century ago.

Some fish are still on the spawning beds, but that annual rite is in its waning stages. Large post-spawners have begun to show up in the transition areas on their way to their summer hangouts, and those fish will play a major role this week.

Anglers were limited to just 2 days of practice due to the 600-mile drive south from Sacramento, which is another factor that could benefit the westerners with previous experience at the venue.

Before getting into more about the bite, here's some intel on the lake itself.

BassFan Lake Profile

> Name: Lake Havasu
> Type of Water: Desert water-storage impoundment on the Colorado River
> Surface acres: 19,300
> Primary structure/cover: Rock, planted brushpiles, some wood, tules, grass, docks, man-made habitat structures
> Primary forage: Threadfin and gizzard shad, crawdads, bluegills, redear sunfish
> Average depth: 20 feet
> Species: Largemouths, smallmouths
> Length limit: 13 inches (both species)
> Reputation: A formerly stingy fishery that's greatly improved over the past two decades through the efforts of government agencies and anglers groups
> Weather: Extremely pleasant for Arizona at this time of year, with the high temperature expected to climb into the 90s only on the final day. Strong wind could be a factor on day 1.
> Water temperature: Low 70s
> Water color/visibility: Mostly clear, with some stain up the river.
> Water level: Not quite 2 feet below full pool
> Fish in: 0 to 20 feet
> Fish phase: Mostly post-spawn, but some still on the beds.
> Primary patterns: Flipping plastics and jigs, swimbaits, topwaters, dropshots, shaky-heads, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jerkbaits, Senkos, maybe some sight-fishing.
> Winning weight: 66 pounds
> Cut weight (Top 52 after 2 days): 28 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3.5 for Havasu
> Biggest factor: Can the Westerners who have vast experience on the venue use it to their benefit?
> Wildcard: 5-pounders – there's plenty around, but they're difficult to entice.

Below is a look at the layout of Havasu, thanks to the folks at Navionics.




Lots to Choose From

Havasu, which is narrow on both the upper and lower ends and wide in the middle, presents anglers with a myriad of options at this time of year. Bass are generally more numerous in the central portion, but they're often easier to find and catch at the extremes.

Roy Hawk, a Western Rayovacs stalwart who lives in the city named after the lake, said the list of techniques that could produce quality fish this week is lengthy.

"A whole bunch of things could come into play," he said. "The crankbait bite has just gotten started, but throwing frogs and flipping has been good and there's some topwater action on schoolers. There's a lot of stuff still going on around the spawning areas and we're just starting to catch them outside on jigs or cranks."

Bags in the 20-pound range have been required to win recent 1-day local tournaments. Hawk expects a stringer of that caliber to show up each day of the Elite event, but doubts that any angler can pull it off more than once.

"The winning weight will probably be around 60 pounds – 15 (pounds) a day should be really good. The fish are there, but the lake just doesn't handle pressure real well.

"You've got to be stealthy and have a lot of spots you can rotate through. Year-round, you can find a big school and hook one and bring it up, then you can stay there and keep fishing and you won't get another bite. But a lot of times you can leave and come back later and catch another big one."

Due to the need for multiple locales, he thinks guys with experience on the lake – particularly fellow Lake Havasu City resident and current Angler of the Year leader Dean Rojas – will have a big advantage.

"At this time of year it's almost guaranteed that Rojas is going to make the final cut," he said. "He has so many places where he can flip or throw a frog or sight-fish and catch one 4-pounder here and another one there.

"He just knows too much."

A Major Success Story

The high-quality bass fishing at Havasu is a fairly recent phenomenon. Up until the early 1990s, a 10-pound sack was considered a quality day. A huge habitat restoration project was launched by the Arizona Game and Fish Department early in that decade, however, and the results have been tremendous.

Thousands of cage-like structures, measuring approximately 10 feet by 6 feet, were placed in the lake to be used as cover by bass and other species. In addition, the AGFD and local angling organizations annually insert well-constructed brush piles that provide even more cover.



Tyler Brinks
Photo: Tyler Brinks

The bottom of Lake Havasu is littered with cage-like structures that fish of several species use as cover.

Tournament-winning bag weights continually increased over a number of years and in 2014 the lake kicked out a world-record redear sunfish that registered more than 5 3/4 pounds.

"On clear days you can see a lot of that stuff and it's easy to go around with your Side Scan (sonar) and mark a bunch of the ones you can't see," Hawk said. "The thing is that only so many of them are good – not all of them.

"Every day that goes by there's more fish moving out to that stuff. It could be the winning deal."

Field Notes

Following are practice notes from a few of the anglers who'll compete this week.

Jason Christie
"It's actually been pretty slow for me and with the day and a half I had, I just fished shallow. I expected a lot more fish to be spawning than what there are – most of them seem to be pretty much done.

"My practice wasn't good enough for me to be locked into anything, so (on Thursday) I may start shallow and then end up out in the mid-range depths before the end of the day.

"I really don't know about the weights – nobody's talking and everybody's kind of tight-lipped. I wish I did know because if I wasn't catching the size I needed, I could move and change depths. We won't really know until after the first day.

"I'll just say this: I haven't found enough."

Bobby Lane
"This is probably one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever fished in my life – it's just absolutely gorgeous. The only unfortunate thing is it's not real big and it's going to be like a Ferris wheel with everybody going around and around. As soon as one guy leaves a place, the next guy shows up.

"The lake seems to have some pretty healthy fish and I've gotten some decent bites. I didn't catch many because I didn't want to with such a short practice. I'm going to have to bear down because they don't live everywhere and you're going to have to work to get bit.

"A lot of guys are going to be fishing the same areas and I know I'm going to see half the field tomorrow, no matter where I go. It doesn't really matter if you go left or right because everybody's fishing everything."

Clifford Pirch
"The lake's fishing decent – I thought it might be a little better, but they're biting. I looked at both the lake and the river and I think guys will do well in both. A lot of guys probably don't like the way the lake looks because a desert lake is different than what a lot of them are used to, so it's understandable if they want to go to the river.

BassFan
Photo: BassFan

Clifford Pirch has experienced far more success on Lake Havasu that most of the competitors in the field this week.

"I'm not real sure on the weights and I'd hate to give a number, but I think it might take 28 pounds to make the (Top 52) cut, maybe a little more. It's hard to say until you see how many guys are fishing the same places."

Brandon Lester
"I feel like practice has been pretty good and I'm looking forward to the tournament. It's a beautiful lake that's full of fish and I've got two different patterns going on. I'll mix it up a little bit, but the majority of what I'm going to be doing will be in shallow water because I feel like that gives me the best chance.

"I'm going to stay in the main lake. I know a lot of guys will probably go up the river and I went up that way for awhile today. There's definitely some fish, but from what I've seen, the size is better in the lake.

"If you can catch 15 pounds a day consistently, you should do well. Sixteen a day should make the 12-cut for sure and if you can catch 18 pounds a day, you'll probably win."

Top 10 to Watch

With the above in mind and more, here are BassFan's recommendations for the Top 10 to watch in this event.

1. Dean Rojas – The Lake Havasu City resident comes in off a 3rd-place finish at Sacramento and leading the AOY race. All signs point to a third consecutive Sunday appearance.

2. Aaron Martens – He has few peers when it comes to catching bass from clear water and he knows the lake extremely well. He could be headed toward his third Top-5 in four events this season.

3. Brent Ehrler – This is his kind of place – and also one that he's very familiar with. He's already got one single-digit showing in his debut season on the circuit and the second could be forthcoming.

4. Josh Bertrand – The Arizonan's third tour-level season is off to a rough start, with two finishes of 85th or below in three outings, and this "home game" gives him an opportunity to get things headed in the right direction.

5. Clifford Pirch – He's another Arizona guy who's near the top of his game and hot off a strong finish (7th) at Sacramento. Keep in mind that he completely dominates the WON Bass U.S. Open these days and this event is on the same chain.

6. Bill Lowen – Much of the field is expected to head up the Colorado River and he'll undoubtedly be among that contingent. The moving-water ace should find plenty of inviting targets this week.

7. John Murray – He's cashed just one paycheck in his last six derbies and has three finishes of 101st or lower in that span, but he may have caught a bit of momentum with a 23-pound day at Sacramento. His long history at Havasu should bode well for him here.

8. Brett Hite – Most expected him to log a much higher finish than the 61st he posted at Sacramento and he now sits in the lower half of the points list. He gets a second straight shot at a venue where he's experienced a lot of success and he's not likely to blow two in a row.

9. Casey Ashley – If you include last month's Southern Open at the Alabama River, the reigning Bassmaster Classic champion has completely bombed out in three straight events. Maybe a venue that's totally new to him will help get him straightened out.

10. Mike Iaconelli – A 68th at Sacramento was somewhat of a setback in terms of his AOY hopes, but this place should suit him well. Rumor has it that he got a good schooling on the venue before it went off-limits, so now it's time to see if he can make that cross-country trip pay off.

Launch/Weigh-In Info

Anglers will take off at 6:15 a.m. local time each day from Arizona State Park in Lake Havasu City. Weigh-ins will commence at 3:15 p.m. at the same location.

Notable

> Brent Chapman, a first-time visitor to Lake Havasu, is unsure whether he found enough quality during his 2 days of practice to fare well this week. Chris Zaldain, who's been there about a dozen times, is confident that he knows where the right fish are hanging out. To read their practice recaps, click here to visit BassFan Pro View Reports.

Weather Forecast

> Thurs., May 7 – Sunny/Wind - 84°/57°
- Wind: From the S at 25

> Fri., May 8 – Mostly Sunny - 76°/56°
- Wind: From the SW at 5 to 12 mph

> Sat., May 9 – Mostly Sunny - 84°/64°
- Wind: From the WSW at 7 mph

> Sun., May 10 – Sunny - 91°/67°
- Wind: From the NW at 10 mph