Lake Mead Newbie

[Floppy_J]

Hey all. I just purchased a bayliner 2452 and put it in a slip up in Echo Bay. I used to fish a lot back home in IL and I can't wait to see what Lake Mead has to offer.

I have a few questions. First, what are my best bets for fishing over the summer? I've read that striper are in coves at around 30'. If I'm using live bait is it preferable to drift or float the bait?

I'd like to really get into some big'ns out here. Do I need to install downriggers and do that whole thing or are the coves going to be active all year round?

Also, what info can you give on targeting crappie around this time of year?

Thanks in advance for your help.

-Joe
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[Mead_Stripers]

Hi Joe,

Welcome to the Board and Lake Mead.

Here are my suggestions based on my experiences thus far.

I find that the bites are hotter at night than in the mornings. Don't get me wrong. I know you can catch your fair share in the morning but the bite at night lasts longer and seems more intensive. The largest striper I caught in Overton Arm was about 5-8. I recommend Glory Hole. It's a decent size cove on the Northeast end of the Overton Arm. We fished two nights in that cove last summer and caught a ton of stripers off the back of a houseboat. The bite in the morning and especially during the day wasn't good at all. However, once the sun set, it was on.

As for crappie, I typically see them only at night. They use boats, houseboats, and other obstructions to hide themselves at night. They get pretty close to shore. Over the Memorial Day Weekend, I saw a fairly large school of crappie hiding near and under our houseboat. However, once we attracted the stripers to the houseboat, the crappie left in a hurry.

Live bait is king. Anchovies will get the job done but you can never beat live shad. Or in my case, I've used small crappies as live bait. I use the smallest hooks possible with a tiny piece of anchovy to catch small crappies (about the size of a cell phone). I then put a number 2 hook through the top portion of its mouth, and cast the crappie about 20 yards out. You would think that using a decent-sized live crappie would get you a large striper. That wasn't the case though. They were all 4 to 5 lbs.

I've heard the large stripers are in the Boulder Basin - Near Gov't Wash, Hole 33, and Saddle Cove. Good luck to you.

Best regards,

Paul
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