Author: Lake Havasu Guide

Current Water Conditions: As of January 20 the lake is in great shape in comparison to this time last year. The water is up around normal pool which is what we desperately needed for the spawns this spring. Upper lake is a little off color due to the rainfall that we have had but as always there are clear pockets to be found holding fish. Water temp is varying around 60 degrees and if this continues or perhaps the water gets even warmer this month could be incredible.

Black Bass: 1/4 to 3/8 oz Stanley Rattling Jigs in black with a black no. 11 pork frog is going to be hard to beat this month. A Texas rigged black/chartreuse tail lizard is another top choice. Fish timber and rocks in five feet of water or less and try to find water that has a greenish tint.

White Bass: The conditions are currently perfect for the white bass run. If conditions stay the same as far as rainfall goes this could be the best run in about four years. Two years ago we had too much rain and last year we did not have enough. White bass like a little flow over the shoals before they will spawn in full force, lets hope the conditions are good this year. Livingston is a premiere white bass fishery and this could be a colossal year for the lake with the current conditions. Roadrunner jigs in white and chartreuse are the ticket this month up the creeks. Carolina, Bethy, Harmon, Nelson, and Bedias are all hot spots this month.

Catfish: Shad, nightcrawlers, dough bait, and chicken liver are working will for catfish. Fish the banks after the rains and the river and creek channels other times.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Current Water Conditions: Overall the lake is in good shape with the majority of the north end being very fishable right now. White Rock and Caney have some fishable water as well as parts of Carolina and Harmon. Running the creeks and looking for clear water is the ticket on the north end and looking for the warmest water possible will also help in your black bass pursuit.

Black Bass: A 1/4 oz Stanley jig with a number 11 pork frog is the number one bait for bass this month. They will be holding tight to structure and not in a real aggressive mode for the most part. Slowing down your bait to match their sluggish attitude will definitely help you land a few largemouth’s. If you are a tournament fisherman this is a good time of the year to work on the jig bite. Slow rolling a spinnerbait is also a productive tactic.

White Bass: It is almost time to start busting them up the creeks. Late this month and all next month the whites will be making their annual run. All of the feeder creeks and tributaries way up the river will be loaded with whites. Stripers also are caught during this run so have your drag set to handle one of the big fish if you are lucky enough to hook one.

Crappie: Most of the marinas are reporting good catches of crappie in 15-20 feet of water on minnows and jigs. Brush piles and standing timber producing most of the sac-o-lait.

Catfish: Shad, nightcrawlers, dough bait, and chicken liver are working well for catfishing. A little rise in the water level will get the catfish feeding in the shallow water flats and along the main river channel in the jungle.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Current Water Conditions: Overall the lake is in good shape with the majority of the north end being very fishable right now. White Rock and Caney have some fishable water as well as parts of Carolina and Harmon. Running the creeks and looking for clear water is the ticket on the north end and looking for the warmest water possible will also help in your black bass pursuit.

Black Bass: A 1/4 oz Stanley jig with a number 11 pork frog is the number one bait for bass this month. They will be holding tight to structure and not in a real aggressive mode for the most part. Slowing down your bait to match their sluggish attitude will definitely help you land a few largemouth’s. If you are a tournament fisherman this is a good time of the year to work on the jig bite. Slow rolling a spinnerbait is also a productive tactic.

White Bass: It is almost time to start busting them up the creeks. Late this month and all next month the whites will be making their annual run. All of the feeder creeks and tributaries way up the river will be loaded with whites. Stripers also are caught during this run so have your drag set to handle one of the big fish if you are lucky enough to hook one.

Crappie: Most of the marinas are reporting good catches of crappie in 15-20 feet of water on minnows and jigs. Brush piles and standing timber producing most of the sac-o-lait.

Catfish: Shad, nightcrawlers, dough bait, and chicken liver are working well for catfishing. A little rise in the water level will get the catfish feeding in the shallow water flats and along the main river channel in the jungle.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Largemouth bass are spawning all over the lake. The trick is finding water clear enough to sight fish them. The backs of Bethy, Harmon, Carolina, Caney, and White Rock all have some pockets way in the back where you can find and see bass on the bed.

Stanley new Tuba Tube has been my number one producer for the sight fishing that I have been doing.

The buzzbait bite is strong early on the lake right now and should continue all spring. The best bite on the buzzbait is naturally early and late, but the bite can go all day in over cast conditions.

Stanleys ¼ oz buzzbait in white or chartreuse is the best one to throw.

Berkley Power Worms in red shad are always a good choice here for bass holding on visible cover.
Target fishing the shoreline cover like rocks, laydowns, stumps, boat docks, and reeds is a strong pattern with a 5/16 oz Stanley Jig. Black/blue, black/chartreuse, and white are the three jig colors that I mainly throw here at Livingston.

White bass fishing has been excellent on Bedias, Nelson, and Harmon creeks. Rat-L-Traps in chrome blue back are a top choice as well as any topwater bait when they are schooling.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

There are a number of different patterns for black bass on Lake Conroe right now. A number of fish are spawning throughout the lake. Caney, Little Lake, Atkins, Lewis, and Live Branch are some of the creeks that I have been hitting and finding bass on the bed in the backs of all of these creeks.

The new Stanley Tuba Tube has been my top choice for the spawning bass.

The shallow bite from 0 to 5 feet of water in the backs of these same creeks has been good on the Stanley Platinum Wedge ¼ oz spinnerbait. The best colors in this bait are golden bream and chartreuse white combination. The double willow gold bladed spinnerbait has been a productive bait for me and my customers all spring.

Points have Carolina rig and crankbait fish on them. Most of these fish are post spawn. The bait of choice on the Carolina rig is the Bass Assassin chartreuse pumpkin fry assassin, and the grasshopper fry assassin.

Medium diving crankbaits like the Bandit 200 and 300 series baits chartreuse/blue back, and also the Norman Middle N’s in chartreuse and pearl/green back.

The topwater bite has been good early around shallow docks and rip rap on Rico’s and white buzzbaits.

Wacky worms in junebug, green pumpkin, chartreuse pumpkin, and grasshopper have been effective on the shallow fish. Mustads weedless Finacky hook is the best hook for the wacky worm with its built in 1/32 oz weight attached to the hook shank.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

This has always been one of my favorite times of year to fish Lake Livingston. The weather has somewhat stabilized and the bass are going to be very predictable and in easy patterns for the rest of the summer. Buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, worms, and jigs are all going to be top producer for the next few months.

The water is really getting clean and the river is already getting that emerald green color which is a sign that fishing is good all over the lake. Up north there is not a stretch of bank that I can think of where there is ample cover that you cannot get a bite. When conditions are good like they are right now this lake shows its true colors.

I live up on Bethy Creek which is about five miles up the river from Carolina Creek , just up the river from Bethy is Harmon Creek. These three are the major creeks for about a ten mile stretch of river above the jungle. All three are excellent for bass and in between the creeks are dozens of small tributaries and small pockets off of the river which all hold good fish. Down in the jungle Caney and White Rock feed in and they are two of the best creeks on the lake.

Don’t be intimidated by Livingston’s size and timber. The river is marked with poles on either side of the river and most of the poles have a red or green sign on them. Remember when traveling upriver keep the red signs on your right and traveling down river to keep the red signs on your left. Red Right Up(RRU) and Red Left Down(RLD). That’s a simple way to keep yourself in the boat lane. The upper end can’t get too rough because there is not that much openwater for the wind to get a hold of. The jungle is an exception however.

As you may know about Livingston the bass remain shallow all year around. During the dog days of summer you can catch bass in two feet of water and less, so think shallow when you fish Livingston.

Fishing the shoreline cover is the best way to catch bass on Lake Livingston. Logs, stumps, reeds, boatdocks, and rocks are some of the best cover to fish. The early late bite is awesome on Livingston but they can be caught all day by concentrating on shallow cover that provides shade for the bass.

The entire lake is full of bass, I am kind of partial to the north end because I live up here. It is going to be a good summer of fishing of Livingston so come out and enjoy it.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

The line between catching fish and not catching fish is remarkably fine,this line is more prevalently fine when fishing for bass. There is art to catching any fish, especially with black bass. Maybe the art is the same with all freshwater fish but there is no doubt that there is more emphasis put on catching black bass than any other freshwater fish in this part of the country.

Through reading, learning, and hours on the water you can balance yourself on this line so that you consistently catch bass. Initially learning the seasonal patterns and migrations of bass and then on to learning how bass react to the many weather variations. Billions of pages of information could be written to try and explain all of the patterns and how bass relate to weather. What is funny is that some of the best bass fishermen in the world admit to totally understanding very few of these pages. Their performances portray a seemingly total understanding of all of the pages and at times their comprehension seems to exceed these pages. When learning an art such as bass fishing the more that you learn seems to reveal the fact of what you do not know. I break down all of the different techniques, weather conditions, patterns, etc. into individual levels or lines. The lines run from left to right with the left being the simplest form of that subject. Your learning does not always begin here but for most bass fishermen who seek the complete knowledge their learning backs up to the left to where they master the basics of each “line”. The more you learn the further to the right your knowledge carries you on the “line”, however the line is infinite to the right.

This line can also be equated to the line I referred to earlier which is the “fine line” between catching fish and not catching fish. If you deviate from the line you get away from the correct knowledge that lies along this line and suffer the consequences of not catching fish. Getting into the “flow” of Mother Nature can help steer you down this line. Becoming more environmentally conscious when on the water like making sure you leave nothing behind from a day of fishing, increase your awareness by listening to the rhythm of nature(the birds, insects, etc.), and developing a deeper appreciation for the outdoors. These three bits of information would be found way on the left of the “in the flow” line, some of the simplest starting points of this level.

This line level system is a simple way to look at the knowledge that you amass through your fishing experiences. There is no limit to the number of levels in your system and you can label them anything you like. My system goes unwritten but this is the way I perceive the knowledge I have attained throughout my fishing career. Remember there is always another level and one little experience or bit of knowledge can get you to another level where you can advance your understanding of that level information.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Anxiously awaiting the first tournament of the 96-97 B.A.S.S. Central Division season on the Arkansas River reminds me of my first B.A.S.S. event. My first event was this same tournament last year on the Arkansas River and what a rough one it was.

My traveling partner and I had located an area full of bass in practice. Quality fish where I felt that I could get an easy limit each day. In a three day tournament a limit a day has got to be your number one goal. Well one draw back to these fish were that they were 65 miles from the tournament headquarters and there were two locks on the river that I would have to lock through to get there. Each lock takes approximately 30 minutes. So I was looking at two hours of travel time one way. As rumor had it many of the fishermen made the run and had success with the limited fishing time on the unpressured fishing areas that were so far away.

I intended to make the run if my partner did not win the toss. Once you meet your partner you have to flip a coin to see who’s boat you take and also to see who’s fish that you go to first. My first day partner was from New Jersey and he was willing to make the run. We left in our flight and started our long run. Two locks and two hours later we pulled into my area. I quickly get the trolling motor down and start fishing. I made a few cast and eased up to a big laydown. I made a cast down each side of the tree and let the spinnerbait fall as it reached the end of the log. No fish, so I picked another target and cast. My partner is flipping a jig and flips into the same laydown I had just fished and sets the hook. A three and a half pounder comes to the boat and into his livewell it went. First of all I was amazed that the fish had not hit my spinnerbait because I know that fish had just seen it and secondly this guy was catching my fish. We fished our way around and this guy catches two more quality fish on the jig fishing behind me, used water. I come off of my game plan and put the spinnerbait down and tie on the exact jig he is throwing.

I pull up to a big tree top in the water on the edge of the bank. I have good position on it so I make about ten casts into every little nook and cranny. No fish, so I pick another target and cast. This “guy” flips in there and sets the hook. A solid fish is in the tree tangled up and dangling under a branch. I get on the trolling motor and crash into the tree trying to knock the fish off, just kidding, trying to get into the tree far enough so that I could reach it. I did and he has four solid fish in his livewell. I back off of the tree that I had just crashed into, banged into all of the branches, and even ran the trolling motor all over and figure I had better make a couple of casts into anyway. I make several flips and feel there are no more fish in it or that if there is they are so spooked that they won’t bite and then I flipped to another tree. My partner flips in there and sets the hook. It’s another three pounder and my mind is now totally gone. I was a FISHING FRUITCAKE from that point on. I somehow managed to catch a keeper fish to keep from blanking that day before we had to head back, but that was totally by mistake because I was in la la land kicking rocks with a fat lip.

Day two and three went about the same and I ended up way…. way back in the standings. It took me a while before I could analyze the tournament and see what all I had learned. One thing I had learned was how to get waxed by your partner on your own fish. But looking back now it is kind of a humorous memory. Maybe I could have been a little more tuned in and a little more aware and the outcome would have been better for me.

Well I will be there the third week of this month and with the knowledge of what not to do and with a little luck maybe I will come out on top.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

This time every year people everywhere are making resolutions for the new year. We say that we are going to cut back on our spending, spend more time with family, slow down and enjoy life more, and the list goes on and on.

I have been guilty of making resolutions for the new year and not following through with them. Sometimes the goals and resolutions that we set are unreasonable and difficult to follow through with.

However, just the thought of analyzing ourselves once a year and making some simple changes is very constructive.

One change could improve the lives of thousands of youngsters in our society. That change is to take a young person fishing. There are too many youngsters out there in our society who have never experienced a fishing trip. For example, take the children and teenagers who live deep in the heart of some of the big cities around the state and country. We become critics and wonder why some of them cannot stay out of trouble.

Well many of these kids have never spent time in the outdoors. They have never had a real experience with Mother Nature and they are missing something.

Young people have an overwhelming instinct to be interested. They encounter many things these days and have many options when it comes to developing interests.

We can easily tap into this interest by occasionally taking young people out fishing. Give them a new experience that will develop an interest and hopefully be a positive influence.

When I started college in 1989 1 was meeting all different kinds of people from all over the state and country. Many of my fellow classmates had never been fishing. I didn’t know what to think of this, I thought that everybody fished, especially men.

This is when I realized how fortunate I was to have a dad who would take me fishing on weekends. But you don’t have to be a dad to take someone fishing. My interest would have developed for fishing and the outdoors if my mom, uncle, grandam, or any other adult would have taken me.

It doesn’t have to be a big expensive ordeal to take a young person fishing. ~I remember the times we would leave the boat at home and fish off of Mr. Adens pier on Johnson’s Bluff. As a kid, I probably had just as much fun doing that as I did going in the big boat. Remember that young people enjoy simple things, they don’t have to be impressed to be entertained.

Fishing develops patience, character, and an understanding and respect for the environment.

Well, fishing is not the solution for everything but it is no doubt a positive influence on youngsters. So when you are making those New Year resolutions think about a young person around you and plan on taking them fishing.

Fishing is allowed in designated areas of all the marinas around Lake Conroe and also from Lake Conroe Park on FM 105.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black Bass:
The lake is just over two feet low and the water temperature has been in the mid to upper eighties for the last few weeks. All through June the bass were aggressive except during the week that the lake level fell over a foot. Buzzbaits, crankbaits, and crawworms have all been exceptionally productive on shallow bass. Most of the bass on Livingston are in one to five foot of water. Believe it or not on some of the hottest days you will pull solid keepers in less than two feet of water. Concentrating on shallow cover is the key; stumps, laydowns, rocks, and reeds(toolies).

White Bass:
Good limits of white bass have been coming off of the 190 roadbed, 190 flats, mainlake points, and Pine Island. Jigging 3/4 oz Cobra Jigging Spoons has been one of the hottest producers all summer. Stripers have also been mixed in with the whites quite often and will also hit the Cobras. The birds will give away the schooling activity most of the time but if they are not schooling graph the humps and ridges and find schools of whites close to the bottom on the top of the structures in 14-25 feet of water.

Catfish:
Plenty of catfish have been caught early in the mornings around the bulkheads especially after a good rain. Night crawlers, shad, chicken liver, shrimp, or prepared dough baits will usually do the trick. Later in the day head to a creek channel or the main river channel and fish deeper through the hot hours.

Crappie:
Crappie have been pretty good around marina boat docks and standing timber in 10-20 feet of water. Minnows and crappie jigs have been responsible for most of these fish. Crappie jigs in black/chart., black/blue, and pink/white have been working. Remember through the hot months that the crappie will suspend so figure out how many turns off of the bottom that they are.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

With the Sunday Morning Tournament held out of ~StowAway Marina reaching five fish limit weights of over twenty five pounds it is obvious that the bass fishing in Conroe is improving. Various attempts seem to be paying off for an improvement in Lake Conroe’s black bass fishing.
The improvement has been a gradual comeback which I have noticed throughout this Spring, especially back during the spawn. During the spawn my clients and ~I enjoyed very quality black bass fishing. Many of the spawning females that we boated were from four to five pounds. So many of the fish were in the same size range it seemed that they were all twins. The majority of these fish, if not all of them, were Florida strain black bass released by the Lake Conroe Restocking Program. Through the prespawn and spawning stages of the bass, we caught numerous males and females in shallow, a positive sign for a successful spawn. A good spawn combined with the efforts of the Lake Conroe Restocking Program can be the most influential improvement to Lake Conroe’s bass fishing.

Another factor to be figured into the comeback of Conroe’s black bass is the sixteen inch limit. With more of the fish shy of the sixteen inch limit remaining in the lake since September 1, 1993 there were more of those fish able to spawn this year.

All throughout the Spring there were good reports of big bass coming to the scales. Most of the bass fishermen fishing spinnerbaits and worms along the bulkheads and shallow timber were rewarded with good catches. Several fish over eleven pounds were weighed this Spring and even a couple over twelve. This is proof in itself that the fish quality is improving.

“Catch and Release,” is becoming standard among bass fishermen. Catch and release is a way we can all work together as bass fishermen to keep up the bass population. Catch and release fishing is like a restocking program in itself. This method of fishing is simple and rewarding. Always have a camera on hand, when the fish is caught quickly take a picture and get the fish back into the water. Revive the fish by holding its mouth open and moving the fish back and forth in the water. This rejuvenates the oxygen level in the fish’ gills. Always work fast when the fish are out of the water and try to handle the fish as little as possible. The more that a fish is handied the higher the possibility of a fungus eventually growing on the fish. To catch, photo, and release a keeper or even a trophy black bass shows true sportsmanship. You will find this very rewarding and habit forming and if a young angler is present you will have just done the future of bass fishing a favor.

After the spawn the black bass started to scatter and were not as easy to pattern. This is when I started concentrating my guide parties on catching crappie. The crappie population on Conroe this year as been incredible and long stringers of them common. Many of my clients that I take out are first time fisherpeople (men,women, and kids). To witness those people catching these crappie fast and furiously brings me great pleasure and job satisfaction. Catching fish brings the best out of people young and old. The crappie fishing has a great impact on the youngsters. There is no time for them to lose interest and they quickly become “experts” telling everyone in the boat how to catch ’em. Catching one, two and sometimes even three limits of keeper crappie consists of catching four ti~mes that many fish. The short crappie to keeper crappie ratio is about four to one. Days of catching over a hundred crappie have been pretty common.

All in all, the Spring and early Summer have Proved Lake Conroe to be one of the best fishing holes around. But don’t take my word for it, come on out and rediscover Lake Conroe. Good luck fishing.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

After fishing seven tournaments last Fall from here to the Canadian border in New York I feel confident in saying that a bass is a bass no matter where you are. I fished tournaments in New York, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Missouri, and Texas. Once I was near the bass the catching them was relatively easy. I had to learn to look past the unfamiliar scenery and terrain in order to fall back on my previous knowledge. Fish positioning around shallow cover was the same everywhere. Stumps, rocks, laydowns, various vegetation, or anything else along the shallows proved to hold fish the same way they hold fish here in Texas.

I lived on the road for three and a half months last Fall from mid July through October, the tournaments were simply too far from home to travel back in between competition. So I would pre-practice days on ends for the next tournament. I got a first hand look at how some the other Top 100 pros would approach tournaments and who pre-practices and who doesn’t.

Surprisingly some of the pros high in the standings don’t pre-practice. They show up to the tournaments and fish them cold turkey. Most of them have several tournaments under their belts on those waters, however it is still impressive that some of their tournament performances are very successful with three days of practice. Their practice time is limited because of various speaking engagements and also public appearances. Some of them are busy shooting their fishing shows in between tournaments like Jimmy Houston, Roland Martin, and Larry Nixon.

Fishing the Top 100 has been a real incredible experience. Everyone in the Top 100 is there for a reason and the competition is tough. Weighing in a limit everyday of competition has always been my goal but I am learning more and more that weighing in a heavy limit everyday of competition is what it takes to be successful in the Top 100.

The best way for me to describe fishing the Top 100 is to compare it to golf. Fishing the BassMaster Top 100 has been like getting my tour card and playing on the PGA Tour. No golf tournament competition is as solid as that of the PGA Tour and the same can be said for the Top 100.

I have four more B.A.S.S. Top 100 tournaments and four more B.A.S.S. Invitationals for the second half of the season this Spring. The upcoming tournaments are in Mississppi, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and even one here in Texas at Lake Texoma. It has been a nice break to be home through the holidays but I already have tournament fever and I am ready to hit the trail.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black bass are spawning this month in the shallows. Spinnerbaits, Texas rigged lizards, and wacky worms are the best baits for the big females. On the warmer days they will occasionally come up to get a surface bait like a pop r, zara spook, or boy howdy. Buzzbaits and tiny torpedoes can do wonders on bedding fish as well.

White bass are in full swing making their annual run up the creeks. Harmon, White Rock, Bedias, and Nelson are all loaded with whites. Rattle traps and small jigs are the ticket. Twenty five fish a piece with a minimum length of twelve inches are the laws for white bass. Harmon Creek Marina has excellent facilities and is located right near one of the best areas of Harmon Creek.

Crappie are shallow and spawning along the shorelines. Fish the creeks with live minnows and crappie jigs and you should do well. Around the bridge piling in some of the creeks I have seen people catching them regularly.

Catfish are hitting an assortment of baits. Prepared dough baits, nightcrawlers, shad, and chicken liver all will work for catching catfish. The catfish are in the shallow water already but will really move in next month as they usually spawn just a few weeks behind the first waves of the other spawning fish species.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

BLACK BASS
Many of the bass here have spawned. The last two weeks of March were real hot for spawning bass. Creek backs and rocky shorelines held spawners. Those fish have not left those areas at all in fact many of the fish were in those exact areas to begin with. Livingston is definately one unique lake when it comes to black bass migrations. The bigger bass over four pounds have a more distinct migration than the smaller bass. Livingston is without a doubt a lake that you can number os bass shallow under any condition in any season.

The Carolina Rig is being fished a little more every year on Livingston. Fishing for black bass after their spawn can be tricky. Initially the female bass are sore and not ready to feed, they are in a lull state. Using their side fins as “kickstands” they prop themselves up on the bottom and just sit there for a few days and heal up from the spawn. The Carolina Rig set up with one of Top Brass new Finesse Carolina Kits and a weenie worm or french fry will entice the moody females to bite. Since the bass spawn is intermittant through February, March, and April their is always fish in the “lull” state that I am talking referring to.

WHITE BASS
The white bass made their usual run up the creeks at the beginning of March and then turned right around after a few days and headed back to the river. They got up into the backs of the creeks ready to spawn but the water was low with no current. Since we had no rain the creeks had no running water, a necessity for a white bass spawn. At the time of this writing their have not been any white bass being consistently caught day after day anywhere which is usually the norm this time of year. I cleaned twenty four on March 24 th and females were still full of eggs, but the eggs were not that pretty gold/yellow color that they are at the beginning of the run. These eggs were not held together by the clear membrane that surrounds them and there were no red veins surrounding the egg sacks. They appeared to me that the eggs were overdue and soon to be discharged freely. So we may not get a white bass spawn at all this year. I am not a fisheries biologist by any means but I see enough fish and clean enough of them that I can put two and two together and give a pretty logical assumption. Mother Nature has her ways some of which we do not understand but maybe she knows what she is doing by not giving us our normal average rainfall this year. We’ll see.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black bass: Some bass are still spawning at the time of this writing but the majority of them have spawned out. The bass that have recovered from the spawn will be aggressive and ready to feed. Sluggos and jerkbaits as well as topwaters and crankbaits are some of the baits these bass will eat. The number one bait this month is usually a buzzbait. Fish can be caught on a buzzbait here all day on overcast days and sometimes all day on sunny days. Pop r’s and Zara puppies fished around shallow cover are also effective this month. Carolina, Harmon, Bethy, Caney, White Rock, Newton, and Sandy are all good creeks on the north end of the lake.

Crappie: Live minnows and crappie jigs fished in brushpiles 10-15 feet deep should be one of the top patterns for crappie this month. Also standing timber in the creeks hold good numbers of crappie.

Catfish: This month catfish will be spawning so they will be shallow, especially on the bulkheads. Night crawlers, shad, chicken liver, and prepared dough baits are just a few of the baits these spawing cats will eat.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black bass will be recovering from the spawn this month and will be extra aggressive at times. Sluggos, jerkbaits, pop r’s, zara puppies, and buzz baits are some of the “junk baits” that you will be able to draw strikes on. Most of the female bass have healed from the spawn and have come out of their lull ready to feed. However, not all bass spawn at the same time so remember there will be a few fish still on the bed and also many bass will still be in the lull mode.

Probably the most prodominate patterns will be the buzzbait fished around shallow timber, rocks, and other shoreline cover. Chartreuse, black, or white skirted buzzbaits are top choices. If the cover is not too thick try adding a trailer hook or even a trailer treble hook. When the bass really get on the buzzbait the single hook of the buzzbait is enough. But the bite can change from day to day and the trailers will help you land the short strikers(especially on sunny days).

On overcast days the topwater baits can be effective for a few weeks this month. You can catch bass on a variety of topwaters on your most productive areas that you never dreamed held topwater fish. When conditions are just right they will hit topwaters all through the year, but this year the conditions stay right longer for days at a time.

Carolina, Bethy, Newton, White Rock, Caney, and Sandy are a few of the creeks up on the North end of the lake that I frequently fish. All of the creeks have excellent shoreline cover. Bethy has plenty of rocky shorelines, Carolina has reeds as well as White Rock and Caney, and Newton has log jams. Whatever cover you like can be found in the Northern creeks even coontail moss if you look hard enough. The lake is a little high right now so you have to look around for clear water if you are fishing up north. There are always clear water pockets up north no matter what the conditions are.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black Bass: The summer bite is on and in full swing. Quick bites early in the morning on buzzbaits will be a prominent bite all summer. Once the topwater action slows a firetiger crankbait, chartreuse/ white spinnerbait, and a Texas rigged Power Worm make the rest of the day real simple. Shoreline structures like laydowns, stumps, rocks, boat docks, and reeds are the prime targets. Harmon, Bethy, Carolina, White Rock, and Caney are my favorites up North. Run the shorelines fishing the baits mentioned should put fish in your boat.

White Bass: The whites will start stacking up on the mainlake this month and schooling. The 190 roadbed and flats, mainlake points, Pine Island, and many other mainlake humps will be productive all summer. Birds usually are dead givaways when they are working shad over white bass so watch for them. Cobra jigging spoons in white or chartreuse are the key bait for the deeper fish while Rattle Traps and topwaters will work on the schooling fish.

Crappie: Standing timber in fifteen to twenty foot of water along with brushpiles in the same depth will produce crappie all summer. Minnows and black/chartreuse jigs being the prime baits for the white perch.

Catfish: Early morning action is good this month along bulkheads and shallow timber. Trotlines along the river and creek channels have been producing well in the last few weeks and will probably get better with the warm temperatures of summer. Night crawlers, shad, shrimp, chicken liver, and prepared dough baits just about always work for catfish.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black bass: The summer heat has arrived and the summer bite is kicking in. Quick bites early in the morning on buzzbaits will be a prominent bite all summer. Once the topwater action slows a firetiger crankbait, chartreuse/ white spinnerbait, and a Texas rigged Power Worm make the rest of the day real simple. Shoreline structures like laydowns, stumps, rocks, boat docks, and reeds are the prime targets. Harmon, Bethy, Carolina, White Rock, and Caney are my favorites up North. Run the shorelines fishing the baits mentioned should put fish in your boat.

White bass: The whites will start stacking up on the mainlake this month and schooling. The 190 roadbed and flats, mainlake points, Pine Island, and many other mainlake humps will be productive all summer. Birds usually are dead givaways when they are working shad over white bass so watch for them. Cobra jigging spoons in white or chartreuse are the key bait for the deeper fish while Rattle Traps and topwaters will work on the schooling fish.

Crappie: Standing timber in fifteen to twenty foot of water along with brushpiles in the same depth will produce crappie all summer. Minnows and black/chartreuse jigs being the prime baits for the white perch.

Catfish: Early morning action is good this month along bulkheads and shallow timber. Trotlines along the river and creek channels have been producing well in the last few weeks and will probably get better with the warm temperatures of summer. Night crawlers, shad, shrimp, chicken liver, and prepared dough baits just about always work for catfish.

The lake level is around normal pool and right now. Mainlake water color up north is a little off color due to the rains but the creeks are holding clearer water. Fishing will continue to be good on Livingston through the summer so plan a trip here and enjoy it.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black Bass:
The lake is just over two feet low and the water temperature has been in the mid to upper eighties for the last few weeks. All through June the bass were aggressive except during the week that the lake level fell over a foot. Buzzbaits, crankbaits, and crawworms have all been exceptionally productive on shallow bass. Most of the bass on Livingston are in one to five foot of water. Believe it or not on some of the hottest days you will pull solid keepers in less than two feet of water. Concentrating on shallow cover is the key; stumps, laydowns, rocks, and reeds(toolies).

White Bass:
Good limits of white bass have been coming off of the 190 roadbed, 190 flats, mainlake points, and Pine Island. Jigging 3/4 oz Cobra Jigging Spoons has been one of the hottest producers all summer. Stripers have also been mixed in with the whites quite often and will also hit the Cobras. The birds will give away the schooling activity most of the time but if they are not schooling graph the humps and ridges and find schools of whites close to the bottom on the top of the structures in 14-25 feet of water.

Catfish:
Plenty of catfish have been caught early in the mornings around the bulkheads especially after a good rain. Night crawlers, shad, chicken liver, shrimp, or prepared dough baits will usually do the trick. Later in the day head to a creek channel or the main river channel and fish deeper through the hot hours.

Crappie:
Crappie have been pretty good around marina boat docks and standing timber in 10-20 feet of water. Minnows and crappie jigs have been responsible for most of these fish. Crappie jigs in black/chart., black/blue, and pink/white have been working. Remember through the hot months that the crappie will suspend so figure out how many turns off of the bottom that they are.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Black bass: The bass have positioned themselves from about half way back in the creeks to the mouth of the creeks near the main lake. The bigger fish have been concentrated near the creek mouths and have been hitting an assortment of lures. Most of these fish are relating to shoreline structure in one to ten feet of water. Flipping Texas rigged worms and craworms around shoreline cover has been one of the most productive presentations. Black/chartreuse, black/blue, red shad, and tequila sunrise plastics have been the most effective baits. Shallow to medium diving plugs in fire-tiger cranked around shoreline cover has also produced strikes. Early and late the buzzbait will draw them to the surface.

White bass: Large schools of whites have been common on the main lake. Plenty of schooling fish have been easy to spot most of the summer, just look for the birds working or fish boiling on the surface. Main lake points, Penwaugh slough, the tram, the 190 roadbed, the 190 flats, the Banana ridge, and Pine Island have been prime areas for the action. When the fish are not schooling, use your graph to scan these areas and look for the whites and schools of shad. Once you locate a school spoon with a 3/4 oz Cobra jigging spoon, white with silver sides. Stripers have been abundant this year so don’t be surprised if you hook up on a fish that rips line off of your real and gives you a real war.

Crappie: Many of the marinas are set up to accomodate crappie fishermen. They brushed the areas for years and have strong concentrations of crappie right under their boat docks and piers. These marinas provide some of the best crappie fishing on the lake. Minnows around standing timber in White Rock, Kickapoo, Caney, and Indian creek will also get you hooked up with soc-a-lait.

Catfish: As always catfishing is excellent. Baiting areas with soured maze will have you catching catfish in large numbers. Shad, chicken live, and dough bait will all work well for whisker fish. Lake Livingston is one of the finest catfish lakes in the country and constantly produces monster catfish.

Bream: Panfish have been easy to catch around rocks, piers, shallow timber, bulkheading, and reeds. Night crawlers and meal worms are two sure bets for catching plenty of bream. All of the marina have access for bankfishing and there are plenty of bream to be caught in these areas.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu