Winter 2018
I
t’s the gem of the Mohave desert; the life’s blood for a thriving city, site of big-time powerboat races
and spring break magnet for the party-hardy college set. But for bass anglers, this 45-mile long man-
made reservoir on the Colorado River packs a lot of rod-bending potential within its ruggedly beautiful frame.
Without question, the single most important element of Lake Havasu’s history was the installation of artificial “habitats” through the Lake Havasu Fisheries Improvement Program, which created and placed fish habitat structures in 42 coves and the main lake between 1992 and 2002. The program is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, in partnership with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Bureau of Reclamation, California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Anglers United.
Habitats range in size and design from single-framed boxes to clustered structures with various siding and tops — some augmented with brush, palm fronds, etc. Providing bass with thousands of ambush points, these bait-gathering structures range from shallow enough to see, to deep enough to need sonar. Fishing tactics vary from targeted pitches to long casts and slow-rolled presentations.
“It’s amazing what (the habitats) have done for Havasu; it just keeps getting better and better,” said Arizona pro Jon “Scooter” Griffith (http://thearizonafishingguides.com/index.php). “The only thing is you have to figure out the particular habitats that hold the best fish. That could be trees, it could be boxes, it could be anything.”
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Jon “Scooter” Griffith
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http://thearizonafishingguides.com/index.php