Posts: 61
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2012
Reputation:
0
Whats happening guys ? I took my two kids out on their first boat trip (jon boat) on Friday July 11th we launched from Hemingway around 9am , shot around the wall to let them check out the Dam , but they just wanted to swim. So i found a little nook along the "Hemingway wall" for them and the little boat . Kids were in and outta the water doing everything you dont want them to do if you want to fish lol. i grabbed one of my poles and laced up a Strike King 6xd ( sexy ghost minnow) , 2nd cast in boom large mouth. Unhooked em let the kids check it out then let the boy release it , first cast after that another , hung at that spot for a few then started working our way back . Got a dink smallie on an earthworm just around the corner , two more largemouths on earth worms right next to a rock formation next to the wall , and ended up catching fish #6 near the islands on another 6xd (white) pulled boat outta the water around 2pm . All in all guys i went out to the Lake so the kids could have fun , but the fishing was a very pleasant addition to the trip . Five years ago i was fishing from shore , four years ago it was shore and float tube , three years ago was a kayak , and now thanks to my buddy's sister that would not let him store his old boat at her house anymore i'm fishing from this little jon boat.
i do not have a fish finder yet , but i have caught fish EVERY time i have taken the boat out . Bass Boat next ..... you bet .... baby steps , baby steps .
[signature]
Posts: 61
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2012
Reputation:
0
The smallie was barely 6" , all the large mouth were around 14" to 16" .[reply][/reply]
[signature]
Posts: 44
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2013
Reputation:
0
Very cool. I'm the opposite, I bought a tracker boat a few months ago and I've not caught a single fish on lake mead with it. I'm still in the hunt for that elusive striper! Haha.. You're braver than me to go out on mead with a Jon boat. I have a 16ft deep v and if there's any type of waves I get a little nervous and head for shore.
[signature]
Posts: 376
Threads: 0
Joined: Mar 2004
Reputation:
0
Red,
Those little pockets and incuts on the walls leading up to the closed area of the dam have been consistent summer producers over the years for largemouth and smallmouth. The reefs on the east side not too far from the buoys can be good in the spring
Now with current water levels more fish-holding cover in that area is becoming accessible. Many bass fishermen know about the gravel slides on the west side. With levels low they are not so good as the wall areas before and after them. Any point is good. Below the wall on the west side where you can see an old fence up high is good. Right where the west wall turns from the main lake into the dam canyon is good and an OK place to "hide out" if conditions are rough...long as wakes are not presenting a problem
I'll drop shot with 1/4oz. tungsten and a smaller worm and keep rigged some other kind of swimming bait handy for the rocks visible maybe 10 ft and deeper.
Sometimes the bass hang very tight to the walls and "bumping the wall" just above water level and letting your bait fall vertical is the ticket.
Besides a swimbait, I'd consider a 5" grub on a darter head, a nail-weighted whacky rigged senko. Some people use a tube lure against the walls. In low light some kind of surface walking bait....that one can be bigger like a Spook, a Sammy or a Vixen
You can get by without a sonar in that area as it's easy cover/structure to dissect. Be careful out here and please be conservative about conditions...that area of Mead can blow up strong and quickly.
Tom
[signature]
Posts: 61
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2012
Reputation:
0
Hey Frank702 i took the boat out again on Tuesday7/15 from about 5;30 am to 2pm. Wanted to check some spots i didn't have time to with the kids the other day . Wind and waves were kicking stronger as the day went on , but was flat and calm as long as you stayed on the west side of the wall or any islands . First cast was a striper (west end of islands) on a 6xd crank , got excited that more where in the area that was around 6am but got no more striper that day.. Caught 7 total for the day 1 striper , 4 largemouth , & 2 smallies. All on crankbaits. There is one less striper in Mead but all Bass were released.
[signature]
Posts: 61
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2012
Reputation:
0
Thanks for the info Reellittlephish , i have used the "hide out" method many a times lol I have gotten hammered twice out there with massive wind and wave kick up on my kayak ... no fun . I am an ex-coast guard vet that spent 6 years in and 4 years on the Uscgc Polar Star ice breaker , but I am brand new to having a boat to fish with . It is very hard for me to deviate to a different fishing style especially if the bite is off i start second guessing myself . Am i fishing it right ? Are there fish down there ?. Fishing Lake Mead the last 3 years has been kinda like solving a mystery , water levels , fish moving , dried up spawning beds , and so on ! I went back to some of the areas you wrote about had luck just like the time before , but started to feel like my crank was not getting past the sub 2 pounders that were hitting them. I will give some of your methods a shot at hopefully catching a larger fish a little deeper , i caught my personal best earlier this year in March at Stewart's Point from shore so what do i know lol. sometimes you get lucky .
[signature]
Posts: 376
Threads: 0
Joined: Mar 2004
Reputation:
0
Walls around there generally have many small fish. Know that going in and it's fun.
I've found the better days there are when it's really windy.. but that means boat control issues. I consider my boat as just another "tool" I use to catch fish..
Positioning, speed and so forth are critical. Easier if you don't have to worry about "back-seating" your partner. A drag chute might be one solution but near a wall brings it's own problems. Decent trolling motor helps but you know that.
When It's flat like in your photos I am fishing more finesse...tube, grub, shaky head or wacky rigged senko. Depends on if the bass are on the bottom or suspended. I noticed in summer the bass travel that Dam area fast and in small pods...4 to 12 fish. I've found it's seldom rewarding to run back over a spot because I caught one there
A heavier weight on your 5" or 6" grub can get the plastic below the smaller fish sometimes. I'll fish a shaky head up to 3/8oz with an 7" or 8" cut-tail down to 25 ft or slightly more.
Don't neglect throwing from the wall out into deeper water and letting your lure pendulum back to you...sometimes they are suspended. And remember to fish the edges of the shadow lines...just like a piece of cover. Bill Siemental has a great video on Big Bass Zone demonstrating that.
I won't "camp out"on a spot ...if the bass are there you are getting bit in a couple casts...that's on Mead
[signature]
