Lake Havasu Midday Update – Day 2
Much tougher fishing on cut day
After an afternoon and evening of intense rainfall yesterday, the Lake Havasu City area finally got a break from the precipitation today. But instead of rain, the anglers fishing the Toyota Series Western Division opener on Lake Havasu have had to deal with a stiff southerly wind that’s made it tough to sight-fish, some dirtier water in areas (particularly in the upper end) and a drop in water temperature of a couple of degrees. Not surprisingly of a post-frontal day, the fishing has been much more difficult so far on Friday.
Tournament leader Tai Au needed a little more than an hour to get his first fish and had two keepers for about 6 pounds at 8:40, when he started running south. Shaun Bailey and Delaney Dwyer, who were also in the top 10 yesterday, only two keepers for 6 pounds this morning. “It’s not like yesterday,” is all Dwyer had to say when we found him trying hard to spot a smallmouth on a bed through a rippled surface.
The field seems to really be moving a lot today. There’s a constant stream of boats zipping up and down the main lake, stopping and checking their best pockets quickly and then moving on, just hoping to run into some new spawners that’ve moved up. Many aren’t having great luck. It seems the easy fish were picked off yesterday, and the weather has knocked a lot of fish back out into deeper water. The guys catching ’em today have had better luck targeting fish they can’t see anyway.
Tim Dotson might have described the current popular strategy best.
“I had 15 pounds yesterday, so I’m scrambling today,” he said.
The most consistent action we saw today was in the Lake Havasu Marina, where several pros were hopscotching around each other to try and catch bedding fish along the shoreline, or pitching finesse baits around the floating docks. The water temperature in the marina didn’t fall like it did in many other areas, which is probably to credit for the consistent fishing.
Though we didn’t get updates from all of yesterday’s top performers, it sure seems like we should expect much lower weights today. Find out by tuning in for weigh-in at 3 p.m. MT. Just remember that Arizona doesn’t recognize Daylight Saving, so the time is currently the same as Pacific Time Zone.
Tournament details
Format: All boaters and co-anglers will compete for two days. The top 10 boaters and co-anglers based on cumulative weight after two days of competition will advance to the third and final round, with the winner in each division determined by the heaviest cumulative three-day weight.
Takeoff Time: 7:00 a.m. MT (Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time)
Takeoff Location: Lake Havasu State Park – Windsor Beach, 699 London Bridge Road, Lake Havasu City, AZ
Weigh-In Time: 3:00 p.m. MT
Weigh-In Location: Lake Havasu State Park – Windsor Beach
Host: Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau