At Lake Havasu (report courtesy of John Galbraith of Bass Tackle Master via Arizona State Parks), stripers are currently in pre-spawn mode and will spawn mid-April thru most of May. Target main channel areas either in the main lake, or north in the area from Gorilla Hole to Devil’s Elbow. Right now, stripers are hitting shallow running lures and topwater baits like the Pointer 128,158s, Super Spooks and Pencil Poppers in the morning during the first hour of light or so. Shad spawn is active first thing in the morning. Find stripers over shallow flats as they corral spawning shad against the bank. Later in the day, switch off to cut anchovies fished on the bottom in 28 to 35 feet of water from the main Windsor Basin north to the mouth of the river.

The redear sunfish bite at Havasu is good. Large redears are still deep in the main lake (6 to 20 feet), or you can find them in shallow areas like backwaters off the river current to the south of Blankenship Bend. Nightcrawlers fished under a split shot and slip bobber work best because you can adjust the depth from 1 foot to 30 feet. Largemouth bass are becoming more aggressive and starting to hit topwater poppers, frogs and Senkos fished near cattails. On clear sunny days, anglers are finding smallmouth with dropshotted Roboworms in desert craw and bold bluegill rigged on 8-pound test with a 3/16-oz. dropshot weight. Heavier line and more weight will reduce the number of bites you get, so keep it light and catch more fish.