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Lake Havasu Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Colorado River's sun-bleached bass arena: smallmouth, redear the size of dinner plates, and 300 days of fishable weather.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Gauge
48.32 ft
Air / High
101 / 104 F
Wind
SSW 14 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09427500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Lake Havasu serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The gauge reads 48.32 ft, 399.68 ft below pool, easing 0.57 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 14 mph, steady pressure near 1008 hPa and a high of 104. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassFair

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 93 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from LAKE HAVASU NEAR PARKER DAM, AZ-CA.

Gauge height, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09427500. Conservation pool is 448 ft.

117.99247.99378.00pool 44848.32 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp101 F
High / Low104 / 83 F
WindSSW 14-21 mph
Pressure1008.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:12 / 18:59
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 104/83 F, wind 17 mph, rain 1%

Slow. 104 F: be on the water at dawn and off by mid-morning, or fish after dark.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Havasu: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Lake Havasu calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Havasu today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 102 F, wind to 15 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 104 F, wind to 14 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 104 F, wind to 16 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Arizona requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Arizona or California license valid lake-wide with the other state's stamp rules relaxed on the water: confirm current reciprocity with AZGFD.

Access

Site Six, Windsor Beach and Take-Off Point ramps at Lake Havasu City; Cattail Cove to the south.

About this water

19,300 acres on the Colorado River, Mohave County, AZ / San Bernardino, CA. Parker Dam (1938).

Fishing Lake Havasu: the full guide

More than spring break

Havasu's party image hides a fishery of real substance: the lake produced the world-record redear sunfish (5 lb 12 oz), holds thriving smallmouth and largemouth populations around its artificial reef program, and stays fishable virtually year-round. London Bridge is the landmark; the fish care more about the 875 habitat structures under the surface.

Desert tactics

Winter-spring is prime: smallmouth on jerkbaits and ned rigs along rocky bluffs, largemouth in the cuts and marinas. Summer heat pushes the bite to dawn and to night fishing under lights. The monster redear feed on invasive quagga mussels: drop a red worm or small jig on 15-25 ft gravel near habitat and hold on.

Engineering a fishery

Havasu's habitat program is the largest artificial-reef effort in freshwater history: thousands of sunken cones, pipes, and brush shelters (GPS-published) rebuilt cover the old lakebed lacked. The result: redear sunfish grew to world-record size (5-plus pounds) grazing invasive quagga mussels, and the smallmouth-largemouth combo fishery hums year-round. Fish the published structure fields at 10-30 ft: the map is the treasure.

Common questions

Why are the redear so huge here?

Quagga mussels: an invasive snack bar of endless protein. Havasu redear evolved into mussel-crushing specialists and the world record (plus every line-class record) followed.

Why does Havasu grow world-record redear?

Quagga mussels: an endless protein buffet no other lake matches at this scale. Drop baits near the artificial reefs in spring: the giants graze there like sheep.

Is fishing good at Lake Havasu right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Alamo Lake44 miLake Mohave69 miLake Mead120 miLake Pleasant122 miVerde River144 miBig Bear Lake150 mi
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