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2019 Colorado River Fishing Map, Report and Hunting Public Lands and Clubs

 2019 Colorado River Fishing Map, Report and Hunting Public Lands and Clubs

Fishing Map of Colorado River

About the Colorado River

The Colorado River runs the  border between California  and Arizona from near the  city of Needles south to  Yuma, Ariz., and the Mexican  border. Along this stretch of the river are  major reservoirs and some splendid tail race fisheries for rainbow trout, catfish, striped bass, and largemouth bass
. The lower Colorado River outlines the border two states so a special $6 Colorado River
stamp is required.
The largest concentration  of smallmouth bass is below Parker Dam at the southern  end of Lake Havasu, and for about 60 miles to the  California city of Blythe.
What  is lesser known is a fine fishery for  smallmouth bass that exists over large part of the Colorado.  The small-mouth  is also a creature of much different habitats than the large-mouth, preferring cool, clear and quick- flowing waters over the green and  weedy domain of the largemouth.
Smallmouth don‘t get as large as the  largemouth, but they have a well- deserved reputation as a hard-fighting  bass. The current river record is a  5-pound, 5-ounce fish caught near  Parker in 1997.
HABITAT: The Colorado River  has huge amounts of both types of habitat preferred by bass. Much of the river  has backwaters and seep ponds which  hold countless largemouth, but the main  river channel, and in particular the areas  where flood and river control measures  by the Bureau of Reclamation have installed rock walls and riprap, harbor  the majority of the river’s smallmouth.
In addition to liking rocky walls,  smallmouth prefer to spawn on rocky  bottoms. The main river channel has a  lot of that and it is fine smallmouth country. Anglers who locate these “cobblestone” areas during the pre-spawn  and spawn in the spring will find lots of  good-sized smallmouth bass.
STONED BASS:  Game biologist found largemouth in the backbays and  stream-side channels, and the small-  mouth. already on spawning beds in  mid-March, were mostly holding on  rough cobblestone bottoms. Or fish right off the  end of concrete launch ramps that went  directly into the main current. That‘s  the major key to the smallmouth on the  Colorado. You need the moving water  of the main river channel and some  hard structure, either cobble bottom or  riprap to hold smallmouth.
They hunt  a variety of prey, but seem to like those  rocky places where herds of crayfish  hide in rocks. Get into one of the slower backwaters off the main river and  you won’t run out of bass, but they‘ll  be largemouth.
 A preferred lure for smallmouth is something subtle, big baits scare them.  Small crayfish-shaped plastics and small Gitzits in greens and browns work very  well. Pumpkin seed color is good. You  want to imitate young of the year crayfish that are usually a greenish color  when they are small.  Small plastic worms and grubs with  these colors work very well.
The primary forage for small-mouth bass almost anywhere is the crayfish, and small, soft plastic crayfish  either Texas-rigged or split-shotted on  light line is an excellent method for  smallmouth on the Colorado River.  These seem to work well just about any  time of the year.
In the early spring, smallmouth start picking out spawning  areas and they’l1 smash anything that  runs through their chosen spot, including  spinnerbaits and crankbaits.
This gets  even better right after the spawn and is a great time for crankbaits. During post-spawn activity you  get a lot of action right at the edge of the spawning areas. Then they start grouping up again and marauding through the  river system. Note that the  smallmouth spread out during the spawn  looking for spawning areas, but post-spawn they group up in schools  in search  of baitfish and crayfish to eat.
This is unlike the largernouth that prefer to  stake out a territory and stay put.  Pre-spawn crankbaiting is also  good, chartreuse or green backs with chartreuse. Orange and brown crayfish  colors are also good. Of course. that old  standby, a Rapala minnow in  silver/black, seems to work all the time.  The
reaction bite is great. Spinnerbaits  mimic the shad and bluegill that are in  the river. So use crayfish or bluegill imitations most of the time.
Anglers not  used to desert temperatures will be surprised to  note that this starts happening in April most  years, and by Memorial  Day it can be full-blown  summer on the lower Colorado— not to men-  tion that water skiers, jet  skis, and fast boats clog  much of the river during  the summer months.
Still,  the fishing can be fantastic if you dress for hot  weather and expend your  fishing time early in the  moming and in late  evening.
 Location:  From the Los Angeles area, take  Interstate 10 east to Blythe. For the Parker area. leave I-1O at Desert Center and angle northeast on State
Highways 177 and 62 to Parker. and smallmouth have begun to show up in Lake Havasu  above Parker Dam. lt‘s now possible to catch smallmouth  all the way up to Needles, Calif., where interstate 40  crosses the Colorado River, and anglers find scattered  smallmouth south of Blythe all the way to Yuma, Ariz.
California bass  anglers can purchase the Arizona stamp at most tackle  shops, bait shops and sporting goods stores on the California side of the river. The Yellowmart store in Blythe  is a good source.
California and Oregon Private and Public Hunting and Fishing Information:
If you liked our information and are looking for more fishing or hunting maps, and also access to private ranches and hunting clubs, don’t miss checking out 
www.freehuntfishmaps.com (here is a screen shot)
 

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