Making the most of Mead
Round two of Stren Western opens outside Las Vegas
HENDERSON, Nev. – The desert weather couldn’t be nicer, but anglers are worried that the fishing might be a little dry as the Stren Series Western Division launched its second tournament of the year on Lake Mead.
With Lake Mead, which has historically been a tougher-fishing pool on the Colorado River, just now transitioning from winter conditions into a warmer spell, it could prove a challenge for Stren anglers this week.
“I wish we were still at Havasu,” laughed pro Jimmy Reese Wednesday morning.
Expect a lot of fish to come from deeper water this week as competitors probe the rocky breaks with light tackle to find the transitioning bass. One item of note here is that the lake is a national recreation area, and many of the marinas are off-limits to fishing. That will force a lot of anglers to go deeper to find bass structure.
Despite predictions about lower catch rates than what we normally see in the big-bass Western Division, they will catch them, especially with favorable weather conditions looming.
“Somebody’s going to come in with 12 pounds,” pro Aaron Coleman said. “After that, there are going to be a few 8- or 9-pound bags.”
Tournament logistics
The pros are fishing for a top award of $25,000 plus a $40,000 519VX Ranger powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and EverStart batteries if contingency guidelines are met. Ranger will award another $3,000 to the winner if he or she is a participant in the Ranger Cup program. If the winner is not a Ranger Cup participant, Ranger will award $1,500 to the highest-finishing participant in the contingency program. Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup earnings if “Powered by Yamaha” guidelines are met.
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $5,000 plus a $30,000 Ranger boat and trailer if contingency guidelines are met.
Anglers take off from Callville Bay-Forever Resorts located in Las Vegas at 6:30 PST each morning. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 300 E. Lake Mead Drive in Henderson beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
On the Web
For those who can’t catch the weigh-in action in person, FLWOutdoors.com offers FLW Live, an online application that brings fans real-time weigh-in results, streaming video and audio.
Wednesday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:20 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 45 degrees
Expected high temperature: 69 degrees
Water temperature: low to mid-50s
Wind: SSE at 11 mph
Maximum humidity: 29 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny