Lake Havasu Bass Fishing Guide for 2026

Lake Havasu is the most underrated bass fishery on the Lower Colorado. Smaller than Mead and Powell — 30 square miles, 30 miles long — but warmer, more vegetated, and home to genuinely big largemouth. The London Bridge skyline at the lake's south end is a meme; the bass fishing in the backwaters above it is serious.

What Havasu holds

• Largemouth bass — the lake's strength. Quality fish through the 5–7 lb range are routine; legitimate double-digit fish exist.
• Smallmouth bass — a real population on the rocky shoreline structure.
• Striped bass — present but not the dominant species the way they are on Mead.
• Catfish — abundant, particularly channel cats.

Where to launch

Lake Havasu State Park has multiple ramps. Site Six is the best-known launch. London Bridge Beach has shoreline access. The Bill Williams arm at the lake's south end has its own launch and is the most productive largemouth water on the lake.

Why Havasu is underrated

Havasu has aquatic vegetation — real flipping cover — that Mead and Powell don't. The Bill Williams arm in particular has backwaters with hydrilla, milfoil and emergent reed structure that produce numbers and quality together. If you love flipping/pitching, this is the lake to drive to.

Seasonal patterns

Spring spawn is the headline window — March and April produce quality largemouth on beds in the Bill Williams arm and the shallow north-end coves. Summer (June–September) is a morning and evening fishery only — daytime surface temps push 90°F, which is hot for both anglers and bass. Fall is the second-best window; winter is workable for finesse fishermen on the rocky main-lake structure.

Best lures for Havasu

• Big largemouth in vegetation: Punching with a 1-oz tungsten weight and a creature bait. Frog rigs over the mat.
• General largemouth: Texas-rigged worm, Senko, swim jig.
• Smallmouth: Drop-shot with a 4-inch finesse worm on the rocky shoreline.