It’s always a sad day when we take the last kayak fishing trip of the winter season on the lower Colorado River. At least we had some pretty good success on the last few kayak fishing trips.
As usual, out before the crack of dawn before the desert wind and heat increases and takes care of any kayak fishing you might want to do. Because it has been so windy this winter, the desert sunrise with glassy conditions looks better than ever.
The early morning bite seemed to be the only game in town recently. The sun was barely peeking over the eastern bank of the Colorado River when this nice bass hit.
Fishermen are always thankful to catch a fish, especially if it’s a nice one. Even more so in a challenging fishing situation where there haven’t been that many nice fish.
We went looking for largemouth bass where one wouldn’t expect to find water, let alone good largemouth bass fishing. Looking for a new fishing spot can be as much a part of the challenge and fun as actually catching fish.
Even in a place that looks to the untrained eye like a wasteland, nature has a place for everything. This desert bighorn sheep had come down out of the local desert mountains to drink water and eat plants that only grow in the immediate vicinity of the Colorado River.
The largemouth bass in this section of the Colorado River do not seem to be active at night. Paddling up the river before sunrise to get to the fishing spot, sometimes we might arrive a few minutes early and cast into the darkness. I mean, you’re there, why not?
On this early morning that philosophy paid off when I caught this big largemouth bass on one of the first casts I made towards the dark river bank. Probably the biggest largemouth bass of the season.
As the sun rises in the east, I cast into the riverside bushes where the largemouth bass are usually found. Because the river level is so low, these overhanging bushes that support the largemouth bass are a few feet above the water and the bass have moved elsewhere.
Largemouth bass can be caught when the river is high or low, but it seems like the extremes on either end are not conducive to good bass fishing.
Having caught the biggest largemouth bass of the season the day before, I paddled out in marginal wind conditions because I knew it would be my last kayak fishing trip until, hopefully, next fall. I was stoked to actually catch a few nice bass in only an hour or so of fishing due to the increasing wind. Last fish of the season and we left them biting!
It’s been a windy winter with challenging fishing conditions. These largemouth bass are big game fish and usually you don’t catch all that many of them. I’m satisfied we gave it a good effort. All the largemouth bass in these photos and videos were released. We did not lose a single fish. In a tough fishing season, I did not get skunked. Came pretty close more than a few times, but I must be doing something at least partially right.
The way things are going, who knows what is going to happen here in the United States? Will there actually be water in the Colorado River next September? Lots of uncertainty but we are hoping to be back here in the fall for more kayak fishing. A true fisherman always knows the best fishing trip is the next one.
The kayak fishing may be over for the season on the Colorado River, but there is more kayak fishing action ahead for watermanatwork.com. There is a kayak fishing video that has some classic kayak fishing for salmon that will be released shortly, followed by this season’s largemouth bass fishing on the Colorado River video. It may not have been the best season on record, but we have the best of what there was. Plus we will be back in the Cascade Mountains for more great mountain biking so check back soon.