Lake Mead
Bathtub Ring at Lake Mead
Size: 247 Square Miles, Currently 9,661,950 acre feet full 37%
Depth: 537 feet
Species: Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, White Bass, Yellow Bass, Two kinds of Crappie, Tilapia, Sonoran Sucker, Carp, and Sunfish
Water Type: Warm
Lake Mead when full is the largest manmade lake in the entire country covering 247 square miles and having a shoreline of 759 miles. It is also one of the deepest manmade lakes in the world with a maximum depth of 532 feet. Lake Mead was formed by the creation of the Hoover Dam in 1936 and has been a hotspot for angler and adventurers alike ever since. The lake is best fished by boat especially if you want to catch some of the lakes biggest inhabitants. Lake Mead contains Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, White Bass, Yellow Bass, Two kinds of Crappie, Tilapia, Sonoran Sucker, Carp, and Sunfish. The best areas of the lake to fish are the deepest areas. large Stripers usually run in 40-60 feet of water, while Huge Flathead Catfish some up to a hundred pounds can be found lurking in the deepest areas of the lake. A man fishing from the Hoover Dam was able to catch a 82 pound Flathead Catfish with liver as bait. For Bass Jigs, and flies seem to work the best, and well as large spinners.
Lake Mead has been involved in a heated environmental debate in recent years. The lake is currently only 37% full leaving over 100 feet of exposed and dried lake. In actuality the water level is so low it has been predicted that by the turn of the century the lake could be totally dry. While this is unlikely to happen it does not deny the fact that our largest reservoirs cannot support the booming populations of Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Southern California. If the current rate of fall continues unchecked all of these cities will surely see water restrictions by the year 2020 if not sooner. I advise everyone to cut their water usage, even if it is just a tad. Fresh water is one of the scarcest commodities on the planet. 97% of all water is saltwater the other 2% is locked in glacier ice, leaving only 1% to supply 7 billion people and rising. Let us hope that our drought will end and our water levels will rise for if they do not the Southwest will experience severe water shortages in the next few years.
Depth: 537 feet
Species: Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, White Bass, Yellow Bass, Two kinds of Crappie, Tilapia, Sonoran Sucker, Carp, and Sunfish
Water Type: Warm
Lake Mead when full is the largest manmade lake in the entire country covering 247 square miles and having a shoreline of 759 miles. It is also one of the deepest manmade lakes in the world with a maximum depth of 532 feet. Lake Mead was formed by the creation of the Hoover Dam in 1936 and has been a hotspot for angler and adventurers alike ever since. The lake is best fished by boat especially if you want to catch some of the lakes biggest inhabitants. Lake Mead contains Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, White Bass, Yellow Bass, Two kinds of Crappie, Tilapia, Sonoran Sucker, Carp, and Sunfish. The best areas of the lake to fish are the deepest areas. large Stripers usually run in 40-60 feet of water, while Huge Flathead Catfish some up to a hundred pounds can be found lurking in the deepest areas of the lake. A man fishing from the Hoover Dam was able to catch a 82 pound Flathead Catfish with liver as bait. For Bass Jigs, and flies seem to work the best, and well as large spinners.
Lake Mead has been involved in a heated environmental debate in recent years. The lake is currently only 37% full leaving over 100 feet of exposed and dried lake. In actuality the water level is so low it has been predicted that by the turn of the century the lake could be totally dry. While this is unlikely to happen it does not deny the fact that our largest reservoirs cannot support the booming populations of Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Southern California. If the current rate of fall continues unchecked all of these cities will surely see water restrictions by the year 2020 if not sooner. I advise everyone to cut their water usage, even if it is just a tad. Fresh water is one of the scarcest commodities on the planet. 97% of all water is saltwater the other 2% is locked in glacier ice, leaving only 1% to supply 7 billion people and rising. Let us hope that our drought will end and our water levels will rise for if they do not the Southwest will experience severe water shortages in the next few years.
Amazing Vintage Pic of Lake Mead filling behind the Hoover Dam
