Oxbow Fishing the Colorado River and Lake Mohave
Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2024 12:09 pm
Hey all one of my goals for the new year is to step out and try lots of new fishing spots. I headed to Lake Mohave over the Christmas holidays and ended up getting blown out for the most part, literally. The day I got there the wind was blowing 30-40mph, day 2 was a bit better only 20-25 so I took the tube out for a couple hours. It was what I imaging living in a washing machine is like. Day 3 I was tired and a bit grumpy and almost didn't fish at all but my wife convinced me to head out for a couple hours. I launched at Katherine Landing and the wind ended up quitting all together. With a full moon and clear skies that bass still had lock jaw for the most part, but I did end up seeing lots of GIANT SMALLMOUTH. I ended up hooking up to one on a ned rig but ended up breaking the 4+lb smallie on some underwater metal structure (lots of that in the area, apparently it was a mining camp originally). Ti' better to have hooked and lost then never to have hooked at all!(I keep telling myself) It would have been my biggest smallie for sure. Lake Mohave watch out, I'll be back...
Now onto last weekend. With the wife working all weekend and me having an unusual 3 day weekend I decided to head off for the Imperial Valley and try some Oxbow fishing on a spot that I heard was amazing. Unfortunately, I will not name specific spots where I went in order to protect the innocent. (and because I promised that I wouldn't tell) I got to the area that I was going to fish and camp and for the first time in quite a while was able to do both in the same spot. After setting up camp I got the Robotube set up and headed out. Within just a few minutes I had my first fish on an old Mann's 10+ crank. I continued to explore the area but came up with only one other dink on a dropshotted Keitech. I ran into a couple of locals who said the fishing had been great but a cold front came through and shut everything down. (Noooooooo!) I figured I would at least explore the area and have fun doing what I set out to do which was try new spots. I ended up going back to camp having a wonderful dinner, a small fire and a couple beverages while enjoying the stars and an audiobook. The scenery was awesome and I was just happy being out there.
After a restful sleep I awoke to a 30 degree morning and spent a few extra minutes in bed. I got up and made some tea and oatmeal and heard a truck coming and voices. A few minutes later a family came and asked if they could walk through my campsite to get to the water where their friend could pick them up in a boat (there was a shallow boat launch nearby). I always appreciate people being respectful and this man woman and their child were very much so. As their friend rounded the tules to the opening where I was camped I said hi to the guy in the boat and asked I they needed help since I already had my waders on. The guys said he was ok and then mentioned that I looked a lot like a guy he watches on Youtube, The Beefshaman. I said that was me and apparently both guys watch the videos, which was pretty cool. I said that this was my first time in the area and that I caught a couple but that was all. Both guys reiterated what I was told before about it was good but... Then they both looked at each other and I saw some unstated understanding between them. The guy in the boat then mentioned that there was this other spot... They proceeded to tell me of another location not too far away that was 10x better than this one but it was kind of secret and I couldn't say any names if I made a video. I promised that I would not and they told me the name of the spot and to just Google it and I could figure out how to get there. I asked them why they were here if that spot was better and they let me know they were only here to test out the new electronics in the boat because it was closer and for the wife and son to go for a little ride. Indeed they ended up only stay in that area for about 30 minutes and left.
I did launch my tube to try this spot one more time but got nothing in that 30 minutes. As they pulled their boat out I decided it was time to leave camp, put my tube in the car and find this secret spot. After about 45 minutes of searching high and low online I found out absolutely nothing except that there was a Bait and Tackle store a ways away and I figured I would go there and ask. I found out that the store was no longer in business but did see a gas station in the area. Needing gas anyway I headed into the store to find a little old couple running the place and asked them about it. They said they had heard about that spot but didn't know how to get there. They decided to phone a friend of theirs who fished and definitely new the spot. They put the phone on speaker and I got to listen to the conversation.
Gas Station Lady- "I'll call Dave he'll know the spot"
Phone rings
Dave- "Hello?'
GS Lady- "Hey Dave how do you get to ________?"
Dave- "Who wants to know?"
GS Lady- "A guy is here asking how to get there"
Dave- "That's my secret spot! I'm not telling anyone!"
GS Lady- "Come on Dave, don't be like that!"
Dave- "Forget it, no way!"
This went on and led nowhere except for me to get more excited about the spot. I sat with the old couple (in their 80s I figured) and poured over paper maps and my maps online. We didn't figure out much except that it was between here and there and closer to there. I thanked them for their time, filled up my tank and continued the treasure hunt.
I drove about 30 minutes down dirt roads and ended up at this place with a couple people hanging about and asked them. After some more of "I've heard of it" and "it might be close to" they got on the phone to someone who gave me actual instructions. One problem. The road they told me to go on were not on any of the navigation I tried. After drive around and some deductive reasoning I came upon a small sign with the road name on it. Jackpot!!! I knew that once I found that road then I had to just follow the final instructions and I was there. Driving, turning, turning, driving I came upon a sign. I arrived at the spot! At a few points along the journey I almost thought this was a snipe hunt that they sent out of towners on when they came looking for a secret spot. Sure enough I got my stuff ready and as I got in the water a man and his son who were duck hunting. I let them know it took a while to find the spot but I was excited to try it. They said that there was one guy there earlier who got his limit of bass and crappie in just a couple hours and left. This made me even more excited.
By the time I found the place and got in the water I only had a few hours to fish. I was not disappointed.
It took a bit to find out what they wanted but when I finally started throwing a Rattle Trap it was on. I probably got close to 20 bass and crappie. Lots were smaller but super fun. I ended up coming back the next morning for a couple hours and ended up with 20 more bass and 10 crappie. I have to say this was super memorable and fun experience that was reminiscent of being on a scavenger or treasure hunt as a child and finally finding the treasure! I will be back for sure as there are some many areas to explore and places to try. Get out there and try somewhere new and have lots of adventures in 2024!
Watch the video (Part 1 of 3) for more details about the fishing and the spots.
Cheers!
