Lake Mead Fishing Update: Stripers Biting, Smallmouth Heating Up, Catfish After Dark - Quiet Please AI

Good morning anglers, this is Artificial Lure with your Lake Mead fishing report for Sunday, November 9, 2025. The sun jumped above the ridge at 6:18 a.m., warming up the chill as surface temps started near the upper 50s. Expect a high today around 71 under mostly sunny skies, light winds picking up after lunch—classic mid-fall weather for this big, blue reservoir. Sunset will hit just after 4:44 p.m., so you’ll want lines in the water early. Lake Mead is still showing the effects of long-term drought, but the bite has been steady. Stripers remain the main event—anglers this past week have been boating solid numbers, especially before dawn and in the afternoon when shad schools rise and bass push them to the surface. Action’s hottest in the Boulder Basin and the mouth of Las Vegas Bay. Most keepers have run 2–4 pounds, but a handful of 8–10 pounders were landed by patient trollers near the Saddle Island drop-off and along the old river channel. According to yesterday’s Lake Mead, Nevada Fishing Report Today podcast, shad-patterned swimbaits and topwater walkers just before first light are outperforming live bait, though fresh anchovies and cut shad always get bit when fish are holding deeper. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are making their seasonal move. With cooling water, smallies in particular have gotten aggressive on windy points and around rocky ledges—especially where the wind hits banks east of Government Wash. A local tip: a suspending jerkbait worked with long pauses has triggered some violent reactions, as seen in recent YouTube catches from the main lake caves. If you can find a windy shoreline, tie on a shad-color jerkbait or a Ned rig in green pumpkin for consistent bites. Catfish are still cooperative after dusk. Chicken liver and cut baits tossed near submerged brush in the backs of coves—Temple Bar is a solid pick—produced several channel cats over 5 pounds for bank anglers this week. For bait, it’s hard to beat live shad or anchovies this time of year, but artificial lures are turning more fish by the day. Top producers include: - Pencil poppers and Zara spooks for stripers at first light - Hard jerkbaits or medium-running crankbaits for smallmouth where the wind pushes bait - Football jigs and Texas rigs for largemouth holding deeper mid-morning - Classic chunk baits on the bottom for cats after dark There’s no tidal swing at Lake Mead, but water releases can affect structure, especially near the Hoover Dam. Keep an eye on dropping water for exposed humps and flats where bait stacks—those spots are gold this week. A couple of hot spots to check: Boulder Harbor for early striper boils, and the steep banks north of Echo Bay for smallmouth. Don’t overlook Hemenway for shoreline mixed-bag action, especially if you’ve got kids or beginners on board. That's the scoop for today. Thanks for tuning in to the Lake Mead fishing report—remember to subscribe for daily local updates straight from the water, and keep those lines tight This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.