Species, techniques will vary at Lake Havasu

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – Lake Havasu is set to host the MLF Toyota Series this week (Thursday through Saturday) for the second event of the 2024 Western Division.

“Lake Havasu is a great fishery – the most diverse lake on the Colorado River chain – and I know they’re going to catch them in this one,” said Bass Pro Tour angler Dean Rojas, who resides in Lake Havasu City. “Right now it’s the end of the spawn – most of the fish are already into their postspawn patterns and the fishing has been pretty good.

“This time of year on Havasu is a lot of fun. You can catch them almost any way you want to, both smallmouth and largemouth,” Rojas continued. “I think the tournament will probably be won weighing in all largemouth, but it would not surprise me at all to see a couple of guys in the Top 5 that have mixed bags or limits that include three or four big smallmouth.”

With the lake fishing so freely right now, Rojas expects to see a variety of different tactics in play by competitors.

“We’re going to see a wide variety. Some guys will be throwing swimbaits, others will be using dropshot rigs. I think we’ll see some jigs. And the flipping bite has been known to be pretty good this time of the year. You can do a lot of different things there, but the key is going to be finding the right areas and fishing to your strengths.”

When the Toyota Series last visited Lake Havasu in February 2023, San Clemente, Calif. angler Todd Kline was the only competitor to weigh more than 60 pounds over the three days of competition, and won the event with a total of 60-14. Rojas said that he thinks the early May event will be very similar weight-wise in this postspawn event.

“It took 19 pounds to win a team tournament here last weekend, so the lake is fishing strong,” Rojas said. “It’s not the best it has ever fished, but it is certainly doing well. A lot of factors depend on the water fluctuations, but I think the three-day winner catches between 58 to 64 pounds.”

Anglers will launch at 6 a.m. MT each day from Windsor Beach at Lake Havasu State Park, located at 699 London Bridge Road in Lake Havasu City. Weigh-ins will also be held at Windsor Beach and will begin at 2 p.m. each day.

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