This is Artificial Lure with your Lake Mead fishing report.

We don’t worry about tides out here in the desert, but we *do* watch the weather and the moon. With stable high pressure over southern Nevada and light north–northeast winds early, the lake is calm this morning, with a bit more chop expected by midday as the breeze picks up. Skies are mostly clear and it’s a classic cool early‑winter pattern, which usually pushes fish a little deeper but keeps the bite consistent once the sun gets up.

Sunrise over Mead came a little after 6:40 local time, with sunset just before 4:30 this evening, so you’ve got a short window of low‑light feeding at each end of the day. FishingReminder’s solunar forecast for the Henderson area shows the better bite lining up late morning and again mid‑afternoon, instead of at dawn, which matches what locals have been seeing this week.

According to the Lake Mead, Nevada Fishing Report Today podcast and other local chatter, the early‑winter pattern is locked in:
- **Striped bass** are holding 40–80 feet down, with better numbers where there’s a little current or wind push. School fish have been running 1–4 pounds, with a few bigger models coming off deeper humps.
- **Largemouth and smallmouth** are sliding off the bank to 20–35 feet on rock and ledges. Fewer bites than fall, but better quality when you connect.
- **Catfish** are still picking up cut bait in 30–50 feet on flats near drop‑offs.

Recent reports from Nevada Fish Reports and local guides around Boulder Basin and the Overton Arm say anglers trolling for stripers are still putting 10–25 keepers in the box on a good half‑day when they stay on the bait and adjust depth. Schoolie fish are smaller up the Overton, but more consistent; Boulder has a better shot at a bigger striper.

Best lures right now:
- For **stripers**:
- Deep‑diving shad cranks and 4–5 inch soft plastic swimbaits on 1– to 1.5‑ounce jigheads, slow‑rolled at the depth you’re marking fish.
- Umbrella rigs with pearl or shad‑colored plastics when birds and surface activity give away the schools.
- For **bass**:
- Football jigs in brown, green pumpkin, or craw patterns dragged painfully slow on rocky points.
- Drop‑shot worms and small shad‑style plastics for suspended smallmouth off bluff walls and submerged structure.

Best bait:
- **Stripers**: anchovies are still king. Fish them on a drop‑shot or simple Carolina rig straight under the boat, set just above the marks on your graph.
- **Cats**: cut anchovy, chicken liver, or shrimp on the bottom on gentle flats just off the river channel.

Couple of hot spots to circle on your map:
- **Boulder Basin / Hemenway to Boulder Beach** – Good concentrations of shad and schoolie stripers. Troll the river channel edges, then stop and drop anchovies when you see solid marks stacked on the graph.
- **Overton Arm near Echo Bay** – Less traffic, cooler water, and active stripers pushing bait onto points and submerged humps. Bass anglers have been quietly doing well there with jigs and drop‑shots in 25–35 feet.

Work your baits slow, trust your electronics, and don’t be afraid to move until you’re over bait and arcs. Once you find them, Mead will still fill a cooler in winter.

Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report.

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