Road Trip to Yuma

Fishing Time: Every evening Sunday through Saturday
Weather: Mostly Sunny, 60-80 degrees, light breeze most of the week
Moon Phase: Right around full moon the entire trip
Locations: Lake Havasu, AZ, Mittry Lake, AZ, All American Canal, CA, Lake Powell, AZ, Redmond Reservoir, UT
Bait: Waterdogs and anchovies. Roboworm on a drop-shot rig
Who Went: Me

My job sent me back down to Yuma, Arizona to work again for a week and this time I decided to drive instead of fly. My co-workers thought I was nuts, along with most people, but I love to set out on the open road and see new country. This also meant that I could pile all my fishing gear into my rental vehicle and be prepared to fish any lake or species along the way. I left on Sunday the 5th and decided on a somewhat faster route in getting there so I could arrive fresh for work on Monday. Turns out the fastest route is through Las Vegas, then straight south, down Highway 95 into Yuma.

I did detour a little though, and drove through Laughlin and Bullhead City, Nevada. These two towns have to rank as some of the last cities in America that I would ever want to live. Nothing but miles of desert around and then all of a sudden about six casino’s pop up that make up Laughlin and Bullhead City.From there I headed south to Lake Havasu City. Lake Havasu was pretty, but nothing to thrilling. I stopped by the famous London Bridge that was transported straight from England. Also not too thrilling!I wanted to fish a little at Lake Havasu, but there was only one spot I could find that was accessible by foot and it was not a great area. I threw about ten unsuccessful casts into Havasu and then headed on to Yuma.I made it there in time to watch the second half of SuperBowl XLVI and saw Eli Manning win his second championship ring! I was happy as I hate his opponents, Tom Brady and the Patriots!

During my work week I fished an hour or two every night after work. Monday night I headed to Mittry Lake, right near Yuma.Even though you’re near the Mexico border and the daytime temps are in the 70’s and 80’s, the bass fishing is still tough during the winter, especially without a boat. My fishing buddy down there had just ordered in some waterdogs (salamanders) and gave me a few to throw at the bass.He said a little hot sauce on their lips makes them squirm and become even more appealing to the bass.I didn’t have much luck at Mittry Lake, but did have a bite from something just before dark that stole one of my waterdogs.

Tuesday night I was off a little earlier so I ran down to the store and bought a one day Indian reservation permit and hit the All American Canal.My goal was to land a bluegill so I could fish a couple hours into dark for Flathead Catfish, but I was unsuccessful in catching any or even seeing any. The fishing conditions were terrible compared to my last trip in November. I did catch a couple small largemouth bass on a roboworm to get me on the board, but that was it for the night. I tried fishing for Flatheads using waterdogs for about 2 hours with no luck. From my understanding the Flathead Catfish go completely dormant during winter, so my odds weren’t good.

Wednesday evening I went back to Mittry Lake, but got off work late and only spent an hour at most, fishing a waterdog from shore.The lake seemed very cold and just had the feeling of winter fishing, so I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t even get a bite. On my way back to the hotel I drove down a dirt road with nothing but crop fields on both sides. The sunset was amazing so I stopped and snapped a few photos. Yuma is predominantly an agricultural city so there are huge fields with crops everywhere.Thursday was my last night there and I went back to the only place I had seen fish, which was the All American Canal.I threw on a waterdog and walked up to the shoreline of the canal and instantly saw the biggest bass I’ve seen in Yuma yet. I tossed the waterdog out towards him and he turned like a missile and headed right at it, but stopped right as he got up to it and slowly started swimming off towards the deep. My heart was racing and I hurried to reel him in and made a cast out past the big fish right to where he was heading. My line instantly went tight and I set the hook on my nicest largemouth from Yuma yet.He looked 4 pounds underwater, but was realistically only about 2.5 pounds after inspection out of the water. Still a nice bass and a fun way to leave Yuma on a high note, unlike last time after losing a monster Flathead the last night of my trip!

I left Yuma on Friday morning early, but made a detour along a dirt road near Gila Bend to snap some photos of the Saguaro Cactus that Arizona is famous for.Once on the road again, I passed through the northern suburbs of Phoenix and began my journey north beginning at about 1500 feet in elevation all the way to over 7,000 feet in elevation in Flagstaff. It was cool to see the vegetation changes going from Saguaro cactus in northern Phoenix to thick Ponderosa Pines in Flagstaff and snow on the ground.I really enjoyed Flagstaff. It was beautiful and not what you would expect when you think of Arizona. From there I detoured over to the Grand Canyon National Park and stopped at many of the overlooks the State Park has to offer. It was beautiful and February was a great time to be there due to the lack of visitors. There were a few people, but I’m sure it was nothing like what you would see in the summer. Below are all my Grand Canyon Pictures, but they really don’t do it justice. It’s so much bigger than the pictures make it look!From the Grand Canyon I kept driving north and finally made my final destination for the night in Page, Arizona. I stopped by the bait and tackle shop and bought some anchovies, then drove down to one of the shore access points near Glen Canyon Dam.I tried fishing for bass and stripers with no success, but it was a beautiful evening and felt good to relax on the warm sandstone shorelines of Lake Powell as the sun slowly disappeared below the red rock cliffs near the dam.Just before dark I drove down to Lone Rock Beach where my plan was to spend the night in the back of my SUV. I got down to the Lone Rock camping area and I was the only vehicle there.I stepped out into the dark and realized the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees during my 15 minute drive over from the dam. Welcome to winter in the desert, warm days and cold nights. It was only 6:30 p.m. and I quickly realized I wasn’t spending the next 4 hours until bedtime in 40 degree darkness. I jumped back in the car and drove another 50 miles until I saw the first sign of life in Kanab, Utah.The room looked like what you would expect from the sign, but it was a place to rest my head for one night and better than the back of a small SUV. I grabbed a burger from the local greasy spoon and hit the sack.

I woke up early on Saturday and got on the road around 7:00 a.m. I stayed on highway 89 all the way north to Salina, but detoured soon after heading towards Redmond, where I stopped at Redmond Reservoir for about 2 hours soaking anchovies and hoping to catch a pike like past trips down there.I didn’t even get a bite and it was the last stop on a long stretch of driving over the last week. I jumped in the car and drove 2 more hours until reaching my driveway in Riverton, Utah.

Throughout my 1,650 mile roundtrip loop through Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, I learned that Utah is by far some of the most beautiful scenery the west has to offer. Starting from the southern border with Lake Powell’s red rock sandstone, moving north through the beautiful formations of Bryce’s and Zion’s National Parks, all the way north to the amazing mountains of the Wasatch Front. We truly live in a beautiful state. It was a good road trip.