March March 14th. President s Message. From the Presidents Pen. Next Board Meeting. At the Library 11:00 A.M.

Transcription

1 March 2018 From the Presidents Pen Next Board Meeting March 14th At the Library 11:00 A.M. President s Message I want to thank everyone for the prayers while I had my bout with pneumonia. I am back in the saddle again! The Havasu Riviera development is in full swing. The Arizona State Park boat ramps have been built and the road work has been completed except for the paving. Unfortunately, that means that the Lake Havasu Fisheries Habitat program has been completely shut down. There is too much danger with all of the large graders etc. to allow entrance to anyone. The program is scheduled to be closed through the end of October. What that means is that for two years in a row there will not be any brush placed into the lake. In 2017 only 292 bundles were placed. The average is normally bundles a month. This two year moratorium will be hard to make up once the program starts again especially without an experienced fisheries biologist to determine which coves should have priority in the placement of brush. The good news is that when complete there will be a paved road with sidewalks right down to Partners Point including all utilities. Discussions have been held with the Arizona Game and Fish Division (AZGFD) over the placement of new artificial habitat into coves where the old habitat has been destroyed. They are considering two types of habitat. The first is concrete balls that are about four feet in diameter and are considered to be fish condos. The second type is called Georgia cubes. It consists of plastic pipe and wood. The concrete balls will be excellent for the two coves that are exposed to direct wave pounding. First is Blue Dock cove on the north side of the island and second is a cove at Havasu Springs. Habitat has been destroyed on both of these.. A special boat with a crane is needed for the placement of the concrete balls. It has not been decided if the artificial habitat will be built here with our volunteers or brought in by AZGFD. There possibly will be a combination of both ways. 1

2 From the Vice Presidents Desk My 2 Cents Worth We had our striper class on 2-10 and had around a hundred people show up. I want to thank all the people who helped with the class as it seemed that it was well received. Everett did a great job on his striper experience and I m looking forward to him helping me with the pan fish class scheduled for 3-3 at the Aquatic 9am. He and I went out fishing last week and you can tell by the way we were dressed it was cold,(39 deg) but was able to catch some nice redear. The water temp was 52 deg and I was surprised we caught anything. Talking to fishermen at the swap meet the fishing has been slow. AZ Game and Fish gave a presentation on how the fish are doing in the lake and they are pleased with the results, although some people might not agree. As the water warms up the redear will get more active as will the other fish in the lake, so don t give up just keep fishing and enjoy your time out there. Work is proceeding on the brush boat. The motor is on and the guys are now replacing some of the old plywood under the deck so it s coming along. The AZ G&F boat should be ready to go shortly once some adjustments are made to the shifter cables. Thanks to all who worked on these boat projects. Hope to see you at the picnic. 2

3 Tackle Tips By Dave Bohl Smallmouth bass spawning is in full swing. Largemouth bass are in pre-spawn and moving into spawn. This is a very exciting time to be out on the lake.for smallmouth bass two lures are very productive. These are the chartreuse road runner and the black marabou jig, place a meal worm on the hook and they will bring in smallmouths. If you find them actually on beds a very small jig resembling a crawfish will be outstanding. Cast it beyond the bed and then pull it towards the bed very slowly. Keep in mind that smallmouth usually have their beds a lot deeper than largemouth bass. I have seen their beds as deep as 20 feet. Look along sandy flats that drop into deep water or flats with rocks on them. Largemouth bass will be staging off of first ledges or points. Some will already be up shallow building beds. Those in pre-spawn will be very aggressive and reaction lures work very well at this time. It is not unusual to see a female with four or five males swimming with it. Once the females move up to spawn the males will become very protective of the beds. The females are usually on the beds for only a very short time, but will be nearby in deeper water afterword. Lizards, Crawfish, and stick worms pulled to the nest can be productive. The males may pick it up to move it away from the nest. If the fish spook go away and come back later. Like I said, this is a very exciting time to be on the lake. ***************************************************************** 3

4 Carrie Morkert needed a little help finishing the shed she and Dick started so a few anglers got together to finish up the project. When the work was done Carrie had ice cold beer and hugs for everyone. After Before A little fence repair All the work that went on between the before and after photo. All the helpers left to right Robert Lee, Jerry Hatchel, Dean Butcher, Carrie Morkert, Marilyn Butcher, Joe Picchiottina and Bill Bryan (missing on picture day) 4

5 THE BRUSH BOAT The Deck was cut down 12 inches each side to make it more stable in the water. **************************************************************************************** The wood was not in good shape. Treating the new wood with water proofing The crew Robert, Eddie, Jerry, Lou and Dean (taking the picture) 5

6 Mohave County Water Public Event Mohave County Water is currently at risk of being diverted to Maricopa, Pima and Pinal Counties. Special guest speakers: Mohave County Water Authority Mohave County Dignitaries Lake Havasu City Council Members Published Jan 28th in the Kingman Daily Miner: IMAGINE, NEEDING WATER Join us March 5th 5:30 pm 7:00 pm Lake Havasu Aquatic Center They are in their due diligence phase of a $34 million sale with New York hedge fund firms to purchase 7 farms totaling 2,200 acres of farmland In Mohave County with 14,000 acre feet of diversion water rights from the Colorado River. If the sale proceeds, it would send 5,500 acre feet of Colorado River water to Central Arizona annually. This is an educational event to learn what the impact of this sale could have not only for Mohave County, but all along the Colorado River including Lake Havasu City! ********************************************** City Counsel Members will be there including members from CAP Central Arizona Project This will concern ALL the water rights for Mohave County Lets NOT be like Needles, CA Who SOLD their Water Rights Away in Do you wonder why, IF NOT YOU SHOULD!!! Lake Havasu City, Bullhead City, Mohave Valley and Fort Mohave have continued to grow along the river and Lake and Needles Never did Grow? 6

7 FREE COMMUNITY FISHING CLASS SCHEDULE For the fifth year Anglers United is proud to offer free fishing classes for everyone. All classes will be held In room 155/156 at the Aquatic Recreation Center, 100 Park Avenue. Classes are free, however donations are greatly appreciated to help cover classroom rental and handout expenses. December 9, :00 A.M. 11:00 A.M. Fishing for Smallmouth Bass January 13,2018 9:00 A.m. 11:00 A.M. Fishing for Catfish February 10, :00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. Fishing for Striped Bass March 3, :00 A.M. 11:00 A.M. Fishing for Panfish April 14, :00 A.M. 11:00 A.M. Fishing with Plastic Lures Anglers United Officers Dave Bohl Sr. President azangler@npgcable.com Gary Visconti Vice President gevisconti47@yahoo.com Lou Pesout Treasurer Ljpesout@hotmail.com Carrie Morkert Secretary carriemo@interbel.net Sam Manning Sergeant at Arms pmanning@frontiernet.net 7