Catfish Paradise? Well..... Arizona Report

[nighthawk]

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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Well I started the day out getting prepared for my Thanksgiving weekend fishing journey. I got the truck loaded and headed out of Las Vegas about noon. I estimated I would arrive in Needles, CA about 2:30 PM, which I did. I met up with Southernman at Searchlight, NV and we continued on the highway together. We decided to set-up camp and then go over to Arizona so I could get an Arizona Fishing License. While we were traveling we stopped at a number of places along the way to see where we might go fishing. [/size][/font] [center][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][/size][/font][/center]

[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]It has been more than 10 years when I last fished Catfish Paradise, while over 25 years since I fished the Topock Marsh and Five Mile Landing. Catfish Paradise has changed a lot. Where you used to fish off the dike near the Sacramento Wash has been blocked off with a gate. Several additional places have chains or cables across the dirt roads. I never found a way to get to the east dike road. We got our food for the weekend at Wal-Mart along with my fishing license and some bait. We got back to Park Moabi around 5 PM. We discussed our plans and decided to get an early start in the morning. We got on the road around 5:30 AM and only had to drive about 6 miles to our first stop, Catfish Paradise. This area is where channel catfish inhabit the entire region. The Topock Marsh is just one hotspot of labyrinth of drowned trees and winding canals of this 4,500-acre Marsh, part of the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge. You can fish placid bays, channels and "lakes" within the marsh. Surrounding the shore are dense stands of cattails and bulrushes while dead alkali bleached white trees contour throughout the marsh in every direction. [/size][/font] [center][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][/size][/font][/center]

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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Topock's average depth is only about 9 feet, with much of it less than 4 feet in depth. Because it is jammed with stumps, layovers and the skeletons of thousands of dead trees, it is perfect catfish, crappie, largemouth bass and sunfish habitat, and an excellent place for the angler equipped with a float tube, canoe or boat. But be careful of the dangerous underwater obstacles that are all around you. The total limit for catfish on the Colorado River is 10 fish. Regulations permit the use of several baitfishes, including tilapia, bluegill, threadfin shad, carp, goldfish, golden shiners, red shiners and fathead minnows as bait. Be sure to check the regulations for specifics. [/size][/font]

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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]The morning started mostly cloudy to start with however approximately 9 AM it cleared up to turn out to be a bona fide nice day. The high was supposed to reach 77 degrees with a low of 44 degrees and it wasn’t going to disappoint us. The marsh at Catfish Paradise was alive with many migratory types of birds throughout the area resting to continue their journey southward. Coots, mallard ducks, geese, pelicans, and cranes. Two red tail hawks could be seen soaring above the marsh. The day was magnificent.[/font][/size]

[size 3][font "Times New Roman"][/font][/size] [center][size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size][/center] [center][font "Times New Roman"][size 5]Hey Look 757's! No, Just Some Pelicans [/size][/font][/center]

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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Southernman and I started to fish off the new dock that was placed here in 1998. We started with some anchovies and stink bait. After several hours had gone by we changed to night crawlers, plastic worms, lures, and jigs. This is a haven for lost fishing equipment. I bet you there are thousands of dollars in lost equipment here in the marsh. I remember swimming in this area years ago and retrieving lost gear. Well we didn’t do to good. Nothing was hitting. SM got a couple of bites however that was it. [/size][/font] [center][font "Times New Roman"][size 3][/size][/font][/center] [center][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][size 5]Tony's Birds Nest! No Explanation Needed[/size][/font][/center][/size]

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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]While we were there we took notice of the shotgun blasting away at the ducks in the marsh. Later we started to observe the hunting boats weighed down with decoys, camouflage and even hunting dogs, start to come in to the dock area. They didn’t seem to have many birds in their possession. After they left an Arizona Fish and Game Officer came and visited us for a while. This officer was a real young and Fish and Game officer. Instead of asking for our license he asked what we had in our ice chest. I sort of ignored him for a while until he finished with SM. I finally had to ask him if he wanted to see my fishing license. He looked at it for a while a said why did you purchase a resident license? I told him I didn’t purchase a resident license and even showed him it was punched as a non-resident license. Not a real brilliant rookie at this juncture. He even asked me if we had been fishing the day prior to and I told him no I didn’t have time and asked why did that matter since I bought the license yesterday. I don’t believe he knew what day it was. Later he asked us which poles were ours. That is when I realized I had forgotten to bring in my additional pole. I was fishing with two poles in the water by accident. I finally told him that he had gotten me on a violation. Fishing with a second pole lacking the second stamp added to my license. I like to keep two poles with me although never use at the same time unless I have my grandson with me. With a puzzled look, he finally informed me that it was a $50 fine. He would let me off with a warning although I would have to acquire the stamp at the local store at Golden Shores, AZ. I promised I would and he left us alone. By the way he didn’t even know what the correct cost was for the stamp. [/size][/font]

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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]We left Catfish Paradise and stopped at Golden Shores to get a $4 not $3 stamp added to my fishing license like the officer wanted. The store manager told me that a Fish and Game Officer was just hear and to lookout for an orange Nissan pickup. Well that was my vehicle and I was sure glad I stopped. He said he would check in later to see if I had gotten the stamp. [/font][/size] [center][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][/font][/size][/center] [center][size 6]Five Mile Landing[/size][/center]

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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]We finally left and headed for Five Mile Landing. I can still picture the days I came here to fish with my dad. I remembered there was a location we could fish from the marina area. The marina was built like a rectangular box with a westward opening for boats to exit and enter. Along the west side of the dike was a fishing area for anglers to fish from. It was still there but it was only a day use area now and would be closed at 9 PM. As I sit back and daydreamed of days when I caught many a catfish out of this marsh I realized it might not happen today. It wasn’t looking too exceptional. SM and I both had a few bites however nothing would take our hooks. Around 2 PM we decided to go back to camp and eat a late lunch. As we ate lunch we wanted to attempt some stripper fishing along the Colorado River. [/font][/size]

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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]We went to the bridge crossings for the railroad and I-40 for about 1-½ hours. We tried anchovies and some lures but couldn’t get a bite. SM wanted to leave so we decided to go back to marsh. When we got to Catfish Paradise there was someone they fishing so I suggested to try Five Mile Landing again. I stopped at the local bait shop and asked the owner what the catfish were hitting these days. She said that anchovies were working best. She said that not to many catfish were being brought in for the past two weeks. She did say that an angler caught a nice 12-pound channel cat the other day from a boat in the marsh. We got set-up once more and went fishing for some cats. We got a few bites however nothing was taking our bait. As we both set back and watched the superlative multi-colored sunset, we continued to fish. [/font][/size] [center][size 3][font "Times New Roman"][/font][/size][/center] [center][font "Times New Roman"][size 6]Awesome Sunset[/size][/font][/center] [center][/center] [center][/center] [center][/center] [center][/center] [center][/center] [center][size 5]Where's The Fish Nighthawk![/size][/center]

[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]I stared to take several pictures of the sunset when we saw some smoke coming from the California side of the river. It looked like a car or truck must have caught fire on the Highway 95 that goes to Parker, CA. We continued to watch the smoke and take pictures when SM started to get some good bites. It was dark by now and finally SM landed his first catfish from the marsh. He was using a worm. It wasn’t very large but it still was something. [/font][/size]

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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]Later I finally caught my first catfish of the day too, with a worm. It might have been a little bigger however it was thrilling to finally get one. When we left around 7:03 we both finished catching 2 apiece. BY the way don't let the bait and tackle lady tell ypou what to use at Five Mile Landing. I had one more but lost it bringing it in. We got back to camp and I started up dinner. Ribeyes steaks, corn and French fries with my Dutch oven delight cherry and raspberry dump cake. Man was it a great dinner and desert and weekend. This made it a worthwhile Thanksgiving weekend. Fishing with your best friend. Thanks Southernman for the great time I had. I can’t wait to hit the highway and go catch some trout in Utah. As we parted this area and headed home I can’t help but reflect on the amazing days I had as an adolescence living in this area. [/font][/size]

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[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]I want to thank you Dad for the great times we had. I sure miss you. [/font][/size]
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Great Report. Too Bad the recent cold fronts shut down the major catfish action. During the spring and fall, that can be some great fishing. In the summer, most sane folks leave it to the tourists and the skeeters.

Great pics.
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