lake mead info

[travaler18]

Im going to lake mead for one week...for a family vacation mid-july. and have never been there before, as we hail from N.H. Lake Winipasaukee. We will be renting a house boat and a tag along boat and would just like to know of any must see places around the lake, and good places to beach for the night on lake mead. i also hear there is alot of hazards hiding just under the surface, any advice there (besides LOOK OUT!! haha ) Any info would be helpful and grately appreciated. THANKS

 

[QC]

Re: lake mead info

Yeah lots to share . . . Take a look at a couple of the threads around here as there is some good info. I have Houseboated on Mead a number of times and boat there a lot. As recently as two weeks ago. Water is down, but very easy to see hazards. You can start to see color at 25 feet or more. Scoping out decent runs is no problem and much of the time you'll be in 300+ ft of water. One of the benefits of this water level is more sand for more beaches. Great for Houseboats.

Where are you putting out from? Callville? Echo Bay? Temple Bar? How often do you want to move? daily? Short runs? Long runs? Some say out of Callville, head left for 10 minutes and beach for the whole week at Sandy Cove. Maybe a good first or last night, but we like to get away. Mushroom Reef and Sandy Point are probably the best Houseboat spots, but Mushroom is 30 miles from Callville and Sandy Point is around 50. There's also some nice beaches just above Echo and across the Lake. However, if you are not launching out of Echo I would not spend any time in the Virgin Arm (Echo Bay area). Just not as pretty and more traffic. I would also not go West of Callville. Most want to see the dam, but the upriver side is . . . well . . .uh . . yaaaawwwn . . . And the Boulder Basin (around and west of Callville) is the busiest part of the lake.

The whole Temple Basin is spectacular. past there (towards Sandy Point) is the Gregg Basin. If you water ski, this is amazing. Seems to glass off more than most places.

Oh, and figure you will run the generator for A/C 24 -7 . . .

Must see coves for me are Cathedral Cove (sout of Echo Bay on west shore of Virgin arm and especially Wishing Well on the furthest east end of the Boulder Basin just before entering the Narrows from the West, on the south shore. It is kind of a hangout spot, so there may be boats anchored in there, but you need to go all the way back and hang a left into the tightest little spot you'll probably ever boat in (chaser boat). Pic from last week:

 

[travaler18]

Re: lake mead info

thank you QC for your response, i will def check out the threads for all the info i can find .we are heading out of callville and plan on beaching the houseboat prob 3 dif times,first night being temple basin,then on to greggs basin then on to overton arm (upper end)for last night.we have to have the boat back by 2pm last day all pumped out .is that a feasible morning journey ,or should we stay closer? OH,AC -do we run the gen. while were off on excurtions or just when we need it ?told kids they have to paddle -gas to high.love the pic of wishing well cove ,cant wait to see it!!

 

[QC]

Re: lake mead info

I am sorry, I said Virgin Arm and meant Overton Arm . . . Frankly I would skip it, just not as scenic except the Islands and it is just our least favorite part of the lake. A ride to Echo Bay for Ice Cream could be enough . . . The HB trip to Temple Basin will eat almost all of your first day. You might try an area called Gypsum Reefs (I have GPS for a decent spot, but the lake was 15 feet higher when I marked it . . .) There are some beaches there and it is very different. Sorta moonscape. It is 65% of the way to Mushroom and would shorten that first day. I also like Burro Bay as it is just a quick ride to Temple Bar for fuel, Ice etc. and also a quick ride to Gregg Basin. IMHO there is no reason to take the Houseboat to Gregg at this water level. The only really good beaches up there are Sandy Point and the lake ends there now. WARNING: Do NOT go past the red mud line, where the river meets the lake, unless you are absolutely 100% sure of what you are doing. You can NOT tell the difference between 2 inches, two feet or twenty feet. Depth sounder is almost useless in the mud soup!

You will need ice EVERY day . . . Mushroom is just as close as Burro Bay to Temple Bar. We have stayed multiple days at Sandy Point and wasted a ton of money running back and forth to Temple Bar . . . The more often I go, the more often I like the idea of just staying put in a good spot, but I also like to cruise, so this is tough for me.

You'll just have to gauge the gen while gone question. I don't recall, but we probably ran it as the moms always want a quick place to cool down when you return from day trips . . .

A long ride on the last day is usually what we do, but it always seems like a depressing trip. That's why I like the Sandy Cove idea (less than 5 miles from Callville) for the final day/night. Also god for the first day if there is any chance you left something in the truck or need something quickly from the Marina. We usually make the whole trip to Mushroom on the first day though . . .

 

[fishrdan]

Re: lake mead info

I fish out of Echo all the time and, yeah, not much to see up there with the lake low. Also, I'd skip the Overton arm as your last day. If the south winds get howling you might not be able to make it back to Callville or it could be a long bumpy ride back.

For the ice situation. If you have room, get a big "5 day" 100 quart cooler and load it up with 4 bags of ice, then top it off with another bag or 2. Tape the lid closed with 2" masking tape around the seal, hinges, latches, keep it in the shade and throw a sleeping bag over the top. Only open this cooler to grab a bag of ice and then tape it back up, should last 3 days easy. If you are using 4 bags of ice per day this won't help out too much.

Come to think of it, the house boat should have a 100+ quart cooler on board...

 

[travaler18]

Re: lake mead info

great info -thanks ,sounds like we might just go as far as temple basin with h/b and use deck boat to travel further up gregg, save on gas anyway.didnt know lake was thatfar back,knew it was low but oh well.depending on how well i can handle beaching the h/b will factor how maney times we move it ,would like to spend some nights in dif locals though.sounds like we might just keep it around temple and virgin.ice sounds like it dont like 110d heat too muchdoes dry ice do any better?if you can even get it close by.thanks again,gonna go look for more threads.wish i found this site sooner.

 

[travaler18]

Re: lake mead info

another question - are small campfires allowed ? from what i read at national parks site ,it reads that they are.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: lake mead info

Dry ice is great if you can find it, look at the local grocery stores (Albertson's, Smiths) some carry it, some don't. I use it for keeping anchovies rock solid frozen,,, fishing bait. Only thing bad about dry ice is you have to keep it outside.

Fires are OK, but finding wood might be another matter. it's kind of hit and miss if you can find wood at the lake. They might sell it at the marina, but it will cost an arm and a leg.

 

[travaler18]

Re: lake mead info

thanks fishrdan,will ask about dry ice when we doour initial food shopping ,it will be at an albertsons,we are also staying at condo prior to trip so we will be able to freeze meats. fire is a must if its permissible, a friend thats comming -all he talks about is sitting on the beach at night roasting a hot dog over an open fire, i think heed burn his shorts if need be. ill look for wood prior to getting there.wont be doing much fishing ,but would like to drop i line here and there if i get the chance. do you know if they rent rods and takle at callville ?,or do i pack mine,and what would i need ,havnt researched fishing on mead really

 

[QC]

Re: lake mead info

We have the kids build fires these days and we stay on the roof of the HB and watch. Remember, nights are going to still be 90 degrees at bedtime. Sitting by the fire sucks . . . Looking at them from a distance works for me. Let the pyros amongst us sweat it out . . .

In the Virgin basin we have had some luck with beaches at the bottom of Bonneli Bay too (long way to Marinas), plus we got this nice surprise a coupla years back. Definitely wild despite their pretty coats . . .

 

[travaler18]

Re: lake mead info

beautiful pic QC,would be an awsome surprise to see wild horses ,for that mater -wild anything- would be a bonus

 

[fishrdan]

Re: lake mead info

Nice shot of the horses, haven't seen those out there yet.

Funny story: Wife, kids and I were camping on Mohave and a fox or raccoon was messing around by our tent at night, scared the misses to death. After she woke me up in a tizzy, I listened, didn't hear anything and went back to sleep. In the morning I found the remains of a big 1/2 eaten scorpion by the tent, confirmed my fox/raccoon theory. We hopped in the boat, pulled out of the cove and my wife looks across to the opposite shore and points "Is that a WOLF" I could hardly keep myself contained,,, it was a 400# burro

I don't think I've ever seen the marina's rent tackle, have to call. I would bring my own as rental tackle is usually pretty hammered. For fishing you want some 1-3" light colored shad looking lures, spinners, spoons, plugs, jigs,,, or just soak some cut anchovies on a line, cast out into deep water or drop down from a boat in 40-70' of water. If you get in a school of stripers it can be non-stop action. There's also largemouth, smallmouth, cats and some scattered panfish. The stripers normally run small 1-3# with a 5-6# in the mix,,, though there are 30-40# stripers roaming around in the lake. You could get away with 6-8# test, but I normally fish 10-15# and 20# at night, 20# so I don't have to re-tie all the time when the line gets nicked up.

 

[travaler18]

Re: lake mead info

didnt preread the post before i read it to the missus-no sleeping on the beach for her nowkiller burros. sounds good on the anchovies , less work,drop line and wait-though theres nothing like the rush of a largemouth hittng a surface lure.gonna go see if i can fit the takle in the luggage

 

[12vMan]

Re: lake mead info

Hi travaler18. I've houseboated out of Callville many times, and for the ice issue, they sell packs with either 5 or 6 bags in each I can't remember, but the ice chest on the boat is very large - 155 qt. I believe, and will hold two 'packs' and if you have a big ice chest bring it to store more ice and drinks so the kids don't have to get in the refer all the time. The more ice you can store, the more fuel you'll save by not having to go to the Marina. I'm assuming you're flying into Vegas, so you may not have the luxury of bringing your own, but use these to store the ice. Bring them inside the houseboat where it's cool(make sure the plugs are in). The ice will last 5 times as long. Also bring some blue ice to freeze and keep in the ice chests too. The refer on the boat runs on AC and propane, so you should be ok as far as cold food storage if it's just your family. You may also want to keep a bag in the freezer as a backup and to use for drinks inside. You may not need this much ice if it's just your family but you can make that call when you're there. I usually go through 4-5 bags a day on my boat, but my ice chests aren't in an air-conditioned houseboat, either.

If you're renting either the 59' Deluxe LT or the 70' Millennium, there's a full bar on the top deck with an ice maker that works extraordinarily well for the conditions that you can use for drinks.

Another good place to beach heading out or back in is Middle Point if the weather is in your favor. It's on the north end of the Virgin Basin where you start rounding up into the Overton Arm. There are some protected areas if you look. If you go up the Overton Arm, beaches are slim pickings until you get up past Echo Bay Marina to Glory Hole or Kline Cove, which are several miles past on the East side. Nice beaches, though.

Just a note to remember, whoever gets there first gets the first boat that's ready to go out. If your pick up time is 2pm, get there at 11am or even earlier. We used to get there as early as 8 or 9 because you never know

Have a great time!

 

[Firemedic09]

Re: lake mead info

no fires right now and the lake is down, but there is great fishing! especially for stripers. still a great all around lake though even with the water at the lower levels.

 

[QC]

Re: lake mead info

Agree on Glory and Kline holes. Those are the beaches I was referring to above Echo ^^^^^ At this lake level, Glory and Kline are almost as far as you can go . . . Last time I was at Middle Point it was more mud than sand, but there is some good protection.

Heed all warnings regarding tying up and being protected!!!!

 

[travaler18]

Re: lake mead info

hi 12vman .were in a 59 delux,no ice makerso lots andlots andlots andlots of ice runs.were preboarding night beforso will be ready to go early.think we might just take your advice QC and stay close first night.get the feel of it .then prob stay in virgin and temple and use deck boat to explore further out .wrote down the ones you folks mentioned ,do tell of any more .all this info sure takes a lot of unknown out of the equation ,def make for less stress-THANKS!!!!!!!-few more questions if i may ,how well is the lake marked for finding my way back to h/b,land marks bouys,etc.would you recommend buying gps or can i save my money?got some more ? but gotta run ,back on later.

 

[QC]

Re: lake mead info

The Lake has well placed mile markers, red and green, and you can correlate with the map they give you. One warning in this regard. The Virgin Basin is sooooo big that if you go exploring with the deckboat you can lose the houseboat easily. So have a backup rendezvous spot like East Point which is on the way to the Temple Basin. I actually had this happen when I was more of a novice and before GPS. We pulled up to 5 different HBs before we found ours. By then we were seriously sun burned. No Bimini . . . With that said, you should pre-check for any spots with the deckboat before going there with the HB. If, for example, you went all of the way down into Bonnelli Bay and decided there were too many bugs, or the sand was "yucky" or something else, then it takes a long time and a lot of fuel to go back. When the deckboat goes out have some sort of voting system setup, so there is more than one person making the final decision on a beach. You don't want the group harping on one guy saying "why did you choose here, this place sucks". Can get ugly and you're cooped up for 7 days together . . .

 

[travaler18]

Re: lake mead info

was thinking along the same lines QC ,about scoping out the beach with the deck boat to pull in for the night.as for bugs ,what kinds of nasty little critters should we expect,are we able to sleep on deck under the stars or will we be the luau buffet.when we do go exploreing boat will be beached till return the folks that will be left on board wouldnt be moving it ,so its gotta be good landmark memory or gps.oh,btw,do cells work on the lake? or in certain areas?

 

[travaler18]

Re: lake mead info

well ,i picked up a cheap gps at walmart ,now im trying to figure the darn thing outetrex h, gonna take it out on winnipesaukee and try it,mean time, anyone have any imput on that.didnt want to spend a lot but if there is an easier one to use ,please tell.or gps for dummies site