calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

[wagnerz]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Do you guys do much as far as winterization of your boats? The last couple of years, I have just drained the water from the block, and nothing else. Its worked out fine, and hopefully this year is a mild winter and I can get by with doing the same. I like to occasionally hit the Lake probably about 1 time per month in the winter and just cruise around or maybe do some fishing, on those really nice winter days.

 

[tt600]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Dan,
What MM is willow beach?

Seems there ought to be trout in the canyon but I have zero luck. Know anyone that catches them?
I think I saw the hatchery people electrofishing upriver once. All I saw up there was carp.
Where do all the weekly planters go?

Thanks,
john

edit
Okay I looked at a map. Willow Beach is MM53 Seems you are saying the stripers go upriver. That would explain there being no trout up there. Guess I will have to take striper plugs to fish up there next time instead of spinners.

 

[12vMan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Do you guys do much as far as winterization of your boats? The last couple of years, I have just drained the water from the block, and nothing else. Its worked out fine, and hopefully this year is a mild winter and I can get by with doing the same. I like to occasionally hit the Lake probably about 1 time per month in the winter and just cruise around or maybe do some fishing, on those really nice winter days.

Hi Wagnerz...At Temple Bar I just empty the system of water as well. I also have an battery maintainer mounted inside the engine compartment which throws off just enough heat to keep the temp up even with with the boat being stored outside, covered.

We lost a few engine blocks some years ago when there was long cold snap, but I don't think any one of those were even drained, much less treated with antifreeze. It makes a big difference if you're storing your boat inside or outside as well.

 

[wagnerz]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

My boat sits next to my house outside, and I do take the batteries out of the boat, but so far this year I have not drained the water, and with the temperature looking like it might tease close to 32, I wouldn't want to take any chances. Doesn't it have to drop quite a bit below 32 to get the water in there to freeze and crack the block? The best part about winter here, is we will have those days when its 65-70 and I go out to the lake and there will hardly be a single other boater out there. You basically have the lake to yourself. Of course you being in Temple Bar, you already have most of the lake to yourself.

 

[QC]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Not recommending anyone be careless, but if the air tickles 32 when all else (iron, water, fiberglass, vinyl, plywood etc.) has absorbed above that for the previous 5,497 hours, I don't really think that any water within those pieces will instantly go into a seriously hard freeze . . . Annnd, once the tickling is done, it is not like the water (or any of that other surrounding stuff) will continue to get colder. My .02. I don't even drain in Havasu. I was worried once last year, so take my comments as those of a careless idiot, but again, I think the risk is minimal although there are a few losers every year. My carelessness comes from storing in SoCal, for the last 25 years . . . Man, I'd suck if I moved to Minnesota

 

[fishrdan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Before I knew better, I didn't winterize my boat and dodged the bullet of cracking a block. That was probably 7-8 winters here in Vegas, and those winters I would have to go out and knock a 1" puck of ice off the dog's water bucket each morning... I've heard of people cracking blocks and manifolds out here, so it is possible. I don't think it's going to get cold enough tonight, but I'm not taking any chances. I'm going out here in a bit and draining the block, better safe than sorry. I'm actually kicking myself as I was out yesterday and forgot to drain the block at the launch ramp, like I normally do during the winter.

Stripers are all over Lake Mohave, but the big ones hang around where trout are planted. Willow Beach and a couple miles below and above. I've never trout fished there. They used to stock trout below Hoover Dam, but I don't remember seeing that for a while. They are just stocking at Willow Beach now. The trout usually disperse pretty quick after stocking so fishing where the truck dumps them is a short lived opportunity. Try the coves down river a mile or so, I've seen them close up next to cover, submerged trees, rocks.

 

[wagnerz]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

I never really understood why they plant all those trout down at willow beach. The trout disperse real quick and I suppose are swallowed by the large stripers. I mean I hear and see every year of a few large stripers being caught, but not enough to justify the millions of dollars that they spend to plant the trout in there. They used to also plant the trout in Lake Mead, but I am not sure if they still do it or not, but it just seems like such a waste of trout.

 

[QC]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

For clarity, my comments were about the "might tease close to 32" thing and what that means. Havasu is not as cold as Mead, so I am not advocating a whole season without draining . . .

 

[Pierutrus]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

For clarity, my comments were about the "might tease close to 32" thing and what that means. Havasu is not as cold as Mead, so I am not advocating a whole season without draining . . .

Nice covering of the arse!

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

all my experience is spend in the winter there in the slips.

have seen my water hose on the dock freeze a few times and seen blocks freeze and break at calvile and horse power cove. the ones that freeze are on trailers or hydro lifts. generally a boat in the water is safe as water temp keeps bilge area stable. exception to this is prolonged wind form same direction. had a water line freeze on the 310 just last winter at powell but was cold wind for 3 days in a row.
personally any time i pull a boat down there i drain all the water systems. easy to do and air doesn't freeze. our 230 will gravity drain everything in 5 min.

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

would say at least form first of dec to end of march


cheers and happy holidays

 

[tt600]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Yeah it does seem the trout are there only as striper food. I wish I could see the electrofishing data for the canyon. Perhaps if I call the hatchery they
will spill the beans.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Willow Beach and Lake Mohave is loaded with big stripers. A couple years ago I caught a 50#er, a 40#er, a 30#er, several in the 20# range and a couple smaller that I let go. Heck, my kid has caught several down there with his biggest being 24# the spring of this year. Between the stripers, cormorants, hawks, eagles, herons and fisherman, trout don't have a chance down there. Kind of weird as Willow used to be a world class trout fishery, trout in the 20# range. That was before the spill gates at Hoover Dam lowered in the early 80's and let stripers into Mohave. The good trout fishing at Willow Beach will never return as they would have to get rid of the stripers first, and I don't see that happening.

Here's one for you. The Willow Beach hatchery raises razorback suckers to hopefully get them going back in Mohave. They release trout along with the razor back suckers to help keep the stripers off the razor backs..... They are purposely stocking trout to get eaten by the stripers, so the razorbacks have a better chance of survival. I'm guessing it takes a long time to get a razorback big enough not to be striper food, probably 5# or bigger.

 

[12vMan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Doesn't it have to drop quite a bit below 32 to get the water in there to freeze and crack the block?

From my experience if you're storing outside it would have to be a prolonged cold snap, not the normal winter temp fluctuations of upper 20's or so to the 40's during the day. It would be one of those 10 year cycle cold snaps that come around and drop the temp to the teens at night and only get up to maybe the 30's during the day for a prolonged period of time, like a week. I don't think just 1 or 2 days would be enough to crack a block. Now Meadview, with it's higher elevation, would definitely require winterizing. We get snow there every year.

From what has been said in other posts, it looks like boats in the water are the safest and those not drained on hydro-hoists are probably the most vulnerable to the low temps. I admit I haven't always drained mine at the end of my boating season but I have always watched the temps there for possible freezing conditions forecast so I can take a trip up and take care of it if needed.

 

[Pierutrus]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Excellent post 12VMan, you nailed it!

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

Last winter the cold popped that core plug off the top of one of my carbs while sitting in storage.I have a 70hp johnson outboard.first time for that.I never do anything to my outboard for winter.

 

[12vMan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

The first widespread freeze of the cool season occurred across Las Vegas Tuesday Morning. Check out how cold it got:

 

[wagnerz]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

I drained the water on Saturday just for the heck of it, and its not very hard to do, but I placed a water-bottled in my boat, because I want to see if it really can get cold enough to freeze it solid. I just don't think it will happen because it has to get below 32 for an extended period of time, like a few days at least to get that much water to freeze.

I know the stripers get real big down on the river, I caught about a 15lb there one time, which was my personal largest striper. But I would love to see the trout go somewhere where they could survive and/or go to a put and take pond or something instead of basically just releasing them into the river to allow them to die.

 

[12vMan]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

It's gonna be a great 2012

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: calling all lake mead boaters! nevada

1200' and goverment wash will open launch ramp,this day i dream about and so does my gas tank.