Artificial Lure here with your local Lake Mead fishing report for Friday, November 21, 2025. It’s a cool, crisp late fall morning on the desert reservoir—sunrise came at 6:22 AM, with sunset due at 4:35 PM—leaving us with shorter days and some hungry fish starting to school up. Weatherwise, thanks to recent November rain and a bout of warmer temps across southern Nevada, the lake level is up slightly, a change from the steady drops we’ve seen. Expect today’s high near the mid-60s, with a light breeze from the southwest. With no tides on Lake Mead—it’s a freshwater reservoir, after all—pay attention to winds and water temps: they’re hovering in the upper 50s to low 60s right now, putting fish in a transitional mood.

Striped bass are still headlining, and anglers are finding good numbers along the Boulder Basin, specifically between Hemenway Harbor and the mouths of Las Vegas and Callville Bays. Jigging with silver spoons and casting swimbaits in shad colors are drawing the most aggressive fish. Those chasing boils at first light are cashing in, though the frenzy dies off fast after the sun gets up. Reports coming into local tackle shops—like Bass Pro and Angler’s Edge—say several boats limited out this week with stripers averaging 2 to 4 pounds, and at least three fish pushing the double digits. Live shad—even dead-stick presentations—are the top bait when you can net ‘em, but cut anchovy is catching steady numbers too when live bait is scarce.

Black bass action—both largemouth and smallmouth—is solid if you work structure and go finesse. With cooling water, try Ned rigs, 3" tubes in green pumpkin, or slowly dragged drop-shots with Roboworms. The deeper rocky points outside Echo Bay and Temple Bar have produced smallies up to 3 pounds. Largemouth are a bit less consistent, but the brushy coves back in Overton Arm are still holding decent fish on Texas-rigged plastics and slowly worked spinnerbaits.

Catfish are surprisingly active for this time of year. Night anglers on submerged flats near Stewart’s Point and Government Wash report picking up channels with chicken livers and cut baits. Most are slot-sized, but a few bruisers pushing 10 pounds hit the cleaning stations earlier this week, especially on warm evenings.

On the crappie front, it’s a pick bite, but fishing vertical around submerged brush in deeper pockets up the Overton Arm or Gregg Basin with live minnows or white jigs has put a few slabs on stringers.

Best bite windows today are right at dawn for stripers, and mid-afternoon for bass as the sun warms the rocks. Water clarity is good, running 12-15 feet. The shad are balling up thick, so match your lures accordingly—anything in shad or chrome patterns is money right now.

Hot spots to hit:
• Hemenway Harbor—Troll early for stripers, watch for birds on bait.
• Echo Bay—Finesse smallmouth off the rocky ledges.
• Government Wash—Reliable for catfish and the odd walleye at dusk.
• Temple Bar—Largemouth in the submerged brush and occasional quality crappie.

Be sure to practice catch and release, especially with bass—Ninety percent of us are doing it, according to Major League Fishing, and it helps keep the bite going all year.

That’s your live scoop from Lake Mead this Friday. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe for all your weekly fishing tips and hot spots.

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