Chris Hornbrook, American Bass regional tournament director, reported that in a one-day tournament he held in early spring, the top five-fish limit weighed nearly 19 pounds.

A WON Bass event held a few weeks later had a winning stringer of more than 18 pounds. Hornbrook said that once spring rolls around, weights like this are common in Mohave.

This self-described "Lake Mohave bucketmouth junky" has been slinging baits here for more than 30 years -- and considers Mohave to be the best bass lake on the Colorado River.

He admits a statement like that might raise a few eyebrows, but his proof is the quality bass the lake continues to produce.

"On a decent day on Mohave, a good angler will catch between 10 and 15 bass that will average 3 pounds," he said. "Even better is that a couple of them will be 4- to 5-pound kickers. Mead doesn't come even close to that."

NDOW fisheries biologist Mike Burrell has been keeping an eye on Mohave for nearly 25 years. He said its numbers of bass are not as strong as Mead's, but that Mohave definitely outproduces in overall weight.

On average, largemouths tend to be in the 2- to 3-pound range, and it's not uncommon for anglers to lip 5-pound toads. Burrell also said that he knows of several bass in the 7-to 8-pound range that have been hauled in from its clear waters in recent years.

If creel surveys are any indication, the overall bass population is also creeping up.

Even though Mohave is a top producer as far as quality goes, Hornbrook admits most anglers visiting Nevada get beat up on the lake.

"Mohave can be tough at times," he said. "To be consistently successful there, you really should spend a lot of time on the water to learn where the big bites live."

Being a tournament angler, he likes to hunt for bigger fish and tends to find them around the lake's underwater springs. Crayfish prefer the warmer water there, and the resident bigmouths like to gobble them up.

Another key to success on Mohave is presentation.

"Bass tend to suspend a lot in this lake," said Hornbrook, "so I like to fish the vertical edges along canyon walls."

Once he finds a wall that looks promising, he focuses his presentation in the dark pockets along the edge. In these situations, he likes to use spider jigs and tube jigs. Small diamond spinnerbaits can also be deadly in the right circumstances.

So where should you go to find the best prime places? Well, most seasoned Mohave anglers confess that the areas around Cottonwood Cove, in the middle of the lake, are your best bet.

The coves, points and canyon walls within a two- to three-mile range are usually about as far as you need to go to find some willing residents. And since it doesn't receive heavy angler pressure, lonely water is easy to find.

But some specific areas you might want to try that are popular spots among anglers are Arizona and Nevada bays.

SOUTH FORK
Rounding out this Triple Crown is a lake that lurks in the shadow of Mead and Mohave. But when you consider catch rates, consistency and overall quality, you might put this bass factory on the top of your to-do list this spring.