By Tyler Brinks
PHOTO BY TREKANDSHOOT
Historically low water levels continue to influence favorite bass fisheries
It ’ s been well documented that several states west of the Rocky Mountains are in a severe drought – now referred to as a “ megadrought ” in some states – and that lakes and reservoirs in California , Arizona and Utah are suffering from record-low water levels . That includes some of the West ’ s most popular bass fisheries : Lake Mead in Nevada and Lakes Shasta and Oroville in Northern California , for example .
It ’ s not unprecedented for water levels to fluctuate wildly in these fisheries , as they ’ re primarily used as water supply sources for nearby municipalities and agriculture . Some western reservoirs can rise and fall up to 100 feet yearly . But the dire situation currently facing West Coast water managers ( and bass anglers ) comes after scant annual precipitation the past two decades , which has failed to replace the water taken out of reservoirs like Mead , Shasta and Oroville by normal human usage .
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2022 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM