Lake Mead water level today 1037.84 ft, falling

Questions people ask about Lake Mead

Answered from the same readings as the rest of this page. Where we have no basis for an answer, there is no entry — spot-by-spot local knowledge is not something we can claim for Lake Mead.

Is it worth fishing Lake Mead today?

5 out of 10 — picky. Work for it. The strongest stretch is 2:31 AM–4:31 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend, the water level.

What time should you fish Lake Mead?

Today's major windows run 2:31 AM–4:31 AM and 3:01 PM–5:01 PM, with minor windows at 10:38 AM–11:38 AM and 8:18 PM–9:18 PM. Sunrise is 6:33 AM and sunset 6:23 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.

What is the water temperature at Lake Mead?

No gauge on Lake Mead measures it, so this is an estimate: roughly 81°F, worked out from the 7-day mean of air temperature at NOAA weather station KLSV (Nellis Air Force Base). Checked against the lakes that do have a thermometer, that method lands within about 4.5°F of the real reading and was off by 8.3°F at worst. Treat it as a ballpark, not a measurement — and note the bite index above ignores it entirely, because an error that size would move the verdict as often as it would fix it.

What is the water level at Lake Mead right now?

1037.84 ft, the reading for September 29 from the Lake Mead Hoover Dam and Powerplant gauge run by the USBR, which publishes one value a day. Over 24 hours it is down 0.03 ft.

Are water levels rising or falling at Lake Mead?

Falling. The lake is down 0.03 ft in 24 hours and down 0.30 ft over the week. Over the last 9 days it has held between 1037.79 and 1038.22 ft. Every figure here is a difference between two gauge readings, not a forecast — what the level does next depends on rain and on what the dam releases.

Can you eat the fish you catch in Lake Mead?

That is a health question, and it is answered officially rather than by us. Nevada Department of Wildlife, with the Division of Public and Behavioral Health publishes the fish consumption advisory covering these waters, where Nevada keeps this with the wildlife agency, and the Carson River from Dayton to Lahontan Dam carries a do-not-eat advisory. Read it before you keep a meal — we give no eating advice.

NDOW fish consumption advisory

Do you need a licence to fish Lake Mead?

Yes. A Nevada fishing license covers this water, required from age 12. NDOW sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What a Nevada license costs, and who is exempt

What size fish can you keep in Nevada?

It depends on the species, and several have slot limits rather than a simple minimum. Open to harvest today: sacramento perch. Seasons here change mid-year by agency order, so the status is re-checked every morning.

Sacramento perch limits · Check a length against the rules