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Lake Powell Fish Report

Have you made a recent fishing trip to Lake Powell?
If you have, please let us know how you did.  E-mail your fishing report to Wayne Gustaveson (wayne@wayneswords.com).  Please include who you are and where you're from, dates fished, location, tackle used, species and number of fish caught and any other information you would like to pass on to other anglers.

Visit the Anglers Corner - Fishing reports from Lake Powell by anglers for anglers.

If you have a question try posting on WAYNESWORDS FORUMS.

Reports from the previous week can be seen by clicking on Archived Fish reports

 

 

 
 

ARCHIVED FISH REPORTS

  

Jake Lamberty is learning about fishing fun at Lake Powell tutored by parents that care. Lenny Lamberty took the picture of 3-year-old Jake with his first catfish. Lenny said that Jake had promised his 81 year old Nana that he'd catch her a catfish, as they are her favorite to eat. He was so proud that he actually did, we heard about it for weeks. We've been blessed with a real smart cookie there, that loves to be involved with the outdoor stuff that we enjoy.

 

December 12, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3620
Water Temp: 56-57 F
Fish are waiting for the days to lengthen and the water to warm just a bit. For now the best fishing is under the marinas with night fishing being better than in daylight.

We should utilize this break in catching to gear up our defenses to prevent quagga mussels from invading Lake Powell. What the heck is a quagga mussel?

Dont confuse that with the Asian clam that is already present in Lake Powell
Asian Clam An Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) task force determined in 1999 that zebra mussels would eventually cross the continental divide and infest western waters. It was determined that Lake Powell would be the likely point of introduction because of the many visiting boats that use this great resource. Since 1999 an active program has been in place to prevent zebra mussel invasion. Any boat entering Glen Canyon NRA from east of the Continental Divide has been questioned at the entry stations to find out if mussels could be hitchhiking on entering boats. Any boat with questionable credentials was given the option of a free hot water wash to kill any lingering mussels. The program seems to have worked. Mussels have not yet been found in Lake Powell.

Mussels did finally arrive and during January 2007were detected in Lakes Mead, Mohave, and Havasu. The invading mussel is a close cousin to the zebra. Its called a quagga mussel. Quaggas have been characterized as a "zebra mussel on steroids". They prefer deeper, cooler water and can attach to soft and hard substrate. They can live more places than zebra mussels.


The problem with mussels is that they are so prolific that they cover the lake bottom and hard underwater structures with live shellfish. They can even attach to slow moving animals like crayfish. Nothing is safe. They have been known to form a shell reef over a foot thick and actually deposit enough shells to close off water pipes less than 18 inches in diameter.

Mussel encrusted shopping cart

Millions of shell fish eat by siphoning water through the shell. Lake productivity is soon impacted as the plankton is siphoned off by shell fish before other fish can eat it. Fish populations are restructured. If mussels enter Lake Powell, smallmouth and striped bass fisheries would decline dramatically.

Mussels discard waste in such volume that the bottom becomes fouled and water chemistry changes. Lake Powell is threatened by all of these drastic end results.


The mussel threat to Lake Powell has now increased beyond description. While mussels cannot climb over Glen Canyon Dam to enter the lake the chance of boaters bringing larval mussels from the lower basin to Powell is "almost" a certainty. The only chance for Lake Powell to avoid this fate is if all visitors are made aware of the problem and take steps to prevent invaders from making it to Lake Powell. Please do everything in your power to prevent mussels from altering the beauty and bounty that is now enjoyed.

Mussel encrusted outdrive.


What You Can Do:

o Drain the water from your motor, live well, and bilge on land before leaving the
immediate area of the mussel infested lake.
 

o Flush the motor and bilges with hot, soapy water or a 5% solution of household
bleach.
 

o Completely inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also
feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can
be hard to see.
 

o Wash the hull, equipment, bilge and any other exposed surface with hot, soapy water
or use a 5% solution of household bleach.
 

o Clean and wash your trailer, truck or any other equipment that comes in contact with
lake water. Mussels can live in small pockets anywhere water collects.
 

o Air-dry the boat and other equipment for at least five days before launching in any
other waterway.

Additional information can be found at www.protectyourwaters.net
www.100thMeridian.org.
 

Expect to be asked questions about your boat and where it has been before entering or launching at Lake Powell. DWR techs will be on the ramps beginning in March 2008 to answer your questions about mussels and protect the lake from mussels.

October 29, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3623.99
Water Temp: 63-65 F

It has been a great fishing season but this is my last regular report for the year. Next week we head up lake for annul gill net sampling so I won't be able to provide a new reports from my other office - which is Lake Powell. There will be incidental updates through the winter as news worthy events occur.

The yearly summary is very bright. Shad made a tremendous comeback in 2008. They fed the rising generation of game fish left over after the old generation passed out of the picture in shad-poor 2007. Young stripers grew rapidly, doubling in weight from 1.5 to 3 pounds from spring to fall. Some trophy stripers remain and continue to pack on pounds but the bulk of the population weighs in at 3-4 pounds and is primed to produce a bumper crop of stripers in 2009.
 

Shane Spravzoff 


Striped bass hatched in 2009 will survive on plankton early in the year and may eat some shad in summer and fall if shad are abundant. The main predatory impact of the new striped bass overpopulation will not be felt until 2010. Striped bass fishing in 2009 will be great for large numbers of 4-pound fish. If shad are scarce, bait fishing will be excellent. If shad are abundant in 2009, then stripers will grow to 6-pounds before the predation induced forage crash occurs in 2010.

Bass, particularly largemouth, were treated to a forest of habitat as the lake rose 45 feet in 2008. Brush that had grown around the lake edge was flooded providing dense cover for largemouth, crappie and bluegill. Copious shad were added to the fish forest resulting in lush habitat and feeding conditions seldom seen in this lake.

Smallmouth hung out on the rocks at the edge of the habitat forest feeding on shad at a leisurely rate and loving it. These conditions were optimum for all sport fish. Bluegill, crappie, walleye, and catfish all excelled. The perfect mix of food and cover was to the liking of all participants, perhaps with one exception.

The only one left out in this ideal aquatic situation was the angler. When fish are well fed and housed they have no reason to respond to baits and lures with more than a token attempt. Stripers lost interest in anchovy bait in early summer. With live shad or dead bait on the menu there was little reason to choose bait. Cover made it hard (not impossible) to coax bass out of the sheltered lair to feed when they could consume sunfish and shad without leaving home.

It is refreshing to have a complacent fish year like this occasionally to allow the sport fish a chance grow larger at their leisure. The standard at Powell is large numbers of small fish with low to no forage which makes hungry fish easy to catch. Results in 2008 were completely different with fat fish being difficult to catch. Those pleasant conditions (for fish) remain in place today and it may remain that way through winter.

Patience is the key. This season is all but over. Normal conditions will return. Fishing success will improve in 2009. The end result will be excellent fishing for bigger better fish. I love it.

October 22, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3624
Water Temp: 65-67 F


Main lake stripers have gone quiet. My best guess for the lack of feeding is a general attitude of satisfied luxury. They have all the food they want or need. They feed only when they want and are quickly sated. They seem to have little regard for the anglers who would really like to get close and personal with these fat fish.

Here is what's happening. Stripers are feeding quickly during their prime feeding times. At first light and last light there is a brief flurry of feeding. Some of it is on top when 5 fish splash in unison. These fish are as susceptible to angling as are any stripers when they decide to eat. They grab anything close to their mouth when in feeding mode. The event lasts for about 20 minutes and then its over.
 

Keith Barney with 4.3 pound largemouth


This quick boil is almost impossible to find by running around the lake looking for boils because it is of short duration and happens early when light is not adequate to illuminate a few splashes. Those that have been successful are camped near the action and waiting when the sky lightens in the morning. Once a feeding location is known, an angler could be waiting at the right spot to get 5 quick fish. Find them one day and return to the spot the next for consistent action.

During daylight, fishing is tough with only a random boil that could happen anytime, any place and then not repeat. Spooning is good if a school is found but they move quickly out of the zone. Cooler temperatures will improve spooning results as shad move deep. Do not expect that to happen until November.

Trolling is working near the inflows where shad abundance is high. At Hite and upper San Juan use a deep diver to get down 20 feet and near the lazily moving stripers.

For this week the best bet is to fish for bass around shad schools located in the backs of many brushy coves. Surface lures tossed near brush (with shad) are being whacked with regularity morning and evening. During the day plastic tubes and drop shot shad baits are working on the deep water side of brushy shad coves. Fish 25 feet for best action on keeper sized fish.

When fish are fat and fussy the strategy is to make them mad. Shad colored baits blend win well with thousands of shad. Sometime the wild colors of a fire tiger crankbait trigger a reaction when shad colors will not. Go bright and see if the fishing fortunes improve.
 

October 15, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3625
Water Temp: 67-69 F
The Bomber Long A Suspending jerk bait has been a very dependable sub surface lure for me in current feeding conditions.

I went fishing on the morning of the October 14th just to make sure the full moon hex was still viable. Sure was. I didn't get a bite. But that is now over and each night will get darker and hopefully days will be warmer following the first major cold front of the season. By the coming weekend good fishing should prevail.

Full moon is actual helpful right now with cold, windy mornings, in that, shad-chasing fish all seem to wake up mid day and begin feeding. There is a strong feeding period beginning at 11 AM (MST) when much surface action is seen. The next major feeding period occurs from 4 PM to dark.

Shad are still abundant but predators are packing on weight by eating as many shad as possible with water temperature pegged in the preferred activity range. Stripers are most active when water is in the mid 60's and bass get very active both spring and fall in that same range.

The pattern right now is top water lures and shallow runners cast to any two-fish splash seen any time of day. All fish are chasing shad and trapping them against the surface and/or shore allows the predator to effectively corner and catch shad. Splashes against shore often indicate bass, while deep water splashes often mark stripers which can then be caught by fishing spoons directly under the surface disturbance.

Constantly scan the water surface and shoreline for signs of fish activity. A swirl, a gull diving on the water, a coyote walking on shore, ravens perched on rocks, all are indicators of feeding events. Find a shad school in shallow water and use shad like duck decoys. Fish will come to shad. October is hunting season and fish-hunting is good right now. Any of these events may lead to discovering feeding activity and allow one to experience some amazing fishing success.

Mid Lake Powell is probably the best. I would fish from Good Hope Bay to Padre Bay. San Juan and Hite have lots of fish but a few less shad in the main lake makes it a better angling bet. Spend equal time looking for bass and stripers. Both species are found in the same location near shad. One visual trigger may lead to the active feeding zone. Don't ignore stripers feeding on top if fishing for bass. It is likely bass will be caught right in the same spot.

Fishing success should be at its Fall peak during the last two weeks of October.

October 8, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3626
Water Temp: 71-73 F


Striper fishing is very selective while bass fishing continues to get better.

The pattern for fat and fussy stripers requires finding fish and then conforming to their feeding behavior. There is no room for deviation. The over riding factor is abundant shad. In these conditions stripers will only eat shad so find what their feeding technique is in your fishing location.

At Hite the feeding pattern requires only short swimming bursts to catch ever present shad. Stripers rest while digesting near the last feeding opportunity. There is not much movement and no schooling behavior as the school is not needed to feed effectively. Therefore, the most effective technique is trolling a deep diver from 15-30 feet to put the lure in front of resting fish. They give a short swimming burst to catch the lure.

In the main lake with a few less shad there is some schooling behavior required to surround a shad school and effectively feed. A few stripers will break water while chasing fleeing shad to the surface but most feeding is under water. The trick is to see 2-3 fish splashing and then quickly get to that spot and drop spoons to the subsurface feeding event. When fish are seen on the graph near tiny boils they can often be caught. Fish quickly and efficiently as stripers are moving quickly among various shad schools.

This morning we started at Lone Rock looking for a boil. We saw only widely scattered fish at first light and could not get any started with top water or spoons. We left there at 7 AM (MST) and searched through Wahweap and crossed into Warm Creek at Castle Rock. We traveled as far back in Warm Creek as the floating rest room without seeing any surface feeding. We then turned toward the main channel on our way to Navajo or Antelope Point. Half way across the bay we saw 10 fish splashing on the east shoreline of Warm Creek directly east of the Caste Rock Cut. They were down by the time we got to the spot and we could not locate them on the graph. But soon we saw a few fish come up a bit further up the shoreline. We got on them and caught 5 on top and then began spooning the school to put another 20 in the boat. Bottom depth varied from 30-70 feet. Stripers used the whole water column while feeding.

The magic time seems to be 8 AM. There is more striper activity between 8-9 than the hours before or after.

When stripers quit it is time to go bass fishing. Green tubes fished on outside rocky points and around submerged brush are very effective. The key is fishing at a bottom depth of 25 feet. I prefer to fish vertically under the boat when targeting deep water. When fish are seen on the graph in these conditions they can be caught.

Catfish, sunfish and crappie are providing great fishing from Good Hope Bay downstream. It is still quite slow in the Hite area.
 

October 1, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3626
Water Temp: 73-75 F
The upper lake is slumbering under a warm blanket of shad. It has been a pleasant month for predators as they simply have to open mouth and swim quickly for a few feet to catch all the shad necessary. So they bask in the forest of brush and eat at their leisure. The lack of urgency, minimal movement and abundance of food combine to add inches to length and girth. All game fish are growing bigger and heavier. The outlook is glowing for next year. Anglers who like bigger fish will be so pleased. The price in the short term is very tough fishing for fat sassy fish. Even catfishing is slow.

Striper fishing north of Good Hope is slow with jigging and boil searches going unrewarded. There is an occasional fish caught on top but the wait is very long. The only consistent success comes from trolling a deep diving lure at 15-25 feet across points in Striper City (buoy 130- 135).
 

Jamie and Molly Packer and cousin.


Bass fishing is better with large and smallmouth chasing shad in coves. Bass can be caught on topwater lures, shad crankbait and plastics.

THE SOUTHERN LAKE IS COMING ALIVE! Stripers are boiling stronger with each passing day. Boils are still random. There may only be one boil encountered each day due to chance and circumstances, but the experience will be memorable. These stripers are getting big and strong. It has been a 3 or 4 years since fat 4-pounders were consistently caught. But that time is now and it will continue over this winter and into next spring. Good times are back!

The list of boil locations is growing. Boils have happened each day near Lone Rock the past week with mid day being the most consistent time. Antelope Marina has had some huge boils that come up randomly every second or third day. These boils have been visible from the marina and even the restaurant window.

From Wahweap to the mouth of the San Juan boils have been seen in random but grand fashion. Find the fish, get in range to make a cast, and the hookup is assured. I prefer topwater lures but a rattletrap or variety of lures that run shallow will all work. The key is to use a big lure that can be cast for distance in case the boil turns away after the first fish is hooked. Stripers are big enough now that it takes a while to get them to the boat.

My maximum efficiency plan is to have at least two rods ready for action. Flop the first fish in the boat and cast the second rod instead of unhooking the first fish. Use a lure with single hook so the only person with an unexpected piercing is the fish.

Bass fishing is now excellent in the southern lake. Top water, plastics and cranks fished on the deep water side of visible brush or in the shade of steep cliffs around broken rock is almost guaranteed.

Don't put the fishing rods away. October is AWESOME at Lake Powell (South) right now.
 

September 26, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3627
Water Temp: 77-79 F
Striped bass have apparently gone on a two week vacation. Fishing for the normally voracious predators has been uncharacteristically quiet. The culprit seems to be living the high life for most of the summer. Stripers are fat and apparently content to coast for a while on the reserves they stored during the easy days of summer.

Shad are still abundant but some schools are moving to the backs of coves. This is normal shad behavior in the fall and may explain the present lack of surface feeding activity. Stripers are still looking in the main channel for an easy meal. Shad are not there and/or stripers have not found them. This separation is short term. Stripers will get hungry soon and begin searching until shad are found. Boils will start up again but they will now be found on shore instead of in open water.
 

Jamie Jenneve's other son from NY with smallmouth caught from shore.

 


The best striper action of the past week occurred when a striper school was graphed and seen feeding at depth on shad. Then spoons dropped straight down on the active school worked for a short time before the school scooted off to parts unknown. It is still difficult to stay with the rapidly moving striper schools.

Not to worry- Bass have come to the rescue. Large and smallmouth bass fishing is wonderful. The pattern is quite specific, but once bass are located they are easy to catch.

Imagine a slick rock cove with brush and rocks piled along the shoreline in the back of the cove. The tendency is to move in close to shore to get in casting range of the visible brush and rocks. That is ALMOST the right thing to do. Bass are actually holding in deep water very near the cove. Remember all that brush covered by 45 feet of rising water is still out there. Find the first underwater tree that you can see or graph. Then turnaround and fish on the deep water side of the tree. Bass are in 25-40 feet of water in the migration lane leading to that great looking brushy cove. Instead of casting to the shoreline, fish the slot in the middle of the canyon leading to the cove.

The best technique for imitating a prey fish in open water at depth is a drop shot rig where the weight is on the bottom and the plastic lure is suspended 18 inches above substrate. Use a gray or green shad imitating bait. Find a fish or two on the graph. Drop the bait under the boat until it stops sinking. With the weight on the bottom, lift the lure gently to its full 18-inch height and get set for a quick hook up.

Fishing is best from Padre Bay to Good Hope with the terminal ends of the lake quiet.

September 19, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3627
Water Temp: 77-79 F

Darn old full moon really put the fish down early this week. Fish are fat after chowing down all summer on a surplus supply of shad. There is plenty of forage. Living is easy. All this adds up to tough fishing for sportsmen when fish get a blast of full moon-itis. But this will pass. By the time the report makes the rounds the worst will be over and fishing will perk up once more.

Striper boils are now defined as 3 fish splashing within 50 yards of each other. They can be caught if the surface lure is presented on time before the splash ring goes away. Splashing fish may be either bass or stripers. They are all lazily eating shad on the surface. The surface action may last for two bites but fish are up and gone in a flash.
 

Jamie Jenneve's son from NY with boil-caught striper.


The best way to catch them is to drop spoons in the vicinity of the splash rings. The best depth for spooning is 40 feet. When a school is graphed on bottom, drop the lure until it touches and then jig in short strokes. If the school is suspended, drop the lure below the school and then speed reel through the fish. Pause when above the fish and drop the lure back through the fish zone. This technique will catch more stripers than any other right now.

The only really good time of day right now is evening. As the moon darkens, mornings will get progressively better. The twilight periods are far superior to any other time of day for fishing success.

There are fish to be caught in these conditions. My best technique today was to find a long rocky point covered with tamarisk trees. Follow the point out until treetops are just barely visible under water. Fish shad and bluegill crankbaits and plastics where bottom depth is 20-30 feet. A Storm Wild-eye swimbait was the best lure today. Let it swim through the tree tops and drop along the edges to find bass lurking in the trees. Bass fishing really saved the day when stripers were not ready to go for us.

At Bullfrog there were a few striper boils (3 fish) in the early morning in Hansen Creek, Lake Canyon and Halls Creek. Spooning near the boils produced a few stripers. The only really good spooning spot found was at the tire breakwater guarding Bullfrog Main Ramp which produced some 30 fish catches early in the week.

Water temperature is cooling and the moon is getting darker. Fishing will be back to normal with a good fishing success rate as the moon gets dark at month end.
 

September 10, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3628
Water Temp: 77-80 F
The theme for this report is "good fishing". That takes on different connotations in Lake Powell when compared with most other fisheries. Anglers at Powell usually catch large numbers of fish while those fishing other waters are content with fewer fish. Both fishing experiences are fun but expectations are different.

The immense size of the lake provides space for innumerable predator fish that are often forage limited. Hungry fish are easy to catch. Infrequently the lake balance swings away from being predator heavy and forage fish are more abundant. Flourishing forage is normal in most waters but when that happens at Powell an adjustment in fishing attitude is required.
 

Michelle Biagi with striper caught near Rock Creek.


Stripers drive the Lake Powell fishery. They eat early and often which makes them easy to find while they are roaming and searching for food. This year feeding is easy in the northern lake. Stripers are fat. Meals are provided in a short order without great effort. Roaming and searching for food is limited.

To be successful in these conditions feeding habits must be understood and exploited. Stripers feed for the first and last two hours of daylight. They are nocturnal and will feed in dark periods as well. The prized surface feeding events (boils) occur consistently during the dawn and dusk period and randomly during the day. Wind blows away the boil and stripers just feed at depth instead of the surface. The strategy is to be in postion to find a boil when the sun comes up.

Recently the southern lake is "better" for boils. There are less shad, making stripers search harder and boil more often. Cruise the lake from Wahweap to Rainbow for a chance to see a morning boil. The mouth of the San Juan may be the most consistent boil spot now but the channel from San Juan to Bullfrog is also productive.

The northern portions of the lake (Hite and San Juan) are still forage-heavy with less surface action. Fishing is great for bass along the rocky shore and in the brushy coves. If fishing the northern lake, target bass and take advantage of a striper school when they pop to the top or cross the screen of the graph. The best technique is the jigging spoon placed immediately in the fast moving school. Catch them quick because they move on in a short time.

What has been described here is Lake Powell fishing success being much like most other fisheries. It should be enjoyed knowing that fish are having an easy time right now. But these conditions will not last long. Shad will be consumed in huge numbers. The shad spawn next spring will be small due to the high numbers of shad competing with each other for food. The end result will be a normal Lake Powell high success year in 2009 with big fish being common. That will be a peak year to be remembered. Plan now to fish the lake in 2009.

For this week we have to be satisfied with only catching 10-30 fish per day, unless bass fishing and then the numbers go up. I know this is "slow" fishing by Lake Powell standards, but today's sacrifice will lead to a brighter tomorrow.
 

September 2, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3629
Water Temp: 78-80 F
The biggest change this week is a drop in surface water temperature. After more than a month of water warmer than 80 degrees, the lake has finally dipped down to 78 F in the morning. Nights are cooler and days shorter. While there will still be some warm days, water temperature will decline steadily from now on. Fall fishing excellence is just ahead.

The Labor Day storms left us uncertain as to changes in fish location and behavior. Few reports were given. It is assumed that fish just went deep and will now resume the patterns established last week.
 

Michelle Gonzalez caught two boiling stripers on one cast


Over the length of the lake, big strong striper boils happen once in a while. More often there are scattered feeding events marked by a few fish surfacing at random wide spread locations. Some times all is quiet, particularly during the mid day period.

Best fishing strategy for this week is to search for that big boil. If found, the rewards are tremendous with numerous strong, fat 2-3 pound stripers that can be caught as long as the fish feed on top - which may be over an hour. These huge boils occur during the first two hours of daylight and the last two hours of light at night.

Last week they were found in Padre Bay, Rock Creek, Oak Canyon, Jacks Arch Cove (San Juan mouth), Red Canyon, and Trachyte. At least every third day these boils light up to the delight of all those lucky enough to be close by.

More often (daily) scattered fish are seen morning and evening marking the location of feeding schools. A few of these can be caught with surface lures thrown right into the splash ring. The better approach is to graph the 30-60 foot bottom contour where the single splashes are seen. Find the big school on the bottom for the best fishing experience. These can be readily caught on spoons. Surfacing fish mark the location of feeding events and deep running schools. The feeding action is going on at depth so mimicking a dying shad with a spoon falling to the bottom is the most productive technique to try. This will be the most rewarding technique to pursue while waiting for the big boil to appear.

Bass fishing continues to improve particularly around feeding stripers. Stripers are easy to see and bass are close to the feeding commotion. Try cranking rattle traps and other shallow runners in the structure nearest to the surface commotion. Both large and smallmouth bass are there feeding on fleeing shad. Largemouth are more likely to be in brush structure while smallmouth will be around rocky points and ledges. The most productive plastic bass lure reported last week was the standard watermelon colored green tube jig.

Catfish are still feeding near camp and sunfish are in the brush.

The cooling weather will spark increased fish activity and also be kinder to anglers who may not like the heat.

August 27, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3630
Water Temp: 78-83 F

Damien Dibble, Perry UT, shares the back deck with two frisky stripers caught in a boil in Padre Bay!

 

 

 

 

 

 


Oh, oh! Stripers have slipped into their lazy mode over much of the lake. That means they are feeding easily with little need to join in large schools to trap shad. Apparently shad are abundant, scattered and easy to eat at random over most of the lake. Surface feeding is equally easy to see but hard to approach in time to cast to fish before they go down. The chase is fun and punctuated with just enough large sustained boils to make number of fish caught at the end of the day respectable.

The extreme north and south ends of the lake are experiencing these lackadaisical scattered feeding events. Perhaps the best place to be is mid lake where more boils of longer duration are found. On a cruise uplake yesterday from Wahweap to Bullfrog, decent boils were seen mid day at, Buoy 27, Dangling Rope (main channel), Buoy 55, mouth of San Juan, Halls Crossing Marina breakwater and the Bullfrog docks.

The best school in the lower lake was found in Padre Bay around the island separating Gunsight from Padre Bay. Some days the stripers are scattered across Padre, but this morning the big school stayed up from first light to 7:30 AM. Then they fragmented into small groups and feed in all directions throughout Padre Bay. They were easy to catch in the early morning but hard to hook after 8 AM. The school seems to regroup at about 8 AM and then boil once more at 8:30 before finishing the morning feeding event.

Stripers boil again in the afternoon in the same locations beginning as early as 3 PM but feeding may be delayed as late as 6 PM. Most serious anglers end up with 30 fish after a good morning or evening trip.

Smallmouth bass are being caught with ease now along the shoreline but most fish are small. Bigger bass are feeding deep along the shoreline or with the striper schools in open water. Some really big largemouth have been taken recently on surface lures in the backs of brushy coves.

Catfishing is excellent with bait in the evening near camp.

August 20, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3631
Water Temp: 78-83 F
It's beginning! The southern lake is starting to boil after a 3 week quiet spell where fishing was very tough. The northern lake has had sustained striper boils over the same period. Now it appears the whole lake will provide excellent fishing. Dark moon in August bodes well for anglers who like topwater fishing.

Yesterday there were sustained striper boils at the dam from 6 to 8 AM. Today we ran a circuit around Antelope Island to see how extensive the boiling stripers were. At 6 AM scattered stripers were seen chasing shad from Buoy 1 to the dam. A rattletrap cranked down would catch an occasional fish. But that wasn't fast enough so we raced uplake.
 

Morris Gem Maxfield with nice smallmouth caught in striper boil.

 
At Buoy 3 we joined another boat fishing the first real boil of the day. Surface lures worked great with these tightly packed fish that were jumping high out of the water  Just cast into or beyond the school for multiple hook ups. This school moved rapidly from Buoy 1 to Buoy 3 in one half hour. They went down and we preceded uplake.

No striper schools were seen in Antelope Marina. Scattered fish started to pop near Buoy 9 but we could only catch an occasional fish on slowly cranked crankbaits. So we continued the circuit.

At the confluence of Warm Creel and the main channel (Buoy 12) a huge boil blew up at 7:45 AM. We caught multiple fish on surface lures and crankbaits. One boil was right in the middle of the travel lane while another one was going on shore. We had a really great time with this bunch and placed multiple fish in the cooler.

We expected all the fish to stay down after 8 AM but made a token run around Warm Creek hoping for one more school. That was a seemingly futile gesture so we headed the boat for Castle Rock Cut and home. With the Cut in sight we were detoured by the largest boil of the day. We finished filling the cooler and headed in at 9 AM.

Boils are even better between Rock Creek and San Juan. The lake from San Juan to Bullfrog is starting to boil as well. Topwater striper fishing will be the big news on the lake from now until the end of September. Most boils in the lower lake are in the channel but there will be many boils in coves as well. Most boils will happen at dusk and dawn but daytime boils will become more common with time.

Don't be surprised to catch bass in the boils with the stripers. As surface temperature drops bass will come shallow as well. September will be the best fishing month that Lake Powell has seen for many years.

Catfish are still prowling the shoreline around camp and bluegill are in the brush but it will be very hard to pass up the boils for the more sedate forms of fishing.

August 14, 2008  UPDATE!

Night fishing under some of the docks at Wahweap is excellent for stripers. Had a good report from the rental dock area last night.  See Anglers Corner.

August 13, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3632
Water Temp: 80-87 F

The dreaded full moon effect is closing in fast. The weekend will feature bright nights which may have a negative effect on fishing success. To counteract the negative vibes go to those locations where forage populations are "bigger than an August moon". Of course that means Hite and the upper San Juan.

Hite remains the best fishing destination this week. Bright moon will further compress dwindling boils to evening events only. Slurps begin about 2 PM but they are quick. It is very difficult to get the boat in position to cast while the fish are still on top. The last hour of light is prime time and that event alone will be worth the trip as many fish can be caught in a short time on surface lures. The stretch between Buoy 129 -131 has many surfacing schools.

During the rest of the day stripers can still be caught in big numbers. Trolling a shallow running crankbait prompts a hookup every time a striper school is seen on the graph. There are many schools to be seen so this is quite a productive technique. Plastic swim baits, shad colored crankbaits and your favorite trolling bait all work very well. The Thinfin by Cordell worked great for one recently returning fishing party. I am sure spoons will work just as good.

There are many stripers to catch in the 1.5 pound range that are fat and prime for table fare. Take plenty of ice to keep the fillets cool. Bass are picked up incidentally while trolling. Targeting bass would be very productive as well.

The San Juan is good but takes second place to Hite. Boils are not common. Surfacing stripers have been reported at the confluence of the San Juan and main channel. These were larger fish that stayed up for a long time. Unfortunately they come up at random times making it hard to predict the event. With full moon, Jacks Arch Cove would be a good place to spend an evening. Piute Canyon is the hotspot for boils but competition with houseboats and skiers may detract. In late summer and fall the spot where river joins lake, Spencers Camp, is always a dependable fish catching spot on the San Juan.
 

Trolling works very well now at Hite


Over the rest of the lake, look for random boils at infrequent times. Two-fish-slurps happen often but fish are not easy to approach or catch. When boils do come up they often have staying power and catching many fish is possible. Finding the random boil is the hard part.

Bass fishing continues to improve particularly in the above mentioned inflow areas. But smallmouth are caught on rock structure away from brush at 25 plus feet.

Catfishing is excellent and big bluegill are ready for anyone that wants to toss a live worm into brushy cover.
 

August 6, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3632
Water Temp: 81-87 F


Things are "looking up" for fishing all over the lake. Last weeks report indicated dismal prospects for the main lake and those predictions were confirmed. Now the corner has been turned and fishing success will build each week until a grand peak is reached in late September.

The biggest news is shad are abundant and predators are living large on the buffet circuit. The few fish being caught now are FAT. Shad abundance is one of the main factors in past poor fishing success. The other negative factors are warm surface temperature and vast forests of submerged tree habitat which has fish goggle-eyed.


Slick Rock Coves are prime "boil" habitat.


Fishing prospects for the southern third of the lake remain tough with the most cooperative fish being catfish and bluegill. Try fishing around brush with live worms in the backs of canyons for nice sized panfish. Catfish are in the sandy shallows near campsites. Use the same live worms, shrimp or chicken liver for the best chance to catch fish for supper.

The mid section of the lake, from Rock Creek to Bullfrog including the San Juan, boasts some decent striper boils early in the morning and late in the evening. Boils are hard to find as shad have moved out of the channel and are now in the coves. Cruise the shoreline at first light to find scattered single stripers surfacing. Scattered individual stripers will group up as the sun climbs and then school up to create some real boils. The action quits abruptly at 8 AM (MST).

The most productive habitat is slick rock coves without brush. Stripers trap shad in rock coves and hold them there for a week or more at a time. Shad are more abundant in the backs of canyons but brushy cover inhibits feeding. Boils are in the open coves instead of along brushy shorelines.
 

"FAT" striper caught with LV 300 lipless vibrator.


The northern lake is the place to be. Nothing even comes close to fishing success in the northern reaches of the lake. Boils may be found throughout the day with early and late best, but boils can spring up anytime. Shad are still in the channel uplake making stripers easier to find. Cruise the main channel from White Canyon all the way to buoy 110 for excellent fishing opportunities. That is 25 miles of potential striper boils!

Bass fishing patterns play off shad behavior. Shad schools are often in the channel. That places bass on rock structure close to shad and "looking up" to eat. Bass waiting for a shad swim-by are susceptible to mid range shad crankbaits or lipless vibrators. Dragging a rattletrap along the 20 foot breaking edge of structure will catch more bass than other methods. Instead of fishing the shoreline and brushy coves, cast crankbaits to the open channel for more consistent bass action. A slow retrieve is still best to consistently catch fish.


Loose striper boil against slick rock 8-6-08

July 30, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3633
Water Temp: 80-85 F
                                       Tale of Two Lakes

Fishing in main Lake Powell is as tough as it gets right now. It is mid summer with surface water temperature at its peak. The lake has stabilized at 3633 which is maximum elevation for the year. Fish hiding cover is more numerous than it has been in over 5 years. The easy answer is fisherman just don't have what it takes this week to catch fish in the trees. Fish can't be bothered to respond to lures with tiny shad and sunfish forage so plentiful in their front room.

Paul Padrnos - When fishing gets tough try for catfish!


The only way to catch a bass now is to put on a heavy plastic grub (one ounce lead head) and drag that along the bottom contour at 20-35 feet. Bass are sulking in the depths waiting for cooling and shad to grow larger. It is tedious fishing but a few quality bass will be taken with this method while other means will be unproductive.

Stripers have all but quit boiling. There is an occasional swirl where a single striper chases two tiny shad. By the time the swirl is recognized the striper is gone. There is little fishing success and not much more fishing pressure.

This is tough but I have to categorize fishing success at Lake Powell. I have never had to classify fishing as poor before except in the deadest of winter. So here goes:

Fishing at Lake Powell is Red Hot! How can I say that? The lake is so darn big that there is always a place that excels. The spot this time is the inflow area around Hite and in the upper San Juan. Stripers are boiling mid day from Hite to the Horn. It is possible to catch 50-100 fish per day - all on topwater lures. That is awesome fishing in anyone's book. Average size is 15 inches and fish are strong and acrobatic.

In the upper San Juan there are occasional decent sized striper boils. Bass fishing is super - again for the smaller fish. Bait fish are prevalent in the coves and bass are working them over. Plastic grubs, senkos, surface lures and crankbaits are all being readily accepted. Fish the Great Bend area and above for the best action. Stripers will provide infrequent big boils but the abundance of shad limits number of boils. Stripers that can catch shad individually do not have to work together as a group to eat. Therefore, boils do not always occur in high forage situations.

So fishing is Hot - if in the right spot!

July 23, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3633
Water Temp: 80-85 F
Shawn Johnson with 2 pound crappie.

Lake Powell has topped out at 3633. It was great run while filling 45 feet and we are sorry to see it stop, BUT there are some good things that come with stability and falling water levels. When the lake declines a foot, camping and beach use will be so much better. It will be all right to go barefoot again without the threat of tumbleweed stickers. Beaches will feature much more sand for playing and parking boats.

Fishing will improve for bass that have found a home in flooded green brush. Stability will allow a definitive pattern to develop and make anglers more successful when fishing around brush. It will help that shad have grown larger and are hiding in that brush alongside sunfish. Fishing with surface lures will be the rule instead of the exception. Shad imitating baits of all kinds will work each morning and evening.

Smallmouth fishing around rocks, points and ledges will continue to be good. It will be easier to define spots where bass may be holding. Once a good spot is found it will be possible to return there and find the same fish holding there for a week or two. In the past, fishing spots were gone within a day when the lake rose over a foot. Bass fishing is going to be very good during August and September.

There is no waiting for great striper fishing. Stability has allowed the water to clear up in the northern lake. Stripers have found shad and boils have commenced in grand fashion. From Bullfrog upstream and in the San Juan expect to find boils every morning and evening, weather permitting. Wind will often blow the boils away but they return in larger magnitude as soon as the wind stops.

These are real boils now in the northern lake. That means shad are larger and stripers have to work harder to capture their prey. School behavior is more aggressive. Casting precision is not quite as important. Long casts are still required. A full size surface lure landing in the middle of the melee will no longer spook the entire school. A big lure will be readily accepted and fought over if the first fish misses. Schools will not be quite as boat shy but it will still require knowing how close the boat can be to feeding fish without putting them down.

Boils are still small and scattered in the southern lake. Hopefully, these boils will get bigger and stronger with darker nights now that the moon is waning. This week expect to see small groups of stripers surfacing quickly and moving rapidly. These will more likely be "ghost boils" (can see but not catch) and not the real thing.

A recent report of trolling with shad raps and hot-n-tots in the back of Navajo Canyon produced walleye, bass and crappie. The depth was 20 feet and water was murky. It seems like a spring time pattern may be paying off in the back of the canyons. It may be worth a try.
 

July 16, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3633
Water Temp: 79-85 F


Lake Powell is still rising, but just barely. It will peak very shortly and then start a slow decline. Stabilization will improve bass fishing success. Striped bass fishing success is slowing with full moon lurking this week. Full moon impact will vary by species of fish and location.
 

Mitch Blankard, 8 years old, with 4.8 pound striper near buoy number 3,

Striped bass are still boiling. Boil personality has changed somewhat in the southern lake. Stripers are feeding in smaller bunches. It seems that 5-6 stripers are chasing smaller pods of larval shad. The result is quick little blow ups are up and gone just as fast. That makes catching very tough unless the school will surface for the second or third time in casting range. It still takes a precise cast, usually at long distance, to hit the sweet spot and get a hookup. Clear surface lures, rattletraps and white swim baits are all working if the cast is perfectly placed just beyond a newly surfacing striper convoy. A lure just behind the lead fish will be ignored.

It may be that shad numbers are declining which limits the amount of time stripers are on top, or it could be full moon effect limiting feeding. When striper schools are larger than 25 fish they seem to stay up longer and are more aggressive, making them more catchable.

Boils in the northern lake are completely different. Shad schools are just becoming visible to stripers in the chocolate-brown water of the Colorado River inflow. Shad schools are large. When shad and stripers get together the result is sustained surface action from 1-2 pound stripers. Large catches of small stripers are now common. The muddy water clears up between Scorup Canyon and Good Hope Bay. Red Canyon has consistent boils making it well worth the trip from either the primitive launch at Hite or from Bullfrog/Halls. Fishing near Good Hope or in the San Juan Arm is the best bet during the full moon phase.

Boats launching at Hite and Halls are required to be clean, drained and dry to prevent movement of invasive mussels into Lake Powell. UDWR Techs are monitoring both ramps and requiring compliance with NPS invasive mussel certification.

Smallmouth bass fishing is much improved this week with small bass now easy to catch along the shallow rocky shoreline. Larger bass are holding at 20-30 feet. Fish grubs and drop shot rigged lures along the 25 foot contour for best success for quality size bass.

Catfish may provide the most consistent catching this week. Hook some table scraps on a number 4 bait hook. Add a small weight. Cast to the sandy beach behind camp and invite a catfish to join you for dinner.
 

July 9, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3633
Water Temp: 78-83 F

Striped bass continue to dominate the fishing scene. Non stop surface feeding action continues to delight anglers and boaters. Other BIG news includes the capture of a 36 pound striper which is the largest fish caught this year.

Robert McAden of Greenehaven AZ took his son Jason and small grandson Michael Ryan, fishing in Navajo Canyon at one of the points that has been consistently good for catching a boatload of 2-pound stripers. They cruised to the point, cut up and distributed anchovy chum and immediately started catching small stripers. Robert established a routine where he would hook the fish and let Michael reel it in. That worked well until the fifth fish which headed straight for the bottom. Michael was in danger of being pulled overboard by the strong fish on 14-pound test line, so Robert took control. The battle lasted 15 minutes before the big fish swirled into the net which both Robert and Jason wrestled into the boat.

While big stripers have been caught before this is the first caught on bait - in the middle of the day - when the water surface layer was over 75 degrees. It just goes to show that a big fish can be caught any time, anywhere on Lake Powell.

On the other hand, anyone can catch 36 pounds of stripers by repeatedly catching 2-pound fish off the surface. The entire lake is boiling each morning and evening in response to the large shad crop that has been produced this year. Shad are still small, and spread widely across the surface, making them very easy targets for stripers. Stripers surface, feed quickly (2 minutes), go down to regroup and then pop up again. The trick is to see the school, position the boat while fish are down and be in casting range when the school resurfaces. The first cast to fish coming up is the one that hooks up. Casting to fish leaving the surface is not productive. It sounds easy but proves to be a bit tricky as the school can just as easily change direction and resurface 100 yards away from the projected spot. Since they come up time after time that provides ample opportunity to finally get the boat in the right place.

Casting is the key. Stripers feed on the surface at fast idle speed. It takes a powerful electric motor to keep up. Usually the big motor is needed to stay in casting range. A heavy lure on a good rod can be cast 30-40 yards. It takes every bit of that distance to properly place the lure over and beyond the lead fish in the school. If properly placed, the lure will be accepted. If it falls short the entire school may sound and run away.

Clear surface lures provide the bulk needed for a long cast, but offer a small visible profile to surfacing stripers. Rattletraps of many varieties are perfect for casting over the feeding school and then dragging back through the main group for a quick hookup. Walleye Assassin plastic baits on heavy lead heads are working well up north. The trick for all of these baits is to SLOW DOWN. Shad are small with limited swimming ability. Stripers are not chasing fast moving fish. A steady retrieve at half the speed dictated by the adrenaline packed situation is required for success.

Boils will get bigger and better with age. Shad are growing each day. When shad are big enough to swim they are able to beat a striper in a race. Stripes must work harder and strike more aggressively to catch bigger, quicker shad. That makes it mush easier to locate boils, approach feeding schools, and catch fish. This will be a great summer for striper fishing.

Those not interested in race track fishing can find more sedate entertainment with bass and catfish. Bass are hiding in the copious brush shelters recently submerged. These fish are hard to catch in water that is still rising and covering more green brush. A fishing pattern that works in these conditions is to fish the shade of steep walls. Toss a plastic grub against the wall and let it fall to a ledge 15-25 feet deep. Smallmouth bass are being regularly caught on walls and drop offs on outside points leading into the main channels and bays. Coves and backs of canyons will provide better results when lake conditions change.

July 2, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3631
Water Temp: 76-80 F


Stripers are still slurping in little shad with a vengeance. It is likely that slurping stripers will be seen in every clear water canyon and channel this week. Catching them may be more difficult than locating them.

Stripers feed lazily when little shad are abundant and slow moving. A group of 10 or more stripers pop to the surface and gorge on tiny shad. An approaching boat causes the feeding school to turn in a different direction or to sound only to resurface a safe distance away. Shad are abundant and wide spread so stripers can feed in any direction. The trick is to get close enough to cast into slurping stripers without putting the fish down.
 

Ciara Padrnos - Prescott, AZ


Small spoons may be the most effective presentation but don't be afraid to try a surface lure. The key to both techniques is to work the lures gently. Shad are not swimming much so a fast moving, erratic presentation is not normal to their feeding image. Reel the topwater lure at a slow to medium speed with only limited sideways jerks. Do the same with spoons. Work it just fast enough to keep it in the feeding zone. The real secret is to make long casts with small lures. That takes a good rod and reel with quality matching line. Present the lure just beyond the leading fish or just past the entire school. Splashing into the middle of the slurping fish seldom allows success. It will be much better when shad grow a bit larger and the margin for boating and casting error will increase by one order of magnitude.

Slurps are now common from dawn until 10 AM. After that fishing is tough until late afternoon. During the heat of the day is a good time to play in the water. Fish early and late for maximum success. Bait fishing is much better in the afternoon when stripers have completed the morning shad hunt and are in deep water planning their next assault.

Bass fishing is still tough and will remain so until the lake starts to drop. Bass love the fresh green habitat now abundant in so many different lake locations. It will take lake stabilization and or decline until bass are able to be caught in a stable summer pattern. Right now they are feeding early in the morning near the stripers slurps but from the comfort of their newly discovered green brush habitat. This may be the most difficult warm water time to catch bass. That will soon change as the lake stabilizes.

Walleye are the bonus fish now and can be caught early and late on the fast falling points that lead into the main channel. Fish shady pockets in the morning and under mudlines on breezy afternoons all along the main channel edge for feisty walleye.

Catfish are hot now every evening near your camp. Try scraps from dinner right behind the boat for quick success. My favorite catfish recipe is blackened fillets with Cajun spices. Mmmmm
 

June 25, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3628
Water Temp: 74-78 F

Call To Arms!



Threadfin shad need you help. They have had an above average spawn and are present in large numbers. But shad size is very small. Two-pound stripers have now found an easy meal and are relentlessly pursuing tiny shad. Stripers easily eat 100 shad per day. That can make short work of the shad population. But while stripers are chowing down they can be seen by all passers by.

Alex Harper plays his first ever striper

This is where you come in. Fishing for boiling stripers is perhaps the most exciting and rewarding sport fishing in freshwater. Boils are seen in almost every canyon and bay this week. We are asking you to take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to catch a striper. Each wave runner can have a rod attached. Ski boats can have rods rigged with surface lures just waiting for the boil to pop up in front of the skier. Houseboats can pause in the main channel to cast into a mid channel boil. Put one of the group on the top deck to act as lookout for the next surface disturbance.

The most reliable baits are "walking" surface lures like Jumpin Minnows, and Super Spook Jr. With shad being small the best bait that is small enough to match shad size and heavy enough to cast is a spoon like Hopkins, CC spoon, Wallylure and Kastmaster. Perhaps the most versatile choice is the rattle trap lipless vibrator. Better yet rig 3 rods with these three choices to see which works best.

This morning I saw 10 boils early and could not get any fish to do more than bump the lure. When stripers are in this mood it may take a special technique like a full sized surface lure with a tiny curly tail jig tied on a dropper line to the back hook. The big lure delivers the package and fish eat the tiny lure. A small crappie jig on light line and a 1/8 ounce lead head will cast far enough to hit the school and be small enough to eat.

Patience may be better than changing lures. After 9 AM surfacing schools changed personality and began to eat full size lures. A rattletrap cast well beyond the lead fish and retrieved quickly caught a fish each time. A silver or blue spoon cast into a sounding school would catch a fish as they went under the boat. A mini walking bait got hit each time it as placed in front of the leading fish in the school. So time of day makes a difference. It seems the boils are going all day long but fish may be most catchable from 8-10 AM.

Bass are in the brush and getting more catchable every day. Walleye are perhaps at their peak right now. Troll the edge of long points braking into the main channel or cast plastic grubs into shade pockets on steep structure breaking into deep water.

Catfish are providing great action from your houseboat or campsite each night at dusk. Catching is improving but chasing and seeing fish is excellent.
 

June 18, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3624
Water Temp: 70-75 F
Runoff is slowing down but the lake is still going up. The wall of incoming water still measures 87,000 acre feet per day. That amount is double the spike flood released earlier in the year. Flood waters have muddied the water upstream from Bullfrog and picked all driftwood that has been resting on the shoreline for the past decade. It is not a good idea to go upstream yet. Wait two more weeks for water to clear, wood to settle and fish to regain visibility.
 

Its not a boat wake -Those are stripers!


The good news is a large shad spawn occurred in the upper lake. These small fish are protected from intense predation by low visibility. As soon as the small stripers can see shad there will be day-long boils in the upper lake.

In the lower lake the slurp boils are heating up. Tiny shad are being discovered in more and more canyons. Now Rock Creek has come alive with 8-12 inch stripers slurping in larval shad less than an inch long. These micro boils are going strong in Navajo Canyon, San Juan between Cha and Piute Canyons, Last Chance and other canyons yet to be discovered.

There are many stripers that didn't get the shad memo. They remain in the channels eating plankton. There has been a resurgence of steady catching at the Dam, Navajo Canyon, Padre Bay, Last Chance, Lake Canyon, Halls Creek at mouth and Moki Canyon mouth.

If stripers elude your best efforts, realize that they are making a transition between the open clear water and shad water in the back of the canyon. When regular spots don't produce, look toward the back of the canyon to find migrating stripers. The search image is changing from plankton to shad. Anchovies will work better in clear deep water while a small white jig or small spoon may be better in the murky, shallower water.

Bass are still two weeks away from settling down into a summer pattern. There are small bass shallow on shore but larger fish are randomly scattered enjoying the new brush forest they have been given by rising water.

Walleye did not put on much of a show this spring. Now may be the time. It is mid June but the water temperature is now at the point that walleye have become very active and are showing up in greater numbers than any time this spring. They seem to like the water in the 70's for stronger activity.

Catfish are providing a strong evening fishery and many bonus cats are being caught by anchovy fishermen whose bait gets too close to the bottom.

Fishing is still great at this amazing fishery.

Cast in front of the leading fish - Don't throw into the middle of the school.

June 11, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3619
Water Temp: 69-75 F
The past week was marked by major events for lake visitors. Most notably the Castle Rock Cut was flooded and opened for uplake travel for the first time in over 5 years. It was an absolute thrill to cross from Wahweap to Warm Creek without the need to transverse 12 miles of rough main channel wakes to get to the mouth of Warm Creek.
Waters touched on June 6th and boats were using the passage freely on June 10th. It is wise to go slow, stay in the center of the slot, and pass others with courtesy and caution. Channel markers are minimal now but will improve.
 

CRC IS OPEN!


The other major event is almost as important. The FIRST BOILS were seen in Navajo Canyon and on the San Juan near the mudline. Two-pound stripers have found the newly spawned larval threadfin and gizzard shad. Tiny shad have almost no swimming ability making them easy prey. Stripers don't really need to "boil" to eat the little shad. Instead they move easily along the surface and slurp in the big tasty fish plankton. Stripers will be seen lined up on top, shoulder to shoulder, with mouths all oriented in the same direction as they mow through the shad crops.

Stripers are looking at tiny shad - less than an inch long. A full size lure thrown into the middle of the striper line is a foreign object that may spook the school. It is critical to use a smaller profile lure, like a bass popper or Zara Spook Jr. But the most critical need is to place each cast precisely in front of the fish leading the school. Drop the lure 2-feet in front of the leader to consistently catch fish.

Bass are lost! The rising water has flooded the brush. Bass are enjoying with wide-eyed amazement the jungle of green leaves and thick cover. This generation of fish has not seen flooded brush in the water. It will take a while for them to become reoriented to a brushy environment. Then a consistent fishing pattern will emerge and they will be readily catchable one more. Try topwater lures at first light in the morning. Bass, like stripers, will find shad and they will hit the surface where the tiny shad are hanging like grapes to be harvested.
 

Brian Walters with striper catch.


For now there are still massive schools of striped bass in the main channel that have not found shad. These schools are still surviving on plankton. There seems to be no end to the number of stripers that can be caught on anchovy bait once a school is located. Many may miss out by fishing the conventional depths of 30-40 feet. That is the right starting point to find plankton eating fish and to chum them into activity. As soon as the school moves up to feed reduce bait depth to increase catch. Most of the schools this week are feeding at about 15 feet. The best way to find the right depth is to watch the bait descend in clear water. As soon as it disappears from view stop the descent. That is where the fish will be most abundant - right at the edge of visibility.

Other species are having moments as well. Catfish and sunfish will be spawning this week making them more visible and easier to catch.
 

June 4, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3612
Water Temp: 67-72 F
Lake Powell continues to rise. It is at the highest level reached in the last 5 year and still has many feet to go. Castle Rock Cut will get wet this week and then be passable the next week. Launching at Hite on the old dirt road is possible once more.

The bad news is fishing success is suffering for the effects of high water. The runoff has reduced water clarity to zero from Hite to Good Hope and in the upper San Juan. I do not recommend going there to fish until the runoff slows in June or the lake tops out in July. Driftwood is a hazard in the main murky channel and in the backs of canyons where stranded drift wood is floating again. The newly covered shoreline is fishless except for spawning carp.


Brian and family - Antigua Landscape and Design


The good news? Largemouth bass have moved into the brush pockets and are catchable again to those that know how to work live brush habitat. Fishing in the green branches of flooded tress is not for beginners. It would be a great learning experience to fish a texas-rigged senko in the flooded tamarisk forest. You might try it early some morning.

Dependable stripers are keeping fishing hot. Schools remain in the same locations that have been reported since early spring. Many are being caught each day at the dam, buoy 3, Navajo Canyon, Cookie Jar, Last Chance, Jacks Arch, Lake Canyon and mouth of Halls Creek. Schools can be started with a shower of finely cut anchovy bait and kept going for an hour or two depending on time of day. Keep sprinkling another few pieces of bait out in a regular pattern to keep the fish going. There are still some amazingly high numbers of stripers caught each day.

Stripers are larger in the southern lake where competition between schooling fish was not as intense last year. Predator fish are more numerous in the northern lake. The best news is that most stripers are fat and healthy, especially in the southern lake.

Fishing will improve as the lake clears, and becomes stable. For right now striper fishing is still hot. Concentrate on locating striper schools for a quick catch of willing fish.

Some of the less sought after fish are near spawning. Catfish and sunfish are very catchable now. Use live worms and bobbers for sunfish. Liver, shrimp, worms and table scraps are great catfish fare.

Bring the fishing rods along on the family Lake Powell vacation.

Saturday, June 7 is free fishing day. Enjoy fishing this day on us.

May 28, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3607
Water Temp: 64- 72 F

Rapidly rising lake levels dominate the fishing scene. It is now possible to launch at Hite primitive ramp which has been long awaited by anglers. Unfortunately, the same high flows that allowed the lake to cover the ramp have muddied the water and cooled the main channel, effectively slowing fishing to a standstill. I recommend waiting for curtailment of high runoff before heading to Hite to fish. Still, it is closer to get to the fishable waters of Good Hope Bay via Hite than from Bullfrog.
 

Jared Mayfield with smallmouth bass caught in Iceberg canyon.


The lake has risen 3 feet in the last 3 days. That dramatic change renders gently sloping shoreline unusable as a visual reference when searching for spots that hold bass. Look for reefs in open water and fish the breaking edge from 15-25 feet deep for consistent bass action. Slick rock canyons that have many cliffs and few open flats are easier to fish successfully in these unsettled conditions. Fish the cracks and corners to find bass, crappie and walleye.

Another major event finds the rising lake covering brush that survived inundation last year. Water is now lapping at the base of the bush. As soon as the entire bush is covered largemouth bass will head to shallow water and the comfort of brushy shelter. Trees with leaves are unforgiving when most lures come even close by. Newly covered brush is hard to fish with anything but a surface lure, spinner bait or Texas rigged plastic bait.

Striped bass are still waiting for the spawn which will occur during the next warming period. It is not too late to catch a trophy fish as water temperature is still in the preferred comfort zone of all stripers. Big fish feed at night, so find one of the big schools of small stripers commonly found in most any bay or canyon. Fish near the large school at dusk and dawn with big crankbaits. Trophy fish will be shallow during this period so cast, troll or jig during the magic twilight feeding period. Stripers exceeding 30-pounds have been caught during each of the past 4 years. Time is now right for another big fish to show up.

Schools of 2-pound stripers are commonly caught in big numbers in Wahweap Bay, Buoy 3, Buoy 9, Padre Bay near Cookie Jar, Last Chance along points and rock slides extending out from main canyon, Jacks Arch and mouth of San Juan Arm, Lake Canyon, and mouth of Moki Canyon. There are thousands of other spots where striper schools are stationed awaiting the spawn.

Walleye fishing is at its peak. Fish murky water along the edge of the main channel. Walleye share long points jutting into the main channel with stripers. Trolling the edge of the channel with medium and deep runner crankbaits can locate schools of stripers and willing aggregations of walleye.

Fishing conditions continue to change but fish are very catchable with a slight alteration in fishing techniques.
 

May 21, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3601
Water Temp: 64- 72 F
Just when we have fishing patterns all figured out - they change. It is transition time once again. Stripers are near spawning and bass are lost in the rapidly rising water. Here are tips to keep up with the expected fish movements this week.

Striped bass males are extremely active lake wide. They are in large schools both in the canyons and the main channel. Schooling nature means there will be many areas without any fish and then a few spots with an endless supply of fish to catch. Here are a few locations with raging schools. Wahweap Bay near Castle Rock, Buoy 3, Buoy 9, Navajo Canyon (points past the first big island), Padre Bay - Cookie jar, Last Chance at the back of the canyon and half way in on the east Bluff with the first noticeable rock slide, Jacks Arch, Rincon near floating potty, Lake Canyon, and many spots in the northern lake. Schools up north may be harder to find with murky runoff water clouding their presence. There may actually be more stripers in the upper lake as they run to current when spawning - but they may be harder to find.
 

Brooke and Bill Wiley land two stripers from a school in Padre Bay


With huge schools present in most canyons and bays the best method of locating them is to graph the 30-60 foot depth contour. It is fine to troll while looking. When a fish is hooked or a school seen on the graph, mark the spot. The location will often be well out in the bay without a good way to stay on target, unless GPS or floating marker is used to pinpoint the spot. Once marked, that school location may be good for many days. Schools I have graphed recently resemble a tall thin vertical stack with spaces. A tall thin stack without spaces may also be a tree.

Stripers in the main lake are eating plankton so they are more likely to be caught on anchovy bait than reaction lures. One combination that works well is to chum with anchovies and fish with a spoon or crankbait to actually catch fish as they rise in response to chum.

The striper spawn will occur when water warms sufficiently to trigger females into activity. When that occurs, activity shifts to dark hours and daylight fishing slows considerably. Afternoons may be the best fishing time this week. Look for shoreline splashing activity in the evening to find a spawning school that may include a trophy female. Males will all be the 2-pound fish that have been caught so often this spring.

Rapidly rising water has flooded new ground that is far way from where bass were residing. In gently sloping area bass are hard (not impossible) to find. Fish much deeper water to catch the bigger bass. The trick this time of year is to fish vertical habitat where bass can go up and down instead of moving laterally to stay in the comfort zone while water rises. The exception and best place to fish, is the slick rock canyons. Here much of the habitat is vertical cliff with cracks and ledges for cover. Bass will be in the likely looking spots along walls and in cracks. Some of the best canyons to fish now for bass include: Face, West, Oak, Reflection, Hidden Passage, Escalante River, Iceberg, and Moki. Again the canyons uplake are still good but the main channel may be muddy.

Fishing remains great - it just requires a slight adjustment to keep up with the moods of the quarry.
 

May 14, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3595
Water Temp: 59-66 F
Lake Powell continues to rise a foot per week. The fill rate will increase when warm weather finally releases the snow pack in the mountains. There has been one cold front per week for what seems like forever. Warming and cooling have fragmented bass spawning. Some spawned early and some late but the big event was a no show in 2008.

The positive aspect of the blustery weather is that striped bass are still holding in the main channel in large numbers. They have their nose turned into the slight current waiting for warming to trigger spawning. While there, they are easy targets for bait anglers. Graph along the edge of the channel at first light in the morning. When a school is found a bit of chum will ignite the school into a morning feeding frenzy. Most fish will be between 1-3 pounds but fishing is intense for the first hour of the day.
 

Conner Grass and Wayne with largemouth bass.


When the sun hits the water fishing changes to spurts of activity flowed by slow periods. The school can take off feeding again anytime. If a good spot was found in the morning expect fish to return there during the day. It helps to have a few spots in mind to keep trying during the day to maximize the catch.

Just a slight ledge or small rock slide may be enough to hold a large school of stripers. While stripers are still being caught at the dam it seems more fish are found from Buoy 1 to the mouth of Antelope, from the power plant intake to Buoy 9, and in Navajo Canyon. Further uplake stripers are next caught at the mouth of Last Chance and then uplake to Lake Canyon, mouth of Halls Creek and Moki Canyon. I am sure there are many more spots just as good.  Look at the features characterizing a historically good fishing spot and try similar areas in other parts of the lake to find your own private fishing hole.

Runoff has muddied the water down to Good Hope Bay in the Colorado and to Neskahi Bay in the San Juan. The backs of canyons are still fishable but avoid the main channel further upstream in both arms of the lake.

Smallmouth bass become active with warming water. Afternoon fishing is best after the lake has a chance to warm 3-5 degrees. If the temperature is 60 in the morning expect bass to bite well when it reaches 65 degrees.

Bass are found midway back in the canyons. In slick rock canyons expect bass to be on relatively scarce broken rock, ledges or around brush. In most canyons look for a short drainage or submerged creek channel joining the main canyon. These abrupt breaks are perfect spots for bass and walleye to ambush prey. Always look for fish around color changes from brown to green and green to clear. Factors that cause color changes also congregate fish in select locations.
 

Cut intersecting Navajo Canyon is a good spot to fish for bass.

May 7, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3595
Water Temp: 59-66 F
                                                Smallmouth Bass Bite is ON!

The weather in warming and Lake Powell is filling a foot every 4th day. Bass are guarding deep nests but the fast rising water makes sight fishing difficult. Not to worry! Bass fishing is great with feisty smallmouth bass waking up and getting with the program.

Work the rocky structure to find willing smallmouth. Earlier in the spring all the bass action was in the backs of sandy coves with brush. Now bass are staged near the primary rocky points leading into those coves. It is not time yet to fish the main channel drop-offs. Start at the back of the canyon where muddy water meets the rich green color. That is the bass hotspot and many other species of fish like the green productive zone.

Technique varies with personal preference. The most common approach is to use a plastic grub, tube, senko or other bait of your choosing. That works great as does retrieving a spinnerbait or crankbait across rocky structure. I like to have the option of using both techniques. Just have a tube rigged on one rod and a crank or jerk bait on the other. Use a tube for a while and then switch to the crank. Let the fish tell you which they like best.

Do not be afraid to fish deeper water. The shoreline at the current lake level is devoid of brush. Old brush is buried 10-15 feet deep while the new shoreline brush won't go under water for a couple more weeks. The lake has to exceed last year's high water mark of 3611 before new brush is flooded.

Walleye are perking up with warming conditions. They should be caught more often now particularly in murky water after an afternoon wind muddies a cove or floats a mudline into a clear water bay.

Crappie are still being caught in the brush at the ends of the canyons. Use a bobber to suspend a tiny curly tail grub just above the brush zone.
 

Dr Chad Lunt and son Jason - St George UT


Stripers are schooled in 25-45 of water waiting to spawn. Trolling and graphing across deep points and drops in bays is the best way to located them. They will come up from 25 feet to hit a bevy shad, rattletrap or Wally diver running at 10-12 feet. I keep a floating fish marker handy and toss it out each time a good school is graphed. When tired of trolling, go back to the various makers, chum and fish bait over the stationary marked schools to catch a cooler full of stripers.

Chum brings striper off the bottom. While they are easy to catch on bait, they are searching for food and will also take a spoon, crank, or swim bait while swimming in the chum field.


Fishing is great right now whichever species or technique is your personal favorite.

April 30, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3593
Water Temp: 57-64 F

The lake is now rising 2-4 inches per day and the filling rate will continue to increase during May. Increased runoff is due to warming weather. Fish respond to warming by increasing activity. In turn, cooling causes them to sulk on the bottom. The intermittent winds really cool the bite while an extended warm calm period ignites a flurry of fishing results. There needs to be a longer warm period than seen in April to really make the fish perk up.

Bass spawning has been impacted by wind induced weather anomalies. Largemouth spawned haphazardly and smallmouth bass spawning has been delayed. Much more spawning is to come but rising lake levels will take away most of the sight-fishing opportunities. Bass fishing will peak during the next two weeks. In current conditions, plastic baits fished on the bottom have been the best technique. Continue to fish shallow rock ridges, reefs and points for best bass success.
 

Joel Belmont with stripers caught under green light at night.


Crappie have spawned and will continue to guard nests for the next two weeks. There will be another spawn that will coincide with smallmouth spawning on the next warm spell. Expect this to happen when morning water temperature exceeds 62 degrees.

Good walleye fishing is delayed by the same lack of warming. All these warming worries will be forgotten when the heat does come.

The good news is striped bass. They have turned a "cold shoulder" to the weather and have just gone about their business of finding current in the main channel to the delight of anglers. Fishing has been excellent in the southern lake from the dam, to buoy 3, to the intake, buoy 9, with stops in Antelope and Navajo Canyons. Running the circuit of these favorite fishing spots has resulted in catches of at least 20 and often many more stripers for bait anglers.

Patience is required. It seems the schools start and stop. When they are on fishing is furious; when off, not fish is caught. Fortunately, they are on most of the time. Chumming gets the school going. Then all that have prepared by using invisible fluorocarbon line with either a light jig head or Carolina rigged circle hook catch fish in a hurry when the school comes in range.

In the northern lake, the mouth of Moki canyon is the most consistent place but many schools are holding along canyon walls both uplake and down from Bullfrog. I like Lake Canyon and Slick Rock for consistent action.

The Hite area is affected by runoff. Good Hope Bay is still murky but fishable. Head to the back of the canyon to find fish when muddy water dominates the channel. Trolling for stripers in the bays is consistent but not better than fishing bait in the channel. All stripers are now eating plankton which means they are able to forage individually. Therefore, schools have broken down. Many lone fish will be found in the backs of bays while schools are in the channel.

April 23, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3591
Water Temp: 53-64 F


The grand predictions of our last fish report were blown away by a week of windy weather. All the positive variables remain firmly in place awaiting a warm day. Water temperature this morning was still in the low 50's. All the fish are poised for the early morning temperature to reach 57-60 F. When that happens, which may be as soon as this weekend, the fun begins.

A few largemouth bass have spawned. Usually the largest fish are the first to make beds in prime spots. The majority of the population will be moving shallow this weekend and next week, weather permitting. Even those that spawned previously will come back to the nest they abandoned and spawn again with the next warm spell.
 

Jacob Berry with prespawn bass from Wetherill Canyon.


If a nest is found, cast slowly descending plastic baits (senkos, flukes) right on to the nest ring and watch the male bass rush over to grab the lure and haul it away from the nest. Some just grab the tail and never get the hook in the mouth but it is sure fun to watch them work. Return males caught on the nest so they can protect the young from predators.

If no nests are seen in clear water, go to the back of the canyon where the green and brown water meet. This zone warms up sooner and provides bass and crappie a warm spot to live while waiting for real warming. Brush piles will hold largemouth and crappie, while smallmouth bass will be on rock ridges, terraces and points. Use your favorite technique in these conditions. The fish won't care and will take all incoming lures and offerings.

Stripers remain in the channel where they can be caught by the tubful with anchovy bait and copious chumming. There is not a lot of forage this time of year. Most of the stripers are small enough that they can eat plankton to maintain their body while waiting for a fish dinner. The plankton supply is most abundant in the upper 20 feet of the water column so many stripers are in the upper zone. That makes them prime targets for shallow trolling lures as well as bait. I have effectively used Wally Divers, various rattletrap types, and bevy shad to consistently catch mature male stripers. The trick is to find them.
 

Wally Diver lure in black and silver


My search pattern has consistently led to striper schools holding on the breaking edge of a long point. By long, I mean at least 100 yards or more. Follow the shallow point (5-12 feet) out until it breaks from 20-25 feet and goes quickly to a depth of 40 feet or more. Follow that 25 foot sharp breaking contour to find stripers holding right on the edge at 25 feet. When a school is located, troll back and forth over the spot or mark the school and hold with the trolling motor while chumming to keep them in place. This allows you to find your own private fishing spot and not have to share it with others in the popular (dam, Moki Wall) or well known striper fishing spots. If it's your first time, go fish with the anglers at the Dam or Moki, to see their techniques, get a few tips and measure success.
 

April 15, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3591
Water Temp: 55-65 F


Bass are Building Nests!



Largemouth bass began nest construction this week as air temperature hit 80 degrees. Spawning is imminent with largemouth going first followed by smallmouth a few days later. Warming is long overdue but may work to the advantage of anglers who enjoy fishing for spawning bass. Expect to find bedding bass in shallow water for the next 10 days. Lake levels are not increasing at a quick rate so nests will be visible for the first spawn.

All of this is weather related. Bass move on nests as the water warms quickly. This spawning trigger causes a quick reaction in bass that are now overdue. Bass move on nests and spawn within a few hours. Males are actively building nests today. Each male then spawns with one to two females on the next warm day. On the third day the male drives away anything that comes close to the nest including female bass and fishing lures. Aggression is greatest right after the spawn and decreases with each passing day. By the fifth day of nest tending the male is seen lurking near the nest but not actively chasing. In warm water, eggs hatch and fry swim off in about 7 days. It takes longer if the water cools. Males stay with swimming clouds of black fry for a few days and then spawn again. Each male may make as many as 6 spawns during a season if driven off the nest by cooling temperatures. They renest as soon as the water warms once more.
 

Mike Beall, Page, AZ with 4-pound Largemouth Bass
 

It is fun to sight fish for bedding bass. Watching a slow sinking senko or grub settle onto the nest creates an adrenalin rush as the nest monster rushes to the attack. Enjoy the spectacle but return fish caught on beds so they can protect the nest. If keeping a few bass for dinner - keep the fish that are lurking on the extremities beyond the nest. In the bass community, females are excess fish and should be the ones harvested. The males are vital to perpetuate the species.

Striper fishing is excellent. In the south, stripers have moved into the main channel. It is not necessary to fight the crowd at the dam any longer. Large schools are found roaming the channel near Buoy 1 and 3 and from the Power Plant intake to Buoy 9. The points in Navajo Canyon just past the double islands are beginning to produce some nice catches. Main channel fish tend to move to a slightly different spot each day so a good method to find them is trolling the wall with a deep diving lure. When fish hit the trolling lure, stop and drop bait to fill the cooler in a hurry. With warming temperatures remember to put fish immediately in a cooler with ice to keep the fish fresh. Do not place them on a stringer in warm water. They deteriorate in a hurry unless kept cool.

In the north lake both bait and trolling are working. Moki Wall near the mouth of the canyon is producing for bait anglers, as is the mouth of Lake Canyon. Trolling with a deep diving lure like a Rapala X-Rap is working well in the back of Bullfrog Bay, Red Canyon south of Castle Butte, and White Canyon. Water is stained by runoff beginning at Ticaboo in Good Hope Bay but it is not interfering with fishing until rounding the horn at 2 Mile and 4 Mile Canyons. The backs of these canyons are still clear enough to fish.

Crappie are showing up in modest numbers around brush in the backs of many canyons. This is the best report of fishing conditions that I have been able to write this year. Watch the weather reports and plan the spring trip now. Try to fit it in between storm fronts for best results.

April 9, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3590
Water Temp: 54-62 F

In the southern lake the big news is steady fishing for stripers along the barricade line in front of Glen Canyon Dam. Here are the specifics.  The third barricade from the west canyon wall is directly over a submerged cliff edge.  The first two barricades float in shallow water. Stripers follow the cliff wall directly below the third barricade and are often found as far away from the wall as barricade five. The prime spots then produce steady fishing while other spots are less productive.  The cliff edge continues north away from the dam and fish follow the wall in their wanderings. If the prime barricade spots are taken then fish along the wall using the trolling motor and graph to hold right over the cliff drop off. 

Stripers have been caught in the main channel near Antelope Marina from the Power Plant Intake all the way to Buoy 9.  Fishing is kinder early in the morning before boat wakes increase the swells and nudge one to move to calmer water.  Cliff walls just inside the mouth of Antelope Canyon and the points of Navajo Canyon just past the first set of double islands are starting to produce stripers.

Lynette Johnson with 7-pound largemouth caught in Bullfrog Bay

My preference is to fish the backs of the canyons in murky water where most game fish are now living, looking for food, and preparing to spawn. Stripers, bass, crappie and walleye are increasing activity as water warms.  This being a typical spring, there will be days with much warming followed by cold and blustery weather.  Fish shallower water when water temperature is increasing and go deep and slow when water cools.   

Largemouth bass are still the most active species but water temperature is now in the range where smallmouth bass fishing will blossom.  The key temperature is 57 early morning increasing to the mid 60’s in the afternoon. Spawning occurs when morning temperature is in the low 60’s. The lake is still a week away from rapid warming but the weather forecast for the weekend is for warm calm days.  If that happens then bass spawning is right around the corner.    

Crappie are on the same temperature schedule.  They are staging for spawning in the backs of canyons.  They are not on nests in brushy pockets yet. Expect to find them suspended between 8 and 18 feet in the open water near brush. Troll or drift slowly with a tiny crankbait or crappie jig to find suspended fish in open water. 

Walleye are starting to bite.  They are in the murky coves but also on the main rock points near the main channel. It is not too early to fish mud lines on the main channel points and coves for walleye.  Trolling Wally Divers or casting green plastic grubs or tubes works for walleye in muddy water from 12 to 25 feet deep.

Spring fishing is warming up. It is a fun time to make that first trip to Lake Powell.   

April 4, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3590
Water Temp: 52-62 F

                                                          Stripers Show up at Dam

Those anglers that have been diligently paying their dues fishing in the main channel for striped bass were rewarded in a big way this week. While catches have been steady recently the numbers caught have been modest. That changed on Thursday when stripers were caught by the cooler full reminiscent of 2006. Fish caught were smaller but healthier than seen the two previous years.

What does this mean? It appears that more fish made their way into the channel than had previously been there. Or they could have been there all the time and were stimulated by increasing water temperature. For whatever reason, it seems that the likelihood of catching a good number of fish at the dam has now increased. There will still be time periods or whole days when fishing is slow.

It is always good to have a backup plan if all the prime spots at the dam are occupied or fishing is not good when you arrive. There are other locations that harbor striper schools. The closest location is the canyon wall on the west side near the barricade line. It is not necessary to tie to the barricades to catch fish just follow the wall north for a few hundred yards to the end of the underwater ledge that holds the striper schools in place. Check Buoy 1 at the mouth of Wahweap Bay, or Antelope and Navajo Canyons, NGS power plant intake to Buoy 9 on the south cany