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ANGLERS CORNER |
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Have you made a recent fishing
trip to Lake Powell?
If you have, please let us know how you did. Send your fishing report to
Wayne Gustaveson (wayne@wayneswords.com)
via E-mail. 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. |
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If you have a general question try
posting on WAYNESWORDS
FORUMS.
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May 14, 2008 - Ed Gerdemann |
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Having been in the grips of cabin fever all winter, finally
getting that first fishing trip of the year last week was a welcome tonic.
It wasn't just about the fish caught. It was about getting out of the
insanity of Phoenix and the pressure of work for a few days and doing
something that I find totally relaxing. My guest once again was longtime
angling partner John Conrad of Prescott. I first met John 30 years ago when
we both lived in Flagstaff, and over the years we have shared some
incredible fishing experiences.
Last week's trip was no exception, although the fishing we experienced is
almost common place on Powell these days. In our two days on the water we
took five of the seven major sports species in the lake while enjoying
absolutely wonderful weather as well as great fellowship - not to mention a
couple great fish dinners. I also used a new technique with good success
that should help me catch even more fish this year.
On this trip we decided to forego striper angling and concentrate on bass.
We were primarily targeting smallmouths, however it was also my intention to
try and find a few largemouths as well - and hopefully even some walleyes.
To accomplish this we decided to fish the Gunsight area, which is where I
had found good success last fall. Things looked great from the very
beginning when on my first cast a decent smallmouth sucked in my Yamamoto
shad shaped worm. Two years ago, an incredible fishing year for me, I also
took a nice smallie on my first cast; so this was a good omen. I missed a
bass on my next cast and then didn't get a strike for nearly an hour. |
Ed Gerdemann |
We finally hit the jackpot when we moved into a large cove
about halfway up Gunsight on the right side. This cove has two shallow
shelves on each side and a deep V cut down the middle. John scored
immediately on a nice walleye which snatched a small crappie tube he was
fishing on his ultralight. The fish was working towards the end of the V cut
in about 17 feet of water. John soon put two more walleyes in the boat out
of the same spot.
Seeing that my dropshot rigged shad shaped worm wasn't producing at the
time, I switched over to a five-inch Yamamoto Kut Tail worm fished on a
shaky head jig. For those not familiar with shaky head fishing, the best way
to describe it is Texas rigging but using a jig head instead of an offset
worm hook and bullet sinker. A number of companies sell special shaky head
jigs for this technique. As the name implies, the way to fish this setup is
to drag it and shake it along the bottom. The method certainly worked for my
Friday as I almost immediately took a nice smallmouth. I followed it up with
several more decent smallmouths as well as a largemouth and a walleye of my
own. The fish seemed to range from eight down to 18 feet. There did not
appear to be one depth better than the other except for the walleyes all of
which came from the same small area at the end of the V cut. John took two
more walleyes on his crappie tube as well as a couple bass before the action
died down. |
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We then moved to a long point on the north side of the cove.
I took a couple more smallmouth on the shaky head, but John then nailed the
best fish of the trip, a 20-inch smallmouth that weighed 3 lbs. 5 oz. - once
again on the little chartreuse tube. That fish cleared water three times
during the fight. I put my rod down to watch and man the net. The fish may
have been a spawned out female as it did not seem as heavy for its length as
it should have been. Nevertheless, it was still a fine fish. After a few
quick photos John released that fish and we continued up the point catching
several more smallmouths including a couple in the 2-pound plus class. It
was out towards the end of the point that John caught the only striper of
the trip - a healthy 2-pounder. At this point it did not seem the shaky head
was nearly as effective as it was earlier. As we worked along the edge of a
large flat I switched back to the drop shot and the shad shaped worm. I took
several more smallmouths and a couple largemouths all along this area. The
fish again ranged between eight and 18 feet with the largemouths coming from
on top of the flat and the smallmouths being a bit deeper and much closer to
the break line. |
 John
Conrad |
We fished several more areas in Gunsight taking good numbers
of smallmouths along with some largemouths thrown in. Most of the smallies
ranged from 3/4 to two pounds, and the biggest largemouth was also around
two pounds. In addition to these fish, we also caught a couple green
sunfish; and John caught another walleye. Our Friday total was 33
smallmouths, seven walleyes, six largemouths, two green sunfish and a
striper - quite a variety. I stayed with the shad shaped worm the rest of
the day, but John got the last laugh by catching a number of bass on a strip
of chamois he cut and fished on a drop shot rig - a far less expensive
alternative to my Yamamoto baits.
Saturday was one of those strange days in which the fishing didn't seem
nearly as good as it had been on Friday; however when all was said and done
we actually caught more fish. The big difference on Saturday was we didn't
catch as many of the nicer bass as we did on Friday, and we only caught two
walleyes and didn't catch any stripers. We decided to head back to Gunsight
on Saturday planning to fish only the most productive spots from the day
before while trying some places we didn't fish on Friday. We started back at
the cove with the V cut. Right off the bat I nailed a 22-inch three-pound
walleye on a shaky head worm. I also caught several nice smallmouth and lost
two very good fish. John had a tough start to the day only catching a couple
little bass, but things would turn his way later on. We fished up the long
flats catching a few smallmouths and a couple largemouths, and then we went
across the bay to the west side and fished a long point that produced some
good fish for me last fall. We took several decent smallmouths there, and
John got another walleye and 10 little bass that inhaled his crappie tube
every time he pitched it under a shallow overhanging ledge. |
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Having worked this area completely, we went up the bay
fishing some large coves on the west side that we had not fished the day
before. The fishing wasn't fast - one fish here, two there - but it was
steady. Most the fish were smallmouths in the "eating size" class - 11 to 13
inches. We finished the day fishing reefs and flats at the mouth of Gunsight
on the west side. This area produced the biggest smallmouth of the day, a
15-incher for John, as well as a number of smaller ones and a couple of
largemouths for good measure. Saturday's tally was 62 smallmouths, four
largemouths and two walleyes. After some early success, the shaky head worm
gave way again to the drop shot shad shaped worm. John took most his fish on
the small tubes he had used with such success the day before. The colors I
used both days were 297 (Green Pumpkin and Black) in the Kut Tail worm and
194 (Watermelon and Black) in the shad shaped worm. John's tubes were all
chartreuse. His chamois strip was a natural tan color.
One thing that was clear to us was that the spawn was not quite in full
swing. There a lot of fish staging out near the break lines, and many of the
bass we took were still full of eggs. Some fish were on top of the flats and
reefs, while others were still hanging along the drop-offs in a bit deeper
water. No fish were caught really deep, but not all that many were caught in
the really shallow water, either. While the fishing was very good, there
wasn't a bass behind every rock. We had to work for what we caught. All in
all it was a great way to break in the new season. I returned to work Monday
relaxed and refreshed, but I'm ready to come back up and do it all again!
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May 13, 2008 - Jim Macaluso |
 Nancy
Macaluso
Sandy, Utah
Smallmouth Bass 20'' Long 18'' Girth 5 lbs 6 oz. weighed on Rapala digital
scale
April 29,2008 Ice Berg Canyon Released to grow |
May 13, 2008 - Mike Milburn WTemp 64-67 |
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I just returned from an extended stay in the Bullfrog area.
Last Wednesday and Thursday, May 7 and 8, we fished in the Cedar Canyon area
and did very good on Crappie and some really nice Bluegill. We were using
small jigs such as 2 1/2 pearl curly tails on 1/8 oz. heads. We also picked
up some smaller SMB and a few LMB. We fished for stripers at the mouth of
Hall's Creek and did well using 3/8 oz. jig heads and a small piece of
anchovy. The best spot was on the outside near the first vertical wall
downlake from the Hall's Creek buoy. We found the stripers in 50-90 feet of
water and most were suspended at about 25-35 feet. We chummed initially to
get the feeding started. Most of the stripers were in the 15-18 inch range
and most were in fairly good condition. Some of the guys in the party also
fished in Moki Canyon and found stripers on the left side wall about 300
yards from the mouth of the canyon. On the way back to Bullfrog we stopped
just downlake from the Rincon and fished the main channel.
Alan and Jessica |
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Fishing on Sunday was excellent for smallmouth in this area. Each cast
would have several strikes and most well placed jigs would yield a fish.
Most of the SMB we caught on Sunday were 10-15 inches and would be perfect
for someone looking to take some fillets home. We were using 3 inch tube
jigs in the crawfish colors
such as greenish brown and motor oil. When the wind wasn't blowing we used
1/8 oz. heads in the tubes. We had to go up to 1/4 oz. when the wind picked
up. I also caught a few SMB on topwater lures when the
conditions were calm.On Monday morning, May 12, we fished for stripers at
the mouth of Lake Canyon. The best spot was right at the mouth on the left
side of the wall as you enter the canyon. We used pieces of anchovy on plain
jig heads. The three of us caught about 30 stripers in two hours of fishing.
I have attached a photo of my son, Alan and his friend Jessica with a nice
stringer of stripers. We saw water temps in the 62-70 degree range with most
of the water being around 64-67. Fishing is great and it's time to visit
Lake Powell.Later in the weekend my family came down to join me and we
took a trip down to Rainbow Bridge. Due to the lower water level there is a
hike of about 1 1/4 miles to Rainbow Bridge. There is a well maintained
trail
and only a slight climb to reach this wonder of the world. |
May 12, 2008 - Jared Mayfield - Iceberg |
 I
caught this fish on May 3 in Iceberg Canyon. The fishing was great that
weekend. We caught many stripers, small mouth, crappy and walleye. I caught
3 small mouth that were 17 inches long, and one big largemouth.
I think we caught a total of 200 or more fish that weekend... It was
great!!
Jared Mayfield
Copperton, Utah |
May 10, 2008 - Matt Monson - Navajo and West
Canyon - WTemp 59-66 |
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Matt Monson friends and crew from Monson Millworks in
SLC, came down to catch stripers and bass. The early morning striper
fishing was great along the main channel walls between the dam and Antelope
Point. Before sunup, we chummed a relatively shallow shelf along the deep
canyon wall. In a few minutes the stripers lit up. When the chum
cleared there were 55 stripers in the cooler in about 90 minutes on nonstop
catching.
The technique was small jig heads with a small chunk of anchovy. Cast
toward the shelf and let the bait slowly settle. |
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In Navajo Canyon we got a striper school to turn on mid day
along a main channel point using the same light jig head and anchovy
technique. We caught 45 in about 2 hours of fishing.
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Then we went fishing further up Navajo Canyon looking for
bass. We used chartreuse grubs on 1/4 ounce jigheads. Casting to
boulders and broken rock worked well in the afternoon after the water
temperature had risen to 65. It was slow fishing for bass in the morning.
Matt Monson |
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The best spot in Navajo was a short creek channel that
joined Navajo Canyon. Smallmouth and largemouth bass were holding on
the steep drop near the channel junction. |
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Bass fishing was great in West Canyon in the afternoon while
morning fishing was only so-so.
Blaine Baxter |
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Chartreuse grubs caught many different species including
bluegill, stripers, large and smallmouth bass and crappie. A walleye even
fell for a smoke sparkle grub.
Reed Baxter |
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Smallmouth were caught most often with 2 to 5 bass in each
spot we fished.
Mark Hunter |
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The reefs in clear water were good but the best luck was
found in the broken rock or mats of floating debris that was piled up in
short little slick rock coves along the channel edge. |
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Report for 5/1 thru 5/3, 2008
Tim Kelley and number one son.
Arrived at Wahweap Thursday 10:30 a.m. and set up camp while the w- -d was
howling! Did some maintenance on trailer, and boat while being spiteful of
the w- -d! Guido and Susie showed up later. All of us
decided to hang around for awhile! Guido got antsy and headed for the dam
with Susie. I told him to call me if he started catching! He called me, so
my son and I hopped in the boat and headed for the dam. Guido was tied to
float #3 on the west side, so I tied up to #2. My son caught a couple of
stripers right off, and then the stripers decided my bait looked pretty good
also. After an hour and a half we decided to quit and not clean a hundred
stripers that night, we had 32, and Guido and Susie had about the same. The
big "W" blew most of the night!
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Friday morning was chilly, and we went to Rock Creek. Water
temp. was 53 degrees when we got there. Fishing was tough for stripers, we
caught a few on black and chrome wally divers, but most of all they had lock
jaw.
My son and I headed down lake for Gregory Butte in the afternoon. When
We got there the water temp. was 61 degrees, and I remembered what worked
there a couple of years ago, and pulled out the chartreuse and white shad
raps. We started catching stripers and smb immediately. That was the 1st
real good smb fishing I had this year. Here is a pic of one smally on the
deck. They were all about this size. We went from there to Face canyon to do
some graphing, and then went back in.
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Saturday we headed up to the back of Last Chance to see if
the school of stripers from a few weeks ago were still there. They were!!
Water temp was 58 degrees
back there, and we kept the chartreuse shad raps going and we started
picking up stripers right away. Quite a few times we had double hook ups,
and it was very
consistent catching. We tired of stripers, and decided to go hunt out some
crappie and smb, maybe some lmb also. We went to the back of a long cove
where Guido and Susie had been for about an hour, and started working a
trolling pattern with some Norman Little N's.
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Guido and Susie hadn't any luck back there and were going to
head for Gregory where we did good the day before for smb. I told them that
we were going to stay where we were at for awhile to try some different
techniques. Glad we did. When the water temp hit 63 degrees all heck broke
loose, with topwater slappin', and splashin', and crappie jig action also
so! We worked the short cliffs for smallies and my son and I got doubles a
couple of times workin' the little crappie jigs. We got into smb, lmb,
crappie, walleye, and stripers workin the little ultra light rigs with
crappie jigs. This can be some of the funnest ways to fish with some great
action, and pole bendin' fish fighten'. What a way to end the trip, and my
son and I had a blast. Next stop the South Rally, and I am ready for it
again! |
May 6, 2008 - Joe Leko - Navajo Canyon |
| Went down the lake on Friday and we caught 53 stripers in
Navajo Cyn was done by 4:30 we only fished for a couple of hours. Sat we
went to Last Chance, water was still cold. We caught 8 small mouth bass, 1
crappie, and 1 walleye. Came back to Navajo in the afternoon and caught
another 40+ stripers. Fished Navajo on Sunday morning for a couple of hours
and picked up 38 stripers. Had to put the poles away to get my crew to stop
fishing, we were pretty much catching them every cast. My 90 year old
father-in-law had a great time. Appreciate your help. |
May 3, 2008 - Brent Gunderson - Wahweap Bay |
 I
fished with my cousin Wayne to learn about catching stripers. We trolled and
spooned up 36 in the morning and then went back in the afternoon to catch
another 36 on bait. He just parked over the school, chummed and the
fish went crazy. This is really fun! |
May 2, 2008 - Dr Chad Lunt - Wahweap Bay |
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My son Jason caught his first fish while fishing in Lake
Powell. We were trolling for stripers and then jigging with spoons while a
troll-caught striper was being reeled in. The school tended to follow
the hooked fish. When the school is seen on the graph then drop spoons to
catch more fish.
Tim was holding the spoon rod while I was taking a fish off the hook when
this striper hit the spoon. That was fun.
Chad Lunt with 5-year old Jason |
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Timothy Lunt thought trolling with Bevy shad was just great.
He caught his first striper and then many more. We brought in 36 fish
in 3 hours.
Timothy Lunt, 14 years old.
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Chad Lunt |
May 4, 2008 - Dan Jenkins - White Canyon - Wtemp
55-62 |
May 1, 2008 - Chet Garling - San Juan |
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Here is our report from the San Juan arm on
April 27,28 and 29th. We fished for three days and boated over 210 fish,
about 25 Stripers, some trolled up in the mudline and a few on jigs while
fishing for bass.
Chet |
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We only caught two walleye, around 10 Large
mouth bass, about a dozen crappie none of which were small, and the rest
were Small mouth bass, most with some size to them. |
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We used tube jigs, small crankbaits(crawdad),
pointer for trolling and casting.
Ken |
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The pictures of the otters came from about a
half hour of them frolicking around. We also saw a falcon that had just
killed a grebe, and we got the pictures of the Eared Grebe.
Best Picture of the Year |
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A great trip. No wind to speak of. We saw one
bass bed with some bass around but no takers. At one point we were catching
green bass out of one side of the boat and stripers out of the other. |
May 1, 2008 - Rebecca Twiss - Last Chance
-Houseboat fishing |
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Hi Wayne!
Rebecca and Scotty from Scotty's Sportfishing on Catalina Island, California
here.
We just wanted to report that we had an AMAZING time houseboating on Lake
Powell.
We got to Wahweap on April 24, and it was blowing pretty good at 30-35 mph.
The HB people took great care of us...and because of the wind, they
suggested we may stay on the boat in the marina until it died down probably
the next day.
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Thanks but no thanks! We are used to getting tossed around
on the ocean in the winter, and that never stops us from fishing...well,
almost never.
We had already decided to head out to Last Chance Bay...it took us about
four hours to get there but what is that after driving all the way from
Southern California?
Finding a place to beach the boat was the most challenging part being first
timers...we looked for a spot that would be protected from the wind that we
would be able to get in and out of.
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But the fish showed us the way! As we looked into the
fingers of the bay, a fish just popped up and said "this way please!" We
turned toward it, and another jumped, and we followed that one to what had
to be the perfect fishing spot.
We did exactly as you said - parked the boat with the end out over deep
water - great advice! This finger of the bay had 10 little inlets, shallow
on the edge and deep in the middle. Captain Scotty caught his first fish
from shore within five minutes of setting his feet on the beach.
In three days we caught 87 fish - 66 stripers, 11 catfish, 9 largemouth, and
one carp. We'd fish a few hours in the early morning, then spend the day
hiking and playing, and drop the lines back in around 4:30 for the evening
bite. |
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We had hand-made rod holders we duct-taped to the back rail
of the boat and soaked cut anchovies on half-ounce slide weights. We had
scooped up the anchovies in Avalon Harbor after a charter and vacuum-sealed
them - the lake fish loved them. We caught most of the stripers, the
catfish, and the carp off the back of the boat on anchovies. The largemouth
would follow the bait to the surface, but wouldn't bite.
Luckily, we had decided to bring a kayak...and after taking our
3-yr-old for a cruise around the coves, Scotty went out and caught a striper
and the 9 large mouth with an SX shad (silver and blue), a Bomber Fat A
(red/crawdad) and a knocker shad.
We released all the fish (we brought way too much food!) so we don't have
pics of the largemouth...didn't want to lose the camera off the kayak ya
know.
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The inlets were full of carp - you could see them swimming
around in the reeds like they were in a fish tank - but they wouldn't bite.
On the last night we were there, April 26, Scotty had planned to go back out
and try for the largemouth and smallmouth again, but he was just too darn
tired from so much fun.
So that is our fish report! Sorry it took so long to get it to you...we had
to hit the ground running when we got back to the island. We loved the Lake,
the fishing was great, the houseboat was awesome...and we can't wait another
year to come back...so we'll see you in October!
Rebecca Twiss
Scott Costa
Scotty's Sportfishing
Catalina Island, California |
April 30, 2008 - Kevin - San Juan
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| My two brothers' and I started out Wednesday the 23rd, from
Bullfrog, and headed South to the San Juan. We camped just back, from the
mud line, and got after some fishing in the wind. Jeff and Randy Phillips,
from Nortonville Kentucky. They had never been to Powell, and were already
amazed at its beauty, before wetting a line. But even after three out of
four day's, of fishing in the wind, they still had nothing but great thing's
to say about lake Powell, and how neat the scenery, and great the fishing
was. We started out in the muddy water, and caught a Walleye first, and then
we went to the clearer water around the corner, and started catching fish.
Lot's of Crappie, and several Large and Smallmouth Bass. With another
Walleye mixed in. We fished Wednesday and Thursday, and caught a lot of nice
Crappie, the largest one weighing two and a quarter lbs. 15 1/2". and
limit's of 1 3/4 lb Crappie's, 14" to 15". It blew hard, so we used the
Anchor, and it worked well.
We caught them on 1/16th oz Stinger's in pearl White, and 3" Gulp alive, in
white also, with an1/8th oz Chartreuse Gamakatsu led head, which worked
excellent for Jeff and Randy, but the bigger Crappie's were caught on the
Stinger's. We also used some Crawler's, when it got tough, and they will
always catch something.
We left Friday mourning, with great weather to get to Moqui. We saw "
HotWheels" on the way back, at the mouth of the Escalante, and talked with
him for a while, and gave him our report. It was hard leaving the San Juan,
but I wanted my brother's to see Moqui canyon and that wasn't a regret at
the least bit. We caught them there Friday and Saturday also. Crappies and
Bass. Not as large of Crappie, but some nice Large and Smallmouth Bass. We
also had the pleasure of being around Hot Wheel's, and his friend's, also
from KY, on Saturday.
We had two fish fry's, while we were there, and had a great trip, and
time, both Randy and Jeff, were hooked, and promised they would be back in
the future. It was a great start to another great year on Powell.
We Striper fished some, but never really found them, catching only five for
the trip, but never being patient enough, knowing those Crappie were there
to be caught, those tree's draw you in, after you start fishing them.
You all have a good one. |
April 29, 2008 - Wayne Gustaveson - Trolling
technique |
April 29, 2008 - Megabite - San Juan,
Wtemp mid 50's |
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Camped and fished with Bass Man on the upper San Juan April 18-26.
|
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Arrived after midnight on April 18. Brought both boats
because mine needed a decent sea trial. Launched both boats, stopped by the
houseboat, not a creature was stirring, changed to warm clothes, then headed
south. Motored 2 hours under the full moon from Bullfrog to the mouth of the
San Juan to our camp site near Neskahi. Set up the tent, slept for an hour,
then went fishing for a day – we play much harder than we work…
|
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Water temp was mid to high 50’s. Bass were reluctant.
Spinnerbaits and topwater caught a few. Crankbaits worked a bit better.
Eventually we were both fishing plastic in 15-20’ of water. And that was the
story of almost every day of our trip. Wind played havoc with fishing and
water temp on a regular basis. Water temp struggled to get much over 60 each
day. Days when the wind had blown or was blowing the temp never got to 60.
Only one day saw water temp in the mid-60’s. Generally spinnerbait was best
for morning, topwater for the last hour of the evening. Catching was good
compared to other lakes, poor compared to spring fishing at Powell.
|
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The April trip is mainly for bass. Caught a few crappie here
and there. Could not find any schools. We could only catch one crappie at
any one location despite numerous attempts to find more fish. (we did see
one boat working on a school) Bass Man caught two crappie on topwater with
another making a hit. I caught a couple on spinnerbait. We caught others on
crankbaits. A few on plastic. I caught one walleye, Bass Man caught a
couple. All near the shore. Stripers caught near shore were next to death.
Most dies as a result of being caught. Saw a lot of stripers in Leroy Cove,
a school near the start of the Great Bend, and a number of stripers in the
big bay just before the canyon to the Great Bend.
MegaBite |
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The upper San Juan is also a great place for wildlife. The
burros were out and about as usual. Ravens quickly picked up our fishing
schedule then explored camp each morning as we motored away. Found out
ravens are picky about what they eat. On two different occasions one got
into Bass Man’s trial mix. But it ate only the peanuts, avoiding the raisins
and M&Ms. An osprey was there though we saw very little of it.
Chet & Ken saw a falcon that killed a
grebe. And we saw one of the otters living there.
|
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And it’s good to have friends. Bass Man’s BIL was already there and stayed
for a few days. Tony & Robert came down Saturday and camped across the water
from us. Chet came down a week after us. And
Hotwheels came down for a day. Through Wayne’s Words we always see
someone we know out on the lake. Thanks Wayne!
|
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Bass and Bassman |
April 28, 2008 - Brett Mierendorf Wetherill -
WTemp 54-57 |
 The
members of our party were Bill Wagner, Rick Parker,
Clayton Dillahunty, Dan Romero and Bob
Hiser. We camped and fished in Wetherill Canyon
4/19 - 4/22. We caught striper, smallmouth (including a 2lb 4oz in picture
with myself), crappie, largemouth, catfish and walleye. we used jigs with
plastic tails. Best colors were pumpkin and green with red flecks. Natural
colors worked much better than bright colors. Fishing was good all day with
a big bite in the early evening - 4:30 - 7pm. trolling the shore off shelves
and rock outcroppings was best. Crappies in the back of the canyon.
Brett Mierendorf |
April 28, 2008 - Ryan Mosley -Stanton to
Smith Fork- WTemp 56 |
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Here’s the day-by-day report for Roger and Ryan. The
wind was absolutely annoying, but it's always fun hanging out in your
backyard. To get to sleep last night I had to turn on the ceiling fan!
Wednesday- we arrived at Stanton Creek and quickly set-up camp. The wind was
already an issue that afternoon, and we shot up to Moki Canyon to look for
fish. We trolled the mouth for stripers without any success. There was less
wind in the back of the canyon, so we pitched grubs for a few bass and
crappie. Water temp was 56F.
Roger Schneidervin
From Wayne to Roger - Famous quote "Even a fish
could stay out of trouble if it kept its mouth shut!" |
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Thursday- In the morning, we headed down lake looking for
stripers near Lake and Slick Rock Canyon. We graphed some targets on the
points along the western shore, just above Lake Canyon. We trolled about an
hour, catching a couple of stripers using silver Wally Divers and
Thunderstick Jrs. We also marked fish in the back of Hall’s Creek, but
trolling only produced a few hits. In the afternoon the wind picked up (here
we go). We switched back to fishing for bass and found a few cooperative
smallmouths and largemouths in the mouth of Bullfrog Bay and the back of
Stanton Creek. Water temps were 52F in the morning and only 55F in the
afternoon (wind again).
|
 |
Friday- Once again, we searched for stripers willing to hit
crankbaits. The cold front passed overnight and we took a chilly boat ride
up to Knowles Canyon, graphing main channel points along the way. We graphed
several fish at the mouth of Knowles between 30-60ft. Trolling only produced
one striper, and we tried several different crankbaits. That afternoon, we
moved into the canyons fishing for bass and crappie. The wind was light
(surprise, surprise!), the sun was high, and the fishing responded. We
caught around 30 crappies in Smith’s Fork Canyon, along with a few blue
gills, stripers, and bass. We were using Berkely Power Grubs in motor
oil/chartreuse on a ¼ oz jig head, 4-6ft under a bobber. Water temps were
50F in the morning, warming to 59F by afternoon. |
 |
Saturday- After a bumpy ride uplake, we tried to mimic the
previous day’s crappie event with little success. After a few hours and only
a handful of crappie, we switched to bass. The wind howled (go figure!), the
water remained cool, but the bass were active in both Smith’s Fork and
Forgotten Canyon. We did best by fishing the sunny shores, and caught
several smallies and one largemouth, using Hula Grubs in black/silver flake
and single tailed grubs in brown/green flake. We also hooked a few more
crappie fishing the trees in Forgotten Canyon. Water temps remained around
54F. |
 |
Overall the fishing was pretty good, when the wind let you fish. The
mornings were definitely slower and a little sun and/or reprieve from the
wind warmed up the water in the afternoons. As the water temps slowly crept
up, we saw an increase in fish activity. If winter will ever let go, the
fishing is going to go berserk down there.
Hope it helps, Ryno |
April 27, 2008 - Joel and Lili Belmont, Glenwood Springs, CO |
 |
We were on the lake from 4/15 to 4/26, and spent most of the
time south of bullfrog. This Crappie was caught in Lake Canyon, along with a
few others and some small green bass.
Went down to Dangling Rope, and found a lot of SMB in Mountain Sheep Canyon,
both in the narrow back part in crevices and cuts, and the open front end,
along shelfs. 4" single tail grubs (yamamoto, pumpkin w/green and black,
#196, on a plain lead jig head seem to be my perpetual bait of choice for
SMB anywhere on Powell) were effective.
Joel Belmont
|
 |
Fished near the Rincon middle of last week... fishing was
tougher. Caught a good sized channel cat on the same 4" grub... pretty
feisty fish. Lili Belmont decided that
reading in the shade was better than slow fishing... she was probably right.
Friday night (4/25) I was finally able to full on fish as we were leaving
the next day, and were with friends earlier, making it more challenging to
stay in a spot long enough to fill a cooler. Headed to Moki around sunset,
and was blessed with the wind dying down so that I could anchor by the rock
pile at the mouth (I've fished here a lot, and keeping a 26' TriToon in one
spot over a chum cloud only works on calm evenings using two anchors) as
others were leaving. |
 |
Put the 4' Hydro Glow light in the water (luckily the moon
was in a phase so that it didn't come up until maybe 12 or 1), chummed, and
had an evening reminiscent of the same time last year, catching a fish on
almost every cast. Lili got cold and retired after a while, but I kept
fishing until around 1 or 2 am, and then motored across the way to a cove I
had scoped out earlier. Ended up with around 80 stripers, using about a bag
and a half of 'chovies. I found it worked better to cut about three
anchovies up at a time, save the head, tail and close to tail segments for
the hooks, and dice the rest to chum. This way I ran out frequently, and
chummed consistently, which kept the fish coming. I like to use a chartreuse
grub/jighead on the bottom, a bait hook about a foot above that, and another
bait hook about a foot above that, so it reaches about a 3' section of depth
at the same time. I tie these rigs at home, and use a snap to attach them so
I am not tying knots in prime time fishing, or when it is dark (no fun). |
 |
I don't know where the seemingly inexhaustible source of
stripers comes from that live in Moki, but they rarely fail to show up. The
fish were generally a nice small but thick size, offering great fillets.
There were a few small skinnies, which was an odd encounter from the larger
skinnies last year, but 90% of the fish were prime. Also picked up two
walleyes... pretty scary looking at night!
Fished Oak Canyon bay, close to where Oak Canyon meets the bay, and there
were plenty of LMB and some smallies. They kept you awake at night with
consistent splashing on the surface.
Photo is of the mouth of Mountain Sheep at around 11pm, with a long
enough exposure to make the full moon light look like daylight. |
April 26, 2008 - Tony Anast - San Juan
- WTemp 55-67 |
 |
San Juan (Neskahi) water temp 55-67
Robert Gilson and I met Bassman and Megaite down at Neskahi for the week
Saturday night. We fished Sunday winds were non stop, water temp around 58
that day. Caught 10 lmb, 10 smb, 2 crappie mainly using firetiger cranks,
purple tubes (YUM).
Monday, More wind same temp water. Caught 20 smb, 7 lmb mainly in Neskahi in
shallow water using same type lures.
|
 |
Tuesday was very nice day. water temp up to 67 in some
places. Fish were scared of everything. caught some nice LMB but very hard
to catch.
Wed more wind. Worked hard for our catch caught around 10 lmb, 10 smb and 5
crappie and couple striper.
Tony Anast |
 |
Thursday nice in the morning and very windy in the
afternoon. Found the stripers and trolled them up at mudline. Caught around
15 stripers, 8 LMB, 2 smb, and 10 crappie.
This was the total for just Robert Gilson and I from Price Utah. |
April 22, 2008 - John Lassandro - Last Chance,
Wtemp 54 F |
Thursday April 17th
Arrived @ Wahweap about 9am and the houseboat was waiting on the dock for us
(thanks Chad!). So we loaded her up and dunked the boats. I decided I would
motor up lake and stop in striper areas and dunk a few choves while waiting
for the HB to catch up. Could not spend a lot of time as I had to go scout
out a place to call home for the next few days. Stopped at buoy 1, nada,
then the intakes, nada, and lastly the warm creek point, also nada. So I
zoomed up to friendship as we really wanted that nice beach we had last fall
(remember that one Tim?) and as it happened it was available (Papa Jacks
favorite cove…now it is mine too!). So we beached and anchored in and all
went out in the cove to see what we could find…me I found a willing walleye
for my blue and chrome hammered side Rat L Trap (PS- I am donating a half
dozen of these for the South Rally – who should I give them to?). We trolled
everywhere around the cove until dinner was ready and managed a few willing
stripers. After dinner I decided to go over to Dry Rock to see if I could
graph some fish, as we caught a bunch there last fall, screen was a ghost
town. So I called it a night as I had a 2:30am start.
Friday April 18th
I tried to get everybody going early as I knew this was going to be the best
day weather wise and wanted to get in as much fishing as possible. So I took
them up to the end of Last Chance where Suzie, Tim and I had caught them 11
days earlier. They were still in there, but not as many as before. And we
trolled them up until we were tired of that (blue and chrome Rat L Trap) and
went to the secret crappie hole and beetle spin and crappie nibbled our way
to a nice bunch there and decided to head back for lunch and cleaning fish.
After lunch we decided to try Rock Creek with chovies and we really
struggled to pick up a few and called it a day.
Saturday April 19th
Had talked to Suzie this morning to get an up to date weather report and she
informed me the nice weather we were having was going to end around 1. So I
took the gang back to LC and repeated what was successful the previous day
(If it ain’t broke don’t fix it I always say) and we did have some success
but not as good as the previous day. Packed it in for lunch about 12:30, and
a good thing we did because the w@*d came at us with a vengeance…And being
on a sandy beach is not good when it is like that I can tell ya…..so that is
how the day ended
Sunday April 20th
We only have a few hours on the last day and usually only fish in close
proximity to the HB. So we tried smallie fishing and only managed a couple.
And then packed up and headed home, but what a great time….
Like Arnold said “I’ll be back” |
April 21, 2008 - Jens Clegg - White/Farley |
Thanks for the great website!
My Dad, Brothers and I fished White and Farley Canyons April 14th through
the 18th. Fishing on Monday night was fantastic! We caught several big
largemouth and too many crappie to count. The crappie were all in excellent
condition and larger than in years past. The storm and front that moved
through on Tuesday kept us off the lake for most of the day and slowed the
fishing down.
On Wednesday it was still too cold and the fishing was slow so we spent
the day trolling for striper. The striper were very active and hit our glass
shad raps (thanks for the suggestion) constantly with double hookups almost
every time. All of the striper we caught were 14-16" and between 1 and 2
Lbs. The fishing got better again by Thursday night but was nowhere near as
good as Monday. Overall we had a great trip and all went home with very sore
wrists. |
April 21, 2008 - CoachK - Moki Canyon
|
| We did great in Moki for stripers. We fished the mouth on
Thursday and caught nearly 100. Then on Saturday we went back. It was combat
fishing so we moved up the canyon and found a wall that had some fish. We
wind drifted along the wall - down then back up. What a hoot. Caught over
100. Just threw an anchovy on a jig head out about 40 ft then drifted. The
kids had a ball. Couldn't hardly catch a green bass. Finally went back to
bank fishing and caught a few bass
|
April 21 - Mike Milburn - Good Hope Bay - WTEMP
51+ |
|
My partner Will and I arrived at Bullfrog on
Wednesday, April 16 to find stiff north winds. We
headed uplake and decided to camp on the main channel
about a 1/2 mile below the floating outhouse at the
south end of GHB. The camp spot was very
good and
will be for another 12-15 feet of lake rise.
We didn't fish Wednesday due to the winds.
On Thursday the weather was better although we did
have breezy conditions. We waited until 10:00 am to
start fishing in hopes the water would warm from it's
51 degree start. We caught a few SMB and LMB on 3
inch tube jigs in pumpkinseed color. We also caught a
few small stripers that seemed to be cruising the
shoreline looking for crawfish.
|
 |
Friday was the best day on the lake as far as the
weather goes. It was nice and the winds finally shut
down. We found a few pockets of water that was 57-60
degrees and we immediately started getting some nice
bass of both species. We fished the area in and
around Cedar Canyon and the main channel rockslides
just downlake from Cedar Canyon.
On Saturday we went further up the lake and fished
around Red Canyon and Scorup Canyon. We found a
pattern with suspended crappie in 12-15 feet of water
and worked that for all it was worth. We targeted the
crappie and did well since the bite was slow for the
bass. We didn't really try fishing for stripers because I don't like to
troll and I won't allow anchovies in my boat without a stiff bribe LOL.
Mike Milburn |
 |
We caught a few crappie that were around 17 inches and
about 2 pounds (photos). We kept some for a dinner on
the lake and a few to take home for the family. We
saw quite a few other fishermen and most seemed to be
headed further uplake and probably fished White and
Farley. I spoke to one man and his kids who said they
did very well on the stripers and crappie in Farley
Canyon on Saturday. He also mentioned they caught
some good SMB.
Things are getting better as the water warms. The
Bullfrog Open tourney is this next weekend and the
bass guys should do OK with the good weather that is
predicted during the week.'
Will |
April 17, 2008 - Bill Bjork - Wahweap Bay,
Wtemp 55F |
 Fishing
Wahweap was incredible today. The fish are hungry. We fished for 4 hours
this afternoon and caught some very nice smallmouth and largemouth. This one
was 5.02 on the scale. All of our fish were caught cranking fast!
Thanks for having such a great site Wayne! bill bjork
|
April 17, 2008 - Wayne Gustaveson Wahweap Bay, WTemp 53F |
 |
Northern UT DWR biologists Paul Thompson and Aaron Webber
went out with me this morning in Wahweap. The planned trip uplake was
blow away by the wind and cold. Water temperature dropped to 52 with
the 3 day wind storm. So we stayed in Wahweap bay and went trolling
for stripers.
Aaron joked when leaving the dock that he would like to take home about
30 stripers. I told him to be careful what you wish for. They thought the
weather balmy and I shivered under 4 layers of clothes. |
 |
We put out the trolling lines and went about 50 yards when
Aaron caught his first striper ever. As Paul was reeling in his lure
another hit and the first stop was a double hookup. In fact, the next
3 stops were double hookups.
Aaron and Paul Thompson |
 |
We trolled at 1200 rpms (3.5 mph) and ran a zig-zag course
following the bottom contour
Aaron Webber with his first striper. |
 |
The best lure today was the black and silver wally diver.
It runs 9-12 feet deep and we were targeting reef edges that broke from 12
to 25 feet. |
 |
The bevy shad (blue gill color) was steady. I retired it
early because the wally diver was working so well and I didn't want it to
get chewed up. The wally diver hooks will need replacement before the
next trip. |
 |
We had Paul use the custom rattletrap made by Chip which was
also very effective. Action was best early but steady all day. We ran
the same pattern on reefs from Wahweap to the Dam and caught fish on all of
them.
At the fillet station we counted 32 stripers. Looks like Aaron got his
wish. |
April 17, 2008 - Tom Brown Dam, Wtemp
54-58 |
 |
Glen Canyon Barrier April 11th and 12th.
My wife Fran and I arrived at Page Thursday evening after a 5 hour drive
from Durango Colorado. We grabbed a room at the Best Western Arizona Inn. We
were up at 5:30 am, threw in a lunch and hopped in the boat at Wahweap and
headed up for the barrier at the dam. There were two large party barges and
one other boat already tied up by the time we arrived. My wife and I could
already see their poles bending and the nets scooping up the stripers
although the sun wouldn't hit the water for an hour or so. We hurried up and
tied up to barrier number 7. We got our lines in the water by 7 am and
hauled in 2-4 lb stripers until 2 pm when our live well was stuffed. My wife
(Fran) counted 80 fish as she hauled them to me at the new Wahweap fish
cleaning station. It took us 2 hours to clean the fish then we headed back
to our room, plugged in the boat and put the bagged fillets in our electric
cool chest in the motel room.
|
 |
Saturday we were fishing about the same time again. Because
the word was out about the striper run and it was the weekend, there were
about 8 boats already tied up and we lost our magic spot on the barrier from
the day before (ya snooze, a lose). Fishing was slow compared to Friday with
all boats only getting hit about once every 30 minutes or so even in the
magic spots closer to the wall. One person was having better success than
the other fishermen by constantly casting way out towards the dam and
getting hit as the bait (1/4 oz jig head with ½ anchovy) floated back
towards his boat verses just letting his bait set under the boat.
|
 |
About noon some of the boats left the line because the
fishing was so slow. In fact the same two party boats left that were tied up
since they had landed over 200 stripers the day before and I am sure were
disappointed with the slow action. That left a spot back next to the wall so
we tied up close to where we were on Friday. I began casting out towards the
dam and would alternate my two poles so that one bait was on the fall just
about all the time. That seemed to work pretty well as I caught about one
striper every 10th cast. About 3 pm the bite picked up and we started
filling up the live well again as well as all the other boats up and down
the line. Boats were landing two and three at a time. |
 |
We headed back to the fish cleaning station about 4 pm and
Fran and I cleaned and bagged up 45 nice stripers.
The only bait we used the entire trip was ½ anchovy ( from the Page Wal
Mart) hooked on a Cabelas black or yellow head ¼ oz Solid Color Barbed
Collar-Red Hook Series jig head. These wire hooks seem to stay sharper
longer and prevent missed hook sets when the stripers hitting softly. I used
4 lb Fireline on one rod and 6 lb mono on the other 3 rods.
|
April 17, 2008 - Perry Berry - Wetherill Canyon,
WTemp 58-62 |
 |
Here are a few pictures from our fishing trip this past
weekend. The crappie were very cooperative and easy for the kids to catch.
We caught several one-two pound largemouth bass with an occasional walleye
and/or smallmouth.
Jacob Berry |
 |
We spent most of our time in Wetherill and West Canyon and
the weather was great.
Jacob and Jade Berry |
 |
Photos taken before fishing got good. |
April 15, 2008 - Bill Porter - Last Chance |
 |
Nice website, my family (esp my son Tanner) regularly
reference your site. We have been adding fishing pressure as often as
possible. Each year more and more.
We base our operation on a K-2 Blackjack 224 – it is a white center console
with a T-Top. Be sure to flag us down if you ever see us, would love to chat
and say thanks for all of your efforts. Attached are a few pics, nothing
like photos of kids with fish and boats.
|
 |
Our most recent trip was at the back of Last Chance on 4/11
and 4/12. There are multiple campsites with the low water and the fishing
was rather ok. |
 |
We caught 6 species (Walleye, Crappie, SM, LM, Striper, and
catfish) and fair numbers. Almost exclusively using brown grubs. |
 |
I have also been regularly visiting the back of Labyrinth
Canyon – there is an exceptional hike there. After 150 yards the canyon
narrows and narrows. As the water raises access will begin to become more
difficult. A must hike if you haven’t visited at low water. Total hike time
is 1 hr to ??? , we generally spend 1.5 to 2 hrs. Be sure to take your
camera.
We also recently hiked West Canyon. It is a long way to the high water mark
and a bit farther to the narrows but well worth the journey. Lots of Beaver
signs, dens and even a couple of sightings. Hike time was about 4 hours.
|
April 15, 2008 - Mike McNabb - Gunsight, WTemp
56-65 F |
 |
We had a good day on 4-14-08. Here are a couple of pictures of some nice
largemouth that the tournament guys missed in
Gunsight!
Chris with 4.2 largemouth
|
 |
Dean with 2+ pound largemouth
Beautiful day for fishing! Saw a few beds and
if this weather continues to be nice this week I believe we'll see a lot
more by the weekend. Striper fishing is picking up in
other places besides the crowded buoys at the dam.
|
April 14, 2008 - Bass Man Red Canyon,
WTemp 54 |
| Got to the Lake Friday morning to 35 MPH winds out of the
North BURRR. Headed up lake when the winds died down to 25 MPH. Found a spot
in Red Canyon to camp. Things did not turn out well for the Black Bass (they
were still asleep) . Fished hard on Friday caught 6 LMB, 2 SMB, 8 Crappie.
All were released. Saturday fished Red, Blue Notch, and White. More of the
same. I had to work my buns off for about 10 bass.
If you want to catch 1 to 1.5 lb. stripers the fishing was fantastic.
Stripers can be caught in the back of Bullfrog bay. Red Canyon, Just South
of Castle Butte in 40 ft of water and White Canyon. By the time I left the
water temp was 54 in the Morning. The water begins to get stained at Ticaboo
Canyon.
Striper fishing is fantastic You can boat easy 50 fish per day in White
Canyon trolling. Tony was catching them on a deep diving X-Rap. The stain
was only real bad in striper city. The rest of the canyons have at least 2
feet visibility (just right for spring fishing). Water Temp. and cold fronts
with w--d is what will hurt the fishing. Will it happen again this weekend?
Last weather report said nice Friday and w--d Saturday and Sunday. Will be
headed to the Upper San Juan. Will be looking for high canyon walls to hide
behind or sleep a lot in my tent. This is the first time in a long time that
it has taken sooo long for the Bass to start a good bite. |
April 12, 2008 - Mike McNabb and Mike Beall - Last Chance |
 Went
up to Last Chance and Mike Beall caught this nice 4.10# LM on a dark
colored double tailed hula grub. It was his Birthday, nice birthday present!
We caught about 18 LM, most were 1 to 1 3/4 # , one walleye and 2 SM.
Great day!
Mike Beall
|
April 12, 2008 - Bill Bjork |
 Here
is a photo of the big fish I caught today. We are fishing tomorrow in our
final tournament of this season. The bass weighs 6.27 pounds. It was a real
fighter and very healthy.
Bill Bjork |
April 11, 2008 - Marty Peterson Night
Fishing - Bullfrog - WTemp 52-55 |
 Nightfished
Bullfrog next to houseboat Tuesday 4/9 and Wednesday 4/10. Till around
midnight. Windy and raining. Water depth less than 30'. Tried deeper water
with no success.
Landed 2 nice LMB, a 13" and 25" Striper and a small Cat the first night.
Just 4 small Stripers the second night.
All on anchovy near bottom. There were no fish seen on graph when we
started. These fish just were either attracted to the green light or stopped
by naturally during the evening. Water temp 56 Tue. and 52 Wed.
|
April 9, 2008 - Newcastle Reservoir Wipers, near
Cedar City, UT |
 |
Not exactly Lake Powell fish but they were grown in our
hatchery at Big Water, UT and planted in Newcastle Reservoir to control a
golden shiner population. The spring netting at Newcastle saw the most
abundant species netted to be wipers with many being over 3 pounds and only
18 inches long. They are feeding on a huge population of golden shiners so
they may be difficult to catch except at transition times.
I know when our stripers get in a heavy forage situation the only thing
that seems to work is fast trolling. |
 |
The lake also has smallmouth bass and rainbow trout.
|
April 9, 2008 - Tim Kelley - Last Chance -
bass and crappie - WTemp 55-60 F |
 |
Report for 4-3-2008 to 4-6-2008
Jeff Bierer met me at Powell for some fishing on Thursday but I had
some issues with shifting into gear on my Lund! Turns out that the guy in
Flagstaff that replaced the impeller along with other maintenance did not
seat the shaft to the lower unit, and did not test it either!!
Thanks to Bill at Outdoor Sports he fixed it in 20 minutes without
charging me, and got me on my way! I will start using him from now
on!
Jeff and I made it to the Dam around 5:45 p.m. and Guido and Suzie
were already tied up to the floats! The bite was real slow by then and the
wind was taking the water temps down quickly. We caught 7 stripers before
dark, and the night bite under the green light was non existent!
Guido with a
nice 6 ½ pound striper he took on a spinner bait casting the shoreline!
|
 |
Friday we shadowed Guido and Suzie up to Last Chance for a
shot at some
multi-species fishing. We found the stripers in one cove but most we found
at the end of L.C. on the right finger! Trolling up stripers were no problem
in 20 to 35 feet, water temps in the mid to upper 50 degrees, lure of choice
were rattle traps in blue and chrome.
Tim Kelley with big crappie.
|
 |
Jeff and I got into some great crappie fishing in the
afternoon, and here is a
picture of monster I pulled out casting a blue and chrome rattletrap. He was
very close to 3 pounds, and this picture does not do him justice. Here is
Jeff
holding a couple of the nice crappie that we got on Friday. We threw a lot
of crappie back as Jeff was leaving from the ramp at the end of the day and
did not want to take fish with him to clean. We kept it at one limits worth.
Jeff Bierer - Back from middle east action |
 |
The same time as catching crappie I also pulled out some
nice LMB on
Crappie jigs that I was casting along the walls. I think that I caught
around
Twelve pounds for 5 fish that day! ( maybe I should have been tournament
fishing) here is a pic of a LMB I caught on ultra light gear and 4 pound
test.
What a hoot, as he gave me a great fight with a little tiny jig in his
mouth.
Saturday was a blow out for me as I fished alone, but decided to hunt for
Cows (trophy stripers) and used several different lures deep divers and
down rigged some also. It got pretty nasty with the wind on Saturday, and
Guido and I got our boats off the lake by 2:00 in the afternoon.
|
 |
Sunday we headed for Last Chance again, and went for a
repeat of Friday.
No disappointment here because the stripers were still in the same place
and willing to take the same lures trolling. Crappie bite was on again, and
Guido's boat took in 17 and I only got 4 (Guido camped out on my crappie
hole).
Great times and food with some great cook outs with John and Suzie, and
her parents, and great to be fishing with Jeff again! |
April 8, 2008 - Kevin Campbell - Navajo Canyon -
Wtemp 54 - 62 F |
 |
I went out on Lake Powell for 6 hours on 4/6 with my
daughter, Lailah.
We fished exclusively in Navajo Canyon. We caught about 15 fish on 4"
white Storm Swim Shad swim baits.
7 stripers, 6 largemouth and one smallmouth.
Kevin Campbell |
 |
The weather was just perfect with only the occasional breeze
swirling through. Water temp peaked at 62. Dirty water and shad present were
the keys.
Lailah Campbell |
March 31, 2008 - Capt. Brian T. Myers -
Bullfrog-Rincon - Temp 52-59 FG |
I just got back last night from Hall Crossing and want to
share some info with you.
The marina store on the water at Halls was closed and the upper store was
not selling fishing license. So people going to Halls might want to obtain
licenses on-line or travel to Bullfrog marina.
I fished Thursday afternoon through Saturday. Water temp was 52 to 59
depending on the time of day and water clarity.
I fished from Halls Bay, south to the Rincon. Fishing was slow to say the
least. I threw everything but the kitchen sink. Lots of short strikes and
followers on Friday. Stripers were anorexic at best. Had a nice walleye
follow to the boat but didn’t eat and we caught both smallies and largemouth
but they were small fish. Weather was cool, breezy, warm, windy, gusty, cold
and hot. A typical spring Lake Powell day.Bass were caught on drop shot
rigs with 6-lb P-line and Senko’s in cinnamon/purple and
watermelon/chartreuse laminate. Stripers came on reaction baits (rattle trap
and spinnerbaits) and caught one bass on a swim bait with 12 lb P-line.
Largemouths were caught around pockets of drowned tumbleweeds. Smallmouths
were caught on rock shelves and boulders. Stripers were in the backs of the
canyons. |
Blast from Past - Kevin, Leif and Hose |
 This
was from March 9-11 last year. We must
of caught 600 fish in two and a half days. This picture is the first day we
were there. I think there is 170 fish. It was bite after bite. We were using
anchovies near the southeast part of the dam. The average striper we caught
was 9 lbs. and 2 feet long. I've never caught so much fish in my life.
Everyone was jealous of us and racing to get our spot the next morning. But
you have to wake up before 4 am to get our spot. It was priceless to see
their faces when they rolled up and saw we already had 60 on our line and in
our spot.
In the picture is Kevin, Leif(myself) and Hose. I think it was a freak
accident. Were going again next month to see if we might catch the feeding
season again a month later. So we will cross our fingers and hope for the
best. Well best of luck to all who are search of a crazy fishing weekend.
|
March 15, 2008 - Brad Kendrick - San Juan -
Water temperature 50-53, Stained water above Neskahi |
 I’m
a week late in reporting (March 14-15). I live 4 houses south of Gar Summers
he is a great guy with lots of enthusiasm for fishing Lake Powell (I love
Gar!). I went with 2 friends for 2 nights 2 days of fishing I knew it was
early.Water temp was 50 to 53 depending on the depth below. We fished
from Neskahi down as the water above was stained I caught I LMB 5 lbs. My
two buddies caught 5 smb, 6 lmb, and 5 really starved looking stripers.
Fishing was slow but, the trip and Lake Powell’s beauty was Awesome!
Next weekend I’m heading to Wahweap any advice that you would like to add
to Gar’s? Thanks for all you do.
Advice: Hope it keeps getting warmer! |
March 19, 2008 - Mike McNabb -
Glen Canyon Dam - Water temperature 50 - |
Monroe holds a 6# striper he caught
while fishing with Mike McNabbFishing at the dam is usually slow and the
fish are small, 1 to 3 pounds, but once in a great while a nice one like
this is caught. Monroe actually caught his first fish on this trip!
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March 19, 2008 - Bill Zeglin - Water
Temperature 50 F |
Bill Zeglin with a 6.75 pound
largemouth bass caught in the southern lake, March 15, 2008, while pre
fishing for an upcoming bass tournament.
Looks like he is going to be hard to beat! |
March 10, 2008 - Louis Santi - Bullfrog -
Water Temperature 50 F |
 Caught
03/09/2008. Bullfrog. Caught on a Rattling Lipless Kinami Silver w/black
back.
Caught by Louis Santi; Helper, UT.
The fish weighs 5lbs - 7 oz and measures 21". |
February 28, 2008 - Rich Vosepka
Shore fishing - Hite - Water temperature 48 F |
A report for you from my first trip ever to Lake Powell.
Made the drive down from Salt Lake City and fished Farley Canyon on Thursday
(2-28). I was fishing from shore and found the water to be even lower than
I'd expected (that spot you show in the photo on your Web site is now
probably 300 yards from the water).
I used various lures and nightcrawlers on a floating Lindy Rig, right where
the cloudy water in the back of the canyon turned into the clearer, greenish
water of the bay. Caught one striper of about 17 inches on a Smithwick Rouge
minnow bait. Had numerous light bites on the crawler rig but hooked nothing.
Lost many jigs in the rocks but no bites. Had one strike on a Krocodile
spoon.
It was sure a nice day, though. Hope to make it back soon when the water's
warmed a bit. |
February 24, 2008 - Kevin Campbell -
Glen Canyon Dam - Water Temperature 47 F
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January 22, 2008 - Russ Bassdozer |
 This
is one of the many stripers of all sizes that I caught in New York while
visiting my family there during the holiday season.
A couple of friends had bigger ones.
They were mainly landed on soft shad-shaped swimbaits on jig heads cast from
shore .
Many smaller ones also on "tin squids" (heavy casting spoons) and "teasers"
(feather streamers tied on dropper loops ahead of the tins).
I caught most of my bigger ones with a 1-1/2 oz jig head and the 5-inch
Yamamoto Swimbait in color #031 (pearl blue w/silver).
The people at Yamamoto really make good bait. :) |
January 2, 2008 - Mark and Sue Rudie - Bullfrog - Night
fishing |
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Sue and I were cordially invited to fish off the beautiful
houseboat of our beloved Capt. John “Rimrock” with Gold Cup, Bryant Butters,
and his two sons, Matt & Hunter. This is the very first fishing trip we have
ever taken to Powell at this time of the year, so we had no idea what to
expect. We arrived Friday, December 28th and fished through Sunday. We
stayed moored to the slip in Bullfrog and during the day, we tried walking
around the docks for crappie, LM and SM bass. Bryant and his boys gave a
valiant try for bass around the shore one day, but came back empty.
Fish count was about 80 fish; about 4 largemouth, and 3 catfish with the
rest being stripers. Not bad for the middle of winter and much better than
we anticipated considering we fished right off the back of the houseboat in
a slip! What a great spot. You couldn’t ask for a better place to be moored.
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The weather was cold in the mornings and at night, but from
2:00 pm till the sun went down over the horizon, if you were in the sun, it
was gorgeous. The thermometer read between 50 and 60 degrees. The only
problem was that no matter what we did or how hard we tried, we couldn’t
catch a striper during the day. We tried a few lures, jigging with Kast
masters and Wally lures, and chumming anchovies to no avail. Notice the
“shirt sleeve” weather! I think we saw 3 boats cruise by all weekend. That
sun felt great! Oh, …due to the “Witness Protection Program” the person with
his back to you was not exposed…
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The striper bite always kicked in after sunset and lasted as long as you
wanted to stay awake. This was not a constant bite…It took a bit of patience
because the bites were usually few and far between. About the
striper bite…Bryant and I agreed that we’d never seen stripers hit anchovies
like they did on this trip. You had to be on the ball because it was the
lightest bite we’d ever seen. They were like trout nibbles and would hit
your bait very lightly and as soon as they felt pressure, they’d drop the
bait. I can’t tell you how many one or two bump hits we had that we lost. If
you didn’t set the hook on that second bump…they were gone and wouldn’t come
back! I also believe that rigging your anchovy cleanly was important too. We
caught them with small hooks baited below small sinkers or rigged to 3/8
ounce jig heads. All of our fish were caught with the tail or head section.
They just seemed to work better with the stripers being so finicky.
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We caught them at various depths from 25’ to 90’, but most were caught deep.
Bryant and Matt definitely caught the most fish. (Sorry about the pic,
Bryant,…must have been a little shaky…
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All the stripers were between 1 ½ to 2 pounds. The larger stripers were gone
and I believe winter killed. The small ones that we got were feeding on
shad. We had a few burp some up. Gold Cup landed a few nice largemouth on
crappie jigs at various undisclosed slips around the docks and Bryant
managed to land one also during the weekend. I, myself, came up empty on the
search for other species besides stripers. Bryant and his boys also caught a
few stripers early evening at the end of one the docks. Two were caught on
lures. A crappie jig and a Walleye Assassin, the rest on anchovies.
All in all, a fantastic, fun trip with great friends, good food, and
wonderful memories. Guys, from the bottom of our hearts…Sue and I want to
say thanks again. Friendships were made and rekindled. What a great bunch to
have together to enjoy the greatest lake on earth. Another tribute to Wayne.
Without this website, we’d never have met everyone on Wayne’s Words. We’re
sure someday we’ll say hi to a lot more of you!!
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December 28, 2007 - Bill "Fly Man" McBurney |
 Had
a good day with guest Tom and Joe for there first trip ever on lake Powell
Friday the 28th. Temperature was about 34 all day and the water was still
holding at 49.5 in Warm Creek. Fish started nibbling around noon but did not
turn on until 3 o'clock and did so with a hard bite that lasted a good hour.
All the fish were between two and three pounds with one like this one lost.
This bad boy was on for a good 5 plus minutes and even though he wasn't
real heavy in the belly he still tipped the scales just shy of 7 lbs. Fish
seem to be right at the 40 ft range in Wahweap and Warm Creek alike. They
were finicky and will even move away until hungry for that magical hour for
now which is around 3 in the afternoon on Mr. Anchovy.
Joe Cliett |
December 18, 2007 - Brad Heiner |
December 16, 2007 - Marty Peterson |
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Richard Snow and I nightfished in Bullfrog Bay December 13
and 14. Temperatures in the mid 30’s at dark down to high 20’s later. We
were on top of some Shad Thursday and all of the 22 Stripers and 1 Catfish
we caught were pretty healthy and some spit Shad when landed.
Largest was a
25” long 3lb. 14 oz. Fish were not line shy and would hit but not bite
spoons. All caught on anchovy piece on a jig head. |
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No Shad Friday. Fish were line shy and light biters. Most caught on 4lb.
test Vanish. The night before a jig on my 14lb test spooning rod worked
fine. Did not work this night. Circle hooks also were more effective than
jigs, Friday. Of the 30 Stripers landed 5 were a little too skinny. And none
had eggs Friday, some did on Thursday. Fish showed about 60 feet down on the
graph but the biters were 30 to 40 feet deep generally. Plankton came to the
green light but no Shad circled. |
December 8, 2007 - Chris Cross |
 |
12/04/07 8am. 40 degree air, 56 water. Flat glass .
Debi and I ran the Sunset with our new Honda 225 from Wahweap Bay to the
middle of the Great Bend on the San Juan. 70 miles, 2 hours. (thanks
Antelope) We did not see another boat. Fished from 10am until 2pm.
Chris Cross |
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Debi caught over 20 largemouth bass. None over two pounds.
She fished a 5/8 ball jig with a 215 Yamamoto double tail. I used a 3/8
brown jig with a 140 double
tail trailer. I caught 11 largemouth, largest was 3.65. I thought Debi
was fishing a 3/8 jig. She must have been getting a reaction bite as that
5/8 ounce jig flew by.
Her pic here was of two of the four largemouth she caught in Wahweap Bay
on Thanksgiving Day. All the fish were at the mouths of cuts. Graphed shad
in close proximity. My big fish was on the shady side of a big rock in 20'.
Debi Cross |
November 19, 2007 - Marty Peterson |
Four of us fished Bullfrog Bay Friday and Saturday 11/16
and 17. The fishing was simple and good. See marks on the graph, lower bait,
reel up Striper. Repeat. I averaged ten Stripers per hour. That was maybe a
slightly faster rate than those with me but they all seemed to out fish me
size wise. My heaviest was only 2.3 pounds. But none of us landed anything
exceeding 3 pounds. A few from down deeper than 90 feet were long and
skinny.
We each fished slightly different methods. I tried mostly jigs but switched
to circle hooks when the fish kept stealing my anchovy. Then back to jigs
when the fish would allow. The end result was lots of fillets and so happier
neighbors and guys at work. |
November 7, 2007 - John Hunt, Vernal UT |
The family wanted to stay home so I decided to go to Farley Canyon by myself
to do some bank fishing on the 29th and caught 30 stripers (almost none
healthy enough to fillet) in the back of the bay. I also caught 30 nice
bluegill, 10 largemouth, 5 smallmouth, and 1 crappie. On the 30th I caught
20 skinny stripers, 14 bluegill, 5 largemouth, 4 crappie, and 1 smallmouth. Later
that day I headed over to Bullfrog for some night fishing and caught 104
Stripers and 1 catfish. About 80 of them were healthy enough to fillet. I
was worried about the full moon but I can’t complain with the warm weather
and the good fishing.
P.S. Don’t bring your boat to Farley unless you want to pack it to the
water, about 200 feet.
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November 17, 2007 - Wayne Gustaveson |
It's time for a fish report to go along with netting
results.
We started our fall sampling survey in Wahweap. A very cooperative school of
stripers found some shad near Lone Rock and have been very active for the
past month. They can be caught on bait or spoons near Lone Rock where main
channel bottom depth is 55 feet. Smaller gizzard shad (6 inch) were more
abundant here than at any other lake location. Stripers and bass were taking
advantage of that with many striper stomachs containing the big shad. Bass
fishing was tough in the lower lake all month.
The San Juan was much like Wahweap with bass fishing being difficult except
in the upper reaches of the lake around the Great Bend. In the shallow
inflow waters - bass, crappie and stripers were feeding and willing to hit
many different lures in shad colors. The bays near Cha and Piute were slow
for bass. Striper schools could be found one day but were absent the next.
We got a great striper spoon bite in Neskahi Canyon one day but could not
find the school the next.
I suppose November fishing is always marked with spurts of great fishing
followed by longer periods of slow fishing. Cooler water makes fish less
likely to feed for long periods as their metabolism slows down. I suggest
fishing slowly along the bottom with swim baits like the Walleye assassin or
Yamamoto swim bait.
Good Hope Bay is still a bit of a mystery to me. When we got done netting
for the day we just lit out for the upper lake. The best reports have all
been coming from the murky waters upstream so we went that way. Scorup was
slow with only smaller size bass biting. So we went to Trachyte. We missed
the crappie there catching some more small bass and a walleye. But it was
slow so we went to Hite to fish with Gary Foell and the other Gary from
Riverton WY. They were sitting on a crappie school which they shared with
us. What a nice gesture. We caught crappie, stripers, walleye and catfish
until dusk sitting side by side with good friends. Thanks Gary and Gary.
They gave us a package of walleye assassins with white bodies and a
chartreuse tail. That bait was hot.
With our tight netting schedule we only get to fish one afternoon at each
site. So the next day we went to Rincon. Water clarity there is 28 feet.
Don't go there to fish in November, it's too clear. Surprisingly we were
able to catch small bass in the shallow grass beds but larger fish were not
interested in anything we had to offer.
So if I had to choose a spot for the last trip of the year I would recommend
Lone Rock for the closest spot with stripers that are in very good condition
and longer than fish in other locations.
If I wanted crappie I would go to White Canyon or 4-Mile with an added bonus
of smaller stripers that are easy to catch in big numbers. There is an
unending school in the first cove just west of the White Canyon buoy.
Another school resides at the mouth of Trachyte near the main channel.
If I wanted crappie and bass with good striper fishing I would go to the
Great Bend of the San Juan. So there are still some good choices but fishing
in most places is slow. Choose your spots carefully to be successful. |
November 17, 2007 - Kevin Phillips |
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Last trip of this fine Fall, |
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Camped in Four mile again, and caught many Crappie's at
night, on white 16th oz. Stinger jig's. Took a good friend for the first
time. Jim Dickerson has been
fishing Powell for 40 year's, since it began filling.
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Went to Trachyte, the 9th, and met
Fred and Paul, from Junction, two great guy's. We got into a little
top water, and a little spoon bite on wallylure's. Fred and Paul, are now
hooked on Wallylure's, as are Jim and I.
WHEN THE BITE SLOWED IN Trachyte, we all went to Striper city, and fished
chovy's. Fishing was slow on the chovy's, so it was back to camp to clean
fish and get ready for the night fishing. Night fishing for Crappie's, was
right where we left off two week's before." GREAT"
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The 10th, was same thing, back to Trachyte, and Fred
and Paul were there also. This morning, was a good Spoon bite, and we were
all in on it. Then it slowed, so we went to fillet fish, and that was a
mistake, Fred and Paul stayed there, and got into a better spoon bite than
in the morning. Then that turned to top water, in the back of Trachyte. We
saw them in Four mile, and they were catching Crappie, trolling jig's with
the electric motor, they limit | |
