March 1, 2006
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3589
Water Temp: 50-53 F
Water has warmed into the low 50’s, which will get largemouth bass moving lakewide. Stripers and walleye have been active for a few weeks.  March should provide excellent early spring fishing along the length of Lake Powell. 

Striped bass continue to bite bait at Glen Canyon dam. Anglers chumming and fishing anchovies will find meager catches one day followed by huge catches the next day.  The whim of the school determines the exact time and location to catch a cooler full of fish each day. It is now common to catch 10-30 fish per boat on a daily trip to the dam.  Other bait fishing opportunities await at the NGS Power Plant intake and many spots along the steep main channel walls from Navajo Canyon to the dam. 

If waiting for a school of fish to come under the boat is not for you then striper schools can be found in the backs of most canyons in the southern lake.  Warm Creek, Navajo, Gunsight, Padre, West, Last Chance and Rock Creek all hold schools of very shallow stripers. Look in the terminal end of a canyon or cove for abundant weed growth in the form of cattails or submerged tamarisk.  Rooted aquatic weeds enhance the fish holding character of the cove.  Throw a pile of tumbleweeds in the mix to provide the perfect habitat for early March fish.  These brushy coves, long absent from Powell, are now easily found honey-holes.

Examine the habitat in this picture to see the stickups and weed piles to target when  fishing in the back of the canyon.

 

The best technique to actually catch fish from the brushy shallows (10 feet and less) is to throw a weedless lure like a spinnerbait into the thick cover. Retrieve just fast enough to move the blade but slow enough to bump the brush.    The bump is like the doorbell ringing for resting fish.  They quickly investigate the disturbance and follow the lure for a short distance. Pausing the lure seals the deal.  A suspending crankbait works perfectly. Rattletraps can be retrieved just fast enough to bump brush with equally good results.

Most of the fish caught in the shallows will be stripers. Occasionally, a walleye or bass will whack the bait in the same spot.  All feeding game fish are hiding and feeding in the same location. Numerous sunfish and other small fish will be seen hiding in the brush pocket.  Use polarized sunglasses to aid in the search for “the right spot”.

In the northern lake bass will awake and come shallow to feed and search for nest sites.  Stripers are moving more now and can be found by graphing the channel edge.  Be prepared to drop a jigging spoon on a moving striper school. Troll deep diving lures in submerged creek channels in the 25-40 foot range to locate striper-holding spots.

Fishing down south is easier for prowling stripers but these fish are thin after a long winter. Stripers are healthier up north. Bass and walleye look very good in all portions of the lake.