By
Water Temp: 70-74 F 
I was lucky enough to have a job
assignment on the Escalante arm of the lake. The luck ended when the wind blew
most of the trip. But there is never a bad day here. Fishing success rebounded
as the weather moderated.
Stripers are slurping small larval shad from the lakes surface. Slow swimming
shad are easy prey for yearling stripers who meander across the surface in pods
of 10 to 100 fish. The schools can be seen from a long distance in calm water
but not so far when the lake is choppy. Most slurps are spotted as the boat is
planning at warp speed in the channel and comes in close contact with the
feeding fish.
Slurping
Stripers
Striper pods are not especially spooky until the boat is within in a few feet
of the action. Since size of shad is small, an equally
small bait is most effective. I had the best catch rate on a 2-inch plastic
grub on a 1/8th ounce jig head. Silver spoons (half to ¾ ounce) are very good
and cast farther than grubs. If schools are spooky then spoons are a better
choice. In either case, cast the lure beyond and/or in front of the school and
then work it back with an erratic motion in the top five feet of the water
column. It is fine to use a full size topwater lure. Any bigger striper
swimming with the school of 10-15 inch slurpers will be attracted to and hit
the bigger bait. If there is no reaction to topwater within 2 casts, switch to
the smaller sub-surface baits. Slurpers sound when near the boat but often come
back up just out of casting range. It is not necessary to rush after the slow
moving schools. Just fast idle along until in casting range once more. I was
catching two fish out of slurp before they went down. Then a quick glance
around showed the direction of another group of fish. It is often necessary to
choose which group to chase next. The slurpers are small but very robust. They
fight as hard as a 3-pound adult and are much better eating.
Two
inch plastic grub on small jighead.
On my trip, striper slurps were seen at
Rincon, mouth of Escalante, random locations in main channel, mouth of
Other fish are found in the same spots as previously reported. Adult stripers
are commonly found along the channel from
Bass and walleye are feeding along the breaking edge of main channel tamarisk
flats. Fish the break where the lake quickly drops from 20-30 feet for best
results. Trolling the edge of reefs along that same breaking edge is a sure
thing, but stops to unhook fish are frequent.
There is a fishing style and technique to suit anyone now. If you like to fish
a certain way there are fish at Powell that will respond. On my most recent
trip the fly fisherman was catching as many fish as those with spinning gear.
Fishing Tip:
Plastic grubs are notorious for loosening
up or coming off after the first bite. Use a jig head with a flat surface for the grub to rest against. Place a drop
of super
glue between the plastic and the lead
head flat surface to protect the bait and extend the life many times over.
A small plastic bait should be placed on a jighead with a
short shank (bottom).
While a long shank jig head (top) is
necessary for a full size tube jig or skirted 5-inch plastic grub.
I am not sure where to buy these commercially. We poured our own.