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The big high pressure system parked over the West this
week is warming the surface of Lake
Powell. In the morning the
surface temperature is in the low 50's but by afternoon the sun warms it to
almost 60 F. The warm water layer is thin but cold-blooded fish really like
warming water.
Fishing has not "taken off" in the main lake. It will take a few
more warm windless days for fish to get active. But that is exactly what the
weather forecast predicts. The key water temperature is 57 in the morning
with warming to the mid 60's in the afternoon. When that happens spring
fishing will peak. The question will be if the current warm weather pattern
allows that to happen in March.
Harris family from Syracuse, UT. Brenda holds a big striper she
caught in the northern lake while Halle and Mom look on.
If warming continues then bass spawning can happen as early as the last week
of March or first week of April. The normal bass spawning period begins in
mid April. An early spawn precedes snowmelt runoff and provides better
fishing than late spawning that occurs while the lake is rapidly rising. Take
a close look at the weather patterns and plan a spring trip accordingly.
The most active fish right now are largemouth bass. They are near brush and
often in shallow water warming their backs in the sun. They can be caught on
a wide variety of lures from the standard plastic grubs and tubes, to spinner
baits and jerk baits. The best time to fish is late afternoon with water
temperature at its peak. Cloudy water warms quicker than clear water but
finding brush is important. This week bass may be caught in clear brushy
water just as well as in cloudy brushy water.
The best fishing location is the northern lake from Farley and White
Canyons down to Scorup
Canyon. With shad still common in
this stretch look for good early activity from bass, stripers and walleye.
Good catches of healthy stripers were recently reported from these northern
canyons on anchovy bait. Stripers are sluggish in the rest of the lake with
only a few fish being caught. Stripers will be more active in the afternoon
and at night for those that like to fish "under the lights".
For those coming to Lake Powell from water infested with quagga mussel, please make
sure to wash your boat and inspect it for hitch hiking adult mussels. Don't
bring these unwanted nuisance shellfish to Lake Powell. If you want to learn more, go to http://www.100thmeridian.org Take the quagga mussel
test and download a certificate that will allow you to bypass the Lake Powell fee booths with minimal inconvenience.
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