Fishing Report
Lake Powell Fish Report – June 12, 2013
Lake Elevation: 3600
Water Temperature 74-78 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson
http://www.wayneswords.com
Summer Patterns in Play
Lake Powell water level is stable at 3600 feet. That means the Castle Rock Cut is wet but not passable. Summer fishing patterns are now in play. The key, regardless of species targeted, is to fish early and late and use shade to your advantage.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass are on rocky slopes. Rocks utilized vary from slick rock slopes to large boulders, down to small rubble rock. Look for rocks large enough to allow crayfish to crawl under where they hide from predators. Smallmouth bass are the second most likely fish to bite your lure whether trolled cast or drifted under the boat. Chartreuse grubs are a good bait to start with each day.
Walleye are still being caught in good numbers. They can be targeted by trolling a 12-foot diving lure along the front of rocky structure in the morning or evening shade. Great results have come recently with the Bomber Deep Flat A lure in Silver Flash color. It seems to have just the right running depth and action to entice hungry walleye residing in the 12-20 foot depths.
Stripers are still the most likely fish to catch but they are slightly more difficult to find now. Striper schedule starts at dawn when they come to the surface looking for a school of larval shad. A slight dimpling action is all that is seen as they quietly feed on the tiny fish. They can be caught on small swim baits or other small lures cast to the periphery of the surface disturbance.
This search patterns lasts for about 2 hours. Then stripers move back to resting points where they have resided for the past two months. Mid day stripers then look up again to find more larval shad. They repeat this shad search again in the evening twilight. But when not actively feeding stripers are in 20-30 feet of water and very vulnerable to anchovy bait.
Lake area determines which type of feeding action to look for. From the dam to Padre Bay stripers are in deep water without significant shad numbers. Therefore bait fishing is the best technique. The hottest spot now is directly under the chain link fence marking the Power Plant intake east of Antelope Point Marina. These fish are shallow and well trained at taking anchovy bait. Let the bait slowly sink until it disappears then gently lift it up and down. Most of the fish will be caught at 12-20 feet. 
Stripers are on split shift from Padre Bay to Rainbow Bridge. Look for slurps early but then go to proven bait fishing spots such as Buoy 25. The school at 25 is not as dense as it once was but still offers the opportunity to catch 50 fish in 2 hours. There are many other bait fishing options which can be detected by trolling to catch fish while graphing to locate the school. Toss chum to light up a striper school and then catch as many fish as the cooler can take. You do not have to use bait to catch these fish. They can be taken on your favorite lure once the chum is on the water. Casting a bucktail jig or chartreuse grub will select the faster, healthier fish while bait provides an opportunity for slower fish to eat.
From San Juan to Slick Rock Canyon look more for slurping action. There are more shad here resulting in more surface action. Bait fishing is good during the bright daylight hours. From Lake Canyon to Cedar Canyon a combination of trolling to locate fish followed by bait fishing or more trolling is a good strategy. Good Hope to Hite has muddy water and trolling or graphing is the best way to catch fish.
The weather is hot but fishing is still pretty darn good at Lake Powell.
Lake level is slowly rising but that is not as important as the rise in water temperature. During May the surface temperature was consistently in the 60s which was great for bass fishing. During June lake temperature will be in the 70s which means young shad will be growing large enough to draw interest from lake predators. The immediate result of new shad presence is a dramatic change in sport fish behavior.
Slurping boils are strong morning and evening from Oak Canyon to the muddy water of the San Juan. I suspect the same events to be occurring in the Escalante but do not have reports from that location. Catching fish out of slurps is not easy because the larval shad food source is so small that it is hard to match the hatch. A small heavy spoon like a Kastmaster or small profile swim bait on a ¼ ounce jig head may be heavy enough to cast but small enough to draw interest from hungry stripers. Small LVs (lipless vibrators - rattletraps) cast beyond the fast moving slurpers and reeled back through the main group is another good technique. 
On my last trip we caught largemouth, smallmouth, walleye and stripers using a variety of techniques including trolling, casting, and bait fishing with chumming. Fishing is still excellent but plan on going early or late to find the best fishing success.
Lake Powell came up another foot in the last week and surface water temperature rose to 67 degrees first thing in the morning. These conditions are perfect for all warm water fish in the lake. Expect the incredibly good fishing to continue another week.
From Bullfrog north, fishing for walleye may offer the best opportunity for success. Trolling deep diving hard baits (Norman Little N) near the bottom from 12-20 feet has been very productive. Casting live worm harnesses may be the best technique. Target 20-foot flats and look on the graph for drop offs. Put the bait right on the edge of the drop off and then slowly move it along the bottom for best results. 
Gizzard and threadfin shad are in spawning mode right now producing young shad that all game fish need as forage. Tiny shad have been collected over the length of the lake. The highest concentration of shad was found in the muddy water near the Colorado River inflow but good shad numbers were found at Bullfrog and Wahweap. In the southern lake shad numbers were highest in Navajo Canyon.
Many are coming to Lake Powell for the first time this weekend. For new arrivals here is the fishing rundown. First, the lake is coming up and water is warming. That makes the runoff water cold and muddy in the inflow areas near Hite. In the main lake shad are spawning while bass and crappie are done. Fishing is in transition from spring to summer. Basically that means topwater fishing is good at twilight but the rest of the time fishing at a depth of 12-25 feet is most successful. 
Padre Bay has striper schools in many areas where a 20-foot slick rock point is surrounding by deep water. The mouth of 
Catfish are warming up getting ready to spawn. They are very active in the warmer bays near good camping spots. Bluegill and green sunfish will often come to your camp and use parked boats for shade. They are easy for kids to catch on a small hook with a live worm for bait. 
Warmwater fish really respond to changes in water temperature. Lake Powell water temperature is now ranging from 65-72F meaning that spring fishing responses are on the way out and summer personality traits are setting in. 
Hot fishing spots are found all over Padre Bay. Good camping beaches often have a school of stripers closer by that can be caught from shore. Locate stripers by slow trolling lures in the upper 30 feet while graphing to find a school. When a striper is caught or a school seen on the graph, toss out a handful of chum and go to work. Stripers will rise to the chum but can be caught on an assortment of lures. Anchovies are a sure thing but everything from fly fishing to bottom bouncing works to catch these hungry fish. Please keep all the stripers you can use or give away to family and friends. It is population adjustment time and the southern lake will benefit from a smaller striper population. 
Walleye are enjoying the greener/murkier water and not very patiently waiting for shad to spawn. They are eating anything they can find all day long. Walleye fishing success will be at its peak for the next two weeks. The most effective technique this week was to put a night crawler on a quarter ounce jig head and slowly drag it along the bottom in 12-26 feet of colored water. The technique can be dressed up with worm harnesses, beads, spinners and bottom bouncers but the message here is that walleye are hungry and willing right now. There are more walleye north of Bullfrog than south but many are being caught all over the lake. That will continue for the rest of the month. 
One week after the spring fishing peak and fishing is still good. A lingering cold front has slowed fishing for bass slightly but stripers continue to eat bait in the southern lake. One disturbing note is that lake level is still going down making it uncertain that the lake will raise much during the normal runoff period. There is still time but the runoff is slow to start. A lower lake leaves brush out of the water and causes access problems at some ramps. Hite ramp is closed but other ramps at main access areas are in full operation. 
Stripers are still the biggest news on the fishing scene. Catches from the dam all the way uplake to Rock Creek are phenomenal. Many stripers have been tagged in this area for a contest sponsored by Cabelas. You must be preregistered to win cash and merchandise. Register here: 
It is really hard to miss now when fishing at Lake Powell. If you have not yet tried fishing here but really would like to do it - This is the Time.
Crappie: 
Striped bass:
It’s a typical year as bass move on nest sites as the water warms and then pull off as water cools. If the home cove is protected from wind it stays warm and bass spawn. If strong wind cools water then spawning is delayed until the next calm period. The big selling point for coming sooner rather than later to fish for spawning bass is lake level. The lake is stabilizing, ready to start filling. Sight fishing is best in crystal clear water. Rising water causes bank sloughing which clouds the shallow water and reduces visibility. All these factors suggest that the last week of April and first week of May will be the peak time for spring bass fishing success. 
This is my best suggestion for a one-day fishing trip on the southern half of Lake Powell. Water temperature will be cool in the early morning. At dawn go toward the back of the canyon and troll along the shoreline in 25 feet of water with medium running crankbaits or 
If there is any energy left, try night fishing with bait in the shadow of a green fish light near the marinas to catch another cooler full of stripers.
As this report is written the wind is howling keeping water temperature down in the low 50s. Don’t be discouraged. The wind will stop before the weekend allowing the temperature to rise. Warming water will usher in the annual bass spawn. If sight fishing for bass is high on your list then the fun begins as the water calms and continues into the first part of May.
Striped bass are being caught in large numbers over the length of the lake. Deep water on the southern end, from the Dam to Navajo Canyon, offers anglers an unlimited opportunity to harvest stripers. The strategy is to chum near the main channel canyon wall. Attach a chunk of anchovy to a lead head jig or a hook weighted with a sliding sinker. Cast the bait 30-50 feet from the boat and let it settle in the water column at the same rate the chum descends. Striper schools move along the wall searching for food. Chum excites the whole school and many can be caught in one location. The only hard part is to find the school. Be patient for 10 minutes while waiting for the first bite, but if it does not come then move along the wall and chum again until the school lights up. 
From Good Hope north shad forage is more available and anchovies are less successful. Trolling and casting for stripers and bass provides much more success. Trolling near the White Canyon channel marker has been very good for fat, healthy stripers.
Stripers are still running along the canyon walls in the southern lake. They spilled into the main channel 3 weeks ago and have been eager to hit bait offered by anglers ever since. I have heard they are chasing boats begging for anchovies. Well that may be a bit much but if you pass over some hungry stripers please stop and feed them! 
Northern lake stripers are being caught trolling near the mouth of White and Farleys with good fishing all the way to Red Canyon. These stripers are fatter than southern cousins because of the resilient shad population at the Colorado River inflow area. Trolling is the best way to find a school but casting jerk baits and spoons right after a trolled fish is caught is extremely productive. Bait does not work on stripers that have shad to eat. Troll or cast jerk baits for striper schools in the muddy water at the back of major canyons that have a long flood plain to catch stripers anywhere on Lake Powell. 
With water temperature now on the rise many other species are ready and willing as well. Cover is lacking now that brush is out of the water. This current generation of bass does not remember how to live and feed without brush and they are struggling to find a niche. They have congregated in cloudy water near the backs of canyons. Many reside in very shallow water near shore and can be taken by casting to the shallow bank area when water warms in the evening. Others are randomly suspended in open water for no apparent reason. Crappie and walleye prefer brush but are now being caught trolling in open water. They may be over a 50-foot deep bottom or right next to shore. It is wise to slow troll up a shoreline at each new location to see what fish are hanging out. Small jerk baits may be the best tool but drifting a crappie jig is worth the effort as well.
Largemouth bass are hiding near any obstacle they can find. It takes a very long cast to prevent spooking flighty largemouth. Try casting your lure up on the sandy shore and then pulling it back into the water to create interest from largemouth instead of scaring them away with the boat or a noisy cast. 
