LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
APRIL 28, 2004
APRIL 28, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3583
Water Temperature: 60-65 F
BASS ARE SPAWNING!!
Calm weather and rapid warming allowed waiting bass to move into shallow water and spawn over the length of Lake Powell. Bass that were in deeper water last week moved on top of rocky humps, along shallow ledges, and to the breaking edge of rocky flats. Eggs were deposited April 24-26. Males are extremely aggressive when eggs are new.
Example: We saw a bass guarding a nest yesterday and positioned the boat to make the perfect cast to the center of the nest. But the bass couldn't wait when a plastic tube cast from the front of the boat hit the water 20 feet up the shoreline. He raced off the nest, hit the lure, killed it, spit it out and returned to the nest. Then we made the prefect cast and caught the fish. He was immediately released and returned to the nest to guard once more. Catching is almost too easy when bass are this driven.
Nest protective aggression will decline with each day. Eggs will hatch by April 30 or May 1st. Bass fishing will remain super but the really incredible peak is now. Expect another spawn near May 15th. Bass fishing will be great until the runoff allows the lake to rise rapidly. Then fishing will be good but the pattern will be different. For now, look for bass on very shallow rock reefs particularly on the breaking edge. A rocky hump on a sand flat will have one or more active bass nests.
Any bait will work but perhaps the best are soft plastic grubs and tubes. Baits that threaten a nest invasion are immediately attacked. For a nesting bass the slow sinking weightless Senko jerk bait may be the most tantalizing.
Caution: Some anglers were catching bass with regularity just before the spawn. When the bass moved shallow, those anglers using the same deepwater techniques may have missed some of the best action of the year. Bass are in plain view. Many fish can be seen before being captured in these conditions. Females are near the nest site just off the deepwater side. Put the males back to protect the nest. Harvest females if taking a few fish to eat.
Striped bass are moving in and out of the shad feeding zones in the murky green water at the backs of most canyons. They move in and feed for an hour and then leave for unknown locations. Stripers can come in any time of day. A good strategy is to troll and cast in the 15-40 foot deep sections for a short time. When an active school is found stripers can be caught quickly on crank baits and spoons. If they are not in with shad schools then fish bass for a while and return to try stripers again.
Walleye are being caught with regularity from Bullfrog to Trachyte Canyon. Use bottom bouncing baits tipped with night crawler for best results.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
APRIL 22, 2004
APRIL 22, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3583
Water Temperature: 57-62 F
It's been a week of windy days. The warm blanket of 65 degree water has blown away and mixed with the lower layers. That is not all bad since the lake seldom dips below 58 now and that's enough to keep bass biting.
High winds have cleaned the shore of last year's tumbleweeds and dropped them in the water. With time, wind and water currents tend to store the floating tumbleweeds in the same locations. Look for steep nooks with old weeds high on the shore leading down to the fresh supply just recently arrived. It is best to have 5-10 feet of water under the weed mat for best results.
Bass have moved off the shallow spawning flats toward deeper water with cover. All of my bass bites today were under floating rafts of tumbleweeds on soft plastic tubes and grubs. There is a brief flurry of bass activity at first light but the bass bite perks up in the afternoon as water warms above 62. Bass will spawn again when the water temperature becomes stable between 62-65.
Striper catching has dropped off with cooling water. Shad are still found in very shallow murky-green water in the backs of canyons. Stripers have moved deeper and are making fewer trips to the backs of canyons. When stripers attack shad schools they are very catchable on crank baits, spinner baits, and spoons. When stripers are resting in deep water it is hard to get the school started. Trolling is still the most productive technique for stripers.
Best daily fishing strategy for existing conditions is to quickly troll the back end of a canyon looking for stripers and shad. If no stripers are present then look at the short coves (15 feet deep) and cuts with brush or tumbleweeds where bass will be holding. A cast to cover in the brushy cut may produce bass, stripers, or an occasional walleye, crappie or green sunfish.
Then move to the next canyon. Troll for stripers and then cast for bass. Repeat as often as needed.
Warming weather will enhance fishing results. Most fishermen are catching a good number of bass each day. Some of the lucky ones are finding stripers too.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
APRIL 15, 2004
APRIL 15, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3583
Water Temperature: 59-64 F
Early morning water temperature is nearing the magic 60 degree mark. That means the peak of spring fishing is near. Bass are moving on nests again. Stripers are feeding on shad in the backs of canyons. Walleye will become quite catchable. Crappie will be spawning in brush piles in isolated spots throughout the lake. In short the next two weeks may be as good as it gets this spring. Runoff and rising lake levels will determine how long the peak lasts and how strong it will be.
Stripers show no sign of leaving shad schools found in the backs of canyons where water temperature is warmer than the main lake. The murky green water has an abundance of plankton which holds shad and entices stripers. Stripers can eat their fill of shad from numerous schools any time of day or night making success spotty. But if the school starts to feed while you are close by the action is fantastic.
On Monday in Padre Bay we caught stripers as fast as we could drop jigging spoons to their waiting mouths. On Wednesday, same time, same spot, the bite was short lived. If a canyon has lots of shad then check back often to find an active striper school. Troll deep divers (shad rap size 5), rattletraps (Yozuri and Lucky Craft), and/or bounce jigging spoons (wallylure, spinnow) off the bottom. I suggest just fishing the murky green water to limit the search area.
Bass are not very agreeable in the morning but heat up dramatically as the water warms in the afternoon. Plastic tubes and grubs in green pumpkin color worked great for me in short, 15 foot deep, cuts off the main channel. Bass were holding under ledges and floating tumbleweeds. The best cuts were those with wind blowing directly into the inlet. The windy side was better than the calm water. Bass went wild for 2 hours (1-3 PM) before the wind blew too hard for enjoyable fish. The two largest smallmouth bass weighed a combined total of 5 pounds. That was fun.
Launching access will improve soon with the lake lapping at the end of newly constructed concrete ramps at Bullfrog and Wahweap.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
APRIL 8, 2004
APRIL 8, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3582
Water Temperature: 57-64 F
Bass are still lingering on shallow flats and rocky ridges lakewide. No new spawning has happened but males continue to guard nests with eggs and fry deposited when the water was warmer. Bass move on and off nests with each passing thundershower. Water temperature remains at 57 in the morning. Fishing is still good for bass and will remain so while water temperature is constant. So far bass fishing has not been disrupted by full moon or rainy weather. Best bass presentations include reaction type crank baits, spinner baits and soft plastic tubes. During the spawn bass are more likely to be on or near sandy habitat. Look for a rocky edge on a sand flat for bast results.
Stripers are in the back of most canyons where water is a murky green color. Look for schools (doesn't matter if they are shad or stripers) on the graph. When fish are located try spoons on the bottom directly under graphed schooling fish. When one striper bites the rest of the school turns on and all fish are extremely catchable as long as that one fish is hooked. A good strategy is to play the fish as long as possible or until another is hooked. Then land the first fish and quickly get a spoon in the water once more. The school will move away or shut down as quickly as they started. When that happens it may be necessary to troll through the area with a shallow runner like a rattletrap or a deep diving crank or both. When a striper is trolled up be ready with spoons once more as the fish nears the boat. The following school of stripers can be caught under the boat while the first fish is landed.
Morning and evening fishing is best but stripers can be captured any time during the day. Low light conditions created by cloudy weather has been the most productive time to catch larger stripers (5 pounds and better). Stripers have been caught this week in Navajo, Warm Creek, Gunsight, Padre, Kane Wash, Mountain Sheep, and Rock Creek.
Do NOT expect stripers to run to the dam this spring. There is too much food in the back of the canyons. Spawning and feeding needs are met in the backs of canyons where shad live so there is no need for stripers to migrate to the dam. This generation of stripers was spawned in the back of the canyon and will return there to spawn. Migration to the dam will happen only when there is no food in the back of the canyon.
There have been very few walleye and crappie captured to date. Some largemouth are being caught but the main action is provided by striped bass and smallmouth.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
APRIL 1, 2004
APRIL 1, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3582
Water Temperature: 57-65 F
Keep the water warm enough and bass will spawn! That is exactly what happened with the hot March weather. This is the earliest bass spawn I can remember on Lake Powell. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass are in the first spawn.
That means that bass nests are very visible. Look for a white colored circular spot on the dark lake bottom. Most often the nest will be located on the deep-water edge of flat or on the spine of a ridge extending into the water. The nest will always be on rocky structure. But don't be surprised to see a nest on sand. Closer examination will reveal rocks in the middle of the nest. Spawning is going strong lakewide. Find 60-65 degree water in the backs of canyons and cuts. Right now the nests are mostly on south facing exposures while the cooler north side is barren.
The neat part about finding a nest is that an angry adult male bass will be right in the middle of it in very shallow water. He will be willing to hit just about any lure IF HE DOES NOT SEE YOU FIRST. So throw long casts to likely looking nest sites. Or, if you mess up and spook him, mark the spot and return later to catch him. Some excellent lure choices for nesting bass are soft and hard plastic jerk baits, small soft plastic grubs, and spinner baits. It's fun to plunk a lure on the nest and watch him pick it up and move it off. It's a good idea to return male bass caught on nests so they can protect the young. Keep the females that lurk in slightly deeper water nearby.
Stripers are hitting both trolled and cast rattletraps in the green water section of most canyons. The strongest bite is from first light to 10 AM. After that stripers are hard to find until just before dark. We found 2.5 pound stripers holding on the shade line in green water of Rock Creek in the morning. They were active until the shade was gone and full sun hit the spot.
Fishing under lights at night is effective now with water temperatures hitting the mid 60's in the afternoon. Find shad schools by graphing the backs of canyons in the daytime then anchor in 40 feet of water near shad for night fishing. If shad come to the lights then stripers will follow. Drop anchovy bait under the shad school near bottom to find stripers. There are shad in almost every canyon.
Good fishing will continue as long as water temperatures remain near 60 or above. The early spring fishing is showing no signs of slowing down. April will be a very good month for fishing at Lake Powell.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
MARCH 23, 2004
MARCH 23, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3583
Water Temperature: 58-68 F
The weather shows no sign of cooling off. The thin surface layer has now warmed to the high 60's. The bass don't quite know what to do about that. They think they should spawn but the day length is not long enough yet. Expect spawning to begin the first week of April unless a cold front delays it. At any rate bass are very catchable while they move from deep to shallow water in a daily journey. Smaller bass are active this week which increases number of fish caught per trip.
Bass are active in small coves and cuts within a short travel distance from deep water. They are also swimming in clear water near cliff walls. They are hitting many different reaction baits. It is a good strategy to cover lots of water by throwing crank baits and then fishing more slowly once a fish is caught. Bass are grouped in bunches and not all good looking structure holds bass. That won't happen until bass actually spawn and distribute themselves evenly around the shore.
Hard plastic jerk baits, soft plastic senkos, spinnerbaits and other crank baits are working. Put the trolling motor on high and move quickly along a shoreline with lots of coves and points with a little brush. Keep moving until you hook a fish. Then slow down and catch them all from that spot.
Shad schools have moved to the shallow turbid water in the very back of canyons. Stripers have followed them and can be caught by trolling the terminal end of canyons where shad are found. Stripers have been taken in Navajo, Warm Creek, Gunsight, Last Chance, Rock Creek, Bullfrog and Halls.
Troll rattletraps and other shad imitating lures until a striper is hooked. Then stop and cast in that location for a quick catch. Stripers move out as quickly as they move in. They will not be in the same location each time. They must be found every day and they may be quite far removed from where they were seen the day before.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
MARCH 15, 2004
MARCH 15, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3584
Water Temperature: 53-58 F
Nothing like a few days of sunshine and calm weather to turn the fishing around. When the water warmed to 56 F bass came out of the deep and began basking in shallow coves. The warmth kick-started their metabolism making basking bass hungry. It was like an ice-out situation with bass showing no interest in lures early last week and then being very agreeable by the weekend.
BASS FISHING IS REALLY GOOD RIGHT NOW!!!
The pattern is quite specific but if you can get here before the next storm front you will find some of the finest bass fishing since 1997. It doesn't matter whether you go to Halls/Bullfrog or Wahweap. Bass have moved into small coves and cuts within a short travel distance from deep water. Two-pound smallmouth and largemouth bass are scattered about on secondary points and brush stickups waiting for a small fish to swim past. They are quite willing to hit many different reaction baits in clear green to brown water. Look for cove depths of 5 to 15 feet within easy range of 40-60 foot depths. Bass are not at the terminal end of canyons on the flood plain yet. Travel distance is too far from deep water where they have lived all winter. So choose intermediate coves instead of starting at the end of a canyon.
Hard plastic jerk baits, soft plastic senkos, spinnerbaits and other crank baits are preferred. Put the trolling motor on high and move quickly along a shoreline with lots of coves and points with a little brush. Keep moving until you hook a fish. Then slow down and catch them all from that spot. Bass are grouped in favored coves. You will usually catch 2-5 bass from the same spot. Then you have to find another favored spot before catching another pod of bass.
Jerk baits that suspend in a horizontal plane are working very well when fished with a stop and go cadence. My favorite is a Lucky Craft Bevy Shad in ghost minnow color.
There are a few lone stripers swimming in the warmer coves. What fun to catch a big silver fish mixed in with the green and brown bass.
The bass tournament held at Wahweap on March 13th was won with a weight of 12.5 pounds for 5 fish. Big fish was only 3 pounds so most participants were catching 2 pound bass and almost every boat had a limit.
Shad schools were marked at 60 feet in open bays. I suspect that they are very mobile now with warming weather. They could move to shallow coves in the near future if the current warm water holds. Expect them to make a gradual movement from the depths to warmer murky water in the backs of canyons as they resume feeding to build up body reserves prior to spawning.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
MARCH 9, 2004
MARCH 9, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3585
Water Temperature: 50-55 F
Nothing like a few warm days to start warming the water surface. Lake Powell is basking in the sun today. While fishing yesterday the surface temperature rose to 55 degrees in calm spots. The first breath of wind will mix the small warm zone with the much larger cold layer. But warming has officially begun at Lake Powell. Good fishing will follow. Continued calm, warm weather will make the fish bite sooner. But a cold weather front will delay the process.
I found fishing to be slow. There were many western grebes and I suspect shad in the back of Warm Creek. Trolling with deep diving and shallow running crank reaction baits went unrewarded. I did not try anchovies. I kept waiting to graph a school of stripers before trying bait but never did see a school on the graph. I suspect that stripers are still quite dormant. Sometimes they lay on the bottom and are hard to detect with electronics. More likely I just did not detect them in the electronic cone.

Fishing is still slow. But it is only a matter of time and warming before bass come shallow and stripers start to prowl.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
FEBRUARY 17, 2004
FEBRUARY 17, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3588
Water Temperature: 45-49 F
As far as the fish are concerned it is the dead of winter. There is not a lot of activity and won't be until the water warms into the mid 50's.
However, if you want to enjoy some sunshine there is a chance of catching a fish or two. Smallmouth bass are biting for a short time between noon and 4 PM on sunny days. Use a soft plastic grub in purple or blue which are good cold weather colors. The blue tint could be sparkles in a cinnamon or daiquiri colored grub. When fishing deep drop-off type structure use a drop shot rig at 25-50 feet. Hold the boat in stationary position with an electric motor and work the grub slowly on the edge of deep rocky structure. If working the edge of a flat, hook the grub in a Carolina or split-shot rig and slowly drag it along the edge and over the lip into deeper water.
Striped bass are found with shad in the backs of most canyons at a bottom depth of 80-120 feet. Shad will be suspended and stripers will be close to the bottom. There is a lot of blank water where no fish are seen. Fish anywhere schools are graphed. Use a one-inch chunk of anchovy bait on invisible fluorocarbon line fished below shad schools. Placing the bait right on the bottom is wise unless game fish are seen cruising. Then raise the bait to the level of swimming stripers. Chum actively and often for best results.
We found shad schools yesterday in the main channel 300 yards south of Wahweap Marina by the first rock island between the marina and the dam. Shad were common at a depth of 60-80 feet west of the rock island.
A few stripers have been caught at the power plant intake on bait at 30-60 feet.
FISHING FORECAST FOR 2004
Sharpen your hooks and tune up the reel because fishing at Lake Powell in 2004 will be as good as it ever has been.
A second successive year of good shad forage in 2003 has left both striped bass and smallmouth bass big, fat and sassy. Striped bass boiled vigorously from July until October 2003 until cooling water forced shad into deep water. Stripers grew to an average of 4 pounds with 7 pound fish common. Stripers continued to feed on remaining shad through the winter. They have not lost any weight. Expect husky 4 pound stripers in the spring with some bigger individuals.
Smallmouth bass took advantage of the abundance of forage. They waiting along the shoreline for stripers to drive shad to rocky ambush points where bass made quick work of fleeing shad. The daily food express worked wonders. The little bass that had been so abundant at Powell for years grew up. Before 2003 it was hard to catch a one-pound smallmouth. In 2004 the majority of bass caught will weigh over a pound and two pound bass will be common.
Here is the expected fishing schedule:
February - Walleye move shallower as they prepare for spawning. Bass can be caught but only on perfect plastic presentations fished close to the bottom of submerged rocky creek channels. Stripers are dormant.
March - Water warms slightly causing largemouth to move shallow in search of nest sights. Warm afternoons in March may be the very best time to catch largemouth in Powell. Smallmouth fishing still slow. Stripers are dormant. Walleye spawn, males don't eat and females are not especially interested in food.
April - Bass spawning begins and peaks in the 3rd week - weather permitting. Best smallmouth fishing will be during the peak of the spawn (April 15-May 15). The bass fishing pinnacle will be reached just before the runoff starts while the lake is still stable. The pattern is dictated by weather. On warm calm days bass will be on spawning flats near the deep water edge. On cold days bass will drop over the edge to the rocky creek bottom.
Walleye and striped bass begin to feed as water warms. Stripers DO NOT leave the back of the canyons where shad forage persists. Anglers waiting at the dam are disappointed. Trollers catch stripers on long minnow-shaped lures in the backs of canyons and bays.
May - Bass fishing still great. Walleye fishing peaks. Striped bass fishing good for trollers but poor for bait fishermen.
June - Bass fishing success declines. Catfish and bluegill are very active and provide fast fishing. A few stripers begin to hit anchovies as warming water forces them to go deep. Trolling for stripers is till good.
July- September - The stripers begin to boil and interest in all other fishing dies. Stripers are chased on the surface from dawn to 8 am and then again in the evening.
With this line up anglers have some great choices. There will be some incredible fishing days in 2004. The actual results are dependent on the shad spawn. A third year of high shad numbers will cause a repeat of 2003 with quality fish being caught at a slower pace. A shad spawning failure will mean all fish will get hungry. Hungry fish will be very easy to catch. Their frame will not lose weight until late summer so even hungry fish will be larger than normal.
This is a no lose situation for Lake Powell anglers. Plan on fishing in 2004. Ramps are being extended now and launching conditions will be great as soon as the lake start to rise in May. The fishing experience will be exciting. This will be a year to remember.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
JANUARY 13, 2004
JANUARY 13, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3595
Water Temperature: 45-50 F
BULLFROG REPORT - Winter Fishing Primer - January 2004
Left BF marina at 8 AM and headed for Moki canyon. Four boats scattered out in the canyon graphing for stripers. Doug Miller and I graphed a few fish half way back in the first cut on the left. Doug had a rod rigged with a white ¼ ounce jig head and one-inch anchovy chunk. I was using a drop shot anchovy rig with 2 dropper hooks. I chummed the spot with 3 cut anchovies and we dropped our baits to the bottom. Doug hooked a nice fish which pulled hard and broke off near the boat. I didn’t get a touch. The school spooked and we moved up the canyon to see how the other boats were faring.
Near the upper end of Moki the other boats were doing well on anchovies where water depth was 35-50. All of the fish were hitting near the bottom. A few fish came on spoons but most were taking anchovy bait. The fishing slowed as we added our boat to the armada. The first lesson learned was that cold winter fish are very susceptible to boat noise. They are biting very sporadically and sudden noise puts them down. Use the electric motor when approaching a likely fishing spot.
We returned to the first spot. Doug hooked another fish quickly after chumming and dropping to the bottom. I am still without a bite on the drop shot rig. I changed to a similar white jig head that could be fished on the bottom not 6 inches up. Second lesson - the bait has to be touching bottom or returning to the bottom more often than it is suspended.
I examine Doug’s rig further and find that he is using an 8-pound test fluorocarbon leader while I have regular monofilament. I switched to fluorocarbon, did everything else just as I had been earlier and this time catch fish. Third lesson - Slow moving winter fish are visually examining the bait very closely. Anything that looks strange results in rejection. The bait must look like a free floating piece of chum that has settled to the bottom. Invisible line is necessary when the fish are this fussy or cold. A jig head was acceptable.
Finally, the bite is imperceptible. When I finally got the bite I was very gently lifting the bait one inch off the bottom and setting it back down. On one lift the bait was heavy. That was the bite. No other indication was given. I set the hook on a hunch and the fish was there. Good 4 pound fat striper.
Now that you know the pattern, fishing will be good for you in the back of Bullfrog Bay, Moki Canyon, Forgotten, Lake and Halls Creek. I wouldn’t hesitate to try for stripers in the back of any Lake Powell canyon where water depth was 40-70 feet. Use 8 pound fluorocarbon. Fish ON THE BOTTOM with a one inch chunk of anchovy where a few fish are graphed. Do not use the big motor near the fishing spot. Chum a few pieces of anchovy steadily. Set the hook on any unusual sensation. It doesn’t cost anymore to set the hook.