August 2006

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wayne gustaveson

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August 31, 2006
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3603
Water Temp: 77-80 F
The warm cap that has held most fish in deep water is starting to falter. Surface temperature has dipped into the 70’s allowing some fish to come shallower. Bass and small stripers are becoming more active in the surface layers. Bass that were confined to the 25 foot strata may now be found near the surface. Shad that were hiding in warm shallow water now find more predators invading their sanctuary. September is topwater time at Lake Powell. Most fish are now looking up to the surface for their next meal. Use topwater walking baits and poppers during the early morning and late evening to draw strikes from bass and stripers. There are not many types of fishing more exciting that tossing plugs to surface feeding fish.
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Not all fish will be on top this Holiday weekend. The big stripers will still be 30-60 feet deep in the main channel throughout the lake. It will take another month before these fish can leave the depths and roam freely through the surface layers on their constant search for food. Young stripers are already shallow and these spunky fish up to 15 inches will be eager to feed on anything that resembles a small shad. Shad are not abundant in most of the lake. When shad are absent, feeding stations then become the grass beds, tumbleweed piles and submerged tamarisk groves that offer shelter to sunfish which have become the primary forage. Lures that mimic sunfish behavior are more likely to be shallow running, suspending crank baits. Fish near the brush to increase fishing success where shad are absent. Those fish selectively eating crayfish are caught most often on plastic tubes, grubs or senkos.
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The best part is that all sport species are more abundant than normal. They all want to eat early and often. These hungry fish are easy to catch. Any favored species is now available for your fishing pleasure. The best spot is the upper San Juan arm where stripers are boiling and bass are prowling the shallows. The next best spot runs from Trachyte to Four Mile canyon where small stripers are boiling and bass fishing is excellent. The reminder of the lake is good to excellent with adult stripers running deep in the channels. Young stripers are on top in isolated coves where shad are cornered. Bass are cooperative in the shallows on a variety of lures. Take your pick. Sunfish and catfish would love to eat live worms. Just give them a chance. Warm days and cool nights make September the best Fall month for pure fishing enjoyment. Enjoy!
August 24, 2006
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3604
Water Temp: 80-84 F
Striped bass are at the top of the roller coaster, heading down the first big hill. Excellent reproduction and survival have resulted in record numbers of big and small fish. It is possible that striped bass numbers are greater now than at any time during their 30 year residency in the lake. There is a great battle going on each day for the limited shad food source. Since the 10-15 inch stripers live in warm water with shad they have the competitive advantage over adults confined to cool water beneath the thermocline. . In a race for a shad big fish cannot beat the smaller, faster stripers. It's no contest.
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This overpopulation allows anglers to catch an unprecedented number of hungry fish. Every hotspot that has been mentioned this year is still producing stripers for bait fishermen on a daily basis. Most striper schools are congregated in the main channel near the mouth of a canyon. Find a prominent point that dives into deep water for consistent fishing success. Chum with anchovies to get the school active and eating and then catch and keep all fish possible. The striped bass population must be reduced to bring them into balance with available forage. Fishing at the barricade in front of Glen Canyon Dam has picked up again. Other great spots are the mouth of Warm Creek, Padre Canyon, Rock Creek, Escalante main channel, Lake Canyon, Moki Wall, and Hansen Creek. The only consistent boiling action is found near Hite between Buoys 133-134 in the afternoon. Boils are present but inconsistent on the San Juan.
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Juvenile stripers increase in number from Bullfrog north. There seems to be an innumerable amount of fish from the surface to 20 feet. These 10-15 inch fish can be caught on every cast with anchovies, spoons and hard plastic baits. Fishing is so quick for small fish that’s its hard to describe. Many anglers are using heavy weights to get the bait down past the small fish so they can catch a bigger one. If you like to catch lots of fish and size doesn’t matter then there is no better place to be than Bullfrog Bay and the canyons upstream. Great bass fishing is almost unnoticed with all the striper catching. Fishing with plastic grubs at 20-25 feet is awesome. Use a quarter ounce jig head with a green plastic offering to catch bass up to 3 pounds. Target the breaking edge of rock structure where depth rapidly increases
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. Sunfish and catfish are readily taking live worms near shore. Sunfish are in the brush and in the shade of boats while catfish are on the sandy bottom near camp. If you haven’t experienced the most amazing year for fishing success ever seen at Lake Powell, now would be a good time to give it a try.
Striped Bass Hot Spot Update. August 24, 2006​
Dam – Fish the ledge on west side which coincides with barricade 3-4 and 5. If those spots are taken go uplake. Corner as lake turns left (north) at Buoy 3. Fish the shade line in the morning.Power Plant Intake – (Construction boom on rim) Fish early before boat traffic starts.Buoy 9 – Gently sloping outcropping near shore is the best place.Small canyon just upstream from Buoy 9 before the lake turns left heading for Navajo.Mouth of Navajo on the main channel side. Either side of the entrance along main channel.Mouth of Warm Creek and main channel.Padre Canyon where it narrows into slick rock gorge.Rock Creek mouth at main channelJacks Arch – mouth of San Juan.San Juan - Cha and Neskahi Bay. Boils upstream at Spencers camp (small stripers).Buoy 65 - East channel wall 200-500 yards down lake of Cottonwood Canyon.Escalante Arm on rocky points protruding into deep water. Buoy 74 - Mouth of Bowns and Long Canyons, 50-100 yards from main channel inside of Bowns Canyon’s NE wall.Lake Canyon mouth

Buoy 92/93 - West wall of main channel 50-150 yards down lake from mouth of Lost Eden Canyon.Halls Ramp – Cliff wall downstream from ramp.Buoy 99 A at Hansen Creek.Small fish abundant from Bullfrog to Hite.
August 10, 2006
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3606
Water Temp: 80-84 F
Fishing continues to be hot. We fish managers feel we have a good fishery when catch rate exceeds one fish per hour. A quick tabulation from our creel survey on Monday of this week shows 354 three-pound striped bass caught in 51 hours of fishing at Wahweap. That catch rate for striped bass only is 6.9 fish per hour. When bass and other species are added in the catch rate goes up. Fishing at Lake Powell is 7 times better than just good fishing. It has been that way all year long and is expected to continue until winter.
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Striped bass are holding in cool water at 30-50 feet waiting for food. The intersection of each canyon with the main channel is the best place to start fishing. I prefer to find a rock ledge on the edge of deep water where I can stand on shore to fish. That way when the fish start biting there is room for many to be landed at once. Whatever your fishing preference may be there are hungry fish waiting to be caught each day. Please bring a fishing rod when boating and exploring beautiful Lake Powell. Striper hot spots include the dam, mouth of Warm Creek, Padre Canyon, Last Chance, Rock Creek, San Juan at Piute and Neskahi, Escalante at Fifty Mile Canyon and Davis Gulch, Slick Rock, Lake Canyon, Hansen Creek and too many other spots to mention. The technique is chumming a few finely cut anchovies and then bait fishing with anchovy chunks on ¼ ounce jig heads or Carolina or drop shot rigs. If fish are around but not biting your hook, toss a chunk of bait with no weight attached. The slow fall mimics descending chum and is irresistible to hungry stripers. Avoid using visible braided line or heavy test snelled hooks which cause sight feeding stripers to shy away from your bait. The leader within 3 feet of the hook must be clear monofilament or fluorocarbon line for best results.Night fishing under fish attracting lights is excellent lake wide.Yearling stripers and a few larger fish are feeding on the surface in the upper San Juan and near Hite. These boils happen early and late. Larger fish are caught by spooning near surface feeding fish where shad are present. Bass have been almost forgotten with striper fishing being so good. But Good Hope, San Juan and Escalante have produced some of the best summer bass fishing in recent memory. Largemouth are in the brush with shad and smallmouth deep at 25 feet. Surface lures, jerk baits and plastic tubes and grubs are working well.Crappie, sunfish, walleye and catfish are adding some variety to the catch. Fishing continues to delight all anglers in this amazing year which may mark the best fishing ever experienced in the history of Lake Powell.
August 3, 2006
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3606
Water Temp: 80-86 F
The hottest part of the summer is past. Water surface temperature will now begin a slow decline making it easier for fish to feed near the surface. But for now larger bass and stripers are still trapped in the cool depths. Fish at 25-30 feet to find adult fish willing to bite.
Young bass and stripers are not inhibited by the thick band of warm water. The 8-15 inch stripers are super abundant, especially in the northern lake. Smalls stripers are dominating the fishing scene as they relentlessly chase young shad in the surface layers. From Good Hope Bay upstream yearling stripers are boiling morning and evening. The lake midsection holds similar big numbers of small stripers. They don’t b
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oil often but are caught readily on anchovy bait along the canyon walls.
Near the dam stripers are right where they have been all summer with big stripers deep and little stripers closer to the surface. The best spot and easiest to find is the mouth of Warm Creek. The north cliff wall of the main channel ends at the mouth of Warm Creek. Fish right where the terminal end of the cliff dives into the lake. There is an old cement weight hanging over the cliff wall which used to anchor a float. Find that dangling weight and know you are in the right place.
Richard Snow shows off a fat 5.5 pound striper caught on anchovy bait at the mouth of Lake Canyon.
The mouth of Last Chance is excellent. Find long rocky points IN THE SHADE along the walls on either side of the canyon near Gregory Butte, and fish bait at 30-50 feet for a great fishing trip. Do the same at the mouth of Rock Creek. There is a little rock island at the mouth of the canyon (east side) that is easy to find and marks the spot of another big school of fish. The mouth of Lake Canyon and Buoy 99 are producing good catches midlake.
The keys to finding fish in the southern lake are shade and steep drops near long rocky points. Use anchovy bait with lots of chum to find adult stripers looking for crayfish along the points near deep water.
The deep water pattern is repeatable anywhere on the lake. Bigger stripers are deep and without adequate food. The crayfish they find under rocks sustain them but do not provide enough food for hungry summer stripers. Provide food and you can catch every one of them. Lots of 4-5 pound stripers are being caught every day.
Night fishing for stripers under fish lights may be the best technique for catching a large cooler of fish with the most favorable temperature. Competition with other recreational boaters will be minimal during the quiet evening hours. Catfish will bite under the soft lights as well.
 
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