SlapShot
New Member
THURSDAY - Arrived at Bullfrog ramp mid morning (9/21) to super high winds. I am fishing out of a 21' bass boat so really big rollers is a little unnerving but with the boat weighed down with our camping gear we actually cut through the waves nicely. I kept the speed around 34 MPH and had a smooth, dry ride. Just north of Halls buoy field the wind was swirling and with some flat-er water was able to get up to 50+ MPH safely and made it to Moqui pretty quick. Was going to head further up river but was not willing to be too far from Halls just in case...
We setup camp and fished the various canyons in Moqui the rest of the day. We marked and landed several stripers and smallies on topwater and spoons. Tried plastics (curly tails, drop shot, craws) and was only getting smaller fish. I guess the big boys wanted big lures. Nothing huge but enough bend in the rods to keep us interested. Thursday night was still very windy but at least it was a warm wind.
FRIDAY - Awoke to calm conditions and heard the surface action before I saw it. Jumped in the boat and was able to chase various "rises" around the canyon. The best part, no gear was used. All fish caught were on #8 weight fly rods. Could not land as many but what a blast on the fairy wand. Only juvies, 1-3 pounders, but off to a good start. The bay was loaded with fish according to the graph.
Headed up to Crystal Springs and caught more dink SMB and very ambitious green sunfish. Was able to spoon up a few near the entrance of the canyon before we headed up to Forgotten.
Forgotten Canyon was pleasant, very calm, but not much going on. Fished many rock piles and was even able to land a walleye on a spinnerbait (second time that's happened to me at Powell). Mostly just enjoyed the calm and some sun and shade. Sometimes it's nice to do nothing and just "listen" to the lake for a while. Fished some bushes and initial drop offs (12' of water) and thought would get a couple of largies but only more dink SMB's. No biggie, back to Moqui for a nice fire and food.
SATURDAY - more morning surface action. Used topwater and large streamer flies and had our way with the juvenile stipers. Had lunch at Halls snack shack and headed down to Lake Canyon. I could have drop shotted as many as I wanted but only 10"-15" smallies wanted to play. Lots of fun but wanted to head back to Moqui for some evening activity, which we found. That evening we used deeper diving cranks for better smallies and more juvie stipers off points and drop-offs. Saturday night the wind blew a little, more like a strong breeze than wind. Also had a good temp drop so we layered up to keep warm.
SUNDAY - ...yep, you guessed it, more morning surface action. First two fish no boat required, right from shore using lipless cranks (silver/black) and some long casts. Had to then hop in the boat and chase the school around to get a few more on fly tackle. When the surface activity died down we got back to shore, had a quick bite to eat next to a warm fire, broke down camp, loaded up the boat, and headed back to the ramp under calm conditions.
Sorry for the long-winded (pun intended) report. Very windy but caught a ton of fish using multiple methods, which is always nice. Will head down from Utah County again next year. Too busy for any more trips this year, but you never know.
We setup camp and fished the various canyons in Moqui the rest of the day. We marked and landed several stripers and smallies on topwater and spoons. Tried plastics (curly tails, drop shot, craws) and was only getting smaller fish. I guess the big boys wanted big lures. Nothing huge but enough bend in the rods to keep us interested. Thursday night was still very windy but at least it was a warm wind.
FRIDAY - Awoke to calm conditions and heard the surface action before I saw it. Jumped in the boat and was able to chase various "rises" around the canyon. The best part, no gear was used. All fish caught were on #8 weight fly rods. Could not land as many but what a blast on the fairy wand. Only juvies, 1-3 pounders, but off to a good start. The bay was loaded with fish according to the graph.
Headed up to Crystal Springs and caught more dink SMB and very ambitious green sunfish. Was able to spoon up a few near the entrance of the canyon before we headed up to Forgotten.
Forgotten Canyon was pleasant, very calm, but not much going on. Fished many rock piles and was even able to land a walleye on a spinnerbait (second time that's happened to me at Powell). Mostly just enjoyed the calm and some sun and shade. Sometimes it's nice to do nothing and just "listen" to the lake for a while. Fished some bushes and initial drop offs (12' of water) and thought would get a couple of largies but only more dink SMB's. No biggie, back to Moqui for a nice fire and food.
SATURDAY - more morning surface action. Used topwater and large streamer flies and had our way with the juvenile stipers. Had lunch at Halls snack shack and headed down to Lake Canyon. I could have drop shotted as many as I wanted but only 10"-15" smallies wanted to play. Lots of fun but wanted to head back to Moqui for some evening activity, which we found. That evening we used deeper diving cranks for better smallies and more juvie stipers off points and drop-offs. Saturday night the wind blew a little, more like a strong breeze than wind. Also had a good temp drop so we layered up to keep warm.
SUNDAY - ...yep, you guessed it, more morning surface action. First two fish no boat required, right from shore using lipless cranks (silver/black) and some long casts. Had to then hop in the boat and chase the school around to get a few more on fly tackle. When the surface activity died down we got back to shore, had a quick bite to eat next to a warm fire, broke down camp, loaded up the boat, and headed back to the ramp under calm conditions.
Sorry for the long-winded (pun intended) report. Very windy but caught a ton of fish using multiple methods, which is always nice. Will head down from Utah County again next year. Too busy for any more trips this year, but you never know.
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