Edward Gerdemann
Well-Known Member
If I could come away with one impression from last week's fishing trip, it would be that Lake Powell smallmouth are well fed this fall. Virtually every smallmouth I filleted had a stomach chock full of crayfish. One particularly greedy bass had a large crayfish still in its mouth and three more in its stomach, yet it still found the inclination to hit my Senko which I dropped right in front of its nose. My fishing partner John Conrad said he had never seen so many smallmouth loaded up with so many crayfish.
Our trip last week was not the most productive in terms of numbers. We caught 59 smallmouths and one largemouth on Tuesday, 43 smallies and one largemouth and one striper on Wednesday and 38 smallmouths and three largemouths on Thursday for a three-day total of 140 bronze bass, five green bass and one striper - 146 total fish. A month earlier John and I caught over 230 bass in three days. However the average size of the fish we caught was larger this trip with quite a few smallmouths in the two-pound plus range. We caught very few dinks. John took big bass honors for the trip with a 3-lb. 2-oz. largemouth.
One other thing was apparent. These fish were not overly active. I attribute this to the full moon which allowed them to feed all night. They would still take a lure if it was placed right in front of their nose, but apparently they saw no need to exert any extra energy to chase our baits. This was the pattern for most of the trip, and it only changed late Thursday afternoon when the wind finally came up and we took 11 smallmouths and lost several others over the last 45 minutes.
On Tuesday we fished both sides of the main channel just upstream from the mouth of Warm Creek. We caught some fish early on weightless Yamamoto Senkos and Shad Shaped Worms, however after 10:30 the drop shot became the presentation of choice. The fishing was steady but not spectacular all day. Even though we caught more Tuesday in terms of numbers, the average size was not as large as either Wednesday and Thursday. We caught fish as shallow as five feet and as deep as 20, with 12 to 15 feet being the most productive depth. The fish were more aggressive Tuesday probably due to the overcast conditions.
Wednesday we fished the coves and gravel islands below Gregory Butte, the same places where we had our best luck in September. The fish were still in all the same places, but, as mentioned earlier, they didn't hit with the reckless abandon they did in September. As with Tuesday, the weightless presentation worked early with the drop shot producing better later. While we caught quite a few shallow fish, we found more fish at 20 feet and deeper than we had on Tuesday. On Thursday I wanted to see if any significant numbers of bass had migrated to the backs of the canyons. We ran up into Last Chance and fished a canyon that has probably been my best producer over the past few years. While we found a few fish back there, they were not in there in the numbers we normally see this time of year. It was almost the exact same thing we experienced last fall as well. Points, coves and islands off the main channel outproduced the backs of the canyons.
This area did, however, produce both our biggest smallmouth and largemouth of the trip. I pitched my Senko back into a shallow cut not more than four feet deep where it was grabbed by a two-pound plus smallie. It ran right at the boat while I struggled to catch up with the reel, but I managed to get it hooked and landed. During the commotion my boat drifted into the middle of the cut. After we moved out John looked back where the boat had been sitting and saw a nice largemouth. For the heck of it he pitched his Shad Shaped Worm in front of it. As the bait drifted down in front of the fish, it grabbed it and John landed the biggest fish of the trip. These fish did not appear to be afraid of the boat.
After deciding we would not likely find large concentrations of fish in the canyons, we moved back out to the main lake and fished the east side of Gregory Butte, water I had not fished in a number of years. We hooked a number of fish initially but the action died down with us getting an occasional strike here and there. We then went back to the gravel islands taking a few more fish and finished in the upper covers below the west side of the butte. As mentioned earlier, we had a flurry of action there at the end of the day as wind came up.
The most productive structure all three days were points, both main and secondary on both the shoreline and the islands. Although we caught quite a few fish up shallow, they were always close to deeper water. During the early morning the best strategy was to pitch a weightless bait on the tops of the points near the ends. Later in the day it was better to fish on the break lines in deeper water. The edges of long shelves were also good areas. The best presentation was slow as possible. It was necessary to put our baits in front of the fish and keep them there. We saw very few bass chasing hooked fish which is something we saw a lot of in September.
Despite the "lower" numbers this was still an outstanding trip. I always enjoy fishing with John. We seem to think a lot alike when it comes to fishing strategy. Unfortunately this was my last trip of the season. I would say that overall I experienced my best smallmouth fishing ever on Lake Powell this year. I also believe good fishing will continue as long as the weather is stable. There are still a lot of fish waiting to be caught even if they are eating well.
Our trip last week was not the most productive in terms of numbers. We caught 59 smallmouths and one largemouth on Tuesday, 43 smallies and one largemouth and one striper on Wednesday and 38 smallmouths and three largemouths on Thursday for a three-day total of 140 bronze bass, five green bass and one striper - 146 total fish. A month earlier John and I caught over 230 bass in three days. However the average size of the fish we caught was larger this trip with quite a few smallmouths in the two-pound plus range. We caught very few dinks. John took big bass honors for the trip with a 3-lb. 2-oz. largemouth.
One other thing was apparent. These fish were not overly active. I attribute this to the full moon which allowed them to feed all night. They would still take a lure if it was placed right in front of their nose, but apparently they saw no need to exert any extra energy to chase our baits. This was the pattern for most of the trip, and it only changed late Thursday afternoon when the wind finally came up and we took 11 smallmouths and lost several others over the last 45 minutes.
On Tuesday we fished both sides of the main channel just upstream from the mouth of Warm Creek. We caught some fish early on weightless Yamamoto Senkos and Shad Shaped Worms, however after 10:30 the drop shot became the presentation of choice. The fishing was steady but not spectacular all day. Even though we caught more Tuesday in terms of numbers, the average size was not as large as either Wednesday and Thursday. We caught fish as shallow as five feet and as deep as 20, with 12 to 15 feet being the most productive depth. The fish were more aggressive Tuesday probably due to the overcast conditions.
Wednesday we fished the coves and gravel islands below Gregory Butte, the same places where we had our best luck in September. The fish were still in all the same places, but, as mentioned earlier, they didn't hit with the reckless abandon they did in September. As with Tuesday, the weightless presentation worked early with the drop shot producing better later. While we caught quite a few shallow fish, we found more fish at 20 feet and deeper than we had on Tuesday. On Thursday I wanted to see if any significant numbers of bass had migrated to the backs of the canyons. We ran up into Last Chance and fished a canyon that has probably been my best producer over the past few years. While we found a few fish back there, they were not in there in the numbers we normally see this time of year. It was almost the exact same thing we experienced last fall as well. Points, coves and islands off the main channel outproduced the backs of the canyons.
This area did, however, produce both our biggest smallmouth and largemouth of the trip. I pitched my Senko back into a shallow cut not more than four feet deep where it was grabbed by a two-pound plus smallie. It ran right at the boat while I struggled to catch up with the reel, but I managed to get it hooked and landed. During the commotion my boat drifted into the middle of the cut. After we moved out John looked back where the boat had been sitting and saw a nice largemouth. For the heck of it he pitched his Shad Shaped Worm in front of it. As the bait drifted down in front of the fish, it grabbed it and John landed the biggest fish of the trip. These fish did not appear to be afraid of the boat.
After deciding we would not likely find large concentrations of fish in the canyons, we moved back out to the main lake and fished the east side of Gregory Butte, water I had not fished in a number of years. We hooked a number of fish initially but the action died down with us getting an occasional strike here and there. We then went back to the gravel islands taking a few more fish and finished in the upper covers below the west side of the butte. As mentioned earlier, we had a flurry of action there at the end of the day as wind came up.
The most productive structure all three days were points, both main and secondary on both the shoreline and the islands. Although we caught quite a few fish up shallow, they were always close to deeper water. During the early morning the best strategy was to pitch a weightless bait on the tops of the points near the ends. Later in the day it was better to fish on the break lines in deeper water. The edges of long shelves were also good areas. The best presentation was slow as possible. It was necessary to put our baits in front of the fish and keep them there. We saw very few bass chasing hooked fish which is something we saw a lot of in September.
Despite the "lower" numbers this was still an outstanding trip. I always enjoy fishing with John. We seem to think a lot alike when it comes to fishing strategy. Unfortunately this was my last trip of the season. I would say that overall I experienced my best smallmouth fishing ever on Lake Powell this year. I also believe good fishing will continue as long as the weather is stable. There are still a lot of fish waiting to be caught even if they are eating well.
