Halls Crossing and Good Hope Bay question

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JDTarga

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Hi everyone I appreciate this forum as it has helped me on a number of occasions especially yesterday as we caught a lot of fish in new areas that I have never fished before such as the Dungeon Canyon area. We caught small mouth and stripers trolling walleye divers and then caught 30 stripers on bait once the schools were located it was a lot of fun. I need to post reports more often and I am going to start doing so.
My main question that I need help with is regarding the northern part of the lake. I have never ventured very far up lake and have only launched at the Antelope Canyon launch. I have a trip planned with a couple first timers to Lake Powell May 31-June 2 and want to head North. I will be driving into the lake out of Blanding UT road as I will be coming from AZ. and am not familiar with the area.
I really want to catch numbers of Walleye and want to be in the area with the best chance to catch them. In someones opinion who is familiar with these areas the first part of June am I better off going to Halls and heading up lake from there or am I better off going North to Good Hope Bay Area from the beginning. I am not familiar with the ramps or if there are ramps or how to get to them in the Good Hope area. I do also want to get these guys on some stripers one of the days.
Are the Walleye usually still active and catchable the first of June? What should I expect for water clarity in Good Hope at that time?
If I am coming in on the mentioned road is there anywhere along the way or by the lake that sales anchovies if I decide to fish for stripers with bait?
My last question is regarding the fees I have always bought a yearly boat sticker and the other yearly pass from Antelope Canyon I understand that the Antelope Canyon pass will not work up north I am curious what the access fees are into the northern part of the lake?
I know I have a lot of question not sure where else to turn. Thanks a lot in advance for any answers.
 
There are no active launch ramps North of Halls. So if you are exploring North, you need to start from Halls or Bullfrog.

We just drove into the Halls side for the first time in our 30+ years of boating at Powell; we normally come into Bullfrog. There is literally nothing, no services, no civilization once you turn onto Highway 95 outside of Blanding until you get to Halls. I don't know if you can buy anchovies in Blanding, but the Halls marina store does sell them (at least they had a freezer labeled "anchovies").

The water clarity at Good Hope will probably be very low due to runoff, which hasn't really hit full stride yet. We ventured into GoodHope on June trips in the past and the surface area of the whole bay was one massive log jam. We could idle at best, other years we've been to Good Hope in June and only had to deal with the green, silt laden water.

As for fees, here's what was on the NPS page.

Entrance Fees:
1-7 Day Vehicle Entrance - $25.00

Admits one single, private, non-commercial vehicle and all its passengers

1-7 Day Motorcycle Entrance - $20.00

Admits one single, private, non-commercial motorcycle and its riders.

1-7 Day Individual Entrance - $12.00

Admits one individual when entering on foot, or bicycle. Not to exceed $25 vehicle fee. Individuals 15 years of age and younger are admitted free.

1-7 Day Boating Entrance - $30.00

Admits one single private vessel

1-7 Day Boating Entrance additional vessel - $30.00

Admits one single private vessel on the same trailer as a vessel paying full entry fees

Entrance Passes:
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Annual Pass - $50.00

Allows unlimited entry to Glen Canyon for 12 months from date of purchase.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Annual Vessel Sicker - $50.00

Allows unlimited entry to Glen Canyon for one vessel Jan 1 - Dec 31.
 
The fee you paid at AP will work lakewide if it is an annual pass purchased at the fee booth.

Walleye fishing will be good to excellent in the Bullfrog area and all the way uplake until the water gets muddy or too covered with floating debris to allow travel. I think you can go up as far as Cedar and Knowles canyon and find fishable water there. There are tagged walleye in the Stanton Creek area. You can find walleye all the way down lake past the Escalante and San Juan as well.
 
If you are looking for anchovies, and want to save a little $$, I would suggest finding an Asian market in your hometown. They sell anchovies for less than $2/pound (at least they do here).
 
Thanks for the reply's I am going to launch at Halls I am assuming that is the closest ramp in on the road from the Blanding road. Are there quite a few places to set up a small camp going North from Halls or is it mainly steeper walls?
Thanks
 
That's a complicated question. Are you tent camping or houseboat camping? Do you want to camp close to the marina, or are you willing to be 10-20 miles out? Are you looking for sandy beaches for kiddos or pets?

If I were camping in either a tent or houseboat, I would at least try to get a few miles from the marina; 6 to 10 miles. I would avoid Hansen Creek and Forgotten Canyon as both seem to be too busy to me. I think Knowles and Cedar Canyons would be pretty for camping in a tent or houseboat (I've fished them, but never camped in either). Warm Springs (? I think that's the Canyon that's about MM 106) also has a few good houseboat spots.

Good Hope has a broad sandy bay toward the east side, and we've parked a houseboat several times just outside of Ticaboo (more toward the NW), but I'd be leary about counting on Good Hope until you see if there is a lot of debris in the water.

Of course the water level is also a factor. The perfect beach today is going to be submerged by the time you head down.
 
I am planning on taking a small amount of camping equipment, small tent etc only going for a couple days Im looking to take my camp up lake where we can pull a boat up at night. I will be fishing most of the time. I've done this many times on the southern portion of the lake and usually find a small sandy area. I wasn't sure if there were a lot of those in that area.
Thanks for your help.
 
JDTarga said:
I am planning on taking a small amount of camping equipment, small tent etc only going for a couple days Im looking to take my camp up lake where we can pull a boat up at night. I will be fishing most of the time. I've done this many times on the southern portion of the lake and usually find a small sandy area. I wasn't sure if there were a lot of those in that area.
Thanks for your help.
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There are sandy areas north, but it's a more often a small spit of sand tucked in between rocks compared to the wide flat beaches we saw down south. We see plenty of tent campsites with the boat pulled up on shore every year. Halls bay and a Bullfrog bay have lots of sandy areas, but they get crowded due to the close proximity to the marinas.
 
The store/gas station on the north corner of highway 191 and highway 95 (South of Blanding) has anchovies. I can't think of the name of it. But it is on the north side of where the 2 highways meet. You have to ask the person at the counter to get them cause they keep them in a back Freezer. You have to turn there to get to Hall anyway... so it is an easy stop.
 
Ejespady35 said:
The store/gas station on the north corner of highway 191 and highway 95 (South of Blanding) has anchovies. I can't think of the name of it. But it is on the north side of where the 2 highways meet. You have to ask the person at the counter to get them cause they keep them in a back Freezer. You have to turn there to get to Hall anyway... so it is an easy stop.
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Shirttail Junction Store, I've never stopped in there. We usually shop at Clarks Market in Blanding, but I've never asked if they had anchovies. Stripers aren't normally our target species.
 
I don't understand purchasing anchovies. I'd buy a dozen worms before wasting money on those nasty fish that won't stay on a hook!

Remember: stripers are legal to use as chum and bait! Catch a striper (trolling, spooning, or using a nightcrawler), and then cut it up to use as chum and bait. 1 piece of striper on your hook will last you all day! If you need more chum, just catch another striper! They are free -- so chum to your hearts content!
 
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