Jax Gibbons
and Sam Sherwood
Lake Powell Fish Report – July 19, 2017
Lake Elevation: 3635
Water Temperature: 80-83 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson
http://www.wayneswords.com
Striper slurps and boils are now available lakewide. Here is a rundown on what to expect.
Northern lake:
Launching access is decent at Hite. There are a couple of options for launching including the primitive ramp and below the cement ramp. The water surface from Hite down to Good Hope is relatively clear of debris. There is some so be careful but launch in at Hite makes for safer travel that coming uplake from Bullfrog where more floating debris exists in isolated spots in the channel. The best, most consistent striper surface activity is found from Castle Butte to Trachyte/White Canyon. Slurps start at first light and continue most of the day and into the evening. From Hite to the Horn there are lots of really quick slurps that come up and go down often. The best spot is between Scorup and Castle Butte. Here the slurps and boils are larger and last longer. There are enough slurps in sight that it is possible to just stay in a central location and cast lures to many different slurps. When the fish go down continue to cast to the spot last seen and continue to catch random fish. Surface lures are best as are small plastic grubs on jig heads.
Bullfrog/Halls:
Boils/slurps were found most consistently this week near the mouth of Moki Canyon but boils were seen from Forgotten to Lake Canyon. Stripers were caught on top water lures and chartreuse grubs. Those fish caught in the backs of canyons were thin compared to those caught in the main channel or at the mouths of the canyons. Stripers caught ranged from 16-24 inches.
Southern Lake:
Boils/slurps were seen from Padre Bay to the mouth of Rock Creek. Stripers came up quickly and went down in a hurry. Usually it was possible to see a school come up and then get the boat close to the spot in time to make a cast or two when the school resurfaced. Stripers could only be caught when their heads were visibly breaking water. As they started down again they were very hard to catch. They came up 3-5 times in 5-10 minutes and often moved hundreds of yards in the process. A surface lure placed in front of the lead fish was the most consistent producer. Lures that landed in the middle or behind the slurp were ignored.Shad found in striper stomachs were double the size (1 inch) of those previously reported 2 weeks ago. As shad continue to grow, boils will get longer, stripers more aggressive and anglers will catch a lot more fish. This is the beginning of Boil Season. The most exciting fishing found in fresh water will continue into September this year.
Largemouth bass were found occasionally feeding with stripers on the surface. More often largemouth bass were found in the brush line near shore. They could sometimes be seen blowing up on the surface and could be caught on topwater lures or a spinner bait.
Smallmouth bass are showing up more often on rock structure now that the lake has stabilized. Look for isolated rock slides or rocky islands to target smallmouth. As lake level continues to stabilize or begins to decline bass habitat will be more obvious. Bass have been harder to find than normal but that will now change with consistent lake levels. Stabilized lake levels will make it easier to catch bluegill along the brushy shorelines as well.
Walleye were caught in the southern lake using deep diving crankbaits fished near brush at a bottom depth of 15-25 feet.
Fishing success is improving as the summer moves on.
