JULY 29, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3580
Water Temperature: 78-85 F
Fishing is good for stripers midlake.
The ideal trip would begin with a launch at Halls Crossing ramp which is the only full service ramp still operating normally. Other ramps allow launching access but they present challenges with gravel, traction, potholes and slope. But the launch is still possible at Bullfrog and Wahweap and the lake worth it once on the water.
Start the boil search by looking early and late in Bullfrog Bay, Stanton Creek and Halls Creek. You may need to go no further. Boils have been reported from Bullfrog downstream to Annies Canyon and then on to Rincon and Escalante. Upstream from Bullfrog expect boils at Moki, Hansen Creek, Cedar/Warm Springs, with a few boils in Good Hope Bay. Still the best boils seem to be centered at Bullfrog/Halls. With the exception of the San Juan the rest of the lake is quiet.
Morning boils start at first light and continue until 9 am. A few mid day slurps are seen but fish do not get catchable until 3 PM and boils peak from 5 till dark. Boils are mostly in the channel with only a few in the canyons and coves.
It is possible to find a good 2-hour chase period when boils are constantly popping up each morning and evening. Boils are quick and fish fussy but those that judge direction of travel correctly are able to get close enough to feeding schools to catch 10 fish. Most anglers on a 3-day trip are reporting 2 days of fair success punctuated by one day of dream fishing where more than 20 4-pound stripers are caught from one boil in a short time.


Bass are holding in deep water just above the thermocline. Expect to find them at 25 feet when they are not chasing shad with boiling stripers. Deep resting bass are on a crayfish pattern and will take green plastic grubs.
Catfish are very active and will hit bait all night long. The best fishing for many species may be after dark as the moon gets full this weekend.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
JULY 22, 2004
JULY 22, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3582
Water Temperature: 79-83 F
July brings the warmest temperatures of the year. Water surface temperature is over 80 by mid morning. Lake Powell fish like to be a bit cooler so they find the temperature range that suits them. Most fish are spending the day from 20-40 feet deep. Shad, however, seek the warmest water layer because the other fish aren't there. At some point in the daily cycle the predators join the prey. The successful angler is there when the feeding event occurs.
Striped bass feeding is most obvious when they trap a shad school on top. Striper boils in the lower lake now happen only from predawn twilight until the sun hits the water. The window of opportunity is 4-6 AM (MST). Some days no boils are seen any time of the day.
From Buoy 69 to Bullfrog, and from Forgotten to Cedar Canyon, and in the San Juan at Neskahi Bay there are boils that continue throughout the day. Most are quick and fish are hard to catch but just enough boils stay up long enough to make chasing stripers worthwhile. The average fish caught in a boil weighs 3 to 4 pounds but 5 to 7-pounders are common. The heart almost stops when one of the big fish smashes the surface lure and drags it into the depths followed by 50 school mates all trying to steal the lure from its mouth. It is a visual spectacle that does not happen often in freshwater fishing. Watching boils is a recommended scenic adventure even for non-anglers.
Smallmouth bass are feeding on shad and crayfish. They prefer to ambush from under a rocky ledge or around a rocky point as shad swim past. Crayfish hide under rocks so bass will be in close proximity to rocks large enough to house a crayfish. Look for bass on steep rocky structure jutting into the main channel. Position the boat in 50-100 feet of water and cast to a visible rocky point. When that type of elevation difference exists between boat and shore the habitat is steep enough for good bass fishing. Plastic grubs, tubes, and senkos are working on jig heads, dropshot and splitshot rigs. Bass exceeding 2 pounds are still being caught along with smaller fish.
Fishing is slower in the heat of summer. The best success may come from night fishing for bass, stripers and catfish. Hang a lantern, spotlight or submersible fishing light over the back of the boat to attract plankton and shad. Stripers will follow and can be caught on anchovies suspended at 30-40 feet when the boat is anchored in 50 feet of water. Let the bait rest on bottom occasionally to catch a catfish lurking under the feeding zone. Night fishing helps one avoid busy summer crowds, heat of the day and often makes fish easier to catch.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
JULY 15, 2004
JULY 15, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3583
Water Temperature: 76-83 F
LAUNCH RAMPS OPEN - LAKE POWELL IS NOT CLOSED!
Confusion reigned last week as new concrete ramps dried up with declining lake levels. The media reported the closure of Lake Powell when, in fact, ramps were still open and operating as they had during spring prior to runoff. Wahweap Main Ramp is open but launching occurs on old asphalt/road base. Bullfrog ramp is shallow so boats are launching to one side of the concrete ramp on road base and hard sand. Halls Crossing still has a good concrete ramp and is the best launch site for bigger boats. The National Park Service is doing a tremendous job of keeping ramps operational. They are committed to providing boat access for the long term!
STRIPER BOILS CONTINUE!
A typical slurp is pictured. Cast to the leaders in front of the pack. Casting to the main body does not work. Leaders are finding new shad and all other fish are looking ahead and not behind. Cast beyond and in front of the leading fish.
Lower lake boils/slurps calmed down and became much more random in time and location while striper surface feeding events improved over the rest of Lake Powell. Boils were reported from Good Hope Bay to Wahweap Bay. Best time was early and late but many mid day boil events were seen. The most consistent locations were in the main channel at Rock Creek, Dangling Rope, mouth of Escalante near buoy 70-71, Annies to Slick Rock, mouth of Forgotten Canyon, and San Juan at Piute Canyon.
Each boil is unique in that sometimes fish are extremely fussy and will not eat lures. Fish in the next boil will take full size surface lures. I suspect it depends on the size of shad being attacked at the moment. If shad are bigger than an inch then all lures are acceptable. If shad are less than an inch then lure selection must be refined. Stripers in boils range from 12 inches to 8 pounds. Average size fish is 3 pounds. Many of the larger fish are being caught.
Successful Lures types: Most lures of a given type will work if not specifically mentioned.

Surface lures: Stick baits including Jumpin Minnow, Super Spook Jr., Sammy (size 85-115), and Yozuri poppers (large size).

Shallow runners: 'lipless vibrators' including rattlin' rap, rattletrap, lucky craft vibrators, Swim baits: walleye assassin, storm wild eye shad, sassy shad, and plastic grubs on quarter ounce heads.

Spoons: kastmaster, wallylure-shadminnow, Hopkins shorty.

Night fishing with anchovies is excellent in many locations. Shad and stripers will be attracted to a light after dark. Stripers can be caught on bait fished under the shad school at 40-50 feet. Good catches have come recently from Wahweap Marina near Stateline potty-dump station, Glen Canyon Dam, floating restroom coves at Dominguez Butte and Rock Creek, houseboat field and walls downstream from Halls marina, buoy line near Bullfrog marina and Moki Wall and Moki canyon mouth.
Smallmouth bass fishing is steady on main channel points, reefs and terraces near deep water. Soft plastic grubs, tubes and worms fished vertically close to structure are most effective. Hard plastic lures trolled or cast along the breaking edge of a reef or ledge jutting into the main channel are consistent bass catchers.
Catfish are good night and evening on sandy beaches. They are also being caught during the day at 30-50 feet on bottom when chumming for striper schools. Lots of variety occurs in the fishing experience this week. There is something for everyone any time of the day or night.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
JULY 8, 2004
JULY 8, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3585
Water Temperature: 75-79 F
Declining lake levels will leave most of the new concrete poured on ramps this spring dry or damp at best by weekend. Antelope Point and Stateline will close to boats but parking and passenger pickup will continue. Bullfrog and Wahweap Main ramp will not be out of commission but it will be necessary to launch on old asphalt, road base or hard packed sand. In the spring before the lake came up launching was done under these conditions and most boaters fared well. If launching a bigger boat then a commercial launching service may be the best choice. A regular size (less than 24 foot) fish or ski boat should be launched without problems for the next month. In August a way will be found so that boats will continue to launch.
Fishing news is all about striper BOILS. Look for surface feeding stripers in the main channel anywhere from Bullfrog to Wahweap. The most consistent spot may be Padre Bay to Rock Creek but boils in other main channel locations, such as the San Juan, will be more solitary and stripers will be less spooky and easier to catch.
Boils in Padre Bay are most consistent from dawn to 11 AM. Striper schools feed quickly on shad less than an inch long. Stripers see a shad school sparkling near the surface and come to the top to feed. Sometimes the small shad school disperses with the first striper rush. Other times boaters run over the spot and spook stripers. Once in a while anglers will be there to cast surface lures and shallow running crank baits in to the leading edge of the school.
The end result is a short surface burst followed by calm water as the stripers regroup and search for another shad pod. Stripers may come up again a few feet, a few hundred yards or a half-mile away. The chase is intense. Sometimes the boil is strong and many fish are caught. Another time schools go down before the boat gets in casting range. Striper schools consist of 12-16 inch yearlings or 2-6 pounders.
It is not easy to tell which school is surfacing until well within casting range. I have found that a rattletrap type lure cast to the front of the school will be hit almost every time by midsize fish (2-4 pounds). A Jumpin Minnow or Sammy will get a hit half the time but fish eating the surface lure are noticeably larger (4-8 pounds). Lures cast to mid school or behind feeding fish will seldom be hit. Yearling stripers are more difficult to catch and downsizing to a very small lure is the ticket. Find the right tiny bait and catching stripers all day long is possible.
Yearlings are schooling on the bend in the channel from Padre Bay to the mouth of Last Chance near Gregory Butte. Larger size fish are schooling in the bay adjacent to Kane Creek, Kane Wash, Last Chance, Friendship Cove and Rock Creek. Anglers are catching from 5 to 25 fish after a morning chase. Stripers start up again in the afternoon if the wind allows.
Smallmouth bass are catchable on main channel points at the 25-foot contour. Use a splitshot, dropshot or regular plastic grub on rocky points and along ledges for consistent bass action. Reefs jutting into the main channel where stripers are boiling will have a waiting herd of bass anticipating a shad wave being pushed against the reef. Cast a rattletrap or similar cranking lure on top of the reef and pull it into deep water for a quick bass hit.
Catfish are hot at night on any sandy beach big enough to park a boat. Use chicken liver, nightcrawlers, shrimp or anchovies on a bait hook with very little weight for consistent cat catching. Let the bait rest on the sandy bottom with a tight line to see and feel the hit.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
JULY 1, 2004
JULY 1, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3586
Water Temperature: 74-78 F
SLURP FIREWORKS IN LOWER LAKE
Stripers are boiling/slurping in the morning along the main channel from Padre Bay to Rock Creek. There is an evening boil in Wahweap from Lone Rock to Ice Cream canyon. I have witnessed these boils and more surface action is reported from Dangling Rope to Halls Creek. Lots of striper pods are seen skimming the surface as they slurp tiny shad less than an inch long. Apparently shad are common just about anywhere in the main channel because stripers can feed on one shad school, go down then come up a few hundred yards away and be feeding on more shad. Seems they can go any direction to avoid boat traffic and still find shad.
They are challenging but catchable. Some days they stay up long enough to catch 3 fish from each boil while on other days they sound before the boat comes in range. DO NOT GET TOO CLOSE- DO NOT RUN THROUGH A BOIL (Very bad etiquette!) Stop the boat within casting range and quickly launch a lure just in front and beyond the leading stripers in the boil. Bring the lure quickly and erratically through the school and near the surface. If the lure lands too far in front or behind the leading fish quickly retrieve it and try again. The lure has to hit the head of the boil to be effective.
Stripers in the boil are one of two sizes - small 12 inchers or BIG! The surface commotion looks the same from either group. Catching the fish or seeing them swim is the only way to tell what size fish are feeding. Stripers weighing from 1 to 7 pounds were commonly caught this week. Lures that worked in boils were full-size Sammy, Super Spook JR and Jumpin' Minnow for big fish boils. Smaller stripers were taken on rattletraps, ¾ ounce wallylure spoons, kastmaster and white grubs. It is wise to have both size lures tied on and ready to go. As the boat slows and the school comes into view, size of fish can be judged and the appropriate lure launched into the feeding the school.
Uplake, larger stripers are feeding on anchovies along the steep walls from Moki Canyon to Lost Eden. Stripers boil sporadically, especially in Halls Creek. Expect to see boils anytime - anywhere. It seems that morning boils do not start until 8 AM and continue until noon or when the wind picks up. Boils may go all day long if the wind doesn't blow.
If chasing stripers like a mad-man with hooks flying in the wind is not your style, then night fishing with lights is excellent around the Bullfrog and Wahweap docks, Lone Rock Canyon mouth and at Glen Canyon Dam buoy line. Most stripers caught at night on quarter ounce jig heads with small bits of anchovy are 12-18 inches. Fishing is fast and fun for the yearlings.
Smallmouth bass are near the main channel at 15-25 feet, waiting for shad on main channel points. They can be taken by casting or trolling hard plastic baits or dropping soft plastic grubs and senkos along humps and rocks falling into deep water.
Walleye catch has been less as many anglers are selling out to the surface striper chase. It is hard to troll points when a boil is thrashing at mid channel.
Catfishing is excellent on sandy beaches large enough to park a boat. Use chicken liver or night crawlers for best results.
Have a great Holiday Weekend!
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
JUNE 24, 2004
JUNE 24, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3586
Water Temperature: 73-77 F
Fishing is either very productive or almost impossible depending on your location. In preparation for this report, I fished the main channel from Warm Creek to Wetherill Canyon. I suspect my findings relate well to fish in the upper lake. Catchable fish are all in the same place. Here is where you need to be.
Stripers and walleye are at canyon mouths on the edge of the main channel. Proximity to deep water is the key. In the past I have referred to fish location as "rocky points" but for this report that definition needs to be refined. All canyons join the main channel like so many branches of a tree. The deep-water channel of the canyon meets the deep main river channel and forms a corner. Most fish are congregated on that corner. The reason may be food or temperature related but the fact is that game fish are congregated and therefore easy to catch. The corner may be talus with lots of broken rubble rock. It may also be a smooth slick rock point or a steep cliff or some combination of all of these. Each of these habitats hold fish, especially the slick rock humps and points within 100 yards of the corner. A corner ending in a long shallow flat is not productive
Once the proper corner habitat is located then the technique is up to you. If targeting bass, fish with soft plastics along the slick rock points, humps and tops and then over the deep-water edge to the depth below. Perhaps the best presentation is the dropshot wacky-rigged plastic grub, worm or Senko. The best depth is 15-25 feet. Make sure the bait hits bottom often on the retrieve. Smallmouth exceeding two pounds are commonly caught with average bass weighing 1.5 pounds.
If targeting stripers, troll or cast shad-imitating crank baits. When a school is graphed under the boat or a fish is being played, quickly drop a jigging spoon into the swarming school mates. Cast rattletraps to a departing school to get one more before they leave. Yearling stripers are active all day long with older fish hitting more often at twilight. Again the holding depth is 20-30 feet. Anchovies will work on these corner habitats.
If targeting walleye, look for a mudline trailing off the corner point. To feel secure, walleye need low light created by twilight or shade from floating mud. When walleye are in clear water they will be deep enough to avoid bright light. Watch the lure descend into the depths. When it disappears from view it is at the minimum depth where walleye lurk in clear water. That depth is about 20 feet. Fish a clear water point with trolled wally divers or shad raps. Or cast jigs tipped with night crawlers, then slowly crawled along the bottom to capture walleye. Walleye numbers and catch rate are the best they have been in a very long time in the lower lake. My average catch is 4 walleye per trip using indiscriminant trolling techniques designed to catch any fish.
The best bet for catching adult stripers midlake is to use anchovy bait fished at 30 feet on the shady canyon walls from Moki to Lake Canyon.
In some locations stripers are starting 'slurp-boils' where big fish eat tiny shad on the surface. It seems when conditions are right slurp feeding persists all day long. These events may recur daily or happen just a day or two per week. When slurping stripers are found they may be hard to catch because shad prey size is so small. One very effective technique is to use a small white plastic or marabou jig tied to an 18 inch monofilament trailer attached to the rear hook of a full size surface lure. The big lure casts far enough to reach the boil while the jig is small enough to be selected by fussy fish.
Slurps have been reported in the San Juan and Halls Creek this past week. But slurps may blow up any place on Lake Powell. The prudent angler (or recreationist) should be prepared with a surface lure with dropper jig affixed, to a readily available rod at all times. Stripers caught from a 10-minute slurp may equal the catch of an all day fishing trip. Slurps are targets of opportunity that should not be passed by.
On this day we trolled with a black and silver wallydiver which worked best early in the day. After losing a wallydiver we tried a big shad rap in fire tiger color. Most of the late fish including walleye were caught in clear water on the shad rap. Hits came just before, just after or while the lures were bouncing on the corner point (12-14 feet deep) or crossing the corner point 20-25 feet.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
JUNE 17, 2004
JUNE 17, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3587
Water Temperature: 72-77 F
In scouting for this report I repeated every pattern that has recently worked. Conditions remain much the same. Bass and stripers are still very catchable in Padre Bay and Last Chance.
The most productive fishing time remains morning twilight. Evening twilight is often good but wind may hamper catching. As the sky lightens bass, stripers, walleye and catfish move on to feeding points and nearby coves looking for shad. Cast surface lures, drop tubes and grubs, or troll along main channel points. For the first two hours of light all of these techniques work very well. As the sun tops the eastern skyline fish become more finicky and move to stay in shaded areas. Prolong the morning bite by fishing the morning shade along eastern shorelines.
When full sun hits the water at 8-9 AM anglers must change tactics. Stripers move from shad ambush points to crayfish slopes. In Last Chance the canyon is lined with buttes that jut into the main channel. Some of these buttes end in cliffs while others end in short sloping slick rock points. Trolling a wally diver close enough to the slick rock point to bounce bottom will often result in a striper strike. Two or three stripers can be taken from each point. Fishing 10 points results in 10-20 fish from 12 inches to 6 pounds. The pattern works all day long. Bonus bass, catfish and walleye make the trolling quite lively.
I troll at 3-4 mph with 16-pound monofilament. The lure is played out 100 feet behind the boat. I do not troll long stretches. I select a point and then troll 100 yards on either side of the best looking spot. If a fish is caught I turn and troll the point again. If none is caught I go the next spot. Today I caught fish on every point I tried between 9 and noon.
Afternoon is often windy and always busy with boat traffic. Wind and waves make mud which attracts both bait and predator fish. Fish move to mud as it forms each day. Look for floating mud each afternoon. Then troll 100 yards before and after each mudline for stripers, walleye and bass. Again selective trolling is much better than endless trolling without a goal. Choose the spot, then troll a specific spot. If successful – repeat. If not – find another mudline.
Stripers are being caught with more regularity on anchovies particularly in the midlake areas. Walls downstream from Halls are good in the mornings while fishing shaded areas at 20-40 feet. It is possible to troll the shade line until a fish is caught, then stop and use bait or cast rattletraps to the school. I suspect anchovy bait will work lakewide since shad seem to be less numerous than last year.
Smallmouth are moving to deep reef and shoal habitat. Look for them on the breaking edge of structure falling quickly into main channel depths. The best color for me today was luminous white single tail grub on a 3/8-ounce jig head. I caught bonus walleye and catfish on the same jig while fishing for bass.
I am still quite proud of the fishing results each day. I have not had a “bad” trip this year.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
JUNE 9, 2004
JUNE 9, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3587
Water Temperature: 72-76 F
Fishing prospects are much brighter as the moon declines. There is a fishing opportunity for everyone right now but first let's move to the right place. Game fish have left the backs of canyons and spawning areas and headed for the main channel. Bass are guarding the deep-water mouths of canyons and coves waiting for a shad swim-by. Stripers are resting in the depths of the main channel where they move up to feed. Walleye are heating up in the lower lake and making their presence felt after a long absence. All of this is happening on the points and walls of the main channel depending on which part of the lake you may be fishing.
Let's start with first light (4-6 AM MST) which is the very best fishing of the day. Cast surface lures along the shoreline of prominent points for quick action from bass and stripers. Select prominent points of land extending into the channel. Deep water must be in close proximity. The channel S-curves in Padre Bay, mouth of Last Chance and Rock Creek are ideal. If the wind has blown recently there will be mud trailing from earthen points and murky water floating in nearby coves. These are prime early feeding locations. Expect aggressive hits from adult fish. If action is not immediate move to the next point, wall or cove until fish are found. Do not waste prime time by sleeping or traveling. Just fish!
After the sun hits the water (6-9 AM) move to the shade of tall eastern canyon walls to prolong prime time. If topwater falters start trolling shad imitating deep divers. Troll while graphing for stripers. Weave in and out of murky coves along the deep-water channel edge. If striper schools are marked continue trolling, attack with jigging spoons or cast rattletraps. All techniques work. Use the one that makes you happy. It is more about location than technique.
In the lower lake stripers are found on points and coves. Mid lake stripers have moved onto the cliff walls in the morning shade. Find the dominant habitat type at your location and troll and graph to find fish. Lures bouncing across a reef will catch bonus smallmouth bass, walleye, and catfish while targeting stripers.
Walleye will typically be on sharp breaking, rough rock, points shaded by a mudline. Mudlines are caused by wind blowing across a point and washing clay and soil into the water. Mud floats on the surface shading attack cover and providing a prime location for a game fish ambush. Mudlines are perhaps the prime habitat type to seek this week. Fishing success ebbs mid day and resumes in the afternoon using the same strategy.
If striper boils are for you then search the San Juan early and late. Stripers will boil in many locations but the best surface action is found in the channel a mile downstream from Cha to the upstream end of Neskahi Bay. Stripers are slurping larval shad with only their mouth and head out of the water. Stripers that appear small while feeding turn out to be 3 pound fish when hooked. They take full size spooks, rattletraps and spoons even though shad are less than inch. Cast ahead and beyond a feeding cohort and rip the lure through the feeding fish. Lures cast behind a feeding fish will be ignored. They only bite when actively breaking the surface. When the dive, no more fish are caught. Try to set up well in front of an advancing boil and let them feed into casting range. Then hold the cast till they break the surface once more.
If you prefer anchovies then drop a small piece of bait where a school of stripers is graphed. Bait has enticed stripers recently near the mouth of Lone Rock Canyon and on the cliff walls south of Halls Crossing, and under the Hite Dock tied to the breakwater at Bullfrog Marina.
Stripers 12-15 inches long are very common. Expect to find many schools each day. Please keep all the little stripers caught to prolong the life of many shad that would be eaten by the aggressive little fish.
LAKE POWELL FISH REPORT
JUNE 3, 2004
JUNE 3, 2004
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3587
Water Temperature: 68-72 F
Launching access is superb now with all extended ramps under water. Wahweap ramps including Stateline, Main Ramp and Antelope Point, plus Bullfrog and Halls Crossing are all in operation. The only ramp not open is the new Bullfrog ramp for larger vessels. Boating access is the best it has been for a long time. Antelope Point ramp offers the shortest ride in the narrow channel when going uplake from the south end and makes it a much shorter and therefore more enjoyable trip.
Stripers are very catchable but the pattern is quite specific. This is a lakewide pattern. Many scattered schools of stripers are found roaming the main channel and main canyon. They go deep to rest but come up to feed on shad and crayfish on adjacent rocky points and ledges. Each morning and evening the band of fish stage on certain feeding points near deep water. Since the exact point holding the vagabond school is unknown; and it may be a different point each time, it is necessary to try all possible points. That is not as hard as it seems. Troll a shad imitating bait (shad rap, thunderstick, rattletrap, wally diver) across a main point protruding into the channel. Start 100 yards from the point and troll 100 yards past the point. If no fish hit then move to the next point. DO NOT TROLL LONG DISTANCES BETWEEN POINTS. Adult stripers will be found ON THE POINT. When a striper hits make repeated passes back and forth across the productive point until the fish quit biting. By selecting points in this manner fishing time is maximized. Points can be revisited after they rest for an hour. More fish can be caught each time a point is revisited. Soon a series of points holding fish that day is known and a trolling circuit allows the catch total to accumulate to large numbers by the end of the day.
Troll between 3 and 3.5 mph. Let out at least 100 feet of line. Use planer boards to get the bait away from the prop wash and allow a third line to be trolled behind the boat. When a fish is hooked other anglers should reel their baits past hungry schoolmates. Double and triple catches are common as the school reacts to one fish biting by looking for something to eat. Have a rod ready with a rattletrap or spoon to cast to fish following the troll-hooked striper.
Night fishing is hot right now at Bullfrog. Just fish from the relocated Hite marina dock tied to the Bullfrog breakwater. Put a light in the water. Use a small crappie jig tipped with a tiny piece of anchovy to catch all of the 12-14 inch stripers you can clean. No better eating fish swims in the lake. Harvesting these little stripers will help allocate limited shad supplies to more game fish. Keep all the little stripers to prolong shad life and make BOIL fishing better this fall. Oh Yes! Bigger stripers hit too, but the little ones keep you awake all night long.
Bass are moving to summer patterns meaning that rocky points, reefs and shoals are getting better. Fish plastic tubes and grubs on the deep breaking edge where visible yellow rock blurs into deep blue water. Top water baits are good for the first and last hours of daylight.
Walleye are caught by striper trollers and by bass casters. Using a worm as a trailer on the terminal bait will increase walleye catch rate. Don't be surprised to catch any aggressive bass, striper, sunfish or catfish on worms. Expect walleye catch rate to be higher in the lake upstream from Bullfrog than downstream.