| July 30, 2008 By Wayne Gustaveson Lake Elevation: 3633 Water Temp: 80-85 F |
| Tale of Two Lakes Fishing in main Lake Powell is as tough as it gets right now. It is mid summer with surface water temperature at its peak. The lake has stabilized at 3633 which is maximum elevation for the year. Fish hiding cover is more numerous than it has been in over 5 years. The easy answer is fisherman just don't have what it takes this week to catch fish in the trees. Fish can't be bothered to respond to lures with tiny shad and sunfish forage so plentiful in their front room. 
The only way to catch a bass now is to put on a heavy plastic grub (one ounce lead head) and drag that along the bottom contour at 20-35 feet. Bass are sulking in the depths waiting for cooling and shad to grow larger. It is tedious fishing but a few quality bass will be taken with this method while other means will be unproductive. Stripers have all but quit boiling. There is an occasional swirl where a single striper chases two tiny shad. By the time the swirl is recognized the striper is gone. There is little fishing success and not much more fishing pressure. This is tough but I have to categorize fishing success at Lake Powell. I have never had to classify fishing as poor before except in the deadest of winter. So here goes: Fishing at Lake Powell is Red Hot! How can I say that? The lake is so darn big that there is always a place that excels. The spot this time is the inflow area around Hite and in the upper San Juan. Stripers are boiling mid day from Hite to the Horn. It is possible to catch 50-100 fish per day - all on topwater lures. That is awesome fishing in anyone's book. Average size is 15 inches and fish are strong and acrobatic. In the upper San Juan there are occasional decent sized striper boils. Bass fishing is super - again for the smaller fish. Bait fish are prevalent in the coves and bass are working them over. Plastic grubs, senkos, surface lures and crankbaits are all being readily accepted. Fish the Great Bend area and above for the best action. Stripers will provide infrequent big boils but the abundance of shad limits number of boils. Stripers that can catch shad individually do not have to work together as a group to eat. Therefore, boils do not always occur in high forage situations. So fishing is Hot - if in the right spot! |
| July 23, 2008 By Wayne Gustaveson Lake Elevation: 3633 Water Temp: 80-85 F |
Lake Powell has topped out at 3633. It was great run while filling 45 feet and we are sorry to see it stop, BUT there are some good things that come with stability and falling water levels. When the lake declines a foot, camping and beach use will be so much better. It will be all right to go barefoot again without the threat of tumbleweed stickers. Beaches will feature much more sand for playing and parking boats. Fishing will improve for bass that have found a home in flooded green brush. Stability will allow a definitive pattern to develop and make anglers more successful when fishing around brush. It will help that shad have grown larger and are hiding in that brush alongside sunfish. Fishing with surface lures will be the rule instead of the exception. Shad imitating baits of all kinds will work each morning and evening. Smallmouth fishing around rocks, points and ledges will continue to be good. It will be easier to define spots where bass may be holding. Once a good spot is found it will be possible to return there and find the same fish holding there for a week or two. In the past, fishing spots were gone within a day when the lake rose over a foot. Bass fishing is going to be very good during August and September. There is no waiting for great striper fishing. Stability has allowed the water to clear up in the northern lake. Stripers have found shad and boils have commenced in grand fashion. From Bullfrog upstream and in the San Juan expect to find boils every morning and evening, weather permitting. Wind will often blow the boils away but they return in larger magnitude as soon as the wind stops. These are real boils now in the northern lake. That means shad are larger and stripers have to work harder to capture their prey. School behavior is more aggressive. Casting precision is not quite as important. Long casts are still required. A full size surface lure landing in the middle of the melee will no longer spook the entire school. A big lure will be readily accepted and fought over if the first fish misses. Schools will not be quite as boat shy but it will still require knowing how close the boat can be to feeding fish without putting them down. 
A recent report of trolling with shad raps and hot-n-tots in the back of Navajo Canyon produced walleye, bass and crappie. The depth was 20 feet and water was murky. It seems like a spring time pattern may be paying off in the back of the canyons. It may be worth a try. |
| July 16, 2008 By Wayne Gustaveson Lake Elevation: 3633 Water Temp: 79-85 F |
Lake Powell is still rising, but just barely. It will peak very shortly and then start a slow decline. Stabilization will improve bass fishing success. Striped bass fishing success is slowing with full moon lurking this week. Full moon impact will vary by species of fish and location. Mitch Blankard, 8 years old, with 4.8 pound striper near buoy number 3, Striped bass are still boiling. Boil personality has changed somewhat in the southern lake. Stripers are feeding in smaller bunches. It seems that 5-6 stripers are chasing smaller pods of larval shad. The result is quick little blow ups are up and gone just as fast. That makes catching very tough unless the school will surface for the second or third time in casting range. It still takes a precise cast, usually at long distance, to hit the sweet spot and get a hookup. Clear surface lures, rattletraps and white swim baits are all working if the cast is perfectly placed just beyond a newly surfacing striper convoy. A lure just behind the lead fish will be ignored. It may be that shad numbers are declining which limits the amount of time stripers are on top, or it could be full moon effect limiting feeding. When striper schools are larger than 25 fish they seem to stay up longer and are more aggressive, making them more catchable. Boils in the northern lake are completely different. Shad schools are just becoming visible to stripers in the chocolate-brown water of the Colorado River inflow. Shad schools are large. When shad and stripers get together the result is sustained surface action from 1-2 pound stripers. Large catches of small stripers are now common. The muddy water clears up between Scorup Canyon and Good Hope Bay. Red Canyon has consistent boils making it well worth the trip from either the primitive launch at Hite or from Bullfrog/Halls. Fishing near Good Hope or in the San Juan Arm is the best bet during the full moon phase. Boats launching at Hite and Halls are required to be clean, drained and dry to prevent movement of invasive mussels into Lake Powell. UDWR Techs are monitoring both ramps and requiring compliance with NPS invasive mussel certification. Smallmouth bass fishing is much improved this week with small bass now easy to catch along the shallow rocky shoreline. Larger bass are holding at 20-30 feet. Fish grubs and drop shot rigged lures along the 25 foot contour for best success for quality size bass. Catfish may provide the most consistent catching this week. Hook some table scraps on a number 4 bait hook. Add a small weight. Cast to the sandy beach behind camp and invite a catfish to join you for dinner. |
| July 9, 2008 By Wayne Gustaveson Lake Elevation: 3633 Water Temp: 78-83 F |
Robert McAden of Greenehaven AZ took his son Jason and small grandson Michael Ryan, fishing in Navajo Canyon at one of the points that has been consistently good for catching a boatload of 2-pound stripers. They cruised to the point, cut up and distributed anchovy chum and immediately started catching small stripers. Robert established a routine where he would hook the fish and let Michael reel it in. That worked well until the fifth fish which headed straight for the bottom. Michael was in danger of being pulled overboard by the strong fish on 14-pound test line, so Robert took control. The battle lasted 15 minutes before the big fish swirled into the net which both Robert and Jason wrestled into the boat. While big stripers have been caught before this is the first caught on bait - in the middle of the day - when the water surface layer was over 75 degrees. It just goes to show that a big fish can be caught any time, anywhere on Lake Powell. On the other hand, anyone can catch 36 pounds of stripers by repeatedly catching 2-pound fish off the surface. The entire lake is boiling each morning and evening in response to the large shad crop that has been produced this year. Shad are still small, and spread widely across the surface, making them very easy targets for stripers. Stripers surface, feed quickly (2 minutes), go down to regroup and then pop up again. The trick is to see the school, position the boat while fish are down and be in casting range when the school resurfaces. The first cast to fish coming up is the one that hooks up. Casting to fish leaving the surface is not productive. It sounds easy but proves to be a bit tricky as the school can just as easily change direction and resurface 100 yards away from the projected spot. Since they come up time after time that provides ample opportunity to finally get the boat in the right place. Casting is the key. Stripers feed on the surface at fast idle speed. It takes a powerful electric motor to keep up. Usually the big motor is needed to stay in casting range. A heavy lure on a good rod can be cast 30-40 yards. It takes every bit of that distance to properly place the lure over and beyond the lead fish in the school. If properly placed, the lure will be accepted. If it falls short the entire school may sound and run away. Clear surface lures provide the bulk needed for a long cast, but offer a small visible profile to surfacing stripers. Rattletraps of many varieties are perfect for casting over the feeding school and then dragging back through the main group for a quick hookup. Walleye Assassin plastic baits on heavy lead heads are working well up north. The trick for all of these baits is to SLOW DOWN. Shad are small with limited swimming ability. Stripers are not chasing fast moving fish. A steady retrieve at half the speed dictated by the adrenaline packed situation is required for success. Boils will get bigger and better with age. Shad are growing each day. When shad are big enough to swim they are able to beat a striper in a race. Stripes must work harder and strike more aggressively to catch bigger, quicker shad. That makes it mush easier to locate boils, approach feeding schools, and catch fish. This will be a great summer for striper fishing. Those not interested in race track fishing can find more sedate entertainment with bass and catfish. Bass are hiding in the copious brush shelters recently submerged. These fish are hard to catch in water that is still rising and covering more green brush. A fishing pattern that works in these conditions is to fish the shade of steep walls. Toss a plastic grub against the wall and let it fall to a ledge 15-25 feet deep. Smallmouth bass are being regularly caught on walls and drop offs on outside points leading into the main channels and bays. Coves and backs of canyons will provide better results when lake conditions change. |
| July 2, 2008 By Wayne Gustaveson Lake Elevation: 3631 Water Temp: 76-80 F |
Stripers are still slurping in little shad with a vengeance. It is likely that slurping stripers will be seen in every clear water canyon and channel this week. Catching them may be more difficult than locating them. Stripers feed lazily when little shad are abundant and slow moving. A group of 10 or more stripers pop to the surface and gorge on tiny shad. An approaching boat causes the feeding school to turn in a different direction or to sound only to resurface a safe distance away. Shad are abundant and wide spread so stripers can feed in any direction. The trick is to get close enough to cast into slurping stripers without putting the fish down. Ciara Padrnos - Prescott, AZ Small spoons may be the most effective presentation but don't be afraid to try a surface lure. The key to both techniques is to work the lures gently. Shad are not swimming much so a fast moving, erratic presentation is not normal to their feeding image. Reel the topwater lure at a slow to medium speed with only limited sideways jerks. Do the same with spoons. Work it just fast enough to keep it in the feeding zone. The real secret is to make long casts with small lures. That takes a good rod and reel with quality matching line. Present the lure just beyond the leading fish or just past the entire school. Splashing into the middle of the slurping fish seldom allows success. It will be much better when shad grow a bit larger and the margin for boating and casting error will increase by one order of magnitude. Slurps are now common from dawn until 10 AM. After that fishing is tough until late afternoon. During the heat of the day is a good time to play in the water. Fish early and late for maximum success. Bait fishing is much better in the afternoon when stripers have completed the morning shad hunt and are in deep water planning their next assault. Bass fishing is still tough and will remain so until the lake starts to drop. Bass love the fresh green habitat now abundant in so many different lake locations. It will take lake stabilization and or decline until bass are able to be caught in a stable summer pattern. Right now they are feeding early in the morning near the stripers slurps but from the comfort of their newly discovered green brush habitat. This may be the most difficult warm water time to catch bass. That will soon change as the lake stabilizes. Walleye are the bonus fish now and can be caught early and late on the fast falling points that lead into the main channel. Fish shady pockets in the morning and under mudlines on breezy afternoons all along the main channel edge for feisty walleye. Catfish are hot now every evening near your camp. Try scraps from dinner right behind the boat for quick success. My favorite catfish recipe is blackened fillets with Cajun spices. Mmmmm |