Lake Powell Fishing Report
June 18, 2014
Lake Elevation: 3604.33
Water Temperature 67-74 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson
www.wayneswords.com
28.75 pound striper netted at Warm Creek wall by Adam Jones and Deborah Williams
See News Corner for full report.
There are so many changes occurring in the fishery right now that it is really hard to keep up.The lake came up another 5 feet this week, but the big news is that green brush is now under water. That gives bass, crappie, sunfish and shad a place to hide. Most fish are on the move trying to stake their claims while the land rush is on. Wind has been relentless the past week making it hard to get out and fish. It looks like that will change today with calmer weather in the forecast. Strong winds really mixed the water which dropped the water temperature back to 67F. With all this happening it is no wonder it is hard to find a fishing pattern that consistently works right now.
There are two choices when fishing for stripers. Surface feeding occurs morning and evening and sometimes mid day. Watch for a surface disturbance and then cast a shallow running crankbait or topwater lure over and beyond the slurping fish. With windy mornings it has been hard to find many slurps but there are a few. I chased some slurpers today and caught one striper and a dozen little smallmouth bass on a ¼ ounce Kastmaster. Yes the bass were slurping too and they faked me out a number of times.
The second option is bait and its much more dependable. Use anchovies along the steep walls near areas where slurping action is seen. It seems that schooling stripers will move toward chum and start to feed within 15-20 minutes. When the school lights up many stripers can be caught in short order. It is important to continue to chum or the school will lose interest and move on.
Small, smallmouth bass are the next most common fish to catch. The little dudes hit trolled lures while fishing for stripers. They hit spoons while slurping on the surface. They hit plastic bait while fishing for big bass. The average size of these fish is only a half pound. But that is encouraging as there are lots of little fish to use the flooded brush and grow larger for next year.
Walleye are still hitting well but the new brush that just went under water makes it harder to find them consistently now. It will take another week or two for all these fish to move to new locations and then let us know what they want from anglers.
Fishing in the southern lake is not nearly as good as that found at midlake. There is muddy water uplake from Bullfrog. Best fishing is from Rincon to the mouth of the San Juan. If fishing is the main purpose for the trip then it would be wise to head to the Escalante or San Juan and/or the main channel in between to increase the chance of fishing success. Slurps are more common, longer lasting, and fish aggression is much better midlake.
Some good news is that shad are getting bigger which will lead to real boils occurring starting in July.
June 18, 2014
Lake Elevation: 3604.33
Water Temperature 67-74 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson
Wayne's Words
Home to the Lake Powell fishing, boating, and outdoor recreation community.
See News Corner for full report.
There are so many changes occurring in the fishery right now that it is really hard to keep up.The lake came up another 5 feet this week, but the big news is that green brush is now under water. That gives bass, crappie, sunfish and shad a place to hide. Most fish are on the move trying to stake their claims while the land rush is on. Wind has been relentless the past week making it hard to get out and fish. It looks like that will change today with calmer weather in the forecast. Strong winds really mixed the water which dropped the water temperature back to 67F. With all this happening it is no wonder it is hard to find a fishing pattern that consistently works right now.
There are two choices when fishing for stripers. Surface feeding occurs morning and evening and sometimes mid day. Watch for a surface disturbance and then cast a shallow running crankbait or topwater lure over and beyond the slurping fish. With windy mornings it has been hard to find many slurps but there are a few. I chased some slurpers today and caught one striper and a dozen little smallmouth bass on a ¼ ounce Kastmaster. Yes the bass were slurping too and they faked me out a number of times.
The second option is bait and its much more dependable. Use anchovies along the steep walls near areas where slurping action is seen. It seems that schooling stripers will move toward chum and start to feed within 15-20 minutes. When the school lights up many stripers can be caught in short order. It is important to continue to chum or the school will lose interest and move on.
Small, smallmouth bass are the next most common fish to catch. The little dudes hit trolled lures while fishing for stripers. They hit spoons while slurping on the surface. They hit plastic bait while fishing for big bass. The average size of these fish is only a half pound. But that is encouraging as there are lots of little fish to use the flooded brush and grow larger for next year.
Fishing in the southern lake is not nearly as good as that found at midlake. There is muddy water uplake from Bullfrog. Best fishing is from Rincon to the mouth of the San Juan. If fishing is the main purpose for the trip then it would be wise to head to the Escalante or San Juan and/or the main channel in between to increase the chance of fishing success. Slurps are more common, longer lasting, and fish aggression is much better midlake.
Some good news is that shad are getting bigger which will lead to real boils occurring starting in July.