Lake Powell Fish Report – June 19, 2019
Lake Elevation: 3600
Water temperature: 71-75 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson http://www.wayneswords.com or Wayneswords.net
Lake Powell rose an amazing 10 feet since the last fish report. That is the largest one week rise I can remember since the turn of the century in 2000. Inflow still exceeds 100,000 acre feet each day so the lake will continue to rise as much as a foot per day. Make sure to check mooring lines often when boat camping on the lake. All of the main launch ramps (Castle Rock Cut, Antelope Public launch ramp, Bullfrog Main, Halls Crossing) are open due to the rising water level.
The best fishing occurs in the early morning despite the full moon. Get out early to find bass and stripers. After 9-10 AM the lake is busy with boaters, skiers and wake boats. Go fishing early to find striper slurps and surface feeding bass. Use topwater lures to catch a variety of fish. Rico poppers, Ima Skimmers, Buzz baits, whopper ploppers, Hula poppers and many other surface lures will work well.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass will hit topwater. Largemouth will be in recently flooded coves that have submerged tumbleweeds and other brushy cover. Smallmouth are still lost and wandering as their favorite rock piles change on a daily basis. Both bass species will hit topwater lures at first light in the morning. Later in the day, break out the Ned Rigs, green plastic grubs and fish deeper water bouncing the rig on the bottom at 15-20 feet.
Working in the back of the brushy canyon will add more largemouth, while fishing along a cliff wall with a ledge at 15-20 feet will add more smallmouth bass to the livewell. Do not be surprised when a walleye hits one of the deeper rigs. They are still active and available from 15 to 50 feet in the low light periods of morning or evening.
Slurping stripers continue to hit the surface early in the morning before the wind comes up and the boat wakes start. The best slurp reports are coming from Bullfrog down to the Escalante. Do not be surprised to see a slurp anywhere on the lake. In the Southern lake look for slurps at the mouth of Warm Creek, Navajo Canyon, and Rock Creek to Rainbow Bridge. The San Juan and Escalante have many slurps as well. A very small lure placed in front of a group of slurping fish will consistently produce results.
One angler reported great success using a mini Steel Shad. The color of the Steel Shad did not make much difference but the size, flash, and shallow running seemed to trigger the strike. It seems like a good shallow running slurp lure. As shad grow bigger, expect the surface lure bite to improve as well.
The last species of fish to spawn in Lake Powell this spring is the channel catfish. Spawning temperature is between 70 and 84 degrees. They will be moving into rocky crevices where the male catfish will guard the eggs for at least a week before hatching. Males will be hard to catch but larger female catfish will still be active at night and can be caught from shore or off the back of a houseboat using anchovies, crayfish, hot dogs or night crawlers.
Randy Austin - Largemouth Bass
Fishing is still great at Lake Powell!
Lake Elevation: 3600
Water temperature: 71-75 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson http://www.wayneswords.com or Wayneswords.net
Lake Powell rose an amazing 10 feet since the last fish report. That is the largest one week rise I can remember since the turn of the century in 2000. Inflow still exceeds 100,000 acre feet each day so the lake will continue to rise as much as a foot per day. Make sure to check mooring lines often when boat camping on the lake. All of the main launch ramps (Castle Rock Cut, Antelope Public launch ramp, Bullfrog Main, Halls Crossing) are open due to the rising water level.
The best fishing occurs in the early morning despite the full moon. Get out early to find bass and stripers. After 9-10 AM the lake is busy with boaters, skiers and wake boats. Go fishing early to find striper slurps and surface feeding bass. Use topwater lures to catch a variety of fish. Rico poppers, Ima Skimmers, Buzz baits, whopper ploppers, Hula poppers and many other surface lures will work well.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass will hit topwater. Largemouth will be in recently flooded coves that have submerged tumbleweeds and other brushy cover. Smallmouth are still lost and wandering as their favorite rock piles change on a daily basis. Both bass species will hit topwater lures at first light in the morning. Later in the day, break out the Ned Rigs, green plastic grubs and fish deeper water bouncing the rig on the bottom at 15-20 feet.
Working in the back of the brushy canyon will add more largemouth, while fishing along a cliff wall with a ledge at 15-20 feet will add more smallmouth bass to the livewell. Do not be surprised when a walleye hits one of the deeper rigs. They are still active and available from 15 to 50 feet in the low light periods of morning or evening.
Slurping stripers continue to hit the surface early in the morning before the wind comes up and the boat wakes start. The best slurp reports are coming from Bullfrog down to the Escalante. Do not be surprised to see a slurp anywhere on the lake. In the Southern lake look for slurps at the mouth of Warm Creek, Navajo Canyon, and Rock Creek to Rainbow Bridge. The San Juan and Escalante have many slurps as well. A very small lure placed in front of a group of slurping fish will consistently produce results.
One angler reported great success using a mini Steel Shad. The color of the Steel Shad did not make much difference but the size, flash, and shallow running seemed to trigger the strike. It seems like a good shallow running slurp lure. As shad grow bigger, expect the surface lure bite to improve as well.
The last species of fish to spawn in Lake Powell this spring is the channel catfish. Spawning temperature is between 70 and 84 degrees. They will be moving into rocky crevices where the male catfish will guard the eggs for at least a week before hatching. Males will be hard to catch but larger female catfish will still be active at night and can be caught from shore or off the back of a houseboat using anchovies, crayfish, hot dogs or night crawlers.
Randy Austin - Largemouth Bass
Fishing is still great at Lake Powell!