June 30, 2021 - Last Day!

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wayne gustaveson

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June 30, 2021
Lake Elevation 3560
Water Temperature 76-80 F


Lake Powell water level is declining, but not as fast as last week. Inflowing water is only 6000 Acre-Feet less than outflow. The first monsoon rainstorm arrived yesterday afternoon and added a small amount of water to the total lake volume.

We headed out early yesterday morning on the weekly fishing trip and had calm water as we traveled uplake. The first stop was at Buoy 25 to check on the stripers. We trolled and graphed to the back of the cove and then turned around and trolled out. We saw no fish on the graph and got no bites on the lures that worked so well in previous weeks. As we headed uplake, we saw the first slurp near Gregory Butte. My guess is fish that were once in the Buoy 25 Cove, are now in the main channel eating small shad in open water.

We continued uplake to Rock Creek. Small slurping schools popped up in the back of the canyon in shallow water. Slurps were quick. We saw fish and headed toward them only to have them go back down before we were in casting range. If they came back up a second time, we were able to cast and catch an occasional fish. We used many different lures to target the quick slurps. After much experimenting, the best lures were Kastmaster spoons. The spoons were heavy enough to make a long cast over the quick slurps. Reel the spoon in quickly right after it hits the water. If it passes in front of a feeding striper, that fish was likely to hit. We also had success with clear tube jigs on heavy jig heads. Slurp fishing was not fast but we caught enough to make it enjoyable.

Bass fishing was slow in the morning. They did not seem to like our plastic jigs. Occasionally, a small slurp would erupt near shore. Immediately after the slurp went down, bass would perk up and hit our lures. It was obvious that stripers chased small shad against structure where bass were hiding. That got bass started and we caught a few before they went back to sleep in the shady coves.

We headed back down lake to try many of the good fishing spots we drove past quickly in the early morning. There were no more slurps after about 9 AM. Bass fishing improved midday. Small, short canyons with rocky habitat produced some decent bass fishing. Our best spot was a shallow ridge (5 feet deep) in the back of a canyon that was 15-20 feet deep. Each time we passed over the ridge, small bass hit the plastic grubs. I tried a bluegill imitation crank bait. Each time I drug the lure over the shallow ridge and let it bump bottom, a small bass would respond. Finally, the lure enticed a big smallmouth and I landed a 2.75 pound bass. It was our biggest bass of the day.

The trip back downlake was “exciting” as the summer Monsoon erupted with 20 mph winds and dark clouds. Wind made our return trip challenging but we survived. Just another great day fishing on Lake Powell.

This is my last official report as the Project Leader at Lake Powell.
I retired from the Utah DWR as Lake Powell Project Leader on June 30, 2021. Don’t worry! I will keep writing regular fish reports in the future. I may miss an occasional week while out of town, but will write the next report as soon as I return to “My Lake”.

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