Lake Powell Fish Report – June 5, 2019
Lake Elevation: 3586.42
Water temperature: 68-75 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson http://www.wayneswords.com or Wayneswords.net
The lake is coming up fast. Castle Rock Cut now has over 6 feet of depth allowing all vessels to pass through. The Antelope Point launch ramp will open in a week or less. For those camping on the shoreline, be aware that the lake is coming up 6-inches or more per day. Make sure your boat is retied every morning. The rising water is also confusing some of the fish.
Stripers and shad are always in close proximity. Shad have been absent most of the winter and spring but are now reproducing in big numbers. Our shad sampling shows good reproduction results over the length of the lake. There are tons of tiny shad in the backs of the canyons. That means stripers are beginning to move from the main channel walls to the backs of canyons. This will take a few weeks for stripers to find shad and make the right moves.
Slurping stripers are now common in the northern lake. The southern lake is slightly behind, but slurps are starting in the backs of most major canyons. This has caused some movement, as active stripers will now be searching for shad. Stripers are scattered in the backs of canyons but can be seen surfacing very early in the morning. Catching topwater stripers is a good start for any fishing trip.
Rising lake levels have displaced largemouth and smallmouth bass. Largemouth bass want dense cover so newly submerged tumbleweeds are very welcome shelters. Look for largemouth in new brushy cover in the backs of canyons. Smallmouth bass like rock structure so they are holding in familiar rock structure as the lake continues to rise. Crayfish are not moving shallow as fast as the lake is rising so smallmouth bass are now deeper than expected. Smallmouth are susceptible to the normal plastic baits, as their activity level has increased with the warming water temperature. They will hit in shallow water near rocky habitat. We also found them in open water while trolling along rocky shorelines.
Walleye are scattered but more aggressive as the water temperature has increased. We did not target walleye but were able to catch them while trolling and casting. My biggest surprise came after catching a striper while trolling. While playing that fish, I saw other fish on the graph following the striper. When that happens, the troll-caught first fish is quickly tossed in the cooler and a spoon deployed to catch more stripers. My spoon was inhaled by a walleye on the first bounce, on the bottom in 25 feet of water. The best walleye baits are bottom bouncers, Ned rigs and bass jigs with a piece of night crawler attached. Walleye will be vulnerable to daytime anglers for a few more weeks. After that, they will revert to a nighttime shad and crayfish diet.
Our main target this week was Bluegill and Green Sunfish. A piece of worm hooked to a tiny ice jig was a successful technique once the proper habitat was located. With rapidly rising water, shallow rocky habitat can be covered and lose its appeal. We looked for very tall rockslides that offered constant rocky habitat as the water level quickly rises. These tall, but narrow, rockslides worked well for sunfish and we found smallmouth bass happy to bite a worm.
The fishing trip produced a mixed bag of species caught while trolling, casting, spooning and dropping worms in shallow water. There are many options for your fishing enjoyment.
Lake Elevation: 3586.42
Water temperature: 68-75 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson http://www.wayneswords.com or Wayneswords.net
The lake is coming up fast. Castle Rock Cut now has over 6 feet of depth allowing all vessels to pass through. The Antelope Point launch ramp will open in a week or less. For those camping on the shoreline, be aware that the lake is coming up 6-inches or more per day. Make sure your boat is retied every morning. The rising water is also confusing some of the fish.
Stripers and shad are always in close proximity. Shad have been absent most of the winter and spring but are now reproducing in big numbers. Our shad sampling shows good reproduction results over the length of the lake. There are tons of tiny shad in the backs of the canyons. That means stripers are beginning to move from the main channel walls to the backs of canyons. This will take a few weeks for stripers to find shad and make the right moves.
Slurping stripers are now common in the northern lake. The southern lake is slightly behind, but slurps are starting in the backs of most major canyons. This has caused some movement, as active stripers will now be searching for shad. Stripers are scattered in the backs of canyons but can be seen surfacing very early in the morning. Catching topwater stripers is a good start for any fishing trip.
Rising lake levels have displaced largemouth and smallmouth bass. Largemouth bass want dense cover so newly submerged tumbleweeds are very welcome shelters. Look for largemouth in new brushy cover in the backs of canyons. Smallmouth bass like rock structure so they are holding in familiar rock structure as the lake continues to rise. Crayfish are not moving shallow as fast as the lake is rising so smallmouth bass are now deeper than expected. Smallmouth are susceptible to the normal plastic baits, as their activity level has increased with the warming water temperature. They will hit in shallow water near rocky habitat. We also found them in open water while trolling along rocky shorelines.
Walleye are scattered but more aggressive as the water temperature has increased. We did not target walleye but were able to catch them while trolling and casting. My biggest surprise came after catching a striper while trolling. While playing that fish, I saw other fish on the graph following the striper. When that happens, the troll-caught first fish is quickly tossed in the cooler and a spoon deployed to catch more stripers. My spoon was inhaled by a walleye on the first bounce, on the bottom in 25 feet of water. The best walleye baits are bottom bouncers, Ned rigs and bass jigs with a piece of night crawler attached. Walleye will be vulnerable to daytime anglers for a few more weeks. After that, they will revert to a nighttime shad and crayfish diet.
Our main target this week was Bluegill and Green Sunfish. A piece of worm hooked to a tiny ice jig was a successful technique once the proper habitat was located. With rapidly rising water, shallow rocky habitat can be covered and lose its appeal. We looked for very tall rockslides that offered constant rocky habitat as the water level quickly rises. These tall, but narrow, rockslides worked well for sunfish and we found smallmouth bass happy to bite a worm.
The fishing trip produced a mixed bag of species caught while trolling, casting, spooning and dropping worms in shallow water. There are many options for your fishing enjoyment.