russellweight
Active Member
Family fishing trip (my Dad, my Wife, our 12 year old Son and 10 year old Daughter). Due to the fact we camped on our boats and being a family trip, we weren’t able to do any early morning fishing and we took lots of breaks during the day, but everyone caught lots of fish!
Friday 5/25/18 – Got on the water around 4:00pm and started fishing around 4:30 down by Gunsight. It was rather windy, so we only stayed down there for a while (caught around 20 on tube jigs and ned rig). Then went up lake just north of West Canyon (Dove Canyon area I think) to finish out the evening. The bite was good in both places and most fish were good size. SM, LM, Stripers and Bluegill - 50 Fish for the first afternoon / evening.
Saturday 5/26/18 – 9:00am - 10:30 (Dove Canyon Area) Fished for just over an hour after making breakfast and caught about 20. Bite was a little slower than the evening before and fish were smaller. We then decided to go explore (site see) a bit of West Canyon before heading up lake to Dangling Rope and on to the San Juan (Neskahi Bay). We had a great trip up there last Labor Day weekend, so we decided to try it again this trip. It was exactly what we needed! Much less lake traffic, and awesome fishing! Arrived in Neskahi Bay area around 1:00pm and fished the early afternoon until the wind caused us to take shelter around 3:00pm. Got our second boat all tied up and had some dinner. Then we were able to get back out around 6:30 and fished until dark. Caught 92 for the day. Mostly SM & LM with a few of the other Lake Powell assortment mixed in including a Crappie, Walleye, Catfish and even a Carp on a tube jig!
Sunday 5/27/18 – Started fishing around 9:30am - 12ish: Weather was calm in the morning with afternoon winds! Morning top water bite was decent for the first hour even with full sun at 10:00am. Lots of good sized fish! When the bite slowed a bit, my wife using the Ned rig (New Money color & 1/6oz hook) caught 3 to 1 at times over the rest of us! Wind came back around noon so we went in for lunch. We were back out on the water around 1:00 - 3:00. Very windy afternoon as were the days before. However the windblown points only seemed to turn on the fishing, if you could manage to hold the boat on a point and keep tight lines! I preferred the tube jig here, as it seldom got hung up and was able to keep tight lines in the wind – working it with just a steady 4 reels, pause, 4 reels pause and repeat. Once you felt tension on the other end, you set the hook, and a fish was on! After we had enough of the wind for a while, we headed in for a steak dinner! Mmmm!!! And finally we were back on the water around 5:30pm – Dark. The evening top water bite was AWESOME even in the wind! Lots of doubles on our Whopper Ploppers, and there is just something about watching your lure being tossed around by those fish!
Finally the top water bite ended as the sun went down, so we headed in for the day. Again we caught the entire Lake Powell assortment with a total of 183 fish for the day!
Monday 5/28/18 (Memorial Day) – We started fishing around 9:00am - 12ish: Again a calm morning. Great top water bite in the morning, and stayed good most of the day as it was mostly overcast. Wind came up around 11:30, so we went back in for lunch. Then back out around 1:00 – 3:00pm. As before fishing on windy outside points was awesome as long as you could keep tight lines, and hold the boat on them long enough to catch a few. Again, every fish in the Powell assortment including a huge walleye in the midafternoon wind. This was hands down our best day of fishing and I wish we could have kept fishing the rest of the afternoon, but we had to head in from all of the fun to head home for the week. 190 fish by 3:00pm for the day!!!
Trip total of 515 fish!!! About 2/3 were good sized and ALL fought like mad!
Top Lure = Ned Rig (New Money Green): Caught the entire Lake Powell Grand Slam!
Pros: Had more hits than anything when the bite slowed. Many times 3 to 1. We worked it similar to a drop shot. Twitching it then followed by a slow pull. It also made a good kid pole lure, due to the small size and weight, and the fish hooked themselves without having to set the hook if you missed the initial bite.
Cons: The fish liked to swallow it whole! This of course caused longer times to get back in the water and was a pain to unhook! I need to find a jig head with a larger wider hook that still has the wire to hold up the TRD! Another Con was due to the lighter tackle required to throw it, many fish were missed, or lost in the fight. Also it got hung up much more due to running it slower.
2nd Best Lure = Bass Pro Double Dip Tube Jig – Green with gold flakes. (My personal preference!): Also caught the entire Lake Powell Grand Slam!
Pros: Held its own most of the time due to the fact I could easily unhook and be back in the water in half the time of the Ned rig. Much better in the wind! The lure holds up to a LOT of fish before having to replace the plastic. Can be thrown on a regular bait casting rod or on a lite spinning rod setup.
Cons: You have to retie the entire lure to change out the plastic. Not a big deal though, because by the time your plastic needed to be replaced you usually needed to retie anyhow due to nicks in your line above the hook.
3rd Best Lure = The Whopper Plopper!!! (I love this top water lure!) Caught SM, LM, Strippers and Bluegill!
Pros: Awesome top water lure!!! There is just something about watching fish come up and nail a top water lure!!! Personally we just work this lure with a nice strait slow retrieve similar to using a spinnerbait. It works well in the wind, and you can run it right through a bunch of brush without getting hung up! And the fish LOVE IT!
Cons: It only works when there is a top water bite and you won’t catch the entire Lake Powell Grand Slam on this lure. Most import Con: Treble (trouble) Hooks!!! I swear when you catch a fish with this lure it just ticks them off!!! They toss this thing around everywhere and they are MUCH more aggressive while fighting these than a jig! As such they also seem to fight out of the water more while trying to unhook them! This combined with treble (Trouble) hooks is a bad combo! Even with a good set of pliers these hooks like to find your hands and fingers!
All in all it was an AWESOME trip, and we can’t wait to get back up to Powell!
Thanks for all you do Wayne!
Russell Weight
Friday 5/25/18 – Got on the water around 4:00pm and started fishing around 4:30 down by Gunsight. It was rather windy, so we only stayed down there for a while (caught around 20 on tube jigs and ned rig). Then went up lake just north of West Canyon (Dove Canyon area I think) to finish out the evening. The bite was good in both places and most fish were good size. SM, LM, Stripers and Bluegill - 50 Fish for the first afternoon / evening.
Saturday 5/26/18 – 9:00am - 10:30 (Dove Canyon Area) Fished for just over an hour after making breakfast and caught about 20. Bite was a little slower than the evening before and fish were smaller. We then decided to go explore (site see) a bit of West Canyon before heading up lake to Dangling Rope and on to the San Juan (Neskahi Bay). We had a great trip up there last Labor Day weekend, so we decided to try it again this trip. It was exactly what we needed! Much less lake traffic, and awesome fishing! Arrived in Neskahi Bay area around 1:00pm and fished the early afternoon until the wind caused us to take shelter around 3:00pm. Got our second boat all tied up and had some dinner. Then we were able to get back out around 6:30 and fished until dark. Caught 92 for the day. Mostly SM & LM with a few of the other Lake Powell assortment mixed in including a Crappie, Walleye, Catfish and even a Carp on a tube jig!
Sunday 5/27/18 – Started fishing around 9:30am - 12ish: Weather was calm in the morning with afternoon winds! Morning top water bite was decent for the first hour even with full sun at 10:00am. Lots of good sized fish! When the bite slowed a bit, my wife using the Ned rig (New Money color & 1/6oz hook) caught 3 to 1 at times over the rest of us! Wind came back around noon so we went in for lunch. We were back out on the water around 1:00 - 3:00. Very windy afternoon as were the days before. However the windblown points only seemed to turn on the fishing, if you could manage to hold the boat on a point and keep tight lines! I preferred the tube jig here, as it seldom got hung up and was able to keep tight lines in the wind – working it with just a steady 4 reels, pause, 4 reels pause and repeat. Once you felt tension on the other end, you set the hook, and a fish was on! After we had enough of the wind for a while, we headed in for a steak dinner! Mmmm!!! And finally we were back on the water around 5:30pm – Dark. The evening top water bite was AWESOME even in the wind! Lots of doubles on our Whopper Ploppers, and there is just something about watching your lure being tossed around by those fish!
Finally the top water bite ended as the sun went down, so we headed in for the day. Again we caught the entire Lake Powell assortment with a total of 183 fish for the day!Monday 5/28/18 (Memorial Day) – We started fishing around 9:00am - 12ish: Again a calm morning. Great top water bite in the morning, and stayed good most of the day as it was mostly overcast. Wind came up around 11:30, so we went back in for lunch. Then back out around 1:00 – 3:00pm. As before fishing on windy outside points was awesome as long as you could keep tight lines, and hold the boat on them long enough to catch a few. Again, every fish in the Powell assortment including a huge walleye in the midafternoon wind. This was hands down our best day of fishing and I wish we could have kept fishing the rest of the afternoon, but we had to head in from all of the fun to head home for the week. 190 fish by 3:00pm for the day!!!
Trip total of 515 fish!!! About 2/3 were good sized and ALL fought like mad!
Top Lure = Ned Rig (New Money Green): Caught the entire Lake Powell Grand Slam!
Pros: Had more hits than anything when the bite slowed. Many times 3 to 1. We worked it similar to a drop shot. Twitching it then followed by a slow pull. It also made a good kid pole lure, due to the small size and weight, and the fish hooked themselves without having to set the hook if you missed the initial bite.
Cons: The fish liked to swallow it whole! This of course caused longer times to get back in the water and was a pain to unhook! I need to find a jig head with a larger wider hook that still has the wire to hold up the TRD! Another Con was due to the lighter tackle required to throw it, many fish were missed, or lost in the fight. Also it got hung up much more due to running it slower.
2nd Best Lure = Bass Pro Double Dip Tube Jig – Green with gold flakes. (My personal preference!): Also caught the entire Lake Powell Grand Slam!
Pros: Held its own most of the time due to the fact I could easily unhook and be back in the water in half the time of the Ned rig. Much better in the wind! The lure holds up to a LOT of fish before having to replace the plastic. Can be thrown on a regular bait casting rod or on a lite spinning rod setup.
Cons: You have to retie the entire lure to change out the plastic. Not a big deal though, because by the time your plastic needed to be replaced you usually needed to retie anyhow due to nicks in your line above the hook.
3rd Best Lure = The Whopper Plopper!!! (I love this top water lure!) Caught SM, LM, Strippers and Bluegill!
Pros: Awesome top water lure!!! There is just something about watching fish come up and nail a top water lure!!! Personally we just work this lure with a nice strait slow retrieve similar to using a spinnerbait. It works well in the wind, and you can run it right through a bunch of brush without getting hung up! And the fish LOVE IT!
Cons: It only works when there is a top water bite and you won’t catch the entire Lake Powell Grand Slam on this lure. Most import Con: Treble (trouble) Hooks!!! I swear when you catch a fish with this lure it just ticks them off!!! They toss this thing around everywhere and they are MUCH more aggressive while fighting these than a jig! As such they also seem to fight out of the water more while trying to unhook them! This combined with treble (Trouble) hooks is a bad combo! Even with a good set of pliers these hooks like to find your hands and fingers!
All in all it was an AWESOME trip, and we can’t wait to get back up to Powell!
Thanks for all you do Wayne!
Russell Weight
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