October 2012

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Lake Powell Fish Report – October 9, 2012
Lake Elevation: 3619
Water Temperature 69-74 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson
Wayne's Words
Home to the Lake Powell fishing, boating, and outdoor recreation community.
www.wayneswords.com
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tkelly

The full moon has faded and fishing success is responding accordingly. Stripers were absent from anglers creels in the southern lake last week while fish enjoyed bright nights but they have now returned to full daytime activity. Before the bright moon Warm Creek and Navajo Canyon were the most successful southern striper fishing spots. With water temperatures falling, it appears that springtime hotspots are now the go-to sites once more.

We ran uplake to West, Last Chance and Rock Creek to find stripers schooled in deep water guarding the brushy shallows where shad still live. Adult stripers are accustomed to waiting in deep water for the opportunity to get close enough to feed on a shad school. We found some long U-shaped coves with schools guarding at the first drop to 40-60 feet. Spoons dropped to the schools often ignited a quick bite where 5-10 stripers were caught on that many casts. Then schools would move away and we had to find another cove with stripers in attendance to restart the feeding spree.

In Rock Creek we found a school of juvenile stripers holding at 12-25 feet in what is left of the submerged brush. A trolled medium running (8-10 feet) crankbait (Thunderstick Jr) would be quickly eaten by one of the wide spread schooling fish. While that fish was being landed more trailing stripers could be hooked by casting the same lures in all directions around the boat. Each stop resulted in as many as 5 stripers being caught before the boat drifted away from the school. The school could then be readily relocated by trolling up another fish and casting to increase the catch.


hotwheel

Striper fishing success has never slowed in the San Juan Arm where adult schools are guarding the mouths of Piute and Neskahi Canyons and deep water in between. Fishing success at Good Hope Bay and Hite is less certain with few reports coming from there this week. That may be due to the steady striper fishing success in Bullfrog and Halls using the same spooning and trolling techniques described above.

Magic 60-degree temperatures that caused bass and striper fishing to peak in the spring will be duplicated during the next 3 weeks. Look for a fall flurry of fishing success similar to that found in spring. Use your favorite technique at your best springtime spot to have great fishing success. Crappie are being caught in trees now and will continue to provide good catches until mid November.



papajack2




Bass are eager to hit topwater lures morning and evening. Largemouth bass have moved to the base of trees in quickly sloping main creek channel coves at 10-15 feet. Swim baits (D-Shad) allowed to fall slowly near these trees are working well. Plastic baits are working well for smallmouth bass on rocky points at 12-20 feet. Drop shooting is still very effective and chartreuse is one of the best colors to use in a wide variety of baits. October may be the best fall fishing

Lake Powell Fish Report – October 3, 2012
Lake Elevation: 3620
Water Temperature 73-76 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson
Wayne's Words
Home to the Lake Powell fishing, boating, and outdoor recreation community.
www.wayneswords.com
www.wayneswords.com


andrew

Fishing out of Wahweap is hot and cold. Fishing is super hot for the first hour of light in the morning. Toss a small profile surface lure like a Sammy or Sugoi splash toward the shoreline for fast action from smallmouth bass and juvenile striped bass. This morning one of the hottest spots was the Stateline ramp cove. A shad school moved under the courtesy dock at first light and was quickly surrounded by bass and stripers. Lures landing on the outer perimeter of the shad school were quickly engulfed. Shore fishermen casting topwater would be quite successful on the swim beach side of Stateline ramp from as early as possible until 7 AM (MST).





mcquitty1

We left the ramp and went straight to Sand King Cove to catch a few more bass and stripers on the surface. Then we tried the cove on the left hand side of Castle Rock and caught more in the shade of the cliff wall.


But all good things come to end as the sun peeked over the eastern horizon. We were very excited to see surfacing fish as the boat made it through the Castle Rock Cut. Unfortunately we found that the widely scattered splashes were made by a school of big gizzard shad frolicking on the surface. The gizzard frolics can be identified by widely spaced splashes punctuated by a little tail flip as they hit the water. These were the only “fish boils” we saw today. All of our other fish were caught blind casting toward the shore.


We then graphed unsuccessfully to find striper schools in locations they had occupied for the past few weeks. Southern stripers are apparently really scared of full moon Halloween stories in October. Fishing for stripers has slowed to a crawl in the southern lake.


Luckily the uplake stripers are still going strong. Great reports are coming from the San Juan and Good Hope areas. Spooning near Neskahi Canyon (San Juan) resulted in a 100 fish catch of 3-6 pound stripers for one party early this week.


kristin

Bass fishing is very consistent all over the lake – even at Wahweap. Drop-shotting plastic shad shaped worms and senkos, casting plastic grubs and swimbaits and retrieving surface lures are all effective techniques now. Best colors and chartreuse and watermelon. Just find a quick drop off near the brushy shoreline or a rocky reef in open water. Then use your favorite bass lure to catch smallmouth bass and an occasional largemouth. Work the bait slowly with a lot of fall-time in tree lined areas for best results. With water temperature falling and shad moving on shore, bass have moved into shallower water. Look for bass at depths of 10-20 feet.

As the moon fades striper fishing will pick back up in the southern lake. For now fish for bass or head to Rock Creek and places upstream to get stripers.

Lake Powell Fish Report – October 17, 2012
Lake Elevation: 3620
Water Temperature 68-72 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson
billmcb2
Last week fishing success for black bass was as good as it gets in Fall. Striped bass fishing had been negatively affected by full moon at the first of the month but was beginning to recover in many uplake spots. But fishing success for both species crashed into a cold storm front on the weekend.
I had occasion to be on the lake both Monday and Tuesday of this week. On Monday fishing was tough for bass with both large and smallmouth bass lounging in deep water without much incentive to chase my lures. But they can always be found with much searching. This day, smallmouth bass were 20-30 feet deep on long rocky points with brush. They were only on the exact end of the point and not scattered all along the point as is there custom. Fishing success was much better in the afternoon. Striped bass could be caught in their deep pocket sanctuaries at the first deep drop (40-60 feet) near the backs of canyons where shad still hide.
bbenedetto2
Then on Tuesday it was amazing to be there and watch bass move back into the visible shallows where they had been absent the previous day. Morning fishing was much better on Tuesday. Striped bass also moved into shallower water searching for shad schools that are still hiding in the backs of the canyons. These shallow stripers were easy targets with spoons fished in 20-40 when stripers were seen on the graph. Occasional blow-ups of one striper chasing one shad marked the location of the larger school on the bottom. After the morning journey into shallow water stripers headed right back to the 60-foot holes closest to the shad sanctuaries. The take home message is that fishing for both species is back on track and expected to be excellent for the next few days until the weather changes again.
The best fishing plan is to approach each day as if it were late April or early May. Cold fronts really impact fishing success. Fish are prone to be very tight to a certain type of cover. Afternoon fishing success is often better than morning. With temperatures now in the high 60s both bass and stripers are at their ideal temperature range. That translates into excellent fishing opportunities. The only challenge is to find when and where they choose to move and eat. Find their pattern and success is assured. Pay close attention to where fish are caught and then try to duplicate the exact habitat type and fishing technique in the next canyon or cove when searching for more fish.
budhurn

Best striper fishing this week is expected to be in Warm Creek Cottonwood near the old trees. Navajo Canyon from the Sand dune back to where water depth is 30 feet. Gunsight canyon where the main canyon water depth is 30-70 feet. Last Chance in last canyon on east side. Main Rock Creek in the back where water is murky. San Juan in Neskahi Bay. Escalante near the Indian Ruin. Slick Rock canyon at the 30-70 foot depths.

In the northern lake Good Hope Bay striper fishing has slowed while catching at White Canyon has improved. It would not surprise me to see boils in striper city (Horn to Trachyte) as shad are abundant from Good Hope upstream. Launching at Hite is still good.
All main lake stripers can now be caught on spoons or bait. The best combination may be to chum with bait to keep the school under the boat while fishing with spoons to catch active fish as quickly as possible. Top water fishing is good at first and last light. Most success comes from blind casting near brush in the absence of any signs of boils. Shad schools are small and shallow in the very back of many brushy or weedy canyons or coves.
codycrappie
The crappie bite has started and walleye are showing up again. Fishing is excellent for those that really like to match wits with fish that are moving and changing locations often throughout the day.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 October 2012 08:37

October 23, 2012 - Final report of 2012
Tuesday, 23 October 2012 09:11 Wayne Gustaveson
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Lake Powell Fish Report – October 23, 2012
Lake Elevation: 3620
Water Temperature 66-70 F
By: Wayne Gustaveson
wgwae
This will be the last regular fishing report for 2012. I leave on vacation this week and return just in time to sample with gill nets during the first two weeks of November. It has been an interesting year with more highs than lows. Bass and walleye fishing in the spring was awesome, followed by a great run of surface fishing for juvenile stripers in summer. Now going into winter it’s a mixed bag with unexpected fishing opportunities occurring each day.
For example, on Saturday we took a side trip into Cathedral in the Desert at the back of Clear Creek Canyon on the Escalante. The lake level now is at the base of the second waterfall with the main cathedral well under water. We viewed the falls and then retraced our steps. While passing over the first falls (10 feet deep) marking the cathedral we noticed a school of fish sunning themselves near the surface of the 50 feet deep chamber. A Kastmaster spoon tossed to the basking fish proved them to be largemouth bass. A slab spoon simultaneously dropped to the bottom of the chamber resulted in a 5-pound striper. The next two drops to the 50-foot bottom produced two walleye. Then the fish quit. That is a good summary of fishing this week. There are fish to catch in a wide variety of places but it takes a subtle key to understand when fish are vulnerable.
graph40
Shad in the main lake are scattered in small groups of 100 fish hiding here and there trying to avoid predators. When bass or stripers find a small school of forage fish the area lights up with a short feeding frenzy and then quiets to a peaceful calm state. Shad are found in the backs of most canyons and coves while the open water is without forage fish. Crayfish are carrying the predatory burden in the open clear water. Fish slowly on the bottom near rocks to take advantage of this clear water crayfish key.
Shad at the inflow areas have been untouched while protected by the colored water and warm temperatures. That is now changing. Expect fishing to improve dramatically for bass stripers walleye and crappie near Hite and in the upper San Juan during November. Some boils are yet to occur in shad dense areas but more fish will be caught trolling shad imitating lures and spooning along the bottom.
The best key to finding fish lake-wide is to graph from the shallows out to the first drop. Striped bass are most often found on the top of a ledge that drops down to deeper water. Graph a school of fish, mark the spot with a floating marker and then fish the area with your choice of techniques. The best option is to chum with cut up anchovies to keep the fish in the area and then fish with spoons, bait or deep trolled lures to catch schooling fish.
Large numbers of stripers are being caught when a school is found but many anglers are missing the subtle keys and going fishless. Pay close attention to the graph and when a school is located react quickly to get the school excited. Bait fishing is much more effective now that it was in the summer.
stephancoldren
There is still one major event to look forward to in November. As the water cools into the 50s shad will be forced into deeper water to find stable temperatures. At that point stripers will follow. Both species will become more stationary. Then fishing will peak as finding one school will result in many more fish being caught from each school encountered.
Thanks for reading my ramblings and for helping to improve fishing for all species at Lake Powell by harvesting striped bass.
 
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