CHRIS MCBETH
Well-Known Member
Date of trip: Saturday April 25th.
Temperature: 78 was the high
Water Temp: 65-70 depending on location
Fish Caught: 8 Smallmouth, 8 Walleye, several smaller fish...
Lures used:
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We were fortunate to be accepted into the AZ Game & Fish "Local Boating Program". Qualification is either to be a resident of Page or permanent storage of your boat up there. They ask only for proof of purchase for your last storage invoice.
I applied on the AZGFD site Friday and was accepted and received the email that afternoon...
Upon entering the park, the NPS ranger booths are all closed. At the time we came through around 11:00 there was nobody home.
At the top of the Wahweap main ramp there are a small group of folks checking your credentials before allowing entrance. You have to have one of the local-boater tags printed out on your dashboard and the # on it is unique and coincides with a list they have.
We had the entire ramp all to ourselves... that's why I say this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience on Lake Powell in the end of April... without another soul around.
We launched at leisure, took our time, and once underway enjoyed the smooth lake all the way through the cut, up lake, through the main channel (which is usually filled with killer tour-boat wakes, etc.).
It was glass smooth the entire way up lake, and we didn't see any other boats except one in Labyrinth, and a houseboat camping (illegally?) in the back of the middle Bay in Padre (just past cookie jar)
The water temp ranged from 66 when we arrived, to 70 at the end of the day.
We proceeded directly to Labyrinth first, and enjoyed that beautiful ride all the way to the back, chilled for a bit taking photos, and headed toward Padre where we beached the boat and let our dog millie play to her hearts content. She is a city dog and doesn't get to roll around in sand very often, let alone frolic in the crystal clear waters of Lake Powell...
With the pleasantries out of the way (my wife would say it differently... ) we then proceeded to go fishing. Granted it was early afternoon and probably not the ideal time to be out fishing, by 2:30 it had warmed up to nearly 78 degrees, and the water was still warm, and wind near zero (engine off, the boat barely moved).
We went to the cliffs on the south side of Padre and cast crank baits out to rocky debris fields. Over the course of about 90 minutes we caught 8 keeper-size Smallmouth, and a bunch of little guys including a sunfish or crappie or something (I don't usually catch those little ones so I don't know what they are LOL).
We were drifting in the boat, and casting toward shore, where the lure would hit in 1-2 feet, then crank toward us and go deeper. When we caught em, they'd bite usually within the first few seconds of the lure hitting the water, so I estimate all were caught in less than 8-10 feet of water.
Since we had the entire lake to ourselves, with the engine off the only sound you could hear were the birds all over the bay enjoying their peace and quiet... but these birds sure were not quiet! We were in the southern bay of Padre, and we could hear them more than 2 miles away in the northern most bay of Padre! We boated over there and watched and listened and photographed them.
Our dog Millie who is a Blue-Tick Coonhound mixed with Pit was sure keen on them! On several occasions she tried jumping out of the boat to go after them LOL.
So by this time it was around 6 and we needed to head back, since our Local Boater permit was "day-use" only and they shut the ramp down at 7:30.
We cruised all the way back to the cut through, and on a whim I told Amy to toss the shallow crank bait out the back while we put put through (it's a 10' deep crank bait). I'll post pics.
In any case, just on the inside of the no-wake buoys on the starboard side where the depth is very gradual and about 8-10 feet deep, that crank bait dragged the bottom and WHAM we got our first Walleye!! It was a nice fat, healthy looking fish, but put up very little fight. Almost like once it got hooked, it was playing dead LOL.
Well, we got that one off (and released it), and we circled around there for about 20 minutes and in that very short period, we caught 8 very nice Walleye's one of which was about 16 inches and probably a couple pounds (pictured). The size and weight are a guess because in the haste of packing I missed the kit with my scale and measuring tape, but take a look at the pic and judge for yourself.
So we just made it back to the ramp on time... we were the second to last boat out, and with a cheerful good night to the inspection crew at the top of the ramp, that was the end of one very great day on the lake.
Perfect temps, crystal clear water, glass-smooth surface, zero wind, great fishing, amazing blue skies, and nothing but the sounds of nature all around us.
I hate to say it, but this COVID-19 thing might have given us something otherwise never seen in our lifetime: A late April trip to Powell all to ourselves...
As much as I wish our experience on Powell could always be this amazing, we'd never wish for it to be under these circumstances again.
We felt very blessed to have the privilege to share the lake with Wayne and enjoy everything that's great about this place in one perfect day.
Let's hope everyone get's the chance to enjoy it very soon!
UPDATE: Wayne reminded me to post the lure's we used:
Bomber Deep Fat Free Shad - Color: Bama Shad - model BD8FAS
Amazon.com: Bomber Deep Fat Free Shad Fishing Lures (Bama Shad, 3-Inch): Sports & Outdoors
Berkley Bad Shad - Natural Blue Gill Model # 1405893
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IDEMLU6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Godspeed!
Temperature: 78 was the high
Water Temp: 65-70 depending on location
Fish Caught: 8 Smallmouth, 8 Walleye, several smaller fish...
Lures used:
- All Walleye's caught on Berkley Bad Shad Berkley Bad Shad - Natural Blue Gill Model #1405893
- All Smallmouth caught with #1 above, and the Bomber Deep Fat Free Shad "Bama Shad" Model #BD8FAS
--------------------------------------------------------
We were fortunate to be accepted into the AZ Game & Fish "Local Boating Program". Qualification is either to be a resident of Page or permanent storage of your boat up there. They ask only for proof of purchase for your last storage invoice.
I applied on the AZGFD site Friday and was accepted and received the email that afternoon...
Upon entering the park, the NPS ranger booths are all closed. At the time we came through around 11:00 there was nobody home.
At the top of the Wahweap main ramp there are a small group of folks checking your credentials before allowing entrance. You have to have one of the local-boater tags printed out on your dashboard and the # on it is unique and coincides with a list they have.
We had the entire ramp all to ourselves... that's why I say this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience on Lake Powell in the end of April... without another soul around.
We launched at leisure, took our time, and once underway enjoyed the smooth lake all the way through the cut, up lake, through the main channel (which is usually filled with killer tour-boat wakes, etc.).
It was glass smooth the entire way up lake, and we didn't see any other boats except one in Labyrinth, and a houseboat camping (illegally?) in the back of the middle Bay in Padre (just past cookie jar)
The water temp ranged from 66 when we arrived, to 70 at the end of the day.
We proceeded directly to Labyrinth first, and enjoyed that beautiful ride all the way to the back, chilled for a bit taking photos, and headed toward Padre where we beached the boat and let our dog millie play to her hearts content. She is a city dog and doesn't get to roll around in sand very often, let alone frolic in the crystal clear waters of Lake Powell...
With the pleasantries out of the way (my wife would say it differently... ) we then proceeded to go fishing. Granted it was early afternoon and probably not the ideal time to be out fishing, by 2:30 it had warmed up to nearly 78 degrees, and the water was still warm, and wind near zero (engine off, the boat barely moved).
We went to the cliffs on the south side of Padre and cast crank baits out to rocky debris fields. Over the course of about 90 minutes we caught 8 keeper-size Smallmouth, and a bunch of little guys including a sunfish or crappie or something (I don't usually catch those little ones so I don't know what they are LOL).
We were drifting in the boat, and casting toward shore, where the lure would hit in 1-2 feet, then crank toward us and go deeper. When we caught em, they'd bite usually within the first few seconds of the lure hitting the water, so I estimate all were caught in less than 8-10 feet of water.
Since we had the entire lake to ourselves, with the engine off the only sound you could hear were the birds all over the bay enjoying their peace and quiet... but these birds sure were not quiet! We were in the southern bay of Padre, and we could hear them more than 2 miles away in the northern most bay of Padre! We boated over there and watched and listened and photographed them.
Our dog Millie who is a Blue-Tick Coonhound mixed with Pit was sure keen on them! On several occasions she tried jumping out of the boat to go after them LOL.
So by this time it was around 6 and we needed to head back, since our Local Boater permit was "day-use" only and they shut the ramp down at 7:30.
We cruised all the way back to the cut through, and on a whim I told Amy to toss the shallow crank bait out the back while we put put through (it's a 10' deep crank bait). I'll post pics.
In any case, just on the inside of the no-wake buoys on the starboard side where the depth is very gradual and about 8-10 feet deep, that crank bait dragged the bottom and WHAM we got our first Walleye!! It was a nice fat, healthy looking fish, but put up very little fight. Almost like once it got hooked, it was playing dead LOL.
Well, we got that one off (and released it), and we circled around there for about 20 minutes and in that very short period, we caught 8 very nice Walleye's one of which was about 16 inches and probably a couple pounds (pictured). The size and weight are a guess because in the haste of packing I missed the kit with my scale and measuring tape, but take a look at the pic and judge for yourself.
So we just made it back to the ramp on time... we were the second to last boat out, and with a cheerful good night to the inspection crew at the top of the ramp, that was the end of one very great day on the lake.
Perfect temps, crystal clear water, glass-smooth surface, zero wind, great fishing, amazing blue skies, and nothing but the sounds of nature all around us.
I hate to say it, but this COVID-19 thing might have given us something otherwise never seen in our lifetime: A late April trip to Powell all to ourselves...
As much as I wish our experience on Powell could always be this amazing, we'd never wish for it to be under these circumstances again.
We felt very blessed to have the privilege to share the lake with Wayne and enjoy everything that's great about this place in one perfect day.
Let's hope everyone get's the chance to enjoy it very soon!
UPDATE: Wayne reminded me to post the lure's we used:
Bomber Deep Fat Free Shad - Color: Bama Shad - model BD8FAS
Amazon.com: Bomber Deep Fat Free Shad Fishing Lures (Bama Shad, 3-Inch): Sports & Outdoors
Berkley Bad Shad - Natural Blue Gill Model # 1405893
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IDEMLU6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Godspeed!
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I think it is cool they are letting people on, at least it’s a start. I am just a little jealous and the jabs are in fun, I hope you know that you special person that you are! 
