Pictures of Big Stripers Caught at Lake Powell

[wayne gustaveson]

Dale Barsness March 2, 2010

Dale was fishing for bass and found reasonable success for bass in clear water along the steep walls of the main channel. They were crowded up into nooks just off the channel where it was calm and a bit warmer. Wind cooled the water and turned off the bass. Calm sheltered water with direct exposure to warming was best.

They rounded the corner and went up Navajo Canyon to the dirty water near the end. Here depth was about 20 feet and visibility was 2 feet. Their timing was just right as they ran into an active striper school. They were casting deep running Norman lures. Bart had a shallower running Norman bait and caught lots of stripers. Dale had the DD22 and was getting down to consistently bigger fish. They caught about 40 and kept 20 of the fat 4 pound fish.


Then the big one hit. Dale had a hard time turning the fish but finally got it in the boat. Unfortunately, his digital scale malfunctioned. He did not get an accurate weight. The big fish measured 36 inches. Looks like we will all have to guess the weight but I think it is at least 18 pounds. We will never know because Dale admired the fish, took a picture and then let it go. He had 20 fish to clean and didn't need to eat the big one. It is still swimming in Navajo Canyon.


Roger Hensler 2013
The other big event happened when Roger Hensler from Scottsdale AZ, left camp in Balanced Rock Canyon and began trolling a blue and chrome rattletrap across the main channel heading toward Mountain Sheep Canyon. Here is his story in his own words.

“Saturday morning, still dark and my buddy Scott had the coffee going. We unwrapped some homemade rhubarb bread my wife made. As usual Scott was anxious to get to fishing. This was our last day of fishing before heading back to Scottsdale. I always like to troll for stripers so I was in the back of the boat on the fishing seat. I was letting out the 50 lb. supper braid from my quantum sixty spinning reel. In the past I have caught salmon in Alaska and blue fin tuna off San Diego. Scott always thinks I’m nuts using it on Lake Powell but today I would make him a believer.

We were camping in the back of the bay in Balanced Rock and decided to head across the bay to Mountain Sheep Bay. It was 5:30 am and the light was grey and getting brighter. We were clearing the mouth of the bay, just starting to get into the big water when suddenly my pole nearly bent in half and the drag started singing on my reel. I screamed “Houston we have a problem”. Scott shut down the boat speed looking back to see what was happening. He saw he had to stay with the fish or it was going to spool me. Mayhem broke loose. He kept yelling “don’t horse it”. The big bass went deep. “Don’t loose it, don’t loose it !”. After several runs the big guy started to tire. When we finally saw color and the size we shrieked with anticipation “OMG!” We circled with the fish as it was starting to surface on one side of the boat. We tried to reach out for the fish and it went down under the boat towards the front so I followed it around the bow. Got it next to the boat and grabbed it with the fish lipper. I got my hand under one of its gills and Scott the other as we lifted Mr. Bass into the boat. Adrenaline was up and we were so happy. I think we both had tears of joy. High fives and breakfast beer was a celebration toast.

We decided to go to Dangling Rope Marina to get it weighed and recorded. By now it was 7:30 and the deserted marina wasn’t opening till 8. There was no way to properly weigh it here so it was put it into the freezer truck to keep it until the next morning. We picked it up as we left the next morning so someone could verify it. We ended up at Stix Sporting Goods in Page. The word must have gotten out and Wayne called in as we were standing there. He graciously met us at his office to officially weigh and record it. The fish weighed 32.5 lbs, 27” girth & 44’ long. When we cleaned it that afternoon we found that nothing was in its stomach except a crawdad. Obviously it was on the prowl for breakfast when we came along. This fish of a lifetime is getting a fiberglass mount. Lake Powell is where its happening. Roger Hensler “



June 16, 2005

Dan Porter caught a 38.5 pound striper in Rock Creek trolling a thunderstick on leaded line.
Dan Porter from Salt Lake City and his brother Mike drove to Bullfrog yesterday and launched the boat. They knew they had to go south and they wanted to troll. That was as detailed a plan as was developed. So they started looking for campsites at Escalante but when it was dark they stopped at Dry Rock and spent the night.

When dawn cracked at 7 AM they got in the boat to troll. One pass in the middle of Dry Rock Creek resulted in a 6-pound striper for Dan. That was fun so they turned around for another run. Dan had 5 colors of leaded line out with a thunderstick as the terminal bait.
The next pass took about 5 minutes before the big one hit. It seemed to be a snag but the water was 113 feet deep. The big trolling rod never did snap back and the fight was on. Dan will send us the details when he gets home to SLC. He has pictures taken by his wife during the whole 30-minute event. The big one finally came up and took a run toward the bow of the boat. They used the motor to get back in control, pull out the slack line, and put some tension on the fish. At that point the big striper rolled over. The net was placed under the fish and when pressure was applied the aluminum handle broke. Despite this adversity the fish was hoisted in and Dan collapsed with a permanent smile affixed to his face. Then he noticed one hook gone and the other hanging by one strand of wire.

The fish was taken to Dangling Rope and measured at 42 inches long and 27 around. The decision was made to get it weighed officially. So Dan, Mike and wives took the food out of the cooler, put in the fish, and headed for Wahweap. That is the only place to get an official weight for a big fish on Lake Powell.

Wayne met the group at Wahweap and weighed the fish at Bashas' Grocery store. It was 38.5 pounds. It must have spawned the week before since the rule is that stripers weigh about one pound for each inch of length. It was probably 42 pounds before the spawn and after dinner. Lake record is 48 pounds so this one was a bit short - but a darn nice fish.


Mike indicated later that he had done some homework before the trip as he held up the printed version of everything that appears on WW website. Mike and Dan expressed their good fortune in catching the big fish. But it looks to me like they had a good plan. They were wise enough to head downstream from Bullfrog where the fishing was better.
So far their total fishing time this trip is 20 minutes.





Steve Roberts from Clear Lake, Iowa, holds a striper weighing in at 30.9 pounds



Ed Cummings - March 24, 2010 - Padre Canyon
Ed was fishing the clear water in Padre Canyon for bass when he decided to throw a large shad colored swim bait against a steep wall. As the bait sank he saw a huge fish come up and eat it. The big striper dove straight down to 80 feet. It took Ed 10 minutes to work the fish back to the top.

Ed was prefishing for the bass tournament. His scale only went to 15 pounds. So Ed took a picture estimated the length at 3 feet and placed the big one back in the water to swim again.
The second big striper caught in march 2010 means that there are a good number of these 20 something fish out there. There will be more caught from now to the end of June.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

January 20, 2013 - Jessie Pond



On January 20, Jesse Pond was trolling with his Dad Sean from Denver CO. They began trolling a perch colored Deep Thunderstick on leaded line at the mouth of Forgotten Canyon and hooked a big fish after trolling for only 15 minutes. It took 13-year-old Jesse an hour to subdue his 28.3-pound striper.


Early in the year, a lucky 13-year-old from Denver, Colo., was trolling with leaded line near Forgotten Canyon just upstream from Bullfrog Marina. "We are still trying to talk with Jessie Pond to find out exactly what lure he was using and how he was holding his mouth, what he had for breakfast and other important details." Jessie and his dad brought the big fish to Bullfrog Marina after hours and were able to get it weighed at the Bullfrog Post Office. The length was 43 inches and weight was 27.5 pounds.






Roy Kimura - 31 pound striper caught trolling an anchovy near Oak Canyon in June 2009





Wayne - 15 pound January 31, 2009 Wahweap Bay near Lone Rock Trolling a white - Deep Thunderstick

 

[wayne gustaveson]

I am trying to upgrade the big fish files. Lets add names and stories of how and where the big fish were caught. If your picture is here please send me your story. If you caught a big fish over 10 pounds, send me the picture and the story. I have some I can add but would like to hear from the lucky angler personally.

Thanks Wayne

 

[wayne gustaveson]

Here is the most recent big striper report from Don Allphin:

I just wanted to let you know about my 26.72 lb striper caught this month on Lake Powell. My column in the Provo Daily Herald in included below.

The important part of the story is that I caught the fish in 8 feet of water in the back of a tiny cove between Knowles Canyon and Seven Mile Canyon. I kept the fish which was 43 inches long and had a 25.5-inch girth. When I cleaned the fish it had a 16-inch adult gizzard shad in its stomach, so I had to conclude it was hunting specific fish in that tiny cove.

When it took my Zara Spook, it truly sounded like a person doing a cannonball off of a high dive. And, the fish ran as fast as a freight train towards the channel, stopping only 30 yards outside of the channel in 70 feet of water.

If you remember my 16-pounder caught in February, it took the spoon and then dove straight down to 70 feet and tried to get to the channel. It was an amazing fight and a more amazing fish. If I had realized it would have been a state record for catch-and-release, I would have measured and released the fish. But, as it was, I took it back to the weigh-in and weighed it on our official scale.

Can Lightning Strike Twice?

In February of 2017, I wrote the story of the largest striper I had caught at Lake Powell, and in my heart felt it was truly the fish of a lifetime. To recap the event, my friend, Brent Daybell, and I were fishing in a deep canyon between Bullfrog and Good Hope bays, chasing schools of shad on a fish finder and vertically jigging “spoons” for the fish in 50 to 80 feet of water.

I decided to fish above a large school of shad we found mid-canyon that filled up the screen of the fish finder from 50 to 70 feet directly under the boat. After dropping my spoon to 48 feet, I immediately felt a strike. As I set the hook, the realization hit me that this was not your average 3- to 6-pound striper. The fish dove to 70 feet and while stripping line from my reel, headed out of the canyon towards the main channel.

After a seven minute fight we landed the huge fish which weighed 16 pounds, eclipsing my largest previous striper by six pounds. I wrote, “If you prepare your tackle to catch big fish and make a habit of never making a cast unless you know the condition of your tackle, I promise you will be ready whenever that fish-of-a-lifetime chooses your lure.”

Little did I realize lightning was about to strike for the second time in 2017.

In a tournament on Lake Powell last week, I was fishing in the early afternoon with Jason Francis, an angler from Bountiful, Utah who I drew as my co-angler for the last day of the event. I chose to fish an area within a couple of miles of the no-name canyon in which I caught that 16-pound striper in February. However, instead of chasing schools of shad and “spooning” down 50 to 80 feet, I was throwing a 6-inch topwater lure called a “Zara Spook,” in 8 feet of water in the back of a tiny cove just off the main channel.

My goal was to entice a strike from a large or smallmouth bass, hoping for a fish in the 3- to 5-pound class which would have helped me make up for a couple of lack-luster performances in the first two of the three-day tournament.

My co-angler still needed one fish to fill his five-fish limit for the day so I wanted to show him where he could fish a little deeper than I and still have the opportunity to catch that one last bass.

After throwing my “Spook” about 35 yards ahead of the boat, I turned around to show Francis where to cast his line when, “Ker-Splash,” we both turned to see an enormous striper leap from the water with my topwater lure in its mouth. Francis later said it sounded like a teenage boy doing a cannonball of the high dive in a swimming pool.

[In my previous story titled, “Be Prepared For The Big One,” I mentioned having the right lure, hook, line, reel, drag, rod, and the presence of mind to set the hook, play the fish, and eventually get it into the net.]

After exploding from the surface twice, it took off directly under the boat heading (I was certain) for the deeper water of the main channel. I kept tension on the line, allowed it to take over 75 yards of drag, turned my boat with the trolling motor engaged and followed the fish out of the cove towards the channel.

After a crazy 10 minute fight that took the fish up and down from the surface of the water to 70 feet, Francis netting the fish and the fight was over.

The striper weighed 26.72 pounds and made my 16-pounder (caught in February) look small by comparison. It measured 43 inches and had a girth of 25.5.

Yes, lightning can strike twice to the same angler, and I am eternally grateful for two opportunities at such magnificent fish in the same year.

 

[birdsnest]

I've been fishing Powell for 21 years and still have not caught "the big one" but your story and photo is the reason I know one of those fish has my name on it. Great story.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

Dan Miller from Paonia CO caught a 29-pound striped bass near Bullfrog on May 6, 2017. The big fish was caught on a 4 inch Berkeley Smelt. May might be the best month to catch a trophy stripers at Lake Powell.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

May 8, 2013 - Stephen Maurer and family were casting tubes and cranks in the back of the Escalante Arm this week to catch many stripers up to 9-pounds. Stephen used a large gold deep diving crankbait to land a 23-pound, 37-inch striper.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

July 9, 2008

Robert McAden of Greenehaven AZ took his son Jason and small grandson Michael Ryan, fishing in Navajo Canyon at one of the points that has been consistently good for catching a boatload of 2-pound stripers. They cruised to the point, cut up and distributed anchovy chum and immediately started catching small stripers. Robert established a routine where he would hook the fish and let Michael reel it in. That worked well until the fifth fish which headed straight for the bottom. Michael was in danger of being pulled overboard by the strong fish on 14-pound test line, so Robert took control. The battle lasted 15 minutes before the big fish swirled into the net which both Robert and Jason wrestled into the boat. The big fish weighed in at 36 pounds back at the marina.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

Alphonso Gonzales with trophy striper he found floating in Last Chance bay. The big fish was 49 inches long and weighed between 40 and 50 pounds.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

I have enclosed a picture of a 42" striper caught in the San Juan with anchovies down about 35' on July 29, 2017. It was caught by Mike Kopicky, from Breckenridge, Co. caught on 12 lb test line, and I was the boat captain and net man Tony Carosa (on the left). We were at the mouth of the SJ, we were catching a number of stripers on anchovies there, no official weight but guessing at 40 Lbs. We tried to release it but it would not go down and after a couple of tries to revive it we decided to filet it. He was fighting with the fish for 25 minutes, and we were squealing when we got it into the net and boat!!! A friend and kids showed up to catch more stripers and take this picture. Thanks Tony

 

[Bill Sampson]

These are some incredible pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

December 12, 2017

In the last fish report we reported stripers and shad holding in the 15-30 foot depth range but suspected that colder weather would force both species to seek deeper water where temperature was more stable. With that in mind we headed for Warm Creek to look for striper schools. We passed the floating restroom and slowed down and started graphing.

This fall the graph has printed a mostly blank screen in deep water with an occasional layer of fish or suspended sediment at 60 feet. Since we have not caught any fish from this strange cloudy line, we ignored it when seen at 90 feet and moved on. It seems to have been the longest time since I have actually seen a striper school resting on the bottom. When that happened I got an adrenalin rush and quickly dropped spoons down to 95 feet. It took such a long time for my ¾ ounce spoon to reach the bottom that I changed to the 2 ounce spoon which worked very well. With 4 anglers in the boat we quickly caught 6 fat stripers before they left the area. We searched some more and saw that school a few more times, but they would not hit our spoons so we moved on.

After 30 minutes of graphing we finally saw another school holding at 75 feet and caught fish on the first drop. My technician, Nob Wimmer, was having a hard time hooking fish. He got a lot of bites but they came off quickly. He usually spoons up more fish than I do on his homemade lures so it was gratifying to be in the lead this time. After missing 5-6 fish he finally hooked one and started reeling in. He said, “This is a really big fish!” I ignored that because he says that about each fish he hooks in deep water. I was playing a regular sized fish and spent my time concentrating on that fish. After I put my fish in the cooler I noticed that Nob had not gained any line and the fish was going deeper instead of coming to the surface. It must be a big fish! Then I hooked another fish and played it to the surface in short order. While putting it in the cooler I glanced at Nob’s fish and saw that it was still pulling line and that the boat was following the fish. I was now sure that it truly was a “Big Fish”.

Despite the excitement of having a huge striper on the line, I thought I could catch one more before netting the big one. I dropped down and caught another at mid depth as the striper school had followed the big fish off the bottom and was now seen at 20-30 feet as they watched the action. It was easy and quick to drop again to 20 feet and catch one more before the big one came up. Nob played the big fish for 20 minutes and we landed 10 more while watching him do battle. Stripers are a schooling fish that really get excited when one fish in the school shows feeding behavior. They often follow the hooked fish and look for something to eat. Always drop more lures in the water when a fish is being played to increase the catch.

Finally, the big one came close enough to see. The 10-pounder I expected to see was not even close to the size of the monster fish in the water. Now I was thinking this one could be a new lake record. I grabbed the net, and hoisted the fish into the boat. The net handle bent dramatically but did not break. The fish was in the boat.

It measured 43 inches long, with a girth of 26 inches and weighed 30.35 pounds. It is very difficult to understand just how big a fish is when it is thrashing around in the net and is too large to put in a magnum sized cooler. I was actually disappointed when we put the fish on the scale and found it was “only” 30 pounds. I got over it quickly and took a lot of pictures to memorialize the event.

Nob later said that the big fish inhaled the spoon just after it hit bottom. The spoon must have landed right in front of the big one, who then sucked in the spoon that was found to be lodged in the back of the throat near the last gill racker. Nob did not feel the fish until he lifted the spoon off the bottom. It was a perfect drop to the biggest fish living in Warm Creek

Congratulations to Nob Wimmer who caught the biggest fish of his life one day after his 83rd birthday.

 

[Ryan]

That would be a great birthday present!

 

[wayne gustaveson]

May 4, 2006

Trophy stripers are most vulnerable to anglers from April till mid June while water temperature is moderate and big stripers can still live in the 60-70 degree surface layers. A 34.5 pound female was caught by Michelle Gonzalez in Last Chance in 2006

We arrived at beautiful Lake Powell to start our semi-annual fishing trip on Friday, April 28th, the weather was perfect and the water was pristine. Our first boat ride out to the fishing spot at Last Chance Bay was 4:45 on Saturday morning where we starting throwing various colors of jerk baits. The same routine was followed for several days yielding an average of 35 Striped Bass per day with a weight of 1 – 6 lbs. On the second day of fishing, my husband Richard an avid fisherman, broke his pole and complained about his spare rod the whole next day. So I finally gave in and traded him poles leaving me with the spare rod (a junk rod that has been around for ages).

On Monday, May 1st during the morning hours, after catching over 20 fish, my husband hooked up with a 1 lb striped bass using a jerk bait. As he was retrieving the fish, we noticed a huge striper swimming next to him (approx 3 ft long.). The huge striper tried to engulf the hooked fish for over 3 minutes. The mouth of the huge striper was completely covering the hooked fish, but we were unable to lure him into biting any other bait that we threw. He then decided to swim off into deeper water.

The fishing trip gets even more interesting and exciting on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 fishing the east side canyons, south facing shoals in Last Chance Bay. I was fishing on the old junk rod, with 10 lb Stren LoVis Green fishing line, using a 4” XPS Excalibur Natural Shad jerk bait (which I use every year) when on my eighth cast of the morning at approx 5:30 a.m. I got a strike and set the hook. At first, I assumed that I had side hooked the fish by the way it was taking line, but then the rod loaded and I knew I had a good fish. It’s initial run pulled 60 yards of line when my husband told me to move to the front of the boat where we could chase the fish if we needed to. I slowly began to gain line back when I thought that I had lost the fish, one treble hook (# 6) gave loose, but to our pleasure, we still had the fish hooked up. Still reeling in slowly we saw a huge tail break the surface of the water. (we thought it may be the same fish we had seen on the previous day).

My children awoke at the excitement and my daughter grabbed the video camera. The fish swam by the port side of the boat were we were finally able to get a good look at it, and my husband noted that it appeared to be a 20 pound Striped Bass. After a few minutes of steady pull the fish rolled on his side where I was able to get it close enough to the boat for my husband to use the Rapala grippers to grab the fish with. When he heaved it on board, we all saw the fish’s girth and were shocked at the magnificent specimen that we had caught. We were all amazed that we were able to land the fish with only one treble (partially straightened), hooked to the lower part of his jaw. We had a preliminary reading on a digit scale that we had on board at 34 ½ lbs. We all assumed it was a female, but in fact it was a male.

Cameras where flashing, video was rolling and we were already sending picture messages to our family members who where still trying to enjoy their morning rest. Everyone on the boat was still screaming with excitement and amazement when my husband tells my children and I that we should release the fish back into the lake. That he was too beautiful to keep. He was overruled and the fish made its way back in an ice chest stopping at Antelope point for information on who to contact and advise of the fish. They informed us that we should take the fish to Bashas for official weight and that folks would be waiting for us there. The cameras were flashing at Antelope point as they advised us to get it weighed immediately.



On the way back to Wahweap, we held the fish up to every boat that passed by to share the excitement of the catch. Upon arriving at Bashas, we were met by many local town folks who instructed us on where to go to get the fish weighed. Official weight was 34 ½ lbs, 40 ½ inches long with a girth of 27”. The biggest fish my family and I have ever caught and to that matter, ever seen in our lifetime. Every year we talk about catching the 20 lb fish of lifetime, this year we exceeded it. What a wonderful experience, one that will never be forgotten. We are looking so forward to returning in September to our favorite place in the world “Beautiful Lake Powell”. And by the way, during the entire trip of 7 days fishing, we caught 243 Striped Bass and 2 Small Mouth Bass.



.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

Sorry we don't have a good picture of the Lake Record 48 pound 11 ounce pound striped bass caught in 1991. If you know where we can find that picture please let me know.
Here is the story from the Deseret News:

Travis Jenson knew he had a big fish on. He'd pulled in big salmon before. This one, he knew, was big . . . but he didn't realize just how big.

The striped bass he pulled from Lake Powell on Sunday did, in fact, break two state records. The official one set by David Clayton of Casa Grande, Ariz., just last month - 41 pounds, 10 ounces - and the unofficial one set last year by a playful labrador who grabbed a thrashing fish by the tail and pulled it into shore - 48 pounds. Jenson's fish weighed in at 48 pounds, 11 ounces. It measured 45 inches long and 31-1/4 around the girth.


Jenson had been boating with his family near the San Juan arm of the lake last week. He and a friend, Mike Coldesina, decided to leave the family houseboat and fish near a steep wall of the canyon.

He dropped a hook tipped with an anchovy overboard and waited. Once the fish hit he knew it was big. One hour later, after he'd successfully countered several runs, and after it was boated, he had his record.

According to Jenson's father, Duane, the family has been going to Lake Powell after striped bass for about 10 years. Prior to this the largest fish caught by the Jenson's was about 20 pounds.

The fish was a large female moving into the San Juan arm to spawn.

According to Wayne Gustaveson, chief of fisheries at the lake, the two best times to fish for trophy stripers is in the spring and fall . . . "When the fish are moving to spawn in the spring, and when they're moving into shallow areas to feed when the waters cool down in the fall."

Both Jenson's and Clayton's fish came from the southern tip of the lake. The previous three records came from the northern end, near Hite, and were caught in the fall and winter.

Striped bass were first put in Powell back in 1974. Gustaveson said the fish caught last month was about 12 years old. This one, he said, could be older.

He added that he wasn't surprised the record was broken by such a wide margin. In fact, he feels that within the next year or two the record will jump up over 50 pounds.

"I know there are some 50-pound fish in here, it's just a matter of time, just like this one," he said.

The U.S. record (in 1991) for a freshwater striped bass is 66 pounds. It was caught in 1988 in California.

 

[Bill Sampson]

I had heard that the lake record for a striped bass was in Wilson Creek, and it was somewhere in the mid forty pound range, but I'm not sure where I saw that.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

December 23, 2011
Angler's Corner >> Angler's Corner

Mike Wall - April 2010 - Last Chance
Angler's Corner >> Lake Powell Big Striper Contest

Trip Dates: April 16-20, 2010

After visiting Powell multiple times a year since I was a kid, I finally caught a monster. I’ve been pestering Wayne via email on how to target bigger fish. I got to the point where I could usually catch the schooling fish on each trip, but this trip I was after something bigger.

We spent a lot of time driving deep in to the back of canyons and fishing the dirty water. We caught plenty of 3-5 lb stripers at most locations trolling. When we saw some good water for bedding LM/SM we would pull in and catch a few on the way in/out of the canyons.

After fishing Navajo, Warm Creek, Padre Bay, Friendship, and many other locations, we decided to head to the back of Last Chance. When we arrived I set two downriggers, one at 18 ft and the other at 22 ft. About 30 minutes after we arrived it was game on. I’ve hooked too many big carp or catfish to get too excited, but once the fish started pulling the boat I knew it had to be a big striper. After about 10 minutes of the fish actually dragging my boat backwards, we saw a big flash and that confirmed what we had hoped for. However, I didn’t have a net big enough to fit the fish. So, I had my girlfriend get the head in to our small net, I grabbed the tail, and somehow we pulled her over the side of the boat. At that point we just looked at each other and started celebrating.

It was at that point that I realized I had just purchased a new scale, but it maxed out at 15 pounds. About 30 minutes after we landed the fish another boat pulled up. They were nice enough to come over and let us use their 50 pound scale. The fish went exactly 30 pounds.

The rest of the week was spent fishing beds and catching countless numbers of smallies and LM.

Wayne thanks for all of your great advice! You do a great job with your site.



Sherm McDonnel - Knowles - Februay 2007
Angler's Corner >> Lake Powell Big Striper Contest

Sherm was on the couch resting when Shelley said "we moved here to go fishing, so lets go". He reluctantly chose the better path and went fishing. They spent the day exploring Knowles Canyon. Since it was their first trip to Knowles they just drifted and fished the entire canyon. They used anchovies in deep water and caught a walleye in open water.


Near the end of the canyon with bottom depth about 20 feet, Sherm picked up his chartreuse bass grub on the light 6' Ugly Stick rod with 6 pound test to try the shoreline for bass. He had caught a few 1-2 pound stripers on the grub in deeper water so it was working quite well.


As the grub descended in the clear water he saw a flash of a nice fish and set the hook. It was a solid hook up and Sherm was sure he had a 10-pounder. The first run was strong but Sherm was on the trolling motor as the fish passed under the boat and headed for deep water. He told Shelly that he was going to win a hat in the Big Striper Contest with this fish.

The first run stopped in about 40 yards but Sherm couldn't gain much of his 6-pound line back without using the trolling motor to take up the slack. He did get quite a bit of line back before the second run started. The next run was longer but fairly steady so he was able to keep up with the trolling motor. He felt lucky to still have the fish hooked up. On a warmer day the runs would have been quicker and longer and the first run would have been the last. The striper would have been the proud owner of a green grub.


Sherm stationed Shelly on the big motor with instructions to crank up at the next run. She was ready but the big fish came to the top and rolled over. Then Sherm saw it was no 10-pounder but much bigger.It was just a matter of time before they got the fish close enough to the boat to put the net under it. It was 3 PM, at the warmest part of the day. Fishing was best between 1-3 PM.


Then the pictures and fun began. They raced back to Bullfrog to get the official weight- 32.5 pounds 43.75 total length and 26 inch girth.
There was a large crowd congregated at the Bullfrog Service Station where the certified scales were surrounded when the fish was officially weighed.
Nice Fish Sherm - Keep listening to Shelly!

 

[wayne gustaveson]

Dan Porter - June 2005 - Rock Creek
Angler's Corner >> Lake Powell Big Striper Contest

January 4, 2012 - Ryan Kimball - Trophy Walleye
Angler's Corner >> Lake Powell Big Striper Contest

August 26, 2011 - Brian Shaw - Trophy Striper - Knowles Canyon
Angler's Corner >> Lake Powell Big Striper Contest



I'm not one that usually brags but my mother keeps telling me to send picture's of my Striper to you from our recent trip to Lake Powell, so in the interest of keeping the piece with my mother here is a few pictures of my fish along with a little story on catching her........

We finally got under way to Knowles Canyon from Bullfrog in the house boat around 8am on Friday Aug.26th knowing it would take awhile to get up there. This is my Second trip to Powell but its been around 20yrs so. It's been so long it seems like I'm here for the first time. My parents are part owners in a house boat and have been here 4-5 times in the last few years and use it as a get away as often as they can. They invited my wife and I to accompany them on this trip to give us some time away form the every day grind. Now as we all know house boats don't exactly get up on plain and move quickly, so at a whole 8-9 mph we are heading up-lake to Knowles canyon to spend 5 days. Now my dad has always been and avid fishermen and has done some amazing things while fishing and he him self has caught a trophy Striper in Lake Mead (36lbs 46") in the Mid 80's but nothing of trophy size out of Powell yet.

So as we are "cruzing-uplake we start talking about all the different types of ways we have caught Stripers. Then is occurred to us that usually we have trolled for them around 6 mph. So I slowed us down and he rigged two rods, one with a white Reef Dancer and on with a White 8" Kalins Curly Tale Jig (He was at the Ocean the week before and had this Jig handy) attached some rod holders and Pow! we were trolling for Stripers.

Now, as we all know when most people go buzzing by a house boat they don't expect to see it trolling for stripers so I'm sure there were a few boats that passed buy shook there heads and yes we didn't really expect to hook-up anyway so we really didn't pay that much attention to the rods.

Know as my dad and I are switching off and on steering the boat we would check the rods, or if my wife and I would go up top I would every now and then eyeball the rods. I mean, really are you going to hook-up on a fish?

So it's hot and I mean HOT! As I walk back to get a drink I thought, well I'll check the Rods. As I walk out I look at the one with the Reef Dancer, looks good. I turn around and look at the one with the big jig, and as I do....BAM!

I grab the rod and yell....Fish-on, Fish-on!

My wife comes back and notice's I have a fish-on and yells it again...Fish-On, Brian has a fish on!

I look at her and ask here to tell dad to stop the boat and as she turns around to tell my dad he's coming through the door way saying he has stopped the boat. I couldn't tell the boat has stopped because the fish was running and taking line. I told my dad "I think it is a Big one, or I'm stuck on bottom"." Bottom? Not in 200ft of water son" he replied.

Then about 50-60 yards out it hit the surface and we both laughed and said "OOOHH, It's Big one". So he jumped in the small boat and grabbed his landing net as I fought. As this is going on my mother and wife were snapping of pictures over the 20 or so minutes of the fight. As the fish got near the boat my dad and I both knew that we would only get one or two shots at landing the fish and with the 12 lbs line and a fish this size anything could happen. So all the years of fishing and all the years of netting large fish I laid her out along the boat. My dad was ready and Scoop! Just like Pro's and on the deck she lies. As I turn to look at my wife she was screaming and running in fear back into the cabin saying "AHHH, It's the biggest fish I ever seen!". Wow, I didn't expect that, but hey it is a Big fish.
"How big dad?" I asked. "Wow son....Big" he said." Maybe bigger than mine, lets see get the yard stick".
As I hold and he measures,"Nope....6" longer than the yard stick".

"Lets try girth with some rope". So my mom locates a piece as my wife is still unsure if the fish going to eat her for lunch.

Brian Shaw holding Trophy
"Well?" I ask. "He's 22 1/2 girth". my mother said.

"Wow, who would of guessed....trolling off the house boat" my dad laughed........

So, It was the only fish caught that day, but we did put the rods back out and trolled the rest of the way into the canyon.

So here are a few pictures I hope you can use for your wonderful Web site. We didn't get to weigh it but with the measurements I put them in and it came up 32-37 lbs. Oh and buy the way when we were done camping we DID troll back to Bullfrog....At 6mph with large white Kalin's jigs........
Brian Shaw

Boise ID


Ray Young - May 1, 2012 - Navajo Trophy
Angler's Corner >> Angler's Corner

Michelle Gonzalez - May 2006 - Last Chance

 

[wayne gustaveson]

Early Saturday morning, June 14, a call came stating a big striper had just been caught at the mouth of Warm Creek. It took about 20 minutes to get there but we soon found a boat at the corner of Warm Creek and the main channel. Adam Jones and Deborah Williams were right there and when we got in range Adam held up a huge striper. We got out of the wind and headed to shore where we could get the full story. Adam and Deborah were out at dawn fishing along Warm Creek Wall when they noticed a surface disturbance. As they got closer it proved to be a giant striper thrashing on top. They got close enough to net the fish and then tried to resuscitate the fish and release it. But it was to no avail, the big fish succumbed within minutes of capture. They measured the fish using hand widths and came up with 45 inches.

That’s when I showed up and began discussing options.Adam would like to have the fish mounted as it was the biggest fish he ever “caught”. But it is entirely possible to make a fiberglass mount by just supplying dimensions and a picture to the taxidermist. It was determined that I would take the fish, determine exact measurements, and perform a necropsy to determine cause of death. I put the big fish on ice and headed back to the lab.

This fish was 44 inches long and weighed 28.75 pounds (certified scales) with a girth of 25.5 inches. Most striped bass of this length exceed 30 pounds but this one had an empty stomach except for 3 carp spines. It had been eating recently but the mostly empty stomach, which was 14 inches long, did not add an extra pound or two which is common when the stomach is full. That also explains why the girth was 2 inches smaller than other stripers of this length.

The cause of death was likely spawning stress. The 10-inch long ovaries were spent suggesting this fish had just completed spawning. Full ripe ovaries can weigh 2-3 pounds which would add more weight and girth to this fish.
Striped bass are a marine fish that are adapted to life in the ocean. As they mature they seek water temperature in the mid 60s. Juvenile stripers can survive well in warmer water. This genetic change with age, separates large and small stripers and protects small fish from predation by larger ones. In fresh water the opposite is true. When adult stripers mature and are forced into deeper, cooler water it is adult fish that struggle. Shad live in warm water where juvenile stripers reside. When adults leave the warm zone their food choices become limited leaving juvenile stripers on top with shad and the competitive advantage. If adult stripers are not large enough to eat 1-pound carp, and catfish then they become malnourished. This explains why there are so many large, lean fish in certain years.
But this trophy fish was healthy and well nourished. Striped bass are surface spawners so they must abide the warm water during spawning. If they stay in 75+ degree water for an extended time, lactic acid builds up in the muscles beyond the capacity of the fish to recover. This is the cause of death of most trophy fish that are found dead on the surface.
My best guess is that this fish succumbed to post spawning stress and excessive lactic acid buildup in warm water which prevented the fish from diving into deep water.

Scales were read to determine age. This fish was similar to other trophy striped bass from Lake Powell. The age was 10 years which seems to be the maximum life span of large stripers. Those that do not leave the school seldom live longer than 5 years, while trophy fish live twice that long. Large stripers are loners that hunt catfish, carp, and walleye in the cooler water. They do come into shallow water to eat shad on occasion when shad numbers are high and hunting forage does not require a long stay in warm water.

I want to thank Alan and Deborah for sharing their fish with us so we could learn more about the rare trophy fish that do swim in Lake Powell.

Just because - I took a picture of the lateral line which is large enough for all to see. It is the line just to the right of the fish scale. This is a sensory organ that allows fish to feel vibration in the water. A small hair protrudes from the pore that registers when a vibration is felt. Fish can feel other fish swim or lures that vibrate in the water.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

February 1, 2019 -

We went to GHB Jan 30 to Feb 1st, Tami caught this beauty on an anchovy rig. We knew there was one other boat up where we were so we hunted them down, they had a digital scale, 18 lbs even. I'm pretty sure anyone at Halls crossing could hear Tami scream once it was safely in the boat.