We returned a day early and 2 sample sites short due to a battery malfunction on our Electrofishing boat. Wahweap and Good Hope Bay were completed successfully but we will return next week to Rincon and San Juan. Here is what we found.
Wahweap had an abundance of young-of-the-year Bluegill, Green sunfish, and Channel catfish. Largemouth bass were present along with a few smallmouth bass, and a good crop of young stripers. These results were fairly normal for the lower lake site which has limited habitat. We get more fish in brushy habitat instead or rocky shorelines. Wahweap Bay had more brush than normal due to the high water this year.
Good Hope Bay was completely opposite with huge numbers of Gizzard shad. A normal 15-minute sampling run usually results in 5-15 fish of each species, but this night there were so many shad that we had to leave the back of the canyon to keep the boat from sinking under the weight of all the gizzard shad swimming at the back of the canyon. It is sometimes possible to catch 100 small shad in the back of the sampling canyon but this year the number was closer to 1000. We have NEVER seen this huge number of shad in any of our electrofishing sampling. 2019 is a banner year for shad abundance.
Even better was good numbers of largemouth bass and crappie. These young fish need brushy cover to survive. In drought years (no rising water) the brush is not covered and LMB and crappie numbers are very low. This year was great for bass and crappie numbers. These two species need one more brushy year to allow those populations to rebound. It was great start to see fish numbers of all sport species to be back where they were in the 1970s and 1980s when the lake was rising each year.
We did not complete the survey due to boat problems. We will have to go back next week to the Rincon and San Juan to see how these lake areas compare.
Sport Fishing in the high shad density, low visibility water in Good Hope Bay was slower then usual. A wall of shad covered the back of the cove from 20 feet to the shore. It looked like a cinder block wall of fish from the bottom to the surface on the graph. Out at 30 - 70 feet there were shad schools and stripers intermixed and it was fair to good fishing for stripers on spoons. The average morning catch was only 10-15 per boat. These fish were in good shape.
Lakewide forage is stronger than it has been in the last few years. Threadfin shad are more numerous in the southern lake with Gizzard shad dominate in the north.
We will know more next week. Right now, for the first time I can ever remember, I suggest fishing down lake instead of uplake if stripers are your target. Adult smallmouth bass are feeding deeper on shad schools so they are not caught as often in shallow water along the rocky shoreline. Bigger smallmouth bass are down at 20-30 feet and feeding in open water much like stripers.
It is an interesting year for fishing at Lake Powell. It is not bad - just different!.
Wahweap had an abundance of young-of-the-year Bluegill, Green sunfish, and Channel catfish. Largemouth bass were present along with a few smallmouth bass, and a good crop of young stripers. These results were fairly normal for the lower lake site which has limited habitat. We get more fish in brushy habitat instead or rocky shorelines. Wahweap Bay had more brush than normal due to the high water this year.
Good Hope Bay was completely opposite with huge numbers of Gizzard shad. A normal 15-minute sampling run usually results in 5-15 fish of each species, but this night there were so many shad that we had to leave the back of the canyon to keep the boat from sinking under the weight of all the gizzard shad swimming at the back of the canyon. It is sometimes possible to catch 100 small shad in the back of the sampling canyon but this year the number was closer to 1000. We have NEVER seen this huge number of shad in any of our electrofishing sampling. 2019 is a banner year for shad abundance.
Even better was good numbers of largemouth bass and crappie. These young fish need brushy cover to survive. In drought years (no rising water) the brush is not covered and LMB and crappie numbers are very low. This year was great for bass and crappie numbers. These two species need one more brushy year to allow those populations to rebound. It was great start to see fish numbers of all sport species to be back where they were in the 1970s and 1980s when the lake was rising each year.
We did not complete the survey due to boat problems. We will have to go back next week to the Rincon and San Juan to see how these lake areas compare.
Sport Fishing in the high shad density, low visibility water in Good Hope Bay was slower then usual. A wall of shad covered the back of the cove from 20 feet to the shore. It looked like a cinder block wall of fish from the bottom to the surface on the graph. Out at 30 - 70 feet there were shad schools and stripers intermixed and it was fair to good fishing for stripers on spoons. The average morning catch was only 10-15 per boat. These fish were in good shape.
Lakewide forage is stronger than it has been in the last few years. Threadfin shad are more numerous in the southern lake with Gizzard shad dominate in the north.
We will know more next week. Right now, for the first time I can ever remember, I suggest fishing down lake instead of uplake if stripers are your target. Adult smallmouth bass are feeding deeper on shad schools so they are not caught as often in shallow water along the rocky shoreline. Bigger smallmouth bass are down at 20-30 feet and feeding in open water much like stripers.
It is an interesting year for fishing at Lake Powell. It is not bad - just different!.
