Lake Powell Fishing Report – 3-23-11
- March 23, 2011
3-23-11
Lake Powell Elevation: 3611.77
Bait fishing looks like it will be excellent right through May. Smallmouth should start picking up in two weeks. As the weather warms up so will the fishing.
Archive for the ‘Fishing Reports’ Category
Mar
21
2011
Lake Powell Fishing Report 03/21/2011
Lake Powell Elevation: 3612.56
Bait fishing is doing well at Lake Powell mainly trolling. Crainkbaits doing well around shorelines for largemouth. Stripers using whiteheaded marabou jigs for jigging stripers and trolling countdown rapalas for stripers and anchovies for bait fishing. We should be able to see it improve weekly as the water warms up with Spring here. Some reports of Wahweap doing well and other Canyons.
Mar
05
2011
Lake Powell Fishing Report 03/04/11
Our Friend Chris Parish with a nice 7lb Striper caught in Navajo Canyon
~Thanks Chris for the Photo~
Stripers are starting to take deep diving 15/25′ rapalas in Shad colors. Troll in the back of Last chance and Warm Creek and Lone Rock in the 25-80 depth range.
Feb
24
2011
Lake Powell Fishing Report 2-24-11
Lake Powell Elevation: 3615.74
Due to the cycling of shad this year, Stripers will be hungry. Spring Bait Fishing for stripers will be fantastic. Artificials for walleye, bass an smallmouth will be great as well. Use your pre- fish patterns as they will work extremely well this year.
Run off from Winter is predicted to raise another 30-50′.
Should be a fantastic season
Captain Bill
Sep
18
2010
Lake Powell Fishing 9-16-10
This past week with my guests was the best Lake Powell has to offer. My guests for 3 days fished a total of 12 hours and caught 95 fish. They caught the 16lb that is featured on Waynes Words and their average catch was between 2-7 lbs. For all you bait fishermen from now till it cools down is the time to get to Lake Powell and get your catch for the Winter Dinners. I sent home a huge cooler of fish for my guests. Bring cooler and I will filet and put on ice if you are here more than a day. The weather is great right now and crowds are thinning out. If you have questions, feel free to call me and remember, we provide the rods…if you choose not to bring. Fish On Capt. Bill
Sep
14
2010
Lake Powell 9-13-10
Bob & Don Tucson 9-13-10 ~ 16 lB Striper
Guest caught this 16 lb and a 7 lb on anchovies today. Their 4 hr take was 25 fish all robust Healthy Stripers. Bait fishing will be “the best” you can expect this Fall. I am currently seeing average 2-7 lb fish but then we are seeing some of the “big daddy’s”. I expect this to keep up. If you want fish for the Winter ~ You need to get up and get some fishing in and remember we will clean your fish and pack on ice for you and send home. Weather is beautiful right now with temps in the 80′s and providing better fishing experiences without the very high water temps.
Capt. Bill
Sep
05
2010
Lake Powell Photos from our Clients who fished 7-15-10
Bill & Judy
The 3 of us certainly enjoyed our time on Lake Powell with Bill it was a special experience for us Definitely the most fish Tommy and I have ever caught. Just as importantly, it was definitely the most fun the 3 of us have had together in a long time. Enjoy the photos
Regards
Tom, Lee Ann and Tommy
Capt. Bill
Sep
04
2010
Lake Powell 9-03-10
The best fishing is currently up Lake about 40 miles. We are seeing sizable fish and good action. I am recommending a 1/2 day trip 5 hours dock to dock. Full days currently are not very productive as you will see the bite go down after 4 hours and that can be frustrating for the avid angler. Here are some recent photos of this week and last week.
Sep
01
2010
Lake Powell Fishing Report -09-01-10
Two distinct patterns are now in place making it much easier for anglers to find stripers. Striped bass adults are hungry for shad that hide in the backs of coves and canyons. Shad are shallow and stripers are deep, guarding the migration route leading to the shad sanctuary. Stripers are found by graphing the submerged creek channel leading to the back of most short coves. Consistent holding depth for striper schools is 40-60 feet.
My search pattern involves graphing the breaking edge of the submerged channel. I like to look at the bottom from 45-50 feet very near the edge leading to shallower water. Lately most fish traces graphed in this zone have been striped bass. Shad, both gizzard and threadfin, are shallow. Bass are in the brush. So any traces in deeper water are likely stripers.
To confirm fish identity drop a spoon straight down, let it hit bottom and then jig it two feet off bottom and let it fall back a couple of times. If no takers speed reel quickly in 15 foot bursts, then jig the spoon once more art mid depth. This gets the attention of resting stripers who then may show interest as the spoon descends to the bottom once more. A combination of speed reeling and rapidly descending spoons usually gets a striper school going within 5 minutes early in the morning.
Second Pattern: Stripers are more often found on steep canyon walls after 9 AM. Cut bait, first chummed and then hooked on a short shank, lightweight jig head is an unbeatable combination right now. Look for a cliff wall than ends near a rocky flat or rockslide where resting stripers have a close venue to forage on crayfish. Chum excites the resting school. Once started, the school feeds for about an hour before shutting down once more. Catches of 25-50 three-pound fish are common right now.
You will find striper school composition with larger fish resting on the bottom (50-60 feet) with mid-sized fish in the middle and small young of year stripers near the surface. Once the school starts feeding the size classes mix and any size fish can be caught. Often a few fish will hit the surface but we have found surface action includes only the small and mid size stripers. Bigger fish are usually deeper.
Regular boils with adult stripers still happen morning and evening near the inflowing water of the Colorado and San Juan.
By: Wayne Gustaveson September 1, 2010
Lake Elevation: 3634 Water Temperature 75-78 F
Bass fishing is steady for those using drop shot rigs and fishing the ends of rocky points leading into the main channel or the submerged creek channels leading to shad sanctuaries.
Fishing is great! Expect to catch lots of stripers. Lake water is still warm so put fish in a cooler on ice. Don’t put them on a stringer in the warm water where decomposition will be accelerated
Aug
27
2010
Lake Powell Fish Report 8-24-10
Am
Ambassador Guides Clients Mike & Family
8-24-10
Annual Houseboating Fishing Trip
Lake Powell Fish Report
By: Wayne Gustaveson August 25, 2010
By: Wayne Gustaveson August 25, 2010
Lake Elevation: 3635 Water Temperature 77-80 F
Lake Powell Fish Report By: Wayne Gustaveson August 25, 2010 Lake Elevation: 3635 Water Temperature 77-80 F The main lake fishery is evolving once more. There is still a separation of shad from the striped bass population but that separation is working to the advantage of the angler. Stripers are hungry making them very vulnerable to angling. At first light this morning we found a few stripers chasing shad near shore. It was not a boil but the splashes observed were obviously made by a handful of stripers. Casts with a shallow running crankbait to the splash rings confirmed 3-4 pound stripers were feeding on top in the predawn light near shore. That action was short lived but soon replaced by a whirlpool of tiny stripers running along the shallow shoreline. These 6-12 inch fish were working the shad schools over in the brush. The tiny tigers would readily hit a 4-inch shallow running crankbait and put up a tremendous struggle for their size. The amazing part was the entourage of 20-40 stripers chasing each hooked fish back to the boat. A glance at the graph confirmed that these fish were schooled under the boat in 20 feet of water. We dropped spoons down to the waiting fish and they immediately began playing volleyball with our spoons. Catching was fast and furious. Later at the fish cleaning station we found that these smaller stripers had more shad in their stomachs than any of the large stripers. After losing contact with the small fish we ran toward the back of Warm Creek. In the middle of the bay near the floating restroom we saw more isolated splashes. Surface lures cast to the splash rings were ignored but the graph indicated a huge school of fish below the boat. Spoons were deployed and stripers (2-5 pounds) were caught every cast for over an hour. Some fish would hit within visual range right under the boat while others were 60-90 feet deep. We just let our spoons free fall waiting for the line to stop or twitch, at which point we took up the slack and set the hook. Spoon fishing is now wide open. Only a few stripers are finding shad while the rest of the school is eagerly hitting anything resembling a shad. If I could only use one lure right now it would be a spoon. This strategy will likely hold for the rest of the year. Bait fishing is still excellent both at night and during the day when stripers have quit chasing on top and go deeper to rest. Stripers are still boiling at Hite for the last 2 hours of daylight each evening. Water temperature is beginning to fall. It will be another two weeks before bass return to shallow water. For now smallmouth bass are still down at 20-35 feet. Largemouth are in the brush. Both species want the bait worked slowly and fairly deep. It takes a while to convince them to bite but they will cooperate with the patient angler. Bass fishing will improve dramatically when water temperature cools another 10 degrees. Catfish and sunfish are still ready and willing. The forage shortage that is beginning makes it wise for all anglers to keep most of the fish caught. Striped bass, 9-12 inch smallmouth, and walleye should all be harvested. Largemouth and crappie should be released as their numbers will decline with a decrease in brush shelter next year. Every small striper caught should be kept as they are the most efficient predator in the lake right now.
Gallery
