This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Lake Powell Fish Report – July 2, 2013Lake Elevation: 3599Water Temperature 78-83 FBy: Wayne Gustaveson of Wayne's Words Last week the best surface action for boiling stripers was found midlake near Bullfrog. Surface feeding continues from Rincon to Hansen Creek. Look for stripers feeding on top any time of the day but most consistently during morning and evening twilight periods. While fishing for surface feeding stripers is really good lake wide, it is best at Good Hope Bay where it is possible to catch an incredible number of stripers every morning and evening. The big bay boils as soon as the sun settles near the red buttes in the west. Fishing is great until dark. Then the whole process is repeated again the next morning from dawn until full sun hits the water from the east. When in full feeding mode stripers are not spooky and allow boats to gently approach into casting range without diving for deep water. Surface lures are working in twilight prime time. In the southern lake slurping stripers are often visible from Wahweap to Rainbow Bridge. The gentle feeding action is most common during twilight but happens randomly all day long. The difference is less aggression by these stripers that are finding fewer and smaller shad than their cousins in the north. Anglers casting to slurps in the south only catch one or two fish from these smaller feeding events while those in the north can catch 20 or more from one boil. Perhaps the most versatile lure in these conditions is a small heavy spoon that can be cast to the fish feeding on top and retrieved along the surface. Then when stripers dive toward the bottom the spoon can be allowed to sink resulting in more fish caught from each feeding event. The good news is that southern anglers can dig out anchovy bait and catch more fish on anchovies. Fishing at the dam is still good in the evening. The power plant intake provides very consistent fishing success all day long. Stripers are hungry in the backs of most canyons from Padre to the San Juan. Bass anglers got a bonus last week as a big wind storm tossed a huge number of tumbleweeds into the Padre Bay area. Bass have been looking for cover and these weeds will now stack up along the shoreline, sink to the bottom and provide bass habitat. It is difficult to fish anything but a weedless lure in these conditions but topwater lures, spinner baits and weedless frogs are working well. Look for the weed piles to find largemouth bass. Smallmouth bass will still be found on rocky structure that falls quickly into deep water. Just work the plastic bait gradually deeper until the bass holding depth is found. Multiple fish can be caught when working similar structure at the same depth once the pattern is discovered. Walleye can still be caught trolling and casting in the same low light periods when stripers are active. Catfish are prowling sandy beaches at night looking for worms, shrimp or whatever was left over from dinner. The Holiday weekend will provide fishing fireworks for those that bring fishing tackle with them on the family vacation. Photo caption: Patrick Gass, St. George UT, brought his family to Lake Powell for swimming, wake boarding and fishing. All of those events were enjoyed by the whole family. Kyte Gass holds up a striper caught at Buoy 25 on anchovy bait. His youngest son (6-yrs-old) caught the first fish of the day and his first striper ever. I am sure it wont be the last.