WaterbodyReport Lake Powell
2010-10-26
GoodLake elevation: 3,634 feet
Water temperatures: 66–69°F
Where did the summer go? During the first two weeks of November, I will be sampling uplake. So this will be my last regular fishing report for the year. If something good happens, I'll post a supplemental report on waynesword.com. Here is what to expect during the next month.
[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Wayne Gustaveson invites you to fish for stripers this winter at Lake Powell. Fishing will be fast for the abundant striped bass and warm, calm afternoons are the best time to spend a few hours in the magnificent beauty of this red-rock winter wonderland.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Photo courtesy of Wayne Gustaveson[/FONT]You will still find striped bass in deep water. Focus on the 60 foot depth strata to make the best use of your graphing time and to eliminate looking in areas that are less productive. It will be easy to graph schools in the back of major canyons like Warm Creek, Rock Creek, Bullfrog and Halls and Red Canyon. Stripers will be in most canyons. but I've listed those that are a sure thing. Graph a school of stripers, chum the spot and then catch fish with bait. When fish rise off the bottom, then use of other tackle like spoons, grubs and hard plastic lures. Chumming a school into activity is also an important component of a successful trip. Bring frozen cut bait, even if you don't intend to fish with it. The pattern will work most of the winter. Remember to keep all the stripers you catch to balance predator and prey populations.
The inflow areas near Hite and the upper San Juan will harbor actively feeding stripers. These stripers will boil occasionally, and will actively take trolled lures in the upper 40 feet of water and jigging spoons at greater depths. Downrigger trolling will work very well over the entire lake if you run lures at the same depth as you see fish on the graph (around 60 to 80 feet).
Bass fishing is now at its Fall peak. Largemouth are in the shallows and will take surface lures including buzz baits, spinner baits and a wide range of crankbaits. Plastic lures always work for bass, of course, with the best colors being greens, browns and black. Smallmouth will feed less as the water cools into the mid-50s, which will make fishing challenging. Slow moving dropshot plastic lures (like Yamamoto shad-shaped worms) may be the best winter strategy for bass.
The far reaches of the San Juan, Escalante and Hite areas are an exceptional crappie fishery, which is an unexpected winter bonus. Fish the thickest patches of submerged brush where water depth is 8 to 25 feet in the morning and evening. Work the bow of your boat right into the brushy thicket and then drop small plastic or hair jigs into the open spaces between tree limbs. You should find suspended crappie holding at 3 to 12 feet. Crappie do not leave the trees, so fishing in the forest is a must. Take plenty of small jig heads to replace the baits you'll lose. At night, crappie respond to lures fished under lights in the same thickets where you find them during the day. The crappie limit is 10, so leave some of these fish to spawn again next spring.
Walleye fishing will be decent all winter in the Hite area. Trolling and spooning will work, but the reliable standard is slow trolling with a bottom bouncer weight and nightcrawler worm harness. You will often find both stripers and walleye near the mud line where the Colorado River plunges into the lake. It will be an exciting winter to fish in cool water at magnificent Lake Powell.
2010-10-26
GoodLake elevation: 3,634 feet
Water temperatures: 66–69°F
Where did the summer go? During the first two weeks of November, I will be sampling uplake. So this will be my last regular fishing report for the year. If something good happens, I'll post a supplemental report on waynesword.com. Here is what to expect during the next month.
The inflow areas near Hite and the upper San Juan will harbor actively feeding stripers. These stripers will boil occasionally, and will actively take trolled lures in the upper 40 feet of water and jigging spoons at greater depths. Downrigger trolling will work very well over the entire lake if you run lures at the same depth as you see fish on the graph (around 60 to 80 feet).
Bass fishing is now at its Fall peak. Largemouth are in the shallows and will take surface lures including buzz baits, spinner baits and a wide range of crankbaits. Plastic lures always work for bass, of course, with the best colors being greens, browns and black. Smallmouth will feed less as the water cools into the mid-50s, which will make fishing challenging. Slow moving dropshot plastic lures (like Yamamoto shad-shaped worms) may be the best winter strategy for bass.
The far reaches of the San Juan, Escalante and Hite areas are an exceptional crappie fishery, which is an unexpected winter bonus. Fish the thickest patches of submerged brush where water depth is 8 to 25 feet in the morning and evening. Work the bow of your boat right into the brushy thicket and then drop small plastic or hair jigs into the open spaces between tree limbs. You should find suspended crappie holding at 3 to 12 feet. Crappie do not leave the trees, so fishing in the forest is a must. Take plenty of small jig heads to replace the baits you'll lose. At night, crappie respond to lures fished under lights in the same thickets where you find them during the day. The crappie limit is 10, so leave some of these fish to spawn again next spring.
Walleye fishing will be decent all winter in the Hite area. Trolling and spooning will work, but the reliable standard is slow trolling with a bottom bouncer weight and nightcrawler worm harness. You will often find both stripers and walleye near the mud line where the Colorado River plunges into the lake. It will be an exciting winter to fish in cool water at magnificent Lake Powell.