This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated.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 – April 4, 2013Lake Elevation: 3598Water Temperature 54-65 FBy: Wayne Gustaveson of Wayne's WordsStripers in the southern lake that have been on fire for the past two weeks are still HOT! But there are always subtle changes. The newest hotspots are a bit further up lake. Fishing with bait near the dam is still very good each day. It seems the best time to catch fish at the dam is from first light to 9 a.m. after which it slows down before firing up again in the late afternoon. That is not bad news though as it seems the channel up lake gets better from 9 a.m. to noon. Recent hot spots include the south wall at Buoy 3 and the first corner inside Antelope Canyon. The downside here is the boat traffic including many early tour boats really stir up the channel making you fish with the boat as your "bobber". Thankfully the opening of the Antelope Point public boat ramp has reduced up lake boat traffic.Later in the morning the power plant intake heats up all along the southern wall just upstream from Antelope Point Marina. To find a feeding striper school just pick a random spot on the wall. Throw 2-3 cut up anchovies around the boat followed by a baited hook. Let the bait follow the chum down. It is easy to watch the rate of descent in the very clear water. When chum and baited hooks disappear let them go down deeper (30-70 feet) for another 5 minutes. Any active stripers within range will usually start to eat all the bait within a short time. If there are no takers just move to another spot and try again. It usually takes only a few tries to activate a school of fish.Surprisingly enough there have been a few striper boils reported in the backs of canyons in the heat of the afternoon. That makes it a tough choice to decide to fish for striper schools on the main channel walls or to head to murky water in the backs of canyons in search of shallow shad chasers of all species. The best water color to select for stripers is lightly stained.Not to be outdone, north lake stripers are hitting trolled lures in the upper 10 feet of the water column from White to Farleys Canyon where the lake ends. Shad raps (SR9) trolled at 2.5 mph and other 10-12 foot deep runners are working well. Look for a bottom depth of 30-60 feet with the right water color. Trolling near the White Canyon marker buoy was great last week. The northern lake is accessed through Bullfrog or Halls Marinas.Bass fishing is getting better in the afternoons. Water temperature in murky water may be as warm as 65F when main lake temperature is only 57F.
Crappie are caught occasionally in colored water. The best technique is slow trolling a crappie jig with the electric motor. Bottom depth should be 12-20 feet in darker colored water.Spring is here! There are lots of fishing options. It's a different lake without brush but fish are very agreeable in clear water channels and murky backs of canyons. Photo caption: Colorado angler fishing with Brian Myers caught striped bass on spoons near Bullfrog. Bait is working great in the southern lake but trolling and spooning are better options in the northern lake.