Lake Powell

[archerfish]

taking the fam to Lake Powell this summer (July into August), and looking for some experienced anglers with some tips. Anything you wish you had done more?, carried any more particular tackle? Particular areas that produced or did not? I have heard of the anchovy bite for stripers, look forward to that fun. I will not have a fish boat, just an inflatable raft along with jet ski and ski boat, so enough to get me where i need to be. And not looking species specific, any bite is good. Thanks for all the help and stories, those really help get ready for the trip. Much appreciated

 

[Summitthunting]

Chase the striper boils on the jet ski. Use anything that looks like a shad and is heavy enough to cast a ways. Kastmasters are the ticket. A 5wt with a shad fly(search YouTube) is also a lot of fun.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Anchovies for Stripers AND Catfish,water is so clear the catfish are great eating.
Smallmouth Bass along the shore especially if you can find brush/rocks leading into the water.
Spinners and crankbaits work well along with large Z-rays.Bring plenty of sunscreen and covering clothing.〽

And bring a G.P.S.!!

 

[Pelican]

Are you going to Wahwesp or Billfrog? PM sent.

 

[Bambistew]

Jealous. Been a long time since I made it to LP. We used to go for 2 weeks every August.

Not much to add for stripers.. Anchovies before/after the boil/bite is off, and chase the boils. It was amazingly fun. We mostly fished Rat-L-Trap lures, and used heavy medium spinning rods 7.5-8ft. When the bite is on, its a fish every cast. We'd bring back about 200-300lbs of fillets, no limit at that time. I'm not sure what it is now. I know the area we used to camp/fish is high and dry now.

Used to catch a ton of cat fish off the house boat as well, some decent sized 4-6lbs.

We caught a few walleye as well as both small and large mouths, but usully only targeted the stripers.

 

[archerfish]

Are you going to Wahwesp or Billfrog? PM sent.

Bullfrog

 

[archerfish]

Jealous. Been a long time since I made it to LP. We used to go for 2 weeks every August.

Not much to add for stripers.. Anchovies before/after the boil/bite is off, and chase the boils. It was amazingly fun. We mostly fished Rat-L-Trap lures, and used heavy medium spinning rods 7.5-8ft. When the bite is on, its a fish every cast. We'd bring back about 200-300lbs of fillets, no limit at that time. I'm not sure what it is now. I know the area we used to camp/fish is high and dry now.

Used to catch a ton of cat fish off the house boat as well, some decent sized 4-6lbs.

We caught a few walleye as well as both small and large mouths, but usully only targeted the stripers.

that is an impressive haul for your trip. would love to bring back some (tag soup for big game season, lots o space in the freezer). did you find the quality suffer much from fresh to frozen and the transition time of getting the fish to a frozen state? Sounds like if you target stripers, other species may find their way to your hook. Thanks

 

[Bambistew]

that is an impressive haul for your trip. would love to bring back some (tag soup for big game season, lots o space in the freezer). did you find the quality suffer much from fresh to frozen and the transition time of getting the fish to a frozen state? Sounds like if you target stripers, other species may find their way to your hook. Thanks

It was all frozen solid every morning/evening after they were filleted. We'd probably average 8-12 fish a morning and evening between a 2-3 fishermen. We had a freezer on the boat specifically for fish. It started out loaded with ice, and ended up loaded with meat... Stripers freeze pretty well and don't tend to get too fishy after storage in a freezer for a while. Make sure to trim off the fat/blood on the outside of the fillet. For transport home, we'd top off the coolers with dry ice. We had about a 12hr ride home.

 

[rtraverdavis]

Lake Powell is one of my favorite spots on earth. Will you be staying in a house boat, or based out of Bullfrog? If you’ll be in a house boat, we’ve always liked parking in a cove up around Good Hope Bay for the week. It’s less crowded up there and the fishing has always been great. On calm mornings you can see the striped boils from a long ways off, and if you’re back in the coves, you can actually hear them coming.

In my experience a top water boil will last for a couple minutes then the shad that the fish are chasing will dive and scoot out of there, until the stripers push them up again. This could be 50 yards away, or 1000, and sometimes they’ll just disappear. Being mobile on your jet ski will help.

For stripers, I love using Zara Spooks or poppers because I like that top water hit, but one technique to try for bigger fish is to throw heavier spoons underneath the school in the 20-30 ft depth range. The larger stripers will hang underneath the main school and wait for easy pickings. It’s a hoot to fish for those things, and the setting of Lake Powell is extraordinary. The kind of place that you’d imagine dinosaurs coming down to drink.

The smallmouth fishing can be great too. Bouncing jigs off rocky points can be phenomenal. And you won’t lack for catfish and bluegills off the end of the boat as well.

I’m jealous. It’s been a few years since I’ve been. Have fun!

 

[65swede]

Should be a good year for stripers. The chains is a good spot to fish without traffic. Small mouth abound on points and structured shorelines. If the stripers are boiling...fish the boils.

 

[Cheater]

I'm almost exclusively a stream/river fly fisherman. That said, I rate Lake Powell as some of the most enjoyable fishing there is. The variety and abundance of fish combined with the setting is amazing.

 

[archerfish]

It was all frozen solid every morning/evening after they were filleted. We'd probably average 8-12 fish a morning and evening between a 2-3 fishermen. We had a freezer on the boat specifically for fish. It started out loaded with ice, and ended up loaded with meat... Stripers freeze pretty well and don't tend to get too fishy after storage in a freezer for a while. Make sure to trim off the fat/blood on the outside of the fillet. For transport home, we'd top off the coolers with dry ice. We had about a 12hr ride home.

will have to go that route for freezing, thanks for the tip

 

[archerfish]

Should be a good year for stripers. The chains is a good spot to fish without traffic. Small mouth abound on points and structured shorelines. If the stripers are boiling...fish the boils.

have not heard of "the Chains" upper, lower?

 

[65swede]

lower, far lower.

 

[archerfish]

Update, just got back, had a great time with the family. it was warm! watersports and some fishing. lots of fish for the time spent, catching ever time out. lots of cats and stripers. Had heard much of the striper population had gotten skinny and thin. the big melt and water level rise in 19 was helpful, all of the stripers were strong and healthy. will definitely plan a return trip, with some heat related adjustments. this was the best specimen, and oh, were they tasty!