Photo courtesy Wayne Gustaveson Brad Kendrick of Liberty, Utah, holds a 5-pound largemouth bass caught in Lake Powell’s San Juan Arm, as his friend, whose name was not provided, looks on.  Early season largemouth fishing is steady and this is the best time to catch big bass.

Lake level: 3,590 feet; water temp: 52-62ºF

Those anglers that have been diligently paying their dues fishing in the main channel for striped bass were rewarded in a big way last week. While catches have been steady recently, the numbers caught have been modest. That changed on Thursday when stripers were caught by the cooler full reminiscent of 2006. Fish caught were smaller but healthier than ones seen in the two previous years.

What does this mean? It appears that more fish made their way into the channel than had previously been there, or they could have been there all the time and were stimulated by increasing water temperature. For whatever reason, it seems that the likelihood of catching a good number of fish at the dam has now increased.  There will still be time periods or whole days when fishing is slow.

It is always good to have a backup plan if all the prime spots at the dam are occupied or fishing is not good when you arrive. There are other locations that harbor striper schools.  The closest location is the canyon wall on the west side near the barricade line.  It is not necessary to tie to the barricades to catch fish just follow the wall north for a few hundred yards to the end of the underwater ledge that holds the striper schools in place. 

Check Buoy 1 at the mouth of Wahweap Bay, or Antelope and Navajo Canyons, Navajo Generating Station power plant intake to Buoy 9 on the south canyon wall. Schools are often there if not found at the first spot tried.

For those seeking other species the prospects are still the same with cool water in the morning and warming by afternoon. There is an early morning largemouth bass bite in the backs of the canyons where water depth is between 10 to 20 feet and in coves of the channel at the same depth. 

Look for murky water for best results.  Often coves have sandy bottoms with “old brush” like long submerged tumbleweeds or old trees on the bottom. This sparse cover is enough.  A little ridge of rocks in the sand may be all the cover needed.  The best bait for me this week was a bulky dark green plastic grub like the Yamamoto hula grub. Use a slow dragging retrieve while maintaining bottom contact.

Smallmouth bass are caught much better in the afternoon during the warmest part of the day. Use the same techniques but target the rocky structures near the shallow coves.  Each day more walleye and crappie are caught while using plastic to catch bass.

The fishing opportunities here are varied but whatever your personal preference, the chances of success are increasing each week.

(Wayne Gustaveson is the Lake Powell project leader with the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources. Get up-to-the-minute fishing information and more about Lake Powell on his Web site, www.wayneswords.com.)

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