Hi Guys,
I'm looking for some help on Lake Powell. I'm extremely unfamiliar with the lake but want to learn a little more. I'm kicking around the idea of heading there over Labor day and taking my 'toon. I wanted to see if anyone knows any good primitive areas you can access the lake to launch a pontoon and camp. I want to avoid main areas (to avoid as many boats as possible) and I'm willing to drive dirt roads into the middle of nowhere. Does anyone know any good access points I should look into? I'm having a tough time finding any good information online.
Also, what fish should I target down there at the end of August? I'm sure I can find the largemouth and be happy but wonder if I would be better off trying for something else.
Thanks for all your help.
DD
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you should look at Farley's and White Canyon at the north end of the lake. Primitive area, good for primitive camping as well as fishing from a pontoon. Fishing for stripers will be good in this area, as will other bass, wipers, and maybe even crappie too. You may have a couple fishing boats in the neighborhood, but you won't have any ski boats to contend with.
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Can't say this enough !!! Go to Wayne's Words. On the left of the title page will be links to just about everything you could want to know, including primitive camping and access. Unfortunatly with the low water, many of the drive in spots are not assessable, meaning, you can drive in, but you have a 15-30ft drop to get to the water.
[url "http://www.wayneswords.com"]www.wayneswords.com[/url] !!
I looked through Wayne's Words quite a bit and haven't been able to find much along the lines of what I'm looking for. I've heard that with the water levels it might be hard to accomplish. I'll keep doing some research, might do some browsing on google maps and some other places.
I appreciate the help! Still open to any other suggestions.
Thanks,
DD
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did you look at Farley's and White Canyon??
That fits exactly what you are looking for. It will put you right on top of the best fishing in the whole lake (colorado river inflow). Easy access (1 mile of usually good dirt road), but few people.
here, go to Google Earth and type in these coordinates:
Lat: 37°49'14.64"N
Long: 110°24'28.73"W
Another alternative would be the Blue Notch road. This is a rougher road (4x4) but it would get you to the north end of Good Hope bay. Again, good fishing, primitive camping, good shoreline access, and protected coves. You may have a few more ski boats / houseboats in this area.
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Hey PBH,
Sorry I didn't mention earlier. Yeah I did look at Farley and White and I think that is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Have you been down there or know anyone that has? I'm just curious as to what the water levels look like in that area.
I really appreciate your help!
DD
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Lake Powell water elevation is currently at 3607. Minimum launch elevation at Hite is 3608 (primitive launching). This means you should have excellent water at Farley / White / Striper City. Water will be murky, but that's what you want. You should be able to find fish all over up there.
Recent reports (from Wayne's Words) are stating lots and lots of boils from Good Hope up to the inflow. Fishing should be fantastic up there from now until late November.
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One other area in the northern part of the lake you should consider is Blue Notch. There is a San Juan county road that turns off of SR95 about 8 or 9 miles past the turnoff to the Hite marina. There is a San Juan county road sign just off the pavement.
The dirt/gravel road is about 13 miles to the lake. It is normally in pretty good condition but that can change quickly due to heavy rains and local flash flooding.
You could call San Juan County and ask about the current road conditions.
Blue Notch is a side canyon off of Good Hope Bay. There should be plenty of places to access the lake with your 'toon. Fishing has been very good in the area and you should expect to catch smallmouth, stripers, walleye, largemouth and channel cats. You may be able to find some crappie and bluegill in the bays with brush cover in the water.
I haven't been to the area since earlier this year. You will find that fishing pressure will be fairly low due to the distance boaters have to travel uplake from Bullfrog.
Good luck and let us know how you do.
Mike
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Early November should be fantastic! Remember to vote early and often.
I'm hoping our election night dinner will be more pleasant than it was in 2012.
See you then.
Mike
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I was looking at Google Earth, not sure how current it is, but most of the areas around Good Hope Bay are inaccessible. By looking at the terrain and the shadows, my earlier estimate that you would have drops of 15-30 ft are pretty accurate. The Blue Notch road pretty much ends almost a 1/2 mile from the water and there are several major drop offs between it and the water. Same with Farley's, Red, and White canyons. Another that is not often talked about is Hansen Creek, but you are over a mile with no road and Park Service takes a very dim view of cutting new ones. Find a friend with a boat and go in from the lake, that is pretty much your only option from what I can see. There is always Stanton Creek at the mouth of Bull Frog bay.
Farley looks like the way to go, you can literally see vehicles parked with kayaks and pontoons at the water. Not sure exactly when the pictures were taken but it seems like you can get pretty close.
The plan for labor has changed to Boulder Mountain. I have a buddy that has never fished it and I'm a helluva lot more familiar with Boulder. Will be good to hit some area I know we can catch some fish since I have some company. Powell will have to get put on the back burner but I'm going to do it this year. If the fishing should hold up until November I'll definitely be making a trip late September or early October.
I really appreciate the help! If you ever want some info on Boulder I'm more than happy to fill you in, it was practically my second home for a lot of years.
Thanks,
DD
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Therapist -- Blue Notch always offers a way to the water. You just have to drive around until you find a spot that suits you and your vehicle. People do it all the time. Farley should also provide access. I've personally never driven to Farley, or messed around a ton in the back of Farley -- I've always used a boat and only fished the mouth of Farley and around Striper City. But there is no reason why you would not be able to access the water at Farley by vehicle, even with low water.
Last November we were camped in Blue Notch. The lake level was considerably lower then than it is now, and there were still people launching boats (12-14' aluminum) from the shoreline, with vehicles camped right on the waters edge. There were 6 trucks camped there last year. And, it's not like that was the only spot, or cove, that you could get to if you wanted.
Farley should be an even easier access than Blue Notch.
ddaley -- September and October should be very good as well. Remember, as fall comes water temps lower, which is good because the larger stripers are then able to come to the upper layers of the water column. This is significant. Right now only the smaller stripers can handle the surface temps. All the boils happening right now are smaller fish. Come fall, those boils change to larger fish. These are the most intense and violent boils of the year. October - November are prime time.
If you venture to Farley in November you will see anglers in the area. H20 and myself will certainly come by your pontoon and say hello.
H20 -- we missed you last year. Looking forward to this year. Pray that the wind doesn't blow like it did last year. That was not a fun night. The stress of having my brand new boat was enough -- adding 50 mph wind gusts to the mix didn't allow me to sleep at night. maybe this year it will be you're talking that will keep me from sleeping!
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Where there is a will, there is a way !! I just know that I have fished a lot of those dropoffs when the water is up, and I would not like to try and get over them with a vehicle. I have seen some pretty big rigs that have had to go over some terrible terrain to get where they were, always wondered how they got back out !!!
My talking will hopefully be limited to saying goodnight to Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader. I'm really sorry I missed those high winds at Blue Notch. [
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Clear, 60's and light winds this year. I'm counting on it!
Mike
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