11-19-2019, 12:05 AM
Plan for the first week of December sometime (by the 5th it has typically been in full swing in past years) and watch the weather report for Garden City and if you pick a day that shows 5-10 mph winds or less then you should be safe to plan for it.
We use 1/8 oz jigs and on occasion 1/4 ounce jigs to keep in constant contact with the bottom and it helps with the wind or small waves. 1/8 oz seems to be the best overall. 1/16 are what I use if it is dead calm and I don't need to cast far. I use 6 pound fluorocarbon leader on 10 pound braid or nanofill. Use a double uni knot to attach the leader and not a swivel. 6 pound mono works just as well. Heavier than that and you will be handicapping yourself.
Keep your jigs within 3" of the bottom and make sure you are bouncing bottom with each jig. Don't jig too hard or high or you will be wasting your time, think twitching, not jigging.
We use small red and green tubes, white tubes, pink tubes, etc...or 2.5" black shad gulp minnows tipped with a smidge of worm. We fish anywhere that has 3-6" diameter cobble on the bottom in 10-15 feet of water. Good spots are 1st point, 2nd point, Cisco beach, and just off of the marina sometimes.
If you want to target some nice cutthroats and maybe a few lakers then casting spoons, spinners, or larger jigs will almost always get you into a few. Trolling works awesome too, but you tick off the other guys that are still fishing in boats if you troll back and forth close to them. Also, if you have an I-troll or auto-pilot, do not use it to try to keep on the fish. It will scare them away for about 75-100 yards most times. Use an anchor to stay on a spot once you've settled on one. The electric motor scares the whitefish off believe it or not.
If you have a small boat then I recommend you launch as close to your fishing spot as possible and be ready to get off the lake if it looks like a storm is moving in. If it is a larger heavy water capable boat then you should be fine to launch from the State Park marina and go anywhere you want. Launch ramps are at the marina, 1st point, Cisco beach and rainbow cove.
I am the local fire chief up here in Garden City and we do lots of boat rescues due to people getting caught off guard by the weather. If you fish Powell then you probably already know the drill. Be prepared for rough conditions just in case they show up, but don't think it's always rough because it is usually quite nice and fishable in the mornings.
I fish the lake most weeks and will report as soon as I start seeing whitefish show up. Enjoy your visit up here and be safe!
Mike
[signature]
We use 1/8 oz jigs and on occasion 1/4 ounce jigs to keep in constant contact with the bottom and it helps with the wind or small waves. 1/8 oz seems to be the best overall. 1/16 are what I use if it is dead calm and I don't need to cast far. I use 6 pound fluorocarbon leader on 10 pound braid or nanofill. Use a double uni knot to attach the leader and not a swivel. 6 pound mono works just as well. Heavier than that and you will be handicapping yourself.
Keep your jigs within 3" of the bottom and make sure you are bouncing bottom with each jig. Don't jig too hard or high or you will be wasting your time, think twitching, not jigging.
We use small red and green tubes, white tubes, pink tubes, etc...or 2.5" black shad gulp minnows tipped with a smidge of worm. We fish anywhere that has 3-6" diameter cobble on the bottom in 10-15 feet of water. Good spots are 1st point, 2nd point, Cisco beach, and just off of the marina sometimes.
If you want to target some nice cutthroats and maybe a few lakers then casting spoons, spinners, or larger jigs will almost always get you into a few. Trolling works awesome too, but you tick off the other guys that are still fishing in boats if you troll back and forth close to them. Also, if you have an I-troll or auto-pilot, do not use it to try to keep on the fish. It will scare them away for about 75-100 yards most times. Use an anchor to stay on a spot once you've settled on one. The electric motor scares the whitefish off believe it or not.
If you have a small boat then I recommend you launch as close to your fishing spot as possible and be ready to get off the lake if it looks like a storm is moving in. If it is a larger heavy water capable boat then you should be fine to launch from the State Park marina and go anywhere you want. Launch ramps are at the marina, 1st point, Cisco beach and rainbow cove.
I am the local fire chief up here in Garden City and we do lots of boat rescues due to people getting caught off guard by the weather. If you fish Powell then you probably already know the drill. Be prepared for rough conditions just in case they show up, but don't think it's always rough because it is usually quite nice and fishable in the mornings.
I fish the lake most weeks and will report as soon as I start seeing whitefish show up. Enjoy your visit up here and be safe!
Mike
[signature]