04-23-2012, 06:54 PM
[#000080][size 3][#000080][size 3]Randy and Arrons's Lake Powell report (awesome!)
Here's a quick summary of our Lake Powell camping/fishing trip Thursday 4/19 thru Sunday 4/22.
First, I need to say, the weather was absolutely perfect the entire trip. We had about 2 hours of wind the first evening (Thursday night), then for the rest of the trip we didn't even have so much as a breeze the entire time, and not one cloud, and temps in the high 70's and low 80's. Glass water all over the lake and blue skies. Quite possibly the best weather I've EVER experienced at Lake Powell. Our camp spot was also one of the best I've ever had there. It was way in the back of Moki Canyon about 2 miles in from the main channel and was shaded in the morning until about 10:00, and then from about 3:00 in the afternoon thru the rest of the evening. It was located in a quiet canyon with high canyon walls. Hardly any boat traffic and not many people on the lake at all. I honestly can't even imagine nicer conditions. The mornings were cool enough to want to have a flannel shirt or sweatshirt on...but only till about 9:00 and then it got too hot for anything but t-shirts and shorts. With no breeze at all...it felt hotter than it was.
We left at 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning from my house with Arrons boat behind my truck. I was driving with an icepack on my back and that helped a little but my back still bothered me the whole trip.
We had a wheel bearing go out on Arron's boat trailer about 1/2 mile before Ticaboo (within an hour of Lake Powell). Unbelievably...there is a NAPA at Ticaboo (and nothing else) and it was open, and had all the parts we needed. It took longer than normal to get it going as I couldn't do the work myself, but instead had to instruct Arron as he did the entire wheel bearing job. That cost us about 3 hours (and cost Arron about $120!), and long story short, by the time we launched and found a campsite and got camp set up...it was about 5:30 p.m. So we didn't get much fishing in on the first day (Thursday).
We fished Friday and Saturday along the shorelines in many of the canyons but spent the majority of our time in Moki canyon as that is where our campsite was. We also fished in Halls Creek, Hanson Creek and along the main channel. We hit the marina once for ice (yes, the weather was hot enough we had to replenish our ice!). We spent a lot of time trolling for Stripers (as that is how they say to locate them at Bullfrog right now) but never found any schools. Most fish caught were casting into rocks on the shorelines. Arrons boat ran great the whole time, but was difficult to maneuver as the steering cable was freezing up on it, but we still managed fish the shorelines and rockpiles with success. Fishing was not easy and it was active fishing only. We tried baitfishing and trolling for stripers, but never found any schools. Most of the fish we caught were pitching grubs and worms into the rocks from the boat. (And baitfishing at night from camp for the catfishes). We spent a LOT of time snacking and relaxing on the boat. Whenever we found shade, we would usually stop, throw out the baitpoles and sit and enjoy the calm water and shade...I don't think we ever caught a single fish baitfishing from the boat! We fished till dark on Friday, but came back to camp earlier on Saturday and had a super relaxing evening just baitfishing from camp, cooking our dinner and relaxing in our lawn chairs. We packed up Sunday morning and came home without further incidents.
Our camp was awesome. In the shade in the morning and after 3:00 p.m. each day. We didn't spend a whole lot of time there, but the food, the sleeping, the weather, and everything was absolutely perfect. We caught a few really nice fish, but most were smaller. We caught one 17" LM, two 15" LM, and two 14" SM as far as big fishes go. Everything else was 9 to 13 inches or so. We caught a bunch of catfishes at camp (up to about 16" or 17" inchers) and the occasional bonus species. Here are the counts and a bunch of pictures. (our camp with our 2 tents, one my my LM and one of my SM, some scenery, and Arrons busted boat trailer at the Napa in Ticaboo)
Randy:
2 LM
10 SM
1 Carp
1 Striper
8 Catfishes
22 fish total, 5 species.
Arron:
5 LM
14 SM
1 Walleye
1 Crappie
1 Sunfish
9 Catfishes
1 Striper
33 fish total, 7 species.
[/size][/#000080][/size][/#000080]
[signature]
Here's a quick summary of our Lake Powell camping/fishing trip Thursday 4/19 thru Sunday 4/22.
First, I need to say, the weather was absolutely perfect the entire trip. We had about 2 hours of wind the first evening (Thursday night), then for the rest of the trip we didn't even have so much as a breeze the entire time, and not one cloud, and temps in the high 70's and low 80's. Glass water all over the lake and blue skies. Quite possibly the best weather I've EVER experienced at Lake Powell. Our camp spot was also one of the best I've ever had there. It was way in the back of Moki Canyon about 2 miles in from the main channel and was shaded in the morning until about 10:00, and then from about 3:00 in the afternoon thru the rest of the evening. It was located in a quiet canyon with high canyon walls. Hardly any boat traffic and not many people on the lake at all. I honestly can't even imagine nicer conditions. The mornings were cool enough to want to have a flannel shirt or sweatshirt on...but only till about 9:00 and then it got too hot for anything but t-shirts and shorts. With no breeze at all...it felt hotter than it was.
We left at 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning from my house with Arrons boat behind my truck. I was driving with an icepack on my back and that helped a little but my back still bothered me the whole trip.
We had a wheel bearing go out on Arron's boat trailer about 1/2 mile before Ticaboo (within an hour of Lake Powell). Unbelievably...there is a NAPA at Ticaboo (and nothing else) and it was open, and had all the parts we needed. It took longer than normal to get it going as I couldn't do the work myself, but instead had to instruct Arron as he did the entire wheel bearing job. That cost us about 3 hours (and cost Arron about $120!), and long story short, by the time we launched and found a campsite and got camp set up...it was about 5:30 p.m. So we didn't get much fishing in on the first day (Thursday).
We fished Friday and Saturday along the shorelines in many of the canyons but spent the majority of our time in Moki canyon as that is where our campsite was. We also fished in Halls Creek, Hanson Creek and along the main channel. We hit the marina once for ice (yes, the weather was hot enough we had to replenish our ice!). We spent a lot of time trolling for Stripers (as that is how they say to locate them at Bullfrog right now) but never found any schools. Most fish caught were casting into rocks on the shorelines. Arrons boat ran great the whole time, but was difficult to maneuver as the steering cable was freezing up on it, but we still managed fish the shorelines and rockpiles with success. Fishing was not easy and it was active fishing only. We tried baitfishing and trolling for stripers, but never found any schools. Most of the fish we caught were pitching grubs and worms into the rocks from the boat. (And baitfishing at night from camp for the catfishes). We spent a LOT of time snacking and relaxing on the boat. Whenever we found shade, we would usually stop, throw out the baitpoles and sit and enjoy the calm water and shade...I don't think we ever caught a single fish baitfishing from the boat! We fished till dark on Friday, but came back to camp earlier on Saturday and had a super relaxing evening just baitfishing from camp, cooking our dinner and relaxing in our lawn chairs. We packed up Sunday morning and came home without further incidents.
Our camp was awesome. In the shade in the morning and after 3:00 p.m. each day. We didn't spend a whole lot of time there, but the food, the sleeping, the weather, and everything was absolutely perfect. We caught a few really nice fish, but most were smaller. We caught one 17" LM, two 15" LM, and two 14" SM as far as big fishes go. Everything else was 9 to 13 inches or so. We caught a bunch of catfishes at camp (up to about 16" or 17" inchers) and the occasional bonus species. Here are the counts and a bunch of pictures. (our camp with our 2 tents, one my my LM and one of my SM, some scenery, and Arrons busted boat trailer at the Napa in Ticaboo)
Randy:
2 LM
10 SM
1 Carp
1 Striper
8 Catfishes
22 fish total, 5 species.
Arron:
5 LM
14 SM
1 Walleye
1 Crappie
1 Sunfish
9 Catfishes
1 Striper
33 fish total, 7 species.
[/size][/#000080][/size][/#000080]
[signature]
I used to N.ot have E.nough T.ime O.ff to go fishing. Then I retired. Now I have less time than I had before. Sheesh.
]
