Stippers Lake Powell

[elk_horn]

New to bass fishing... going to Lake Powell 1st week in June ...would like to target stippers ... never fished for them before and would like some advise... we will be launching out of bull frog...
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[doolay]

I have been doing some research on striper fishing in Powell and this is some stuff that I have been able to find. First find the schools on you fish finder. Trolling with spoons or cranks has been a popular topic. With spoons you want to troll through them and then let off the gas so the spoons sink then after a few seconds start trolling again and pull the spoons up through them. Its suppose to entice them to strike. Then there is the ol' piece a 'chovie off the side of the boat and down to their depth (usually on a jig or a spoon). There was also talk about using a fishing light at night to bring in the zooplankton and then gizzard shad and ultimately the stripers. I'm heading down to Powell the first part of may and I'm going to employ these tactics to try and catch a bunch of stripers. I'll let you know if any of them work for me. Hopefully this helps.
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[elk_horn]

Thanks.. good luck in May and let me know how you did.
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[Catatafish]

Go to Wayneswords.com and do some reading on Lake Powell fishing.

If you can find them, you can catch them. Often you'll find big suspended schools and can drop jigging spoons or bait down and catch fish for hours.

If they are feeding near the surface, top water is a complete blast. If you can find a boil that lasts awhile, it's just unbelievably fun.

Trolling can be very productive too...but that bores the hell out of me so I usually only do it when moving from one spot to another.

PM me if you'd like some pictures on the lures that I've used with a lot of success down there and at Mead for Stripers.

Also, here is Wayne's 2010 fishing forecast:

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Posted By: [url "http://www.wayneswords.com/cgi-bin/wwlpfishing.pl?profile=wayne+gustaveson"]Wayne Gustaveson[/url]
Date: 2/22/10
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[#333333]Fish are grinning at Lake Powell. All of the little necessities for successful fish life are perfect. [/#333333]
[#333333]There is enough snow in the mountains to make the lake level rise just a little bit this spring. A modest increase would allow the lake to lap at the remaining layer of green brush that has been growing on the lake shore since 2002 when the lake declined due to drought. The effect of brush along the normally barren rocky shoreline created much more living space and shelter for all fish. It has been a long road back but the journey has really been worth it. [/#333333]
[#333333]The drought silver lining had some positive effects. The lake was low enough that waves stirred the old bottom sediment releasing long buried nutrients. Added nutrition created a bumper crop of forage fish which in turn enhanced the populations of hungry sportfish. [/#333333]
[#333333]Lake Powell has long had only one forage fish that ventures into open water. In 2000, gizzard shad were found in the lake. Today that second shad population is huge and the threadfin population is strong. [/#333333]
[#333333]This all translates into great conditions for fish but what does it mean for anglers? [/#333333]
[#333333]Anglers will have to adapt to be successful. That wont be hard for those pursuing largemouth. Bucketmouth bass love brush and wont venture far from it. Those accustomed to fishing for largemouth will be right at home casting lures into brush thickets and dragging them back with fish instead of tree limbs attached. If this is new to some they will have to invest in spinnerbaits, weedless lures or learn to embed the hook inside a plastic bait to allow it to swim through tree branches without hanging up. [/#333333]
[#333333]Smallmouth numbers are high. Fish are generally larger than last year. Luckily anglers can use traditional techniques to catch these rock loving fish. The subtle difference is that bronze bass will chase lures in open water more often now in response to the higher number of shad swimming in the upper water levels. Bottom feeding bass can be caught too. [/#333333]
[#333333]Striped bass are fat and constantly chasing shad. Those expecting incredibly easy spring time bait fishing will be disappointed. Stripers migrate to the dam and main channel when food is scarce. That is not the case in spring 2010. Fat stripers will be in the backs of the canyons near shad schools. Cover lots of water while trolling deep diving baits. Each time a fish is caught, stop the boat and try casting, spooning or bait fishing to increase the catch. If the school moves on then troll again to relocate them. Then repeat the catching process each time the school is in range. [/#333333]
[#333333]Walleye are one of the bonus fish for 2010. Expect excellent walleye fishing in the Good Hope Bay area. We found an extraordinary number of walleye in our fall fish sampling in 2009. That will translate to great fishing from April 15 to June 15 in the upper lake. For the rest of the lake walleye will only be caught in modest numbers during the same time frame. A great technique is to troll medium running lures along mud washed points in the main channel during May. [/#333333]
[#333333]Crappie are the other bonus. Dense brush has allowed the species to come back in big numbers over most of the lake. Crappie will spawn in April and early May. Use small plastic or marabou jigs fished right in the densest cover to catch these tasty pan fish. [/#333333]
[#333333]This is obviously a very enthusiastic report. The only detractor may be that forage and cover are too good. That makes it easy living for a fish and harder for anglers to catch fat fussy fish. But this is an accurate assessment of what to expect in 2010. I invite you to come to Powell and match wits with any of the eight species of game fish that are thriving here this spring. There will be enough fishing action to make ever trip worthwhile. [/#333333]
[#333333]See you on the lake."[/#333333]
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[gdn443]

Good luck on your trip and try to post a fish on the contest post.
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