10-31-2016, 03:59 AM
Spent last week with friends at Bullfrog. We had some rain on the way down on Monday and rain that night. Tuesday morning dawned clear and mild. The weather all week was some of the best I have ever had at Powell.
Fishing was very interesting to say the least. We fished Bullfrog and Hall's all week. We graphed massive schools of Shad all over the place. They were usually in 25 ft of water, from right on the bottom to suspended up to 15ft. What was really strange was that although there were large numbers of shad, we could not find anything feeding on them. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we started dropping spoons and jigs on them and we scored some small stripers. I even caught one on topwater, but the best technique was speed reeling, drop the lure to the bottom and speed reel up, drop again, speed reel. We usually fished Stripers in the late afternoon into the evening. What was also strange was that as the sun set, the shad came to the surface and the whole surface was covered with dimpling shad, but no stripers busting them. We did not get out much in the morning, so no idea if there was early morning action.
Bass fishing was also a bit strange. Spiney Niad, an invasive weed that has found it's way into Powell is starting to be found all over. We found many small cuts/coves with it growing in 8-12 ft of water, coming up to within 2 ft of the surface. LMB loved it and we caught more LMB this trip than we have in many years. The spawn was good because there were a grundel of 6-8 inch LMB chasing grubs, spider jigs, and cranks. We also scored some nice 2-3lb LMB in these same areas. SMB were everywhere, caught on a vairiety of baits. There was no one bait that was dominate, although a clear sparkle spider jig was pretty consistent.
We caught several walleye, usually swimming a white grub. One of the party almost scored a Lake Powell sweep, catching a LMB, SMB, Walleye, Stripper, and Channel cat. He did not catch a Crappie, Carp or Gizzard Shad.
I'll post some pics of some of our catch when I get them. One of the best trips I have ever had at Powell. Fishing was not hot, but fairly steady.
Fishing was very interesting to say the least. We fished Bullfrog and Hall's all week. We graphed massive schools of Shad all over the place. They were usually in 25 ft of water, from right on the bottom to suspended up to 15ft. What was really strange was that although there were large numbers of shad, we could not find anything feeding on them. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we started dropping spoons and jigs on them and we scored some small stripers. I even caught one on topwater, but the best technique was speed reeling, drop the lure to the bottom and speed reel up, drop again, speed reel. We usually fished Stripers in the late afternoon into the evening. What was also strange was that as the sun set, the shad came to the surface and the whole surface was covered with dimpling shad, but no stripers busting them. We did not get out much in the morning, so no idea if there was early morning action.
Bass fishing was also a bit strange. Spiney Niad, an invasive weed that has found it's way into Powell is starting to be found all over. We found many small cuts/coves with it growing in 8-12 ft of water, coming up to within 2 ft of the surface. LMB loved it and we caught more LMB this trip than we have in many years. The spawn was good because there were a grundel of 6-8 inch LMB chasing grubs, spider jigs, and cranks. We also scored some nice 2-3lb LMB in these same areas. SMB were everywhere, caught on a vairiety of baits. There was no one bait that was dominate, although a clear sparkle spider jig was pretty consistent.
We caught several walleye, usually swimming a white grub. One of the party almost scored a Lake Powell sweep, catching a LMB, SMB, Walleye, Stripper, and Channel cat. He did not catch a Crappie, Carp or Gizzard Shad.
I'll post some pics of some of our catch when I get them. One of the best trips I have ever had at Powell. Fishing was not hot, but fairly steady.