Success picks up at Powell

Fishing at Lake Powell in recent weeks has been considered modest. That changed last week. Anglers have been coming into docks with coolers full of fish. Those fish being caught are smaller but healthier than those seen the two previous years.

What does this mean?

It appears that more fish made their way into the channel than had previously been there, said Wayne Gustaveson, lake biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

"Or they could have been there all the time and were stimulated by increasing water temperature. For whatever reason, it seems that the likelihood of catching a good number of fish at the dam has now increased. There will still be time periods or whole days when fishing is slow," he said.

"Which means it's always good to have a backup plan if all the prime spots at the dam are occupied or fishing is not good. There are other locations that harbor striper schools.

"The closest location is the canyon wall on the west side near the barricade line. It is not necessary to tie to the barricades to catch fish, just follow the wall north for a few hundred yards to the end of the underwater ledge that holds the striper schools in place."

Other points include buoy No. 1 at the mouth of Wahweap Bay, or Antelope and Navajo Canyons and NGS power plant intake to buoy No. 9 on the south canyon wall.

There is an early morning largemouth-bass bite in the backs of the canyons where water depth is between 10 and 20 feet and in coves of the channel at the same depth.

Fishermen should look for murky water. Often coves have sandy bottoms with old brush like long submerged tumbleweeds or old trees on the bottom.

A little ridge of rocks in the sand may be all the cover bass need. The best bait has been bulky dark green plastic grubs. A good technique is to use a slow dragging retrieve while maintaining bottom contact.

Smallmouth bass fishing is best in the afternoon during the warmest part of the day. Use the same techniques as for largemouth but target the rocky structure near the shallow coves.

Each day more walleye and crappie are being caught while fishing for bass using plastic baits.

The fishing opportunities at the lake are varied, but Gustaveson said success is improving each week as waters start to warm.