Fishing at Powell constantly changing
Ray Grass
He was talking about the lake he has cared for for some 25 years — Lake Powell — and the fish that swim there. He is the lake biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Every year fishermen see something different, starting way back when the lake started to fill and trout were the catch of the day. Then came largemouth bass and crappie, and the trout disappeared, then walleye and smallmouth, with a modest mix of carp.
The main players in the early years, though, were bass — largemouth and stripers, at first, then smallmouth — and shad.
Last year, for example, the striped bass were long, thin and, on average, tipped the scales at 7 pounds. This year they're short, fat, round and, at their largest, maybe 3 pounds.
Last year they were partial to lures that were more brown than silver. This year they liked silver.
Two years ago there was a sizable threadfin shad population, which fed the stripers and kept them big and healthy. Last year there were few shad to eat, and the fish became skinny. This year the judges are still out. The shad haven't spawned.
The first time I fished for stripers was just before Gustaveson took charge. I fished with Dick Gasaway, a fishing pro from Denver. I can't tell you where we fished or what we used, only that Gasaway caught a half-dozen fish over 12 pounds in less time than it takes to rig a rod.
He then pulled the boat next to a forest of trees reaching out like fingers from the water and caught as many largemouth bass and even more crappie. Fishing couldn't have been any better.
And, I would have bet everything back then that things would never change — change. Too much food, too many fish and an endless stretch of water for a natural hatchery.
But they did change. Over time the shad disappeared and reappeared, the stripers died of starvation then came back larger than ever, and the largemouth lost their homes only to find them again. Smallmouth went from nothing to becoming the most plentiful catch.
Since then it's been a delicate balancing act between the shad, striped bass and largemouth bass. Some years were great, some poor, and it was a difficult thing to predict.
Gustaveson came up with the best solution, which was to let fishermen enter the equation. The limit on stripers was lifted, which allowed fishermen to catch and keep as many fish as they choose to fillet.
This also allowed fishermen to learn how best to fish for stripers. Some opted for baits, mainly anchovies, while most went with lures.
Today there is an army of anglers that start showing up in mid-April when water temperatures start knocking on 55 degrees. It's the temperature that triggers the spawning cycle and will determine the fishing future for this year and into next.
All of which, of course, makes for very interesting times.
E-mail: grass@desnews.com
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