The current lake conditions are also benefiting the largemouth bass and crappie. The lake is currently rising. Predictions are it will come up close to 50 feet. The rising water (it's risen nearly 15 feet since mid-April) is covering vegetation that has been growing along the shorelines. Both largemouth bass and crappie need this new-growth vegetation to survive.

Smallmouth bass prefer a habitat of broken rock.

"The smallmouth will continue to do OK, because the broken rock is not going to go away anytime soon," he said. "Vegetation will. But, as the level keeps coming up, we can expect the largemouth and crappie to continue to thrive."

Some of the smallmouth being caught last week were in the two- to three-pound class. Gustaveson said that with another good shad year, "we could see smallmouth in the three- to five-pound class by next year."

For years now, Gustaveson has been fighting to bring in another forage fish for the underwater residents of the lake but has been unsuccessful. A few years ago, the federal government accidentally released gizzard shad in the San Juan River, which flows into Lake Powell.

Gustaveson said the accidental introduction of the gizzard shad has been overshadowed by the success of the threadfin shad.

"But, if the threadfin do what they typically do, which is fall into a cycle and we have a couple of bad years, then we hope the gizzard shad can move in to take its place," he said.

Currently, the striped bass are in their spring pattern, which means they come up closer to the surface to feed, then go deeper to rest. The best fishing is in 30 to 40 feet of water. This pattern will continue until they spawn in early June.

Some of the best fishing has been trolling in water 20 to 40 feet deep.

Because the water in the upper reaches of the lake is holding low oxygen levels, the larger stripers are staying toward the southern reaches, between Bullfrog and Wahweap. The stripers from Bullfrog north tend to fall in the three- to five-pound class.

The smallmouth moved into spawn a few weeks ago, but colder weather pushed them back out. They returned to their nests this week with the warmer weather, but now the rising water has put those nests in waters between 10 and 20 feet deep.

The best lures to use are those that have colors similar to shad and crayfish, which are silvers and browns.

Cranks, jerks, white-colored soft plastic grubs and tubes, and spinner baits all resemble shad and work well for all bass.

According to Gustaveson, on cooler days, fish slow down, allowing ample opportunity for the fish to decide to eat. As the water warms, fish will get more active and come shallower.

Warm afternoons, he added, might be the best time to fish.

Walleye will be under suspended clay trailing off a windblown shore or washed by boat wakes or wave action.

Catfish will be prowling the bottom under all the other fish looking for an easy meal. Anchovy fishing at the dam and other historically good spring gathering spots will be good through May or until spawning occurs. Slow trolling with an anchovy harness may be the best technique to try under these conditions.

But, as Gustaveson pointed out, the fishing hasn't been this good or the fish this big in decades, "so this is a perfect time to take advantage of the opportunity," he said.

For the latest fishing conditions at Lake Powell, visit Gustaveson's Web site at www.wayneswords.com.

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E-mail: grass@desnews.com