Powell angler lands a whopper

Dan Porter and his brother, Mike, traveled to Lake Powell a few weeks back to fish for large stripers. He did not, however, expect one fish in particular would be so large — 38.5 pounds to be exact.

On his first pass in the middle of Dry Rock Creek, the Salt Lake angler caught a six-pound striper. On a return pass, trolling five colors of leaded line attached to a Thunderstick lure, he stopped the boat thinking he had a snag.

After a 15- to 20-minute struggle, a large striped bass surfaced in the water near the boat. When the two men tried to net the fish, the aluminum handle broke. Eventually, they boated the fish. When they did, they noticed one hook was completely gone and the other was barely hanging by one strand of spit ring wire.

The fish was taken to Dangling Rope and measured at 42 inches long and had a 27-inch girth. Since the only official scales were in Wahweap, the two men headed that way.

Wayne Gustaveson, project leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, met the group at Wahweap and weighed the fish at Bashas' Grocery store. It was 38.5 pounds.

The current lake record is 48 pounds.

Elsewhere around the state, the latest report from the DWR shows:

EAST CANYON: Fishing success is fair. Anglers trolling report success using needle fish, flat fish and pop gear in the southeast arm. Bait fishermen report good success using Power Bait, worms and salmon eggs.

ECHO: Fishing success is fair to good. Anglers report catching good-size trout trolling with flat fish, orange triple teezers and needle fish. Shore anglers have reported fair success using Power Bait and worm/marshmallow.

HYRUM: Fishing success is fair to good. Anglers report success from shore using a worm tipped with a marshmallow from the bottom. Boat anglers report success using a black plastic jig in the grassy shallow areas to catch large mouth bass.

LOST CREEK: Fishing success is fair to good. Shore anglers have reported better success and less pressure away from the dam using Power Bait and small spinners — black and gold. Boat anglers have had good success using pop gear and small spoons. Fly fishermen report limited success with black- and rust-colored woolly buggers.