Great fishing expected in April

The fishing at Lake Powell has been good in recent weeks, but the "really" good fishing is expected to hit in early April. And, the latest word is that anglers can expect 2006 to be yet another great year for catching fish.

The latest report from Wayne Gustaveson, fisheries project leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources at the lake, indicates that the weather has been a little unsettled, which has delayed the spawn.

"Those venturing to the lake are having good success despite the weather. High fish population numbers, particularly for striped bass and smallmouth bass, ensure that fishing will be good during 2006," he reported.

Anglers continue to line up along the barricade in front of Glen Canyon Dam waiting for the daily school of striped bass to swim by. Anglers with patience are rewarded with a good two-hour period of steady catching sometime during the day.

The pattern is inconsistent. "One day the morning fishing is better while the next day the afternoon catches are higher. With increased boating pressure, the average catch per boat has fallen to about 10 fish," said Gustaveson. "While fishing at the barricade is steadily productive, those that like to search may find a hot spot at various points along the west wall. Search all the way to green Buoy 1 at Anchovy Point and the main channel, which is another striper hot spot."

Night fishing with anchovies under a green light was productive at the barricade from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fish ranged from 20 to 80 feet in depth.

If fishing close to other anglers is not the preferred method, then anglers can run uplake and search the backs of canyons for stripers.

"Troll or cast 'Lipless Vibrating' or deep diving shad-imitating lures in any canyon from Warm Creek to Oak Canyon. Find stripers holding where bottom depth is 30 to 45 feet. Troll or cast repeatedly to hungry fish until they quit responding. Striper schools are quite stationary in cold water, so fishing anchovies where stripers were caught on lures is quite productive. Expect to find stripers holding between 25 and 40 feet in the back of the canyon in colored water."

From Bullfrog upstream, stripers are still being caught trolling deep divers, like "Norman Deep Little N," and on jigging spoons when a school is seen on the graph. More stripers are caught in the southern lake, but individual stripers caught up north are bigger and fatter.

"Choose your striper fishing location by quantity or quality. If you can't decide, then make two trips to the north and south of Lake Powell and decide for yourself," he said