Fishing report

Though trout get sluggish during the winter, stream fishing can be very productive throughout the colder months. Successful winter tackle includes nymphs, spinners and natural baits (where allowed by regulations).

For those heading south to Lake Powell, winter patterns prevail there. Fish are cold and slow moving but catchable. Unfortunately, the Hite launch is now too shallow and often ice-covered. Do not try to launch at Hite. Stripers and other game fish are still abundant, but it takes a boat ride from midlake to get to the action.

The year of the striper continues with countless numbers of hungry stripers searching for food. The lakewide pattern is to graph the back third of the canyon looking for fish traces. Concentrate on the contour between 40 and 70 feet. Stripers will often be in the submerged creek channel on the breaking edge where depth rapidly increases. Find a school and drop spoons to see if the school can be started. Try trolling deep with downriggers or flat-line diving lures that go deeper than 20 feet. The first two methods may work, but if they fail to arouse the resting school, anchor, chum with anchovies and catch as many fish as needed. If fish are enticed into the shallows to feed on chum, they can be caught with spinnerbaits and suspending jerk baits. Take all of the rods with various lures attached to find the combination to land the most fish.

Stripers remain in close proximity to the summer hotspots. The backs of the canyons are now a bit better than the main channel, but fish are found at all locations. Day length is so short that it is very productive to fish after dark for hours before bedtime. The marina areas are good bets for success. Use bait near bottom under the slips and from the fish docks. Night fishing may be the most effective fishing method, and it will be the warmest method if fishing from the back of a houseboat.

Walleye are caught with more regularity now that sunfish are less mobile and shad have gone deep. Bass will be active for brief periods each day with longer periods of dormancy. When they wake up to eat, fishing can be great. When they rest, it is a long time between bites.