4 feet of bass

Found and not hooked. That's the story of Alfonso Gonzales of St. George and the 30-plus-pound striped bass at Lake Powell. Gonzales found the fish floating on the surface in Last Chance Bay a few weeks back. This particular fish was spotted a week earlier by a ranger for the National Park Service. When he stopped the fish swam away. The fish was 49 inches long and should have weighed around 40 pounds, but when found was extremely dehydrated. Large fish will sometimes die of old age and float to the surface. Occasionally, a large fish will leave the cooler, deeper water to feed on the surface and fall victim to warmer water temperatures. The best time to catch the large fish is in the winter when water temperatures are colder.