Lake Powell 4-7 thru 4-9

[theangler]

[left]I headed out to Lake Powell to tag along on Rich (BearLakeMack) and a friend and coworker of his Ron's striper trip. My first time fishing Powell, what an awesome trip!!![/left]

I left Colorado on Thursday and ran into many problems getting to Powell, first MapQuest was wrong, then I bought a McNealy map and it was wrong (it is missing a great shortcut freeway the 98 west also, which I used on the way home). If all that wasn't enough Wolf Creek Pass was closed so I had to double back and drop down into New Mexico. To make a long story long it turned a 9 hour drive into 13+ hours.

The way the trip started I was expecting a Typhoon when i got to page Arizona and the Wahweep Campground to meet up with Rich and Ron. Not the case! The weather was unbelievable, the fishing, companionship, and conditions were awesome! It was an amazing trip and you can't ask for two better guys to fish with!

First Day:
We got a bit of a late start because of the time I got in (1:30am) it wasn't possible to hook up that night. So we hooked up in the morning and hit the water. Rich and Ron got there the day before and got on the fish at the dam so we left Wahweep Marina and headed to the Dam. We started out tying off to the Styrofoam barricade and fished inside the barricade and towards the mouth of the lagoon that leads to the dam. We were throwing a variety of colored Mister Twister 3" jigs with a piece of anchovy. After about 20 casts the spot proved to be a bit slow so we moved out about 200 yards and started working the area to the wall. Ron hooked up immediately on the first cast on an Orange jig, so we I switched to Orange and I think Rich stayed with green (both colors were working). We put a decent amount of fish in the boat before lunch. Mostly caught close to the wall in anywhere between 15 and 25 feet of water.


After lunch the dam was crowded and had slowed down a bit so we headed to Buoy 1. Buoy 1 produced fish between the buoy and the shore using the same bait.


Thank you Ron and Rich for the AWESOME FISH TACO'S we had for dinner that night!


Second Day:
Fishing was closed out in the morning. No one seemed to be catching fish and we only boated 2 fish between fishing the dam and buoy one. We tried trolling J.P Rigs at 20 and 27 feet, mixing up our spots, a couple of different jigs, and nothing seemed to be working. Ron did land a nice smallmouth.


After lunch we moved off Buoy 1 and in to the cove and it was on. We found them sitting on a ledge deep around 30 to 60 feet with the same set up.


We put 43 fish on the boat, released a bunch.


Although we didn't land any big striper the 1 to 6 pounders were on fire! Rich and Ron make a mean fish taco and again, you can't find two better guys to fish with. Thanks again guys!

For more pictures from the trip check out
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/showgallery.php/cat/531"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/...wgallery.php/cat/531[/url]
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[Ewetah]

Sounds like a great time down there!

Thanks for the report.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Sorry I missed out on that trip. REALLY SORRY. What I had to do was a whole lot less fun.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Glad the weather treated you good and that you got into some fishies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Are your eyes still watering from BLM's angler repellent sticks?[/#0000ff]
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[Kent]

Wow Mike -- 13+ hours is some serious windshield time to get to a fishing hole, but it sounds like a fun time was had by all. I would agree with you that Rich is a class act.
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[BearLakeMack]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Ya, that was a great trip. Thanks needs to go to all my friends here on BFT for giving us a bunch of great tips and advice to get on the fish. The reports and correspondence from everyone were the difference between going down there blind and not knowing what to use or putting over 100 fish in the box in 2-1/2 days! Just awesome fishing! Thanks to all for all the great info! This is why BFT is such a great resource![/size][/black][/font]
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[Old_Coot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2][#002850]Fantastic report! Did you guys do any chumming? [/#002850][/font][/size]
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[road]

That is so awsome! Wow what a trip to Powell.Glad you all found the fish on this trip.. Wish I was there.
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[tomegun]

Trolling! Freakin' Trolling! I don't know you anymore[].

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[BearLakeMack]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Actually, we didn't catch a fish trolling. 99.9% 0f our fish were caught on baited curly-tail jigs and the rest were caught on baited circle hooks. BUT if trolling would of put fish in the box then, by gawd, we'd of trolled! BTW, has anyone ever called you a fish snob!?! [shocked][/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]That pole you gave me got put to use. It was rigged with a 1/4 oz egg sinker and circle hook. Worked very well, senor 'gun![/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Hey, Coot! We chummed all the time. Can I conclusively say it helped? Well maybe...[/size][/font]
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[Theekillerbee]

Sounds like a very awesome trip! I need to get down there one day. Those stripers look like they really give you a workout! Hopefully the gizzard shad will help offset the boom/bust cycle.
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[fish1on]

Very nice guy's

I have yet to even see lake powell
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[RILEYFISH]

[unsure] BLM,

DUDE! I am disapointed. Not one of those photos showed you enjoying one of the finer things in life! Where was that cigar? My only guess is that you were so busy catching that you did not have time to enjoy one, Or your arms were tired to hold it up to smoke. I hope that you did not run off and forgert them.

I will have an extra or two at the wiper tourney.



RILEYFISH
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[BearLakeMack]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Well, don't be too disappointed. As is usual, I had my stash of cigars. I definately enjoy a cigar while fishing; it's one of the only times I smoke. I should give up the evil habit but as you know, they can be very enjoyable. I'm looking forward to enjoying a good smoke with you at the wiper tourney![/size][/black][/font]
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