Powell: Good Hope, Trachyte

[PBH]

Just returned from 4 days of fishing at Lake Powell. It was rather interesting.

Saturday was a nice day. We launched at Bullfrog, using the low water launch north of the Marin and main launch. It's kind of nice having the the dock and launch ramp all to ourselves (two trips in a row). The water was nice, so the drive to Good Hope (Blue Notch) was rather pleasant. After finding a decent cove to setup camp, we went out for a couple hours of fishing.

Small stripers were willing, and aggressive. We could find them holding near humps that went from ~10 feet and dropped to ~40ft. They were mostly small stripers (up to 14"), but they were healthy.

The next morning (Sunday) we headed north. We knew that "striper city" would probably be inaccessible. As expected, the river is entering the lake right at the mouth of Farley and White Canyon. Accessing Farley would be a risk that we were not willing to take -- although we did see another boat come out of Farley. White Canyon had a nice debris field that also made accessing it a challenge. If the lake level remains this low, Farley's may end up cut off from the main lake due to silt deposits. It could seriously become it's own lake. White Canyon could also meet this same fate if water levels do not rise.

We spend most of our time trolling near the mud-line where the Colorado entered the lake, and down to Trachyte Canyon. There were a series of islands on the northern shoreline that provided more humps where stripers were holding. We ended the day with a respectable 40 stripers (and 4 walleye). The stripers at this end of the lake were healthy -- good fat fish obviously feeding on shad.

The wind switched directions on us that evening. It blew from the north, very hard, all night long. It was a very unpleasant night of wondering what camp would look like in the morning. When we woke up, we had blown to Padre Bay!


Just kidding. We were still in Blue Notch.

Fishing Monday after the front blew through was a bit tougher than on Sunday. The fish just didn't seem to want to bite. We still picked up a good number of stripers before we headed back to Blue Notch to meet up with the DWR to help out with their annual gill netting.

After a pleasant evening -- much more pleasant than Sunday night, even with some wind gusts -- of visiting and catching up with old friends, we all retired to our tents. Tuesday morning proved to be a very nice morning. The sun was a welcome visitor that failed to show it's face on Monday. Pulling gill nets, and picking fish from those nets is certainly more pleasant when the sun is shining.

Once the nets were picked and reset for another night, me and dad loaded our boat, said our good-byes and cruised back down lake towards Bullfrog to return home. On the way dad had me pull over at Tapestry Wall, and we photo'd the dinosaur tracks. What a truly amazing thing to look up from the lake and view the bottom side of dinosaur tracks!

Some observations from our fishing and the netting:

1. We saw a total of 4 crappie. I fear that they will somewhat disappear for few years -- at least until some vegetation can re-grow and water levels rise. If that ever happens.

2. Larger stripers are NOT in good shape. I think we'll see a large die-off of the larger (18 - 24") stripers this winter.

3. Small stripers (up to 12") are HEALTHY! They are feeding on shad and are in good shape. I think we will have a good group of healthy stripers to fish for next spring / summer.

4. The difference in the health of stripers at the mouth of the Colorado River (Trachyte, Farley, White) compared to those at Blue Notch and Good Hope was jaw dropping. Those fish at the very north end of Lake Powell are doing good and are in good shape -- even those larger fish (18 - 24").


It was a great trip, even with less than desirable weather.

Enjoy some pictures.






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[PBH]

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[PBH]

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[Kent]

Looks like you had a nice trip. What is the water temp at Powell this time of year?
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[PBH]

~60 degrees F. 58.5 - 61
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[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for posting your report and pics PBH. Did you catch the walleye with the same method you used for the stripers?
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[PBH]

Yes.

We are specifically targeting the stripers. We enjoy eating the walleye we pick up while fishing for stripers -- but we don't target them. They just are not very fun to reel in -- come straight to the surface and open their mouths. How fun is that?? (the walleye appear to be in very good shape. We caught a couple that were about 18" and very healthy)

We also picked up a few smallies and one largemouth while trolling for stripers. Unfortunately, no crappie. I fear it may be some time before we find crappie fishing like we had in 2012:

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[Kent]

[quote PBH]Yes.

We enjoy eating the walleye we pick up while fishing for stripers -- but we don't target them. They just are not very fun to reel in -- come straight to the surface and open their mouths. How fun is that??

[url "http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k32/PowerBaitHeppy/Lake%20Powell/November%202012/IMG_0759_zps49f32707.jpg[/img][/quote]"][/quote][/url]

At the risk of being hung by our die-hard walleye anglers, those are my sentiments also. I guess I need to love eating them enough to overlook the little fight that they put up.
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[wiperhunter2]

LOL, yea, I sure don't fish for eyes for their fight[] but that being said, I have caught a few that I thought were wipers, so they can put up a good fight but in general, you are right, they are not fighters. By the way, were those pics you posted of the canyon walls, the same location where you were seeing the dinosaur tracks? If so, I must be blind because I can not see them.
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[albinotrout]

Nice report. Good to see some decent fishing going on with all this weather happening. Thanks for showing the fossils.[cool]
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[TopH2O]

I was pleased to see your report. I had been wondering how many guys were going to show up at Blue Notch to help Wayne and crew. Did Gary and the other Gary make it? How about the couple from Wyoming?

I'm still being held against my will in close proximity to the Huntsman CI following my stem cell transplant on October 15. I had been hoping I would be able to get down there to help out. My friend Will and his son should have been able to meet the crew at the Rincon this morning. I have to stay close to the hospital in the event of any complications or infections while my immune system is suppressed.

I expect to be released to return home after my appointment with the Doctors on November 19. Depending on the weather I may try to get down to Powell one time before it gets really cold. I missed seeing you guys but count on me next November. Give my regards to your Dad and brother.

Mike
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[bobco]

we must have just missed you, we camped outside trachye Friday Saturday and fished for walleyes . had a great trip with super nice weather. spent Sat nite in bullfrog campground and had a great time with the kit foxes that raided our camp. Stopped at Bullfrog cleaning station and a couple of guys had a bunch of crappies, looked like way over their limits. They said they caught them up north at the crapppie spot[], saw a nps ranger when leaving and thought maybe he should go do a fish count for those guys. love the off season down there. Hows the reata run donw there? I have a 2012 with a 175opti, do you have the 150 4 stroke? What was Waynes opinion of the general heath of things up north? oh yeah we found this pike up north 1st for me in 20 years of going to powell.
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[bassrods]

Nice report and like the pictures..
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[PBH]

[quote wiperhunter2] By the way, were those pics you posted of the canyon walls, the same location where you were seeing the dinosaur tracks? If so, I must be blind because I can not see them.[/quote]

Look at my third post. The first picture is of Tapestry Wall from the north (looking south). In the left-center of the photo there is a line mid-way up the wall. That's where the tracks are. The next pictures were taken from directly below that line, looking straight up at the bottom of the ledge. Here is another look, with the tracks marked for you:





I need to give credit where credit is due: TopH20 showed these to my father a few years ago. Thanks Mike.
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[PBH]

TopH20 -- I was very to see the email you sent Wayne letting him know you wouldn't make it this year. You were certainly missed. I surely hope to see you again next year. I wish you luck in your recovery!

bobco -- we picked up a norther last year. It was rather interesting, because we had a striper boil erupt around our boat. Casting to the striper boil Dad picked up a northern pike that was about 30"!
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[wiperhunter2]

LOL, thanks for pointing it out, I was looking in the wrong area, thought it was on the vertical surface.
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[PBH]

[quote wiperhunter2]LOL, thanks for pointing it out, I was looking in the wrong area, thought it was on the vertical surface.[/quote]

Nope -- that's what makes it even more interesting, at least to me. You're looking AT THE BOTTOM of the tracks!! Crazy stuff. Nature is awesome!
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[CoyoteSpinner]

Hell of a report, well told, awesome pix, tons of fish , yeah. I give it a 9.8

Sheeze, I gotta get me on a Powell adventure one of these days.

Maybe when I get the trihull purring like a bass boat!