09-25-2004, 06:33 PM
From Wayne's report on Lake Powell some spoonging and structure tips.
LAKE POWELL — Report courtesy wayneswords.com. Lake elevation: 3,570 Water temperature: 73-75 F. Our recent sampling trip helped solve the mystery of non-boiling stripers. Shad are thick over the old Colorado River streambed and the feeder canyons. Shad spread out at night across the open water above the submerged channel at a depth of 25-45 feet. Shad concentrations get heavier closer to the inflowing Colorado River. While shad are present at all locations, Good Hope has the most. Bullfrog is next. As up-lake stripers feed, they herd shad and trap them against the submerged canyon walls or just trap shad against other striper bodies as they feed in a pack. Shad are large and plentiful. It is not necessary for stripers to use the surface as a killing field. Some small quick boils do occur at first light but most feeding is deep. In the lower lake, shad schools are plentiful but less frequent than up-lake. Stripers are most effective feeding on shad at the surface so they drive schools to the top each morning from first light till 8 a.m. Then stripers go deep to rest and feed. In both locations, striper attacks separate shad schools and scatter shad in all directions before they can regroup into their comfortable school. This is the key to catching stripers. Here is the fishing technique that works well. If a quick boil is seen near shore, position the boat in 40-60 feet of water. Stripers leave the surface and follow the bottom contour to the first break or flat before where the cliff cascades into the main channel. Deep-feeding stripers regroup on the terrace at 40-60 feet. These striper schools must be located on the fish finder. Follow the breaking edge of the creek channel until fish are marked. When stripers/shad are graphed, drop a jigging spoon to the bottom. If stripers are close (5 feet) to the bottom, then vertically jig the spoon up and down. If stripers are suspended any further off the bottom, then use a speed-jigging technique: as soon as the spoon hits bottom reel it back to the surface as fast as possible. When the lure comes into view, open the bail and let if fall back to the bottom and repeat the process quickly when fish are on the graph. The lure "burning" toward the surface mimics a single shad in panic-mode trying to find its school. Speed jigging is absolutely the best fishing technique for stripers right now from Slick Rock Canyon upstream to Good Hope Bay. Injured and frightened shad are the main diet of both bass and stripers. With such an abundance of food, lures that look and act like a preferred shad meal are the most effective. Some anglers are struggling to get a bite while others in the same bay even using the same lure are catching all the fish they want. The difference is bringing the lure quickly from bottom to top past suspended stripers. The best spoons this week were Wallylures, Hopkins Shorty, and Cabelas spoons in the three-quarters to 1.5-ounce size. Trolling can locate suspended stripers. When a school is found, speed jigging spoons is effective.
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LAKE POWELL — Report courtesy wayneswords.com. Lake elevation: 3,570 Water temperature: 73-75 F. Our recent sampling trip helped solve the mystery of non-boiling stripers. Shad are thick over the old Colorado River streambed and the feeder canyons. Shad spread out at night across the open water above the submerged channel at a depth of 25-45 feet. Shad concentrations get heavier closer to the inflowing Colorado River. While shad are present at all locations, Good Hope has the most. Bullfrog is next. As up-lake stripers feed, they herd shad and trap them against the submerged canyon walls or just trap shad against other striper bodies as they feed in a pack. Shad are large and plentiful. It is not necessary for stripers to use the surface as a killing field. Some small quick boils do occur at first light but most feeding is deep. In the lower lake, shad schools are plentiful but less frequent than up-lake. Stripers are most effective feeding on shad at the surface so they drive schools to the top each morning from first light till 8 a.m. Then stripers go deep to rest and feed. In both locations, striper attacks separate shad schools and scatter shad in all directions before they can regroup into their comfortable school. This is the key to catching stripers. Here is the fishing technique that works well. If a quick boil is seen near shore, position the boat in 40-60 feet of water. Stripers leave the surface and follow the bottom contour to the first break or flat before where the cliff cascades into the main channel. Deep-feeding stripers regroup on the terrace at 40-60 feet. These striper schools must be located on the fish finder. Follow the breaking edge of the creek channel until fish are marked. When stripers/shad are graphed, drop a jigging spoon to the bottom. If stripers are close (5 feet) to the bottom, then vertically jig the spoon up and down. If stripers are suspended any further off the bottom, then use a speed-jigging technique: as soon as the spoon hits bottom reel it back to the surface as fast as possible. When the lure comes into view, open the bail and let if fall back to the bottom and repeat the process quickly when fish are on the graph. The lure "burning" toward the surface mimics a single shad in panic-mode trying to find its school. Speed jigging is absolutely the best fishing technique for stripers right now from Slick Rock Canyon upstream to Good Hope Bay. Injured and frightened shad are the main diet of both bass and stripers. With such an abundance of food, lures that look and act like a preferred shad meal are the most effective. Some anglers are struggling to get a bite while others in the same bay even using the same lure are catching all the fish they want. The difference is bringing the lure quickly from bottom to top past suspended stripers. The best spoons this week were Wallylures, Hopkins Shorty, and Cabelas spoons in the three-quarters to 1.5-ounce size. Trolling can locate suspended stripers. When a school is found, speed jigging spoons is effective.
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