Lake Powell Fishing Report June 2020

Lake Powell is now back to normal and open for fishing, recreating and camping 24 hours per day. Smallmouth Bass fishing has been incredible with a consistent catch of 40 fish or better each day. Most anglers are pounding the shoreline from 5-30 feet deep with plastic baits including Ned rigs, plastic grubs, Maniac Cutter bugs, and various crankbaits. Many have enjoyed topwater fishing in the early morning and evening in coves and the backs of canyons. Lake Powell bass seem happy to have anglers back feeding them.

Northern Lake

Water is clear from Bullfrog to Tapestry Wall where the water turns from clear to a greenish tinge. In Good Hope Bay there were a few chalk lines of muddy water on the northwest side of the bay across from Red Canyon. The lake is still fishable for another week above Red Canyon but mud will soon reduce visibility and floating debris will make it hard to travel. It is best to fish from Castle Butte down lake.

All species are cooperating with Smallmouth bass most common, followed by Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Walleye and Stripers. Lots of anglers were fishing in Good Hope Bay and most were catching fish. The downstream canyons of Cedar and Knowles also provided good fishing.

Southern Lake

Bass in the southern lake are just as willing to cooperate as northern bass from Warm Creek all the way to the mouth of the San Juan and beyond. The same variety of plastic baits work both north and south. Some hotspots include: Warm Creek, Navajo, Padre Bay canyons, Last Chance, Dungeon and Wetherill. San Juan and Escalante Canyons are just as good. The pattern is to find a vacant canyon or cove. Use plastic grubs and bass will cooperate.

Stripers

These normally hungry predators are still waiting to spawn and seem to be absent. After they spawn within the next two weeks, that will all change and fat, healthy stripers will be feeding on the surface. It starts with little slurps that grow into boils in July and August. 2020 will be an epic year for boils, if the shad spawn in good numbers.

Be patient and expect stripers to show up again in June and July. I just got a report this week that 20 adult stripers were caught from shore on bait by anglers walking the shoreline between Stateline ramp and The Main Wahweap ramp. Not sure if that success can be duplicated, but fishing from shore may be an option.

Walleye

It has been more difficult than usual to harvest walleye this spring. Focus on windy points and coves where water turns from clear to cloudy. Walleye feed better in cloudy water during the day. Look for flats about 15-20 feet deep. Troll bottom bouncers with a worm harness over the flats or add a small chunk of night crawler to your plastic bass jigs and work that slowly along the flat.

Sunfish

They are getting excited and visible along rocky or brushy coves. Some really nice bluegill were caught this week. A huge school was observed eating mussels off the wall in Stanton Creek. If targeting bluegill try a tiny ice fly with a piece of worm attached.

There are still lots of fish in Lake Powell just waiting to please newly arriving anglers.

At press time, lake elevation was 3602 and water temperature was 64-72F.