Into The Beginning Of June

Powell Fishing Still Red Hot

By Wayne Gustaveson

Smallmouth bass have gone ballistic. The open-water reefs that were vacant in April are now red hot!

 Smallmouth bass from 6 inches to 2 pounds are surrounding reefs and long rocky points. Smaller bass are right on top of the reef in a few feet of clear water. Larger fish are residing off the reef edge at depths from 15-25 feet.

It’s a sure thing to toss a single tail plastic grub (smoke, green, or pumpkin) on a quarter-ounce jig head to waiting bass. Just let the grub hit the reef and drag it a few feet at a time. Smallmouth bass will be all over it like a puppy chewing a bone.

Bass spawning is all but over. There may be a few bass still guarding nests, but the rising lake covered the nests beyond visibility. Just fish the open reef structure now and maybe a guarding male can be caught. If not, there are so many bass hitting that spawning is no longer significant.

Other fish have made the switch to the 25-foot bottom contour on outside primary points leading into deep water. Stripers, walleye, and largemouth bass are consistently found on irregular bottom contours marked by “yellow water reefs” mixed with “deep blue water.”

Look for the flat shoreline with lots of reefs and extended points to find a mixed bag of fish. Points often have a “saddle” just off shore with another reef much farther out in the bay. This is the best habitat to fish this week.

To effectively fish reefs, employ a combination of casting or trolling the reef edges (with shallow runners like jerk baits or Wally divers), to spooning deep on the reef edge, or dragging a plastic grub or tube at 20 feet. Bass, stripers, and walleye will all hit the same lures when the hot spot is located.

I caught nothing but fat stripers today using the end of reef technique. The reaction bait (spoon or crank bait) was appealing to stripers that feed on sunfish and crayfish. These fish have left the schools to forage on their own. They have fared better than the schooling stripers that do not get fed every day.

Schooling stripers are still being handily caught on bait in the main channel between the dam and the back of Navajo Canyon. At Bullfrog/Halls bait fishing is good from Lake Canyon to Hansen Creek.

At press time, spring fishing was at a peak. It was expected to remain good for awhile but begin slowing down in June.

Morning and evening fishing is best with fish shallow along the shore.  Fishing slows midday with the sun straight overhead when fish move deeper.  Concentrate on the deep edges of open water reefs to catch fish all day long.

At press time, lake elevation was 3,604, and the water temperature was 67-74 F.