October 13, 2021
Water temp 68-71 F
Elevation 3545


Water temperature is gradually dropping toward the mid 60’s, which is the best time to fish both in the Fall and the Spring. Warm water fish prefer the mid 60s as their most active time to feed and spawn. There is no spawning in the Fall but the best time to catch a bunch of fish this year will be the last two weeks of October.

Great reports continue to come from Good Hope Bay to 4-Mile Canyon. Anglers are catching stripers, large and smallmouth bass, catfish, crappie and bluegill. Many different techniques are working. Have three rods rigged up, one with a top water lure, one with a trolling lure, and one with a spoon for deep water fish. There are some boils coming up randomly from Buoy 116 to 4-Mile Canyon. If you do not see surface action, troll to catch fish while waiting for boils to come up. Also watch the graph to locate shad schools at mid depth and striper schools in deep water. Bass and walleye will be along the rocky shoreline and near islands popping up in the middle of the bay. There are many ways to catch fish in October. Choose your favorite catching method and go to work. Always watch the surface for boiling fish. Look at the graph to find striper and shad schools at mid depth and in deep water. Troll to catch fish when a school is seen at mid depth. Drop the spoon when the school is in deep water.

Reports from the southern lake still favor bait fishing for stripers. There is some good news in the South. Surface feeding stripers were found in Kane Wash (Padre Bay). Those same three techniques (surface, mid depth and deep) will work in the southern lake for the rest of October. Boils will come up randomly over the length of Lake Powell. Surface feeding stripers will likely be the smaller, healthier fish. There will also be some bass feeding on the surface, while walleye and bluegill will be an added bonus in the 60-degree water over the length of the lake. It is much more common to see one small ripple or dimple on the surface which marks the presence of a predator chasing shad. Cast to the surface disturbance to catch both smallmouth bass and stripers. Drop a small lure to the bottom near shore to catch bluegill. Target bluegill and walleye by adding a piece of worm to a small plastic bait.

Another recent report from Bullfrog indicated some healthy stripers were caught trolling in 30-40 feet of water. When trolling or casting, fishing success is great when a striper school swims near the boat. After the school leaves, fishing slows down until the boat gets back over the school or these fish swim back under the boat.

In summary, the declining water temperature encourages all Lake Powell fish to be more active. The best time to catch all species of fish is from now until the end of October. Be aware of the depth where fish reside, and deploy the proper lure: on the surface, at mid depth or into very deep water. Fishing success will greatly improve as water temperature hits the 60-65 degree range.

Fishing will be much better the last two weeks of October due to cooler water temperature and the positive attitude that brings to Lake Powell fish.