Water temperature (Wahweap Bay) 77-81 F, Lake Elevation 3,578.66 MSL (and dropping) as of 9/23/2024. The Castle Rock Cut is now open. Report courtesy of Wayne Gustaveson (www.wayneswords.net).

I recently returned from a four-day monitoring trip focused on estimating shad numbers with hydroacoustic equipment, basically a high-tech sonar and software that counts fish returning a signal strength equal to the size of fish we are interested in. I thought it would be worthwhile sharing a quick summary of the survey and what we found fishing during the day. The surveys are conducted at night, since shad are more evenly distributed throughout the water column during hours of darkness and more accurately estimated. It was no surprise that our survey found above-average numbers of shad at all survey sites including Wahweap, Bullfrog, Good Hope Bay, and San Juan Arm. Good Hope held the greatest density of shad and Wahweap the lowest density.

In late June to early July, larval shad begin to move from near-shore areas into the open-water bays of the reservoir. This movement is linked to a decline in near-shore zooplankton abundance and an increase in water temperatures. However, at Lake Powell, a significant portion of the young of year shad population remains in the near-shore zone rather than migrating to open water. This is especially true during years with lots of flooded vegetation such as this year (thanks to the lake rising 65 feet in 2023). On a calm day, you likely will see schools of shad swimming along the shallow shoreline. We observed shad schools at many locations, especially on the San Juan Arm as we camped near large flats of submerged vegetation.

How does this relate to striped bass fishing? Striped bass are still chasing shad in open water areas and at times creating strong boils. However, most boils are going to be short lived. Adult striped bass won’t remain on the warm surface any longer than the time it takes to gulp a few shad before retreating to cooler water where they are more comfortable. You can also catch stripers in the back of canyons trolling or casting diving lures near shore. Stripers we caught were in good to fair condition; however, a few were getting thin. During the day, bass fishing was fair. We caught smallmouth bass casting deep-diving crankbaits near rocky points. Fishing a drop shot rig with a shad-shaped plastic bait is also a good way to target bass holding in deeper water right now. Nights are cooling down and days are growing shorter, allowing the lake to slowly cool. By the end of September, fishing will improve greatly, as bass will move back into shallows to feed and stripers will be able to readily chase shad on the cooler surface.

Catfish are often overlooked at Lake Powell with so many other species of sportfish to target. However, based on our gillnet data, their numbers are increasing and fishing for catfish can be a lot of fun. You can do well from camp or anywhere you can access the shoreline. Fishing at night works best as catfish feed mostly in the dark.