Lake Powell 2008

Fishing Time: All day Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturday

Weather: Friday - Perfect 75 degrees, Sat. - 25 mph winds 70 degrees

Water Temp:53-60 degrees

Water Level: 3,593 ft amsl

Who Went: Phil, Zanger, Me

Another annual trip here and gone, at my favorite reservoir, Lake Powell. We arrived to Bullfrog at 2:00 a.m. on Friday Morning with plans to stay through the weekend. We loaded the boat with all our gear and headed to Zanger's family houseboat. When we got there and started to unload my cousin Phil noticed that the top of the boat was 6 inches higher than the

water! I had put the plug in the drain hole and not the plug hole! I hurried to get the plug in the right hole and flipped on the bilge. For the next two hours I sat there waiting for the boat to pump dry while Phil and Zanger made fun and laughed. I got to bed at about 4:30 and was back up at 7:00 ready to head out for the day. I figured after last years trip not catching many fish and hearing about it from my cousins and Zanger that I would take them to a spot where I have always done well! Problem is that it was an hour boat ride away! We did it anyway, and it worked out in our favor. After a long boat ride we were in White Canyon and started the fishing bonanza! We all started catching fish and the best part is we were catching all different species. We put a bunch of monster Crappie in the boat and Phil hooked up with the trips only Walleye. We also caught Stripers, Smallmouth Bass, and a few Largemouth Bass. After spending quite a while in White Canyon we moved on to try and find some more Largemouth. We spent a lot of time with nothing to show for it. We ended up in Cedar Canyon where we again got into some

more Crappie. The size of the Crappie were the biggest I have ever seen before, and these pictures do not do them justice. They were all about a pound to a pound and a half.

We also caught more Smallmouth and one more Largemouth. After we worked Cedar Canyon we headed back towards the houseboat and spent the rest of the evening in the back of Bullfrog Bay. We continued to put a lot of fish in the boat with Smallmouth and Stripers, but we just could not find the big Largemouth Bass. Right at the end of the night we found a little tiny cut in the sandstone that was filled with tumbleweeds. Zanger had a hit on his curly tailed grub but did not hook up. I took that opportunity and grabbed my pole rigged with a roboworm rigged drop shot and worked the nook really slow. I finally hooked up with the only nice Largemouth of the trip with this two and a half pound bass.

Saturday mornings wake up call was again at 7:00 a.m. and after the long boat ride the day before we spared some gas and stayed close to Bullfrog. We went into the back of Halls Creek Canyon where I instantly hooked up with a little Smallmouth. It Seemed like it was starting off just like the day before, NOT! I caught 4 fish all morning, and Phil and Zanger had the skunk smell! We tried fishing the back of Moqui Canyon without a bite until around noon when the wind became something fierce, so we headed back to the marina to watch the weigh in for the Bullfrog Open Bass Tournament that was going on this weekend. The contestants in the tournament were having as hard of a time as we were, putting bass in the boat! Half of them did not even bring in a 5 fish limit! Then some guy pulls up with a grin on his face holding a nice bag. He weighed in at over 16 pounds! That doubled eighty percent of the other contestants weights. After the weigh in we went back out to see what the wind was doing and it had not changed. We tried to wait it out til just before dark and then decided to go home. Wind at Lake Powell makes life miserable! It was a short lived trip, but a blast as usual!