Weather: Sunny, about 40/45 degrees in the morning and evenings, and about 50/55 degrees in the afternoon. Very little wind. Storm came in Sunday morning as we were leaving.
Moon Phase: 19% Moon
Location: Lake Powell (Bullfrog area)
Water Temps: average temp 50.5 degrees, with sun-blocked areas being below 50 and some shallow sunny bays reaching about 52.
Bait: Jig and trailers, spinnerbaits, plastic worms, crankbaits, and small plastics
Who Went: Jason Willard, Rick Everson, Me
With winter conditions still very mild in Utah, our February Flaming Gorge Ice fishing trip was cancelled just like January’s trip, due to lack of ice. Last time we replaced the Flaming Gorge trip with an ice fishing trip to Fish Lake, but this time we decided to give winter the birdie finger and head south to Lake Powell for some boat fishing. The ice fishing just hasn’t worked out well this year, so the boat is getting some extra work. We left Thursday evening and after stopping to eat and pick up groceries in Price, we didn’t arrive until midnight. We stayed in the family units at Bullfrog which was a nice way to go, but a bit more pricy than I like. It was nice though, with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a full kitchen. Basically a modular home fully furnished.
Friday: We launched around 9:00 and fished until dark. We started up in the north end of Bullfrog Bay, predominantly on the west side of the point that divides the north end. Jason began getting bites immediately, but never did put one in the boat. Rick also had a few hits, but didn’t hook up. It wasn’t until late morning that I received my first bite and joined the missed hit club. It was early afternoon and we decided to go check out Lake Canyon. There really isn’t much shallow brush to fish in Lake Canyon until you reach the very back end where it turns into flooded trees and brush. Shortly after being there I landed the first and smallest largemouth of the trip with this 2 lb 12 oz fatty.
After another long period with no success, Jason started throwing a firetiger crankbait in the back of Lake Canyon to see if any stripers were hanging out. After one missed hit he finally landed the trips first striper with a very nice healthy fish.
Rick and I grabbed for our crankbait rods and began fan casting up and down the canyon. I picked up three fat stripers on a chartreuse and red crankbait that dove about 10’ deep.
All four Stripers ended up on fish tacos for dinner the next two nights. We continued fishing our way out of Lake Canyon with no success and headed back to the north end of Bullfrog Bay. Jason finally laid into one along this stretch and landed a really nice bass over 3 lb. Soon after Jason caught his fish it began getting dark, so we called it a night.
Saturday: We didn’t launch until around 10:00 and while Rick and I were dropping the boat in the water, Jason spotted two nice largemouths just east of the boat ramp in a small bay. We decided to fish the area for awhile and although we didn’t pick up any largemouth, Rick did land the only smallmouth of the trip. Eventually we moved back into the north end of Bullfrog bay and fished the same shoreline that we missed bites the day before. Rick and I both landed a nice largemouth and we felt like things may start heating up a bit.
It never really did, but with work we were able to land one sporadically throughout the day. We fished a small cove on the west side of Bullfrog Bay and I was able to pick up another chunky 3 lb largemouth.
Also while in the cove we noticed there were carp pods slurping around, so Rick pulled his fishing bow out to make an example of a couple of them. He actually hit two in one shot, but the other fell off before the picture was taken.
As the sun started to work its way towards late afternoon we toyed with the idea of running to Moki Canyon, but decided to fish a submerged island with bushes coming out of the water just south of the point where we caught most our fish. Rick landed the biggest largemouth of the trip at 3 lb 12 oz off this island and put a little pep in our step again.
We ended the night fishing our popular run again and I was able to land one more nice 3 lb largemouth.
Just as we were about to call it a night, the carp came out to slurp again and I got my chance to take aim. After a few misses, I finally connected.
Sunday: We woke up with plans to fish the morning and go home. The weather quickly changed our plans as dark clouds closed in around us and the wind started picking up. As we were about to leave Bullfrog to head home we noticed my back right tire on my boat trailer was leaking air. Luckily we were 50 yards from the Bullfrog Marina shop and they were happy to help us throw the spare on for no charge.
The bite was slow the entire time and we caught fish sporadically throughout the day with no particular time seeming more consistent than another. We mostly fished up in the north end of Bullfrog Bay, on the south facing shorelines that receive the most sun throughout the day. We fished many different shorelines and submerged points/islands and the shorelines that produced the most action had a rocky/gravelly bottom with partially submerged bushes/trees that were 4-8' deep on the lake side of the vegetation. Casting distance put our boat in about 20-25' of water. The sandy and bedrock bottoms produced nothing regardless if it had vegetation or not. The shallow bays were pointless and looked like the Dead Sea. We fished jigs and trailers, small plastics, larger senkos, crankbaits, kastmasters, and spinnerbaits. Not a bite on the spinnerbaits, crankbaits (except stripers) and small plastics. The jigs worked the best and we also had a little success on the senkos. SLOW PRESENTATION was key. Slowly dragging it along the bottom and even dead sticking it for a bit. I don't think anyone got hit on the drop. The fish were sluggish to say the least and seemed to be buried deep in the bushes and were tough to coax out. We never found any schools of stripers on the surface or below us.We only boated 8 or 9 largemouth the entire trip. Sounds miserable, however they were all pigs! Smallest (other than a dink smallmouth) was 2 lb 13 oz and the largest was 3 lb 12 oz. Each of them had a gut that looked like it was ready to explode.
We turned all LMB loose so we didn't get to see what was inside their stomachs. The stripers were healthy looking, and probably in the 5 pound range although we never scaled any. We missed a dozen or so confirmed bites, but a lot of those were pretty weak bites. I hope these chunky largies are a sign of a great spring and are more willing to bite when the water warms up a bit.
I did detour a little though, and drove through Laughlin and Bullhead City, Nevada. These two towns have to rank as some of the last cities in America that I would ever want to live. Nothing but miles of desert around and then all of a sudden about six casino’s pop up that make up Laughlin and Bullhead City.
From there I headed south to Lake Havasu City. Lake Havasu was pretty, but nothing to thrilling. I stopped by the famous London Bridge that was transported straight from England. Also not too thrilling!
I wanted to fish a little at Lake Havasu, but there was only one spot I could find that was accessible by foot and it was not a great area. I threw about ten unsuccessful casts into Havasu and then headed on to Yuma.
I made it there in time to watch the second half of SuperBowl XLVI and saw Eli Manning win his second championship ring! I was happy as I hate his opponents, Tom Brady and the Patriots!
Even though you’re near the Mexico border and the daytime temps are in the 70’s and 80’s, the bass fishing is still tough during the winter, especially without a boat. My fishing buddy down there had just ordered in some waterdogs (salamanders) and gave me a few to throw at the bass.
He said a little hot sauce on their lips makes them squirm and become even more appealing to the bass.
I didn’t have much luck at Mittry Lake, but did have a bite from something just before dark that stole one of my waterdogs.
My goal was to land a bluegill so I could fish a couple hours into dark for Flathead Catfish, but I was unsuccessful in catching any or even seeing any. The fishing conditions were terrible compared to my last trip in November. I did catch a couple small largemouth bass on a roboworm to get me on the board, but that was it for the night. I tried fishing for Flatheads using waterdogs for about 2 hours with no luck. From my understanding the Flathead Catfish go completely dormant during winter, so my odds weren’t good.
The lake seemed very cold and just had the feeling of winter fishing, so I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t even get a bite. On my way back to the hotel I drove down a dirt road with nothing but crop fields on both sides. The sunset was amazing so I stopped and snapped a few photos. Yuma is predominantly an agricultural city so there are huge fields with crops everywhere.
Thursday was my last night there and I went back to the only place I had seen fish, which was the All American Canal.
I threw on a waterdog and walked up to the shoreline of the canal and instantly saw the biggest bass I’ve seen in Yuma yet. I tossed the waterdog out towards him and he turned like a missile and headed right at it, but stopped right as he got up to it and slowly started swimming off towards the deep. My heart was racing and I hurried to reel him in and made a cast out past the big fish right to where he was heading. My line instantly went tight and I set the hook on my nicest largemouth from Yuma yet.
He looked 4 pounds underwater, but was realistically only about 2.5 pounds after inspection out of the water. Still a nice bass and a fun way to leave Yuma on a high note, unlike last time after losing a monster Flathead the last night of my trip!
Once on the road again, I passed through the northern suburbs of Phoenix and began my journey north beginning at about 1500 feet in elevation all the way to over 7,000 feet in elevation in Flagstaff. It was cool to see the vegetation changes going from Saguaro cactus in northern Phoenix to thick Ponderosa Pines in Flagstaff and snow on the ground.
I really enjoyed Flagstaff. It was beautiful and not what you would expect when you think of Arizona. From there I detoured over to the Grand Canyon National Park and stopped at many of the overlooks the State Park has to offer. It was beautiful and February was a great time to be there due to the lack of visitors. There were a few people, but I’m sure it was nothing like what you would see in the summer. Below are all my Grand Canyon Pictures, but they really don’t do it justice. It’s so much bigger than the pictures make it look!
From the Grand Canyon I kept driving north and finally made my final destination for the night in Page, Arizona. I stopped by the bait and tackle shop and bought some anchovies, then drove down to one of the shore access points near Glen Canyon Dam.
I tried fishing for bass and stripers with no success, but it was a beautiful evening and felt good to relax on the warm sandstone shorelines of Lake Powell as the sun slowly disappeared below the red rock cliffs near the dam.
Just before dark I drove down to Lone Rock Beach where my plan was to spend the night in the back of my SUV. I got down to the Lone Rock camping area and I was the only vehicle there.
I stepped out into the dark and realized the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees during my 15 minute drive over from the dam. Welcome to winter in the desert, warm days and cold nights. It was only 6:30 p.m. and I quickly realized I wasn’t spending the next 4 hours until bedtime in 40 degree darkness. I jumped back in the car and drove another 50 miles until I saw the first sign of life in Kanab, Utah.
The room looked like what you would expect from the sign, but it was a place to rest my head for one night and better than the back of a small SUV. I grabbed a burger from the local greasy spoon and hit the sack.
I didn’t even get a bite and it was the last stop on a long stretch of driving over the last week. I jumped in the car and drove 2 more hours until reaching my driveway in Riverton, Utah.