Fishing Time: April 21-24
Weather: WINDY, Cold, T-50s
Moon Phase: 75% Moon
Water Temp: 53-55 degrees
Location: Quail Creek, Sand Hollow, and Gunlock Reservoir
Best Baits: Crankbaits and Texas rigged plastics worked off
the bottom
Who Went: Josh Newton, Rick Everson, Bobber John Schuler, Dunc
With the drought continuing in Utah, it’s the same ole story
down at Lake Powell. Water levels are
low. The difference this year is that
it’s so low they closed all the boat ramps on the lake. Total bummer after the epic trip we had down
there in Spring of 2021. We still wanted
a Spring trip and Powell wasn’t an option, so we decided to make a run to St. George
and fish Sand Hollow, Quail Creek, and Gunlock Reservoirs.
It was a short notice decision so we couldn’t find a camp
site and had to rough it in a 3,500 square foot house. Each with our own bedrooms and
bathrooms. I know, tough life.
We drove down in a huge storm that rained hard in St. George. It was still drizzling, and the wind was blowing on arrival, but we headed straight to Quail Creek and launched the boat.
The fishing was slow, but to
be expected after a storm like that rolls through. We still managed to put a few in the boat,
including some rainbow trout.
The next day called for wind and cold weather and it didn’t disappoint. We made the journey out to Gunlock Reservoir and found a bass tournament was in full swing. There were a lot of bass boats on a small reservoir. They didn’t last long though and I’m guessing it was due to the poor fishing. The cold wind and water shut the bite down hard. I was lucky enough to land one fat bellied largemouth bass, but the bite was almost non-existent.
One cool part of Gunlock was having this
tarantula hawk land in the water next to the boat. We brought it on board with the net to
inspect prior to letting him fly away.
The next day was more of the same weather but the wind got
stronger. We launched on Sand Hollow as
everyone else was rushing to get off due to the winds. We headed for the only corner of the lake
that didn’t look like a hurricane and were able to coax a few bass off the
bottom and into the boat, but again the cold wind and water temps made the bite
tough.
We kept our spirits and moved back to Quail Creek that
evening as it’s a little easier to hide from the wind. However, it was still cold and windy, and the
bite was tough. We did have one decent
run where we started landing trout and small mouth bass. I didn’t know there were smallmouth in Quail
Creek, but later found out they were illegally introduced and shouldn’t be
there.
We even got so desperate on this trip that we found a
community pond and harassed the bluegills for a bit. We couldn’t take the wind on the boat all day
and this was at least a break from trying to manage the boat in hurricane
conditions.
We spent a lot of time in the house waiting out the wind
this trip, but it just never did let up.
Every morning I woke up to the trees whipping. It felt like a double slap to the face not
getting to go to Lake Powell and then fishing in the post storm wind in St.
George. Not our best trip.
