Bass fishing Lake Powell is awesome! Here is the trip report of how we caught 207 largemouth and smallmouth bass over a weekend! Here you will find what we used, where we went, and the weather conditions. Hopefully, it will help you to start “Kraken” bass like we did. Plus, there is some video to show you a little bit more in-depth about catching bass at the LP.  This should surely get your stoke juices flowing. Enjoy the post!

Bass Fishing Lake Powell

 
I went with my dad for a bass fishing stoke fest camping on the beaches of Lake Powell. It was very good to us this year. We caught and released 207 bass. The fish were all really healthy, but we didn’t catch any big giants. The biggest fish was a Largemouth hitting the scale just shy of 3 lbs. Nevertheless, it was so much fun catching so many bass. Here are the logistics of what we did, to help you on your next trip on the water.
 

Bass Fishing Conditions:

We left for Lake Powell early Thursday on April 9th, and camped for two nights on the beaches of the lake.

Wind:       0 – 8 mph

Water Temperature      58 – 64 degrees

Weather:     Bright Sunny Skies,  Air Temperature  was around 70 degrees

Water Clarity:   Lightly Stained, Visibility was about 6 – 10 ft.

Where We Found Bass:

We launched at the Wahweap Marina.  It didn’t seem to matter where you went. I spoke with the DNR field agent and he said the fishing was really good for everyone. We found bass primarily in the backs of some of the main major rivers and creeks that feed the lake. Anywhere the water was just a little stained from river runoff produced fish.

The other key was knowing what type of shorelines to fish. We found the best shorelines where the 45 degree angled banks with a gradual slope held the most fish. Plus, if the gradual sloped shoreline was in a cove tucked away out of the wind it was even better. The bass were definitely on the banks in spawn mode. The first day we didn’t see many fish spawning in the shallows. On the last day we saw several fish sitting on their spawning beds. One more thing, if you had some chunk rock and gravel things equated to a good bass bank!

What We Used:

We caught bass on a ton of different baits. After a few days we got it dialed into 4  baits that always seemed to outperform the rest.

Senko

The Yamamoto Senko in either 4″ or 5″ worked amazingly well. Fished either wacky or texas rigged it caught bass. The key was throwing it with no weight, and letting it subtly fall to the bottom. The best colors were green pumpkin/amber laminate & natural shad.
 

Tube

The green pumpkin tube in 3.5 inches wore them out. A couple little tricks to help eliminate frustration was throwing the tube on a stupid rig to prevent hang ups. Also, dipping the tail of the tube in a little bit of chartreuse dye seemed to help get more strikes. The key was to cast it to the shore, hop it off the bottom, and let it fall back down again. The bass couldn’t resist it.
 

Squarebill Crankbait

The crayfish colored Jackall MC crankbait crushed a ton of bass. If the banks where a little bit wind blown, this thing wore them out. The secret was to throw it super shallow, and make it bang agianst the rocks as you brought it back to the boat. I was amazed at how this bait rarely hung up, and how many fish pounded it!
 

Jig

The jig didn’t catch a lot of fish, but it caught bigger fish. The jig of choice on the trip was a summer craw V&M Pulse Jig with a Summer Craw Pit Boss trailer. This bait caught our biggest bass of the trip. It worked when pitched into the shady side of the boulders up shallow. Then  you would slowly crawl it on the bottom back to the boat.

 
 

Lake Powell Bass Fishing Report Additional Tips:

This trip was filled with stoke as we caught more and more fish each day. We found little things each day that helped us improve. Finding the best baits, and knowing what type of shorelines to target made a big difference. The first day of fishing was different than the last day of fishing because the water temperature really started to climb. The water temperatures started at 58 – 60 degrees, but by the time we left it was 64 degrees in places.

When we pulled into our first shoreline on Thursday afternoon I had several strikes on a Chatterbait
, but wasn’t hooking them up. I switched to a craw squarebill crankbait, and on the first cast got slammed. I threw the squarebill the rest of the night, and wore them out on it. The squarebill crankbait was used the entire trip, and caught at least 20 bass the first night. When the water temprature was cooler on the first day it worked the best. Plus, if the wind picked up it would catch them. It was a lot of fun. Here is one of the good Largemouth I caught on this squarebill the first night.

The next day the air temperature really started to climb, and everything we caught was up on the bank enjoying the warmth. Throwing the 4″ senko wacky and weightless on a spinning rod was awesome. When the fish are shallow and it’s calm, nothing seems to beat a senko. One other cool thing about the second day is we tied into some big crappie. I caught a monster on a 5″ swim bait! We actually saw more crappie on spawning beds than anything else. They are a cool fish to catch. Here is the beast of a crappie that ate my swimbait.

The last day was by far our best. We caught 89 bass in 9 hours, which equates to a fish every 6 minutes. It was basically crazy. I don’t know if I’ve ever had action that fast for such a long period of time. It was awesome. I started experimenting a lot, and pulled out my roboworms to see if they would work. I threw them on a drop shot, and found a color called Aaron’s pro shad which caught some sweet fish. I used a super light 1/8 oz weight to keep it from hanging up in the shallow rocks. This combo really got those bass stoked out of there brains when the water was slick calm. Here’s one of the Largemouth on the Roboworm:

Here is the big bass of the trip. Hitting the scales just shy of 3 lbs. He ate a jig that was pitched into the shade of a rock.

As you can tell bass fishing Lake Powell has really turned around from the previous year. Hopefully this will get you excited, and help you find some bass when you are out on the water. Don’t forget to leave a comment about what you thought about this post, and subscribe to the blog for more great trip reports, so you can start “Kraken” bass at Lake Powell.

As Always,

Stay Stoked!
 

Video Clip’s from the trip:

Hopefully, this clip will help give you a different perspective of where to find fish and what baits to use. This is my first time ever using a go pro, so the footage isn’t the best. I didn’t have it positioned properly. Nevertheless, enjoy the show!

Gear Used:

Baits:
Yamamoto Senko
green pumpkin tube in 3.5 inches
Jackall MC crankbait
summer craw V&M Pulse Jig
Summer Craw Pit Boss
Aaron’s pro shad

Spinning Rod Set up:
Abu Garcia Spinning Reel
Shimano Sellus 1-Piece Worm/Jig Spin Rod (7-Feet 2-Inch Medium Heavy)
6-Pound Test Fluorocarbon Fishing Line
Spiderwire Stealth Braid 300-Yard Spool Moss Green 15lbs.

Crankbait Rod Set up:
7’6″ Medium Cranking Stick
4.7.1 Ratio Pro Qualifier Reel
Sufix Invisiline Casting Flourocarbon 200-Yards Spool Size Fishing Line 12-Pound

Baitcasting Rod Set up:
Spiderwire Stealth Braid 300-Yard Spool Moss Gree 30lbs.
Sufix Invisiline Casting Flourocarbon 200-Yards Spool Size Fishing Line 12-Pound
Shimano Sellus Medium Heavy Worm and Jig Cast Rod 7’2″
Quantum Fishing Smoke 9 Bearing Baitcast Reel 7:3:1 ratio

Terminal Tackle:
1/8 oz weight
chartreuse dye
Bagley 1/8-Ounce Stupid Rig Jig Head Brown Finish

Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap Drop Shot & Wacky Rig Hooks