Lake Powell is a world-class fishery for sports fisherman and fly anglers alike. This man-made reservoir brings together the best of fishing to provide a sureal, zen-like experience few places I’ve fished can match.

You can just show up and start casting—many people do—but if hitting your catch limit, or landing a lunker bass, is your goal, come with a plan. The key to fishing Lake Powell is knowing which fish you want to target, where to find them, and how to catch’m.

At Lake Powell you’ll find everything from smallies to walleye to channel cats, but it’s the striped bass that keep me—and diehard anglers—coming back year after year. Below I’m going to explore the various fish species in Lake Powell. First, we’ll hit off on my favorite—and yours—giant stripers.

Striped Bass

Ya know, I’ve heard many anglers say striped bass, or “stripers” as we all know them, are easy to catch. And while they may be for veterans of the sport, I’ve heard just as many anglers complain, “they just aren’t biting today.”

A hungry bass is a biting bass. So if the stripers are hungry—and they usually are—then you just need to find them and get the right bait in front of them when they’re feeding.

When it comes to Lake Powell striper fishing, one bait rules supreme—anchovies. I’ve caught stripers fishing jigs, spoons, even sardines, but I can’t say anything quite compares to anchovies.

Chum, chum, chum using anchovies. That’s the name of the game. Chumming copiously to create a bait circle really draws in the stripers. Then position yourself over the chum circle and drop your bait. If you can spot striper boils do the same. Get on top of a boil, kill your engine, and drop your bait.

A lot of anglers will fish with a whole anchovie. I like fishing with just a half—and this is why. I find fishing with just half an anchovie ensures the striper gets the entire bait in its mouth and I land a solid hookset.

There are stripers throuhgout Lake Powell but a few favorite hotspots include the mouth of Navajo Canyon and White Canyon area at about 60 feet. Bring your sonar to mark the schools, pay attention for boils, follow the shad and you’ll find the stripers.

A few different rigs you might find helpful for fishing stripers.

Smallmouth Bass

Lake Powell offers an excellent smallmouth bass fishery—and fishing smallies is a ton of fun. I think the most challenging aspect of fishing smallmouths on Lake Powell is just finding them. This is where you really need to know how to identify the right habitat.

I’m not saying that fishing for smallies is a challenge, only that you need to make sure you’re fishing the right type of water if you want to consistently land bites. Smallies love structure, especially rocky structure, and that’s where you’re find them (in about 15-30 feet of water.)

Early spring is a great time to target smallmouths. This is typically when they’ll move into the shallows. As the water warms the fish move in, and I was catching smallie after smallie on rocky outcrops and along the shoreline in less then 10 feet of water.

I’ve never had a problem with smallmouths not taking my bait. They’ll take worms, soft plastics, jigs, swimbait, etc. Swimbaits are especially good for finding bass. Rig a spinning rod with a 1/8 oz darter jighead on swimbait and work it through the shallows. This light weight setup is perfect targeting bass and covering lots of ground quickly with some distance casts.

Spring is a great time to target bass, as is early fall. Of course, you can catch bass during the summer as well, but I’ve found it’s easier to find and fish them while they’re active in the shallows when the water is a bit warmer—but not too warm.

Largemouth Bass

The biggest difference between fishing largemouth bass versus smallmouths is where you’ll find them. Smallmouths tend to hold to rocky structure. Largemouths like the vegetation—underwater weeds, grass beds, flooded brush, etc. But fishing both bass species is truly epic.

I’ve had success catching largemouth throughout the entire spring and summer seasons. I do enjoy fishing them during early spring. They appear to be hungrier and they’re much easier to find this time of year.

My favorite baits for targeting largemouths are a weedless plastic tube or soft plastic grub. Run a weedless tube on a 1/8 oz. jighead through submerged vegetation and you’re bound to get a bite or two. They’ll also take crankbaits, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits.

I must admit, however, that I hooked also sort of fish using tubes other than just largemouths—including smallies, stripers and a lunker of crappie that weighed in over 1.7 lbs and 14 inches (and I’ve heard reports of larger.) So truth be told plastic tubes are great for targeting a lot of game fish species.

Walleye

Did you know Lake Powell has walleye? Well… it does. Lake Powell is one of just a handful of lakes in the state of Utah that supports a productive walleye fishery. True, most anglers arrive for the bass, but there are plenty of walleye to be had if you come with a mind and plan to catch some.

I tend to be a bass man. Not that I don’t like walleye, or don’t know how to catch them. Just grew up in areas where there were more bass than walleye. In all my visits to lake powell I think I’ve maybe pulled a half a dozen walleye out of the water—and that was purely by accident.

In fact, most walleye are hooked incidentally by bass anglers targeting stripers. But that’s not to say there aren’t a lot of walleye to be had if you target the right areas with the right technique.

Reports indicate that most walleye are found at the north end of the lake. If you’re fishing the north end of the lake, Good Hope Bay is probably the best bet at finding walleye, or you can try out from Bullfrog. If you find yourself down south, anglers report good numbers of walleye around Rock Creek Bay, Friendship Cove and in Halls Creek Bay.

Best conditions for walleye fishing is when water temps reach between 60-70°. Late spring seems to be the best time to target this fish. Come late summer and during the colder winter months walleye tend to be less active, but sometimes you’ll find good fishing during the fall if the temperatures are good.

What you want to remember about walleye is that these fish prefer low-light conditions and thrive in murky, turbid water where most bass dare not go. Stick to the murky water along wind blown shorelines and you’re on your way to catching walleye.

There are few different methods for catching walleye. Deep slow trolling using planner boards will get you more lines out and increase your odds of a hookup. Probably the most reliable and consistent method for catching walleye is fishing a crawler harness behind a bottom bouncer across the bottom.

Walleye love worms. Jigging a hook tipped with a worm will get walleye biting—once you find them. Crankbaits and minnow imitation lures also catch walleye.

Crappie

I’m not much of a crappie fisherman, but if I were, Lake Powell would be on my bucket list. I’ve pulled a lot of crappie out of the water while fishing for both smallies and largemouth bass. And some of these crappie are bigger than the bass, I kid you not.

Two pound crappie are found throughout the lake, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some 2-3 lb trophies still waiting to be caught. Most larger crappie are caught while fishing for bass. Finding the pockets of crappie is key. There are a lot crappie, but they tend to be more concentrated in some areas.

Crappie love structure, just like bass. That’s typically where you’ll find them, but sometimes they’ll show up in calm coves and bays where there isn’t really a lot of structure.

Small spinner baits, blade baits, swimbaits and jigs tipped with a piece of worm are all readily taken. They’ll also take soft plastic worms and tubes. Any one of these crappie rigs will work for fishing Lake Powell crappie, but I prefer a simple drop shot.

Using your electronics is also a great way to spot schools of crappie—and everything else under the water.

Bluegill

So who takes a trip to Powell just to catch bluegill? No one that I know. Not many anglers arrive at Lake Powell planning, or even thinking, “I’m going to hit my bluegill limit today!” Most bluegill are caught while fishing for other species such as smallies and crappie.

But bluegill are the most plentiful fish in the lake—and there are some nice specimens. Hard to believe the bluegills in Powell get up to 1-2 lbs.

During early spring bluegill head to the shallow flats with vegetation to spawn. Come summer you’ll find them just a bit deeper near rocky structure.

Small jigs, spinners, worms and flies are your four main bait types for targeting bluegill. When fishing worms, use bite size pieces of nightcrawlers. When you spot bluegill concentrated together, cast a fly and you’ll reel in bluegill by the dozens.

My favorite bluegill lure is a glow body jig. It’s really bright and has a little red eye that makes it stand out. Tip it with a small piece of worm, or an entire mealworm, and it’s perfect for targeting bluegill and any other small panfish in the vecinity.

Catfish

I’m probably one of the few anglers who loves themselves a good catfish fry—and it’s really the only way to eat it. Mustard fried catfish is the only way to go.

Many people consider catfish a trash fish and a bottom feeder. I wouldn’t call it a trash fish, but it’s most definitely a bottom feeder. And like most bottom feeders it can have a unique “bottomy” taste to it.

What I like about Lake Powell cats—especially channel cats—is that they taste a little cleaner than your run of the mill Utah catfish that come from Utah Lake, a muddy pond, or your local canal.

There are two species of catfish in Lake Powell—channel cats and bullheads. You’ll find both throughout the lake but they’re most common in the shallow flats, and its easiest to catch them at night when they’re most active.

Targeting catfish during the evening hours is a great passtime for kids. You may be surprised to find out that your kids have more fun fishing for cats than they do stripers. And catfish will take an anchovie just as readily as a striper.

You’ll find catfish lurking around the bottom at most of Lake Powell’s marinas. While you’re fueling up, getting your tackle squared away and preping for your adventure, give your kid a rod, some line, a 1/0 hook and some bait and let them go at it around the docks. Trust me, this is what real memories are made of.

If catfish are on the menu and you want to increase your catch rate, here are a few simple catfish rigs that will keep them biting.

Other Fish Species

Yes, there are a few other game fish species in Lake Powell namely Green Sunfish and Pike, but they’re a rarity and I don’t know many anglers that target either.

You’ll find sunfish near structure in many of the same places as bluegill. These are fun fish for kids and there’s plenty of them at Powell.

If you really want to try your hand a catching a pike, head north up past Bay of Good Hope. Pike are rarely encountered south of Bay of Good Hope. You can target pike casting or trolling crankbaits around rock piles or submerged vegetation (but you’re more likely to end up with a smallie on your line.)

Hotspots

So we’ve already explored prime habit for each fish species, and I’ve mentioned a few hotspots for targeting our three Lake Powell bass species (stripers, smallies and largemouths), as well as walleye.

What I love about Lake Powell, which is really unique to this lake, are the miles and miles of remote canyons with water that looks like it’s harboring the monster from the blue lagoon. Luckily the only thing found in these waters are a lot of fish, as well as a serenity that will take you away from this world and all your cares.

If you’re just looking for some general areas that are known for producing decent catch rates, I recommend the following:

• Bullfrog Bay – This is the area surrounding the Bullfrog Marina. Lots of coves that provide good fishing for bass and crappie.
• Wahweap Bay – Area surrounding the Wahweap Marina. Good smallmouth bass fishing. Launching spot for many a fishing adventure.
• Padre Bay – Favorite spot for striper trolling. Deeper water with vertical canyon walls where bass like to hang out.
• Halls Creek Bay – This is a real awesome spot to fish. It feels sort of separate from the rest of the lake and is only accessible via a winding channel. Hotspot for bass and walleye.
• San Juan Arm (River) – A bit remote, but worth the trip. A lot less fishing pressure. You’ll find lots of bass.

These are just starting points if you’ve never fished Lake Powell before. Yes, they provide good fishing, but so do a lot of other spots.

Again, know the fish you want to target, their preferred habitat, and just start exploring. Pretty soon you’ll have your own list of favorite hotspots to fish at Lake Powell.

Several images on this page were provided by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.