Shoreline Fishing - Lake Powell

heronwheels

heronwheels

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Jan 30, 2013
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Hi all,

We'll be heading out to Utah for a couple weeks leaving April 25th. We're hoping to spend a couple days camping on Lake Powell toward the end of the trip, thinking the Bullfrog Area (Stanton Creek). We won't have a boat, but were hoping to do some fishing from shore. Is that a pointless endeavor down there? Is there decent structure for bass etc. up close? Any better place to camp/fish on the Utah side of the lake? We'll have two dogs and will be car camping but definitely prefer boondocking/dry camping over established campgrounds.

Thanks!

Stacey
 
Stanton Creek is a fun place to camp. Don't forget the portapotti or wag bags if you don't want to stay within 100 yards of one of the toilets though. You don't have to use them if you go to a restroom but you have to have them. 4WD will get you to the best sites down by the water, but there are plenty of other good ones if you're in a car.

There is great fishing around Bullfrog and Stanton. The largemouth and smallmouth bass like to hang out in the small rubble, so look for that and work it. Piles of golfball to cantaloupe sized rocks are perfect for them. Jigs that imitate crawfish like tubes and senkos are a good choice. Rattle traps are also very good for those as well as striped bass. Big spoons like a 3/4 oz kastmaster are good for stripers but I'm not sure how well they'd work from shore.

Bait fishing for catfish can also be a lot of fun, especially if you're camped right next to the water. Hot dogs and tortillas have been extremely effective for us, especially at night. Just don't kick a catfish with bare feet... trust me on that one. We've even caught a few LMB and SMB on the hot dogs. If you catch any stripers, starting this year you're now allowed to use them as bait which should also be really effective.

With all that said, I'm a pretty crappy fisherman. Wayneswords.com is a site run by the UDWR biologist on the lake, Wayne Gustaveson. There are ton of hardcore LP fisherman on there if you want to do more digging. He also posts a regular fishing report with some good info.
 
Oh, and if you did want to get more primitive than Stanton, you can get down to the lake up in the north end via the Blue Notch Road. I've never done it but I hear some hardcore fisherman will drag their boats out there and launch off the dirt. You probably wouldn't have any neighbors out that way and the fishing in the north end is known to be better than just about anywhere else on the lake.
 
Thanks a ton Nick! I camped at Stanton a few years ago and though I couldn't camp near the lake (no toilet), I still really enjoyed it. I'm glad to see that wag bags are acceptable so we can camp down by the lake this trip. The Blue Notch Rd. camping looks pretty cool but I'm not sure my stock Grand Cherokee will make it down there (from what I remember, it should be ok for Stanton).

I've been tying some flies that mimic tube jigs in a couple of different colors and some shad patterns (clousers/deceivers) and boyfriend will have an arsenal of spinning gear/bait rigs so I'm hoping we'll be set. We're fishing our way down from the Green at Flaming Gorge, hitting some fishing in the Boulders/Aquarius, perhaps some streams along the way - can't wait to get out there!

I'll take your word on barefoot kicking a catfish, I'm sure that's a good story :)
 
Man, I'd love to catch a big crappie down there. We need to hook up on a trip or two down there this year, Jeff. I suck at fishing, but I like to think it's mostly because most of the people I'm usually there with aren't that interested in doing it so I give up fast. Or maybe I just suck...
 
heronwheels said:
I'll take your word on barefoot kicking a catfish, I'm sure that's a good story :)
Click to expand...

http://backcountrypost.com/threads/wahweap.3661/

Nick said:
I learned the hard way not to ever kick a catfish. I caught one and as I went to release it, it fell on the back deck of the boat. I knew those things had big, sharp spikes on their fins, but before I could think, I used my foot to get the fish back into the water. Luckily the bone in my big toe kept the spear from going all the way through it. I'm not sure if it's venom or what, but the 'sting' that those things give is INCREDIBLE PAINFUL!!!
Click to expand...

Right now, more than 6 months later, part of that catfish is still in my toe and working it's way out. That or part of the bone that the catfish barb chipped off. I'm not really sure. I really need to set an appointment to get this thing taken out. :thumbsdown:
 
Nick said:
Man, I'd love to catch a big crappie down there. We need to hook up on a trip or two down there this year, Jeff. I suck at fishing, but I like to think it's mostly because most of the people I'm usually there with aren't that interested in doing it so I give up fast. Or maybe I just suck...
Click to expand...
Sounds good
 
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