Powell advice?

[HATH]

I need your help since I'm just a newbie to LP. We've been to Bullfrog but we felt the fishing habitat for LMB, SMB, crappie, walleye, weren't ideal. Plus the distance from one canyon to the next was really far, we used a ton of gas! We loved Wahweap when we were fishing for stripers, haven't tried for other species there but the habitat seems a little bit more suitable for the above mentioned species, again quite far to go from one canyon to the next, unless the pass opens up between Wahweap and Warm Creek.
Basically we want Hite type structure, plus going canyon to canyon was just a hop and a skip away in the Hite area, everything was really close. What the debate is for us is we'd like to camp at a marina (amenities), but to go back, and forth from say Padre to Wahweap for four days straight would drain your bank account putting gas in the boat. We're not against primitive camping, as long as we get into some good fishing (not stripers). Or maybe we're best off just fishing the perimeter of either Wahweap or Bullfrog bay? Also my boat has a hard time plaining out when it's fully loaded with a week's worth of camping gear so going say 20 miles might prove to be difficult, but not impossible. Any thoughts on this?
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[Crimson]

I'll be interested to see what the replies are to your post.

I think the Lake water level will be lower this year, changing the shoreline and habitat as it goes. So it is a little bit of a crap shoot judging where the best fishing might be for the species you stated.

According to Waynewords website, the water level and habitat hasn't been good for Crappie and Largemouth in recent years, so numbers are down. This doesn't mean they can't be found, and caught, but percentage chance is less.

Wayne thinks that Smallmouth will be the most consistent fish to catch because they can use rock/rubble as cover, as well as plant growth. I would think about trying to have close access to shoreline that has the most rock/rubble.

We fished Bullfrog and surrounding area last September and I second what you said about the catching there. Fishing was slow, but we caught smallmouth most consistently, a few Largemouth, one Walleye, and no Crappie (although we didn't target Crappie because of the lack of brush, trees, etc around Bullfrog).

Good luck and please report back on the place you go!
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[Therapist]

WAYNES WORDS !!! Best info, up to date.

[HATH]

I'm always on there but you don't get the replies that bft gives you.
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[whit210]

FYI - The bass tournament season is starting at Powell. Your not going to get a lot of love on public forums from the guys who are down their scouting out their spots.
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[trout_slayer]

My family/friends and I go every year (since 2007, I missed last year due to being stationed in Korea for a year) either the last week of April or the first week in May. We go out of Bullfrog as well and take the houseboat up to either Forgotten or Knowles to camp. I know you said you wont have a houseboat, but these two canyons are only 12-13 miles up from Bullfrog and provided great "outreach" to many other canyons (Hansen, Smith Fork, Crystal Spring, Cedar and if you are daring because of gas, Good Hope Bay). We've found the further North you get from Bullfrog the better the Walleye and Crappie have been, yes, the Crappie are going to be tough this year due to water level, but they are still there. Primitive camping is also really good in the canyons I mentioned. When are you planning on going again? Our trip is May 3rd to May 10th this year. Anyhow, my personal thoughts would be to go North, camp, then fish those canyons. Like everyone says, just keep...keeping an eye out on wayneswords for updated conditions/reports. You do know he has a chat board just like this on his site as well don't you? I know this wasn't very informational but if you have any questions about those canyons up North just let me know!

TS
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[PBH]

Hath -- I think your limited responses are probably due to the narrow scope you have requested.

You want access to numerous canyons (go to Good Hope)
You want good LMB / SMB habitat (go to Good Hope)
You want "Hite" type structure (go to Good Hope)
You don't want to use a lot of gas (don't go to Good Hope)
You want to be close to a marina (don't go to Good Hope)
You don't want to go between Wahweap and Padre (don't go to Wahweap)
20 miles with camping gear is too far (don't go to Good Hope)

You've basically eliminated all of your options!

I honestly am not sure what to tell you. Eliminate a couple of your constraints, and I'm sure you'd get better responses. If you can't eliminate those constraints, then your decision is easy, and you've pretty much already made it: Wahweap
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[scartinez]

I've done well in Halls Creek bay for bass. That is near bullfrog, gas, and the store. Not a lot of canyon fishing, but plenty of rocky structure. I generally catch smallies with the occasional LMB.
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[WalleyeRooster]

When I fish Powell I usually burn 28-30 gals a day.We run far and hard. Make 4 trips from Feb - May and 2 trips in the fall. Never keep reciepts because I think it will scare me to death. But will catch well over a hundred walleyes a year.


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