Shad can now hide and grow
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Lake Powell fish are in awe at the brushy cover inundated along the shoreline. Virtually any place that is not a sheer cliff is now a brushy haven for all of Lake Powell’s fish. Those enjoying cover the most are shad. Normally this time of year, defenseless shad are easy targets for stripers and other fish. Now shad can go hide in the brush, making it much tougher for predators to get an easy meal. I am happy as well because this gives me hope that shad will grow to a larger size, in larger numbers, which will lead to big striper boils in late July and August. This will be a story for a future report. Right now shad are happy in brushy cover and game fish are trying to figure out what is going on.
Stripers were thrilled to have slow moving tiny shad in open water where they could just go get an easy meal any time of the day. Now shad are able to swim and have high-tailed it to the brush line. Surface feeding action that was easy to see two weeks ago is now missing in action in the southern lake. Striper slurps still continue in the northern lake where shad numbers are higher and muddy water slowed the progression of shad movement to brush.
Warm surface water and lack of open-water shad have made bait fishing in deep water the most effective fishing technique now for stripers. Adult stripers are hungry and trapped down at 30 feet waiting for food. Main channel and main canyon walls anywhere on the lake can house a hungry, waiting school of stripers. Chumming and bait fishing may be the best way to approach these waiting fish. Another option is to troll deep diving lures along slick rock points and steep walls. Trolling is a good way to find a school of fish. Once found, bait may work better but it really depends on which angling technique is preferred.