All varieties of fish are biting as the weather warms
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Spring warming was delayed a bit with air temperature a bit cooler than predicted last week. With runoff roaring down the Colorado River, Lake Powell is rising rapidly and will soon top 3,600 MSL. Most bass and crappie have not spawned yet due to cool weather. That is great news for the future bass fishery. Both bass and crappie need brushy cover for newly hatched young fish to survive in big numbers. A later spawn and higher lake level will increase bass and crappie survival for future years.
Bass will spawn for sure during the next two weeks. Sight fishing for bass on beds will be limited due to rising water, but water clarity at mid lake is still quite clear making bass nests visible. Just remember that once a nest site is chosen, male bass will try to use that same nest site for the next six weeks as bass spawn numerous times from late April to May 15. The nest gets deeper and less visible each day.
With that said, bass fishing reports over the weekend were excellent despite windy weather. Winning weight at the Yamamoto Bass Tournament at Bullfrog over the weekend was over 30 pounds for 10 bass. Fishing was best in warmer water with finesse baits like Senkos fished slowly along rocky structure from 10-25 feet.
Reports from the Escalante to the San Juan were great with willing bass and crappie found on main canyon rocky structure where water clarity was 5-10 feet deep. Best fishing depth was 10-25 feet. The most productive lures were Yamamoto shad shaped worms fished on a drop shot rig.