Lake Powell's Heat, Low Levels, and Lively Fishing

Cloudless skies rule the day at Lake Powell, Utah, with the mercury climbing into the mid-90s by early afternoon and breezes from the southwest caressing the canyons. Water levels remain noticeably low—well under 60% capacity, as reported by Coyote Gulch—with inflows still dragging behind normal for the year. The drought and sluggish monsoon have left the lake thirsty, and the back bays show it, so fish activity lives and dies by the hour.

Sunrise crept in at about 6:55 a.m., and sunset will light up the slickrock one last time at 7:56 p.m., according to Time and Date. We're just sliding into September, and as fall edges closer, anglers cherish early mornings and the fading twilight. There's no true tide here in this vast reservoir, but those pre-dawn and dusk windows are when the big ones feed best, especially in this heat.

Labor Day weekend saw heavy boat traffic, with over 1,400 craft inspected for invasive species just at Lake Powell, according to Utah Department of Natural Resources. So, some areas may be churned up, but the fishing’s still lively once the crowds thin.

Striped bass bite remains solid, especially along the walls near Bullfrog Basin and the channel edges around Wahweap. Shad schools are still on the move—watch for boils on the surface. Recent reports put stripers in the 2–4 pound range, with some anglers boating upward of 15 fish per morning if you’re in the right spot. Downrigging’s hot, but the real magic comes from tossing white or chartreuse soft swimbaits and running Kastmaster spoons through the schools at 30–60 feet deep. Trolling with J-7 chart Rapalas also hooked plenty; chrome/green Flatfish lures can get big strikes from bottom-huggers.

Smallmouth bass and largemouth are active along rocky structure, especially early and late. Plastics—drop-shot rigs with 3" watermelon worms or green-pumpkin tubes—work best along brushy ledges and submerged boulders. Crankbaits in shad patterns pick up bonus bites in the coves when bass chase after baitfish. Catfish (channel and the odd blue) are showing up in the warmer shallows at dusk; stinkbait and fresh cut shad do the trick for whiskerfish.

Crappie are in the mix near submerged timber, but numbers thin in late summer. Panfish hunters found some luck near Halls Crossing using small curly tail grubs and jigs tipped with crawler. Carp are visible in the shallows—fun for bowfishing if you're up for it.

For hotspots, head to:

- **Bullfrog Bay and the points around Stanton Creek**: Classic striper territory, with deep water nearby and plenty of structure.
- **Warm Creek Bay and the mouth of Navajo Canyon**: Bass and walleye haunt the drop-offs, and boils attract stripers at first light.
- **Wahweap Marina and Lone Rock Beach**: Good access for shore anglers and night catfishing.

Bonus tip: Dip tanks at Stateline Launch and Bullfrog Marina are open for decontamination—use them, especially if you’re trailing your craft between waters. It keeps Powell pristine.

Bring plenty of shade and water—this heat is no joke, and the humidity hovers near 37%. The UV index is low this afternoon, but it still burns fast on these red-rock edges. Always pack extra ice.

That’s all for today’s fishing report. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure, your source for the latest on Lake Powell. Don’t forget to subscribe, and tell your buddies about us.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cloudless skies rule the day at Lake Powell, Utah, with
the mercury climbing into the mid nineties by early afternoon
and breezes from the southwest caressing the canyons. Water levels
remain noticeably low, well under sixty percent capacity as reported
by Coyote Dulch, with inflows still dragging behind normal for
the year. The drought and sluggish monsoon have left the

(00:22):
lake thirsty, and the back bays show it. So fish
activity lives and dies by the hour. Sunrise crept in
at about six fifty five am, and sunset will light
up the slick rock one last time at seven fifty
six pm. According to time and date, we're just sliding
into September, and as fall ledges closer, anglers cherish early

(00:42):
mornings and the fading twilight. There's no true tide here
in this fast reservoir, but those pre dawn and dusk
windows are when the big ones feed best, especially in
this heat. Labor Day weekend saw heavy boat traffic with
over one thousand, four hundred craft in SPA for invasive
species just at Lake Powell, according to Utah Department of

(01:05):
Natural Resources, so some areas may be churned up, but
the fishing still live once the crowd's thin striped bass
bite remains solid, especially along the walls near Bullfrog Basin
and the channel edges around Waweep. Shad schools are still
on the move. Watch for boils on the surface. Recent

(01:25):
reports put stripers in the two to four pound range,
with some anglers boating upward of fifteen fish per morning
if you're in the right spot. Down riggings hot, but
the real magic comes from tossing white or chartreuse soft
swin baits and running cast master spoons through the schools
at thirty to sixty feet deep. Trolling with J seven

(01:47):
chart rappallas also hooked plenty chrome green flatfish lures can
get big strikes from bottom huggers. Small Mouth bass and
largemouth are active along rocky structure, especially early and late
plastics Dropshot rigs with three outummelon worms or green pumpkin
tubes work best along brushy ledges and submerged boulders. Crank

(02:11):
baits and shad patterns pick up bonus bites and the
coves when bass chase after baitfish, catfish channel and the
odd blue are showing up. In the warmer shallows at dusk.
Stink bait and fresh cut shad do the trick. For
whiskerfish prappier in the mix near Sinerged Timber, but numbers

(02:31):
thin In late summer. Panfish hunters found some luck near
Hall's Crossing using small curly tail grubs and jigs tipped
with crawler carp or visible in the shallows. Fun for
bowfishing if you're up for it. For hotspots, Head two,
Bullfrog Bay and the points around Stanton Creek classic striper

(02:53):
territory with deep water nearby and plenty of structure. Warm
Creek Bay and the mouth of Navel Canyon, Bass and
Wileye Haunt. The drop offs and boils attract stripers at
first light. Wawee Wapa Marina and Lone Rock Beach good
access for shore anglers and night catfishing. Bonus tip gip

(03:19):
tanks at Statline Launch and Bullfrog Marina are open for decontamination.
Use them, especially if you're trailing your craft between waters.
It keeps powell pristine. Bring plenty of shade and water.
This heat is no joke and the humidity hovers near
thirty seven percent. The UV index is low this afternoon,

(03:39):
but it still burns fast on these red rock edges.
Always pack extra ice. That's all for today's fishing report.
Thanks for tuning into Artificial War, your source for the
latest on Lake Powell. Don't forget to subscribe and tell
your buddies about us. This has been a quiet please production.
For more check out Quiet please dot ai