Some more info…
The only day that was hard to get a spot was on Saturday. Thursday and Friday there were only a few boats at the barrier since the annual Striperfest had just begun so not much competition. We didn’t show up till 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and ended up about the 7th or 8th boat from the west wall and we caught as many fish if not more than the boats closest to the wall once the bite started.
We fished as close as we could each day to the west wall, which is the wall that the sunshine is on in the morning, and warmed up the fastest. There were fisherman on the East wall also but we didn’t see too many fish caught. Eventually, all the boats over on the east side moved over to the west side and started catching fish if they had the right tackle. Unless it has a piece of anchovy attached, your lure will be ignored. Leave the spoons and crankbaits in the tackle box until the boils start later in the summer!
There were other boats having just as much success as us. There was one pontoon boat with 4 or 5 guys on that said it had been good since Wednesday (the day before we arrived), but that Monday and Tuesday they had taken a real shellacking and had only caught 1 or 2 the whole day. They were at the cleaning station on Thursday afternoon with us and had probably 75 Stripers themselves to fillet.
The water temp was about 52 or 53 degrees each morning and didn’t warm up to the magic 55/56 degree mark till about noon each day. We finally smarted up by Saturday and slept in. Once the water got up to the magic mark, the fish started biting like they hadn’t eaten all winter. The schools seemed to keep coming around every hour or so all afternoon with 20 to 30 minutes between each school. During the 20 or 30 minutes, you would still catch a straggler here and there, but for the most part was slow fishing. It was during that time that we would take our whizzes, eat lunch, apply sunscreen, rig poles, etc., getting ready for the next school to come around. Once the school arrived it was fast and furious fishing as fast as you could get your lure out! We had multiple doubles and in most cases if one had doubles, they would lose both fish! I finally started focusing on just one pole and my fish count went up. I kept the 2nd (and 3rd) pole ready in case a fish ruined my jig, broke off the jig, swallowed the jig, etc.
We used 1/4 ounce jigheads with a single tail grub, tipped with anchovy on fluorocarbon leader. Casting worked better than just jigging although the 2nd pole if left vertical jigging would usually catch a fish also. Cast towards the dam and just let it pendulum down till it is vertical. If the school is around, you will have a fish on long before it gets vertical! Keep the pole in your hand, keep the line tight enough to see/feel a bump, but loose enough to let the jig fall naturally. When you feel the bump, set the hook and it is FISH ON! Take nets. Re-tie and/or change out your jig often. The fish start getting away if you have a dull jighead.
I imagine that once it stays warm for a few days, the water temp will stay above 55/56 and the bite will be more consistent all day long. It was only good in the afternoon for us, once the water temp came up each day.
The motel we stayed at was the Best Western/Arizona Inn. They accomodated us well, and with the AARP discount (my uncle that went) it was only $54.00 a night. All 4 of us slept in the same room so it was pretty affordable.
It is a good 6 hour drive from Salt Lake to Page Arizona. The Wahweap marina is literally 10 minutes from our motel room in Page. The dam is only 10 minutes from the marina. If you have the means by which to get down there and fish at all, I highly recommend it! We bought all of our anchovies ahead of time here in Salt Lake at Sportsmans and went thru 2 bags per day, even with some chumming here and there. I’m not sure if the Walmart in Page has them or not, but I THINK they do. I would buy them here to be sure. You need the Arizona/Lake Powell reciprocal stamp ($3.00) + the Arizona 2nd Pole permit ($6.00) if you have a Utah 2nd pole permit. Those can both be obtained at the Walmart in Page.
You DO need good bumpers at the barrier. The wind (when it comes up…and it does at least once a day) and boat waves can really move those things around, along with your boat, and if you don’t have good bumpers, the side of your boat will get messed up. There were a few pretty mad boaters that were not catching fish because they didn’t have bumpers and wouldn’t tie up to the barrier! To catch the fish you pretty much should be tied up and as stationary as possible.
Hope this helps!
Randy