How to catch striped bass in Utah
Lake Powell's boom-and-bust monster. Chasing shad boils in summer is some of the fastest fishing in the state.
Behavior & tendencies
Lake Powell's boom-and-bust monster: pure predators that school by the thousand and live on shad. When the boils erupt, it's cast-anything fishing; when shad crash, stripers roam deep and hungry. No limit at Powell — the DWR wants them harvested.
Seasonal patterns
Summer shad boils (June–September) are the show — run to the surface action and cast. Spring fish stack in the backs of canyons. Winter schools suspend deep off the main channel, reachable by spoon.
What they bite
Threadfin and gizzard shad, plus anchovies (the bait of choice at Powell).
Recommended presentations
- Surface lures or shad swimbaits into boils
- Anchovy chunks chummed and fished mid-column in canyons
- Heavy jigging spoons on deep winter schools
- Trolled deep-diving cranks along channel walls
Best months for striped bass
1 waters holding striped bass
Sorted by how they’re fishing right now.
- Lake PowellToughBlue Ribbon