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By
Wayne Gustaveson
(Posted Jan., 13, 2003, on www.wayneswords.com
Lake Powell information site.)
Lake Powell continues to draw down with drought conditions unbroken. Lake elevation now equals the low point reached in winter 1992-1993. Access will be impacted as the lake continues to fall. Wahweap's stateline ramp has neared the end of the concrete. It will be unuseable within a week or two. The Castle Rock cut is only marginally passable for the smallest of boats for, perhaps, one more week. A larger vessel cannot go past Castle Rock now and uplake traffic leaving Wahweap Bay must now use the main channel. Antelope Point ramp has long been out of service.
Bullfrog and Halls ramp remain useable in the short term. The Bullfrog/Halls ferry has been displaced from its traditional mooring and now uses the same ramp as recreational boaters. That leaves only 2 lanes for launching.
The main concrete ramp at Hite is closed with an alternate dirt ramp currently being used. The dirt ramp has a gentle, shallow slope but small boats are successfully launching. The Hite ramp road base is hard but silt overlaying the gravel makes the ramp very muddy. There is not a problem with vehicles becoming stuck on the ramp. There is a problem with silt/mud sticking to trailers and detracting cosmetically from the experience. It is suggested that larger vessels plan on launching midlake and boating uplake.
The National Park Service has earmarked $2.7 million to extend ramps this spring. The first priority is the Wahweap Stateline ramp and 2 ferry boat ramps at Bullfrog. Extending the ferry ramps will allow the ferry to retreat to the historical site and open all lanes at Bullfrog/Halls public ramps for recreational boat launching. Extending Wahweap's stateline ramp will reduce overcrowded launching and parking facilities at Wahweap. These three ramps will be lengthened this spring just as soon as contracts can be let. Coffer dams will be built to extend the ramps to the very lowest elevation possible.
Second priority for construction dollars is extending the Antelope Point launch ramp. This is less certain as construction on new Antelope Point Marina facilities is scheduled to occur during the same time frame. Competing with Antelope Point ramp is the possibility of dredging the Castle Rock cut which allows boaters to cut across Warm Creek instead of following the main channel to access upper Lake Powell. These decisions have not been made at this writing. Further deliberations will determine where second priority money will be spent.
Lower lake levels have opened some shore line areas to greater vehicle access and limited access in others. Primitive drive-in access to the upper San Juan is no longer possible due to steep canyons blocking vehicle access to the lake shore. It is no longer possible to drive a vehicle from Hite into Farley's, White and Blue Notch and camp near the water due to rugged terrain. Access to the lake shore at Stanton Creek and Bullfrog north and south campgrounds is limited by terrain.
At Wahweap, adventuresome individuals are able to drive into main Warm Creek from Crosby Canyon. The road ends at the Crosby Canyon campground which is marked with an appropriate sign. It is not safe to drive past this sign and further vehicle access beyond the campground is prohibited by NPS rule.
Winter fishing is slow in the lower and midlake. Some die-hard anglers still catch one or two bass or stripers per trip. There has been a surprising number of threadfin shad seen recently in the back of Navajo Canyon on warm afternoons. Shad are normally deep and dormant in January. Shallow shad presence has not changed the slow catch rate for sport fish anglers in the lower lake.
Fishing at Hite is the only bright spot on the lake. Striped bass are continuing to bite regularly for trollers flat-lining shad raps in the main channel mudline by Hite Marina. Anchovy anglers are catching stripers readily on bait in Trachyte and White Canyon near Battleship Rock. The bite is very light to imperceptible so use 4-6 pound test with a small piece of anchovy on a 1/4 ounce jig head. Set the hook at the slightest movement of the rod tip. Trickle chumming really helps. Stripers caught are some of the biggest (5 pounds) and healthiest fish seen in recent times at Lake Powell.