Good morning anglers, this is Artificial Lure with your Lake Powell fishing report for Saturday, August 23rd, 2025. Summer’s roasting out here in southern Utah, with today’s forecast calling for sunny skies, just a slight breeze early, and highs around 103 degrees by afternoon according to the National Weather Service. Overnight, you’ll see lows cooling off to the lower 70s. Winds will clock in from the southwest, running 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon. We’ve had a stretch of hot, dry conditions and drought, and the lake’s levels are low but holding steady—so plan to fish early or late for your best action. Sunrise was at 6:36 a.m., and sunset will be at 8:09 p.m.

There’s no tidal swing on Lake Powell because she’s a freshwater impoundment, but the heat and drought have dropped reservoirs across Utah, pinching fish into deeper holes and concentrating action near structure. While wildfires have raged in other parts of the West, no active smoke issues are reported for the Powell area, so conditions on the water are clear.

The fishing itself has been downright lively, especially at dawn. Anglers on the main channel, especially near Antelope Point and up around Bullfrog, are hooking into plenty of striped bass and smallmouth bass. On a recent outing posted by local fisherman j.swizzz, anglers scored well using Chatterbaits and War Eagle spinners, pulling in healthy smallies and a few bonus largemouths around submerged rock piles and points.

Those chasing stripers have been reporting nice numbers on cut bait around the dam and deeper bays early, with some boats bagging dozens when the boils are up. Trolling deep-diving crankbaits, swimbaits, and spoons like the classic Kastmaster in silver and blue is the ticket as the sun gets up and the schools move deeper. If you’re after numbers, fill a bucket with anchovies and dunk bait near the main lake humps and canyon mouths—stripers are piling up at 40-60 feet right now, and the cut anchovy bite is about as steady as it gets.

For bass, the keys are shade, depth, and motion. Chatterbaits, War Eagle spinnerbaits, and Ned rigs are hot, especially when fished slow along chunk rock and ledges in 15 to 30 feet. Early on, topwater lures like walking baits and poppers can get explosive hits along points and submerged brush. If you spot shad flickering, toss a white or shad-patterned soft jerkbait or crank—the bass won’t be far behind.

Crappie have slowed with the heat, but a few slabs are showing up for folks tight-lining small jigs tipped with chartreuse or white grubs under floating docks and in brushy coves, especially north toward Good Hope Bay. Catfish bite is good after sunset—cut bait or chicken liver near sandy flats and mudlines is your best strategy after dark.

For today’s “hot spots”, check out the mouth of Navajo Canyon at first light for a mixed bag of stripers and smallmouth, and the submerged humps east of Antelope Point for schoolie stripers as the morning wears on. Don’t overlook rocky coves up Last Chance Bay—a steady Ned rig can mean bass limits by noon in that area.

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