I find myself thrilled just sitting here thinking of all I’m going to need for my next big planned fishing trip. This trip is planned for the week of May 13-17, and the destination is Lake Powell. This will be my first visit to Lake Powell for fishing. I had traveled with my family to Page Arizona a couple of years ago to visit relatives, and crossed the Glen Canyon dam. We did some site seeing but because of the limited time we had for that trip we weren’t able to do any fishing, but I was in awe of the size of the lake that lay before me. So now I have a trip planned with some very good friends of mine and the whole point of this trip is to catch as many Striped bass as we possibly can, and of course have just as much fun boating around the lake.
The fish we will be in the hunt for on this trip will be the striped bass or strippers as some call them. Now a stripper is a bass, but not like your small or big mouth bass. An adult striped bass usually is a salt-water fish but migrates to freshwater areas to spawn and have successfully adapted to freshwater due to man’s increased need of water and the constructions of dams. There are very few successful spawning populations of freshwater striped bass, for the most part the freshwater fisheries must be restocked with hatchery-produced fish on an annual basis.The striped bass is a typical member of the Moranidae family in shape, having a streamlined, silvery body marked with longitudinal dark stripes running from behind the gills to the base of the tail. Maximum size is 200 cm (6.6 ft) and maximum scientifically recorded weight 57 kg (125 US pounds). Striped bass are believed to live for up to 30 years. Striped bass have also been hybridized with white bass to produce hybrid striped bass also known as wiper. These hybrids have been stocked in many freshwater areas across the U.S. Many of the lakes in Colorado are stocked with wipers and I enjoy catching them for the fight they can give.
Now I have to contemplate about the gear I’ll need. Because I live in Colorado and the fish that I’m used to fishing for are large-small mouth bass, wiper, trout, walleye and others. The size difference for the striped bass, and the equipment needed to catch those larger fish means I have some work to do in changing line to a heavier weight on the poles I plan to use, and very possibly the chance of buying a new rod. That excites me; a new rod to me is probably like a hunter getting a new rifle for his gun case or that new putter that sparkles when your on the green with your buddies sinking every putt you try. I have the Fenwick HMX series rod in mind. It is a heavier weight rod with a fast-taper and good balance for a 7ft, 12-25lb rod. I will get it and take it on the trip, then when I return I will give a product review. Until then happy fishing.