44.5 Inch Striper on Powell

[WB Staff]

Heather Litke recently caught this 44.5-inch striped bass out of Lake Powell.
Photo courtesy of Wayne Gustaveson


Ryan Litke and his wife Heather ran up the San Juan for a few days to fish for bass. They had good success catching bass on Monday morning and then fishing improved as the water warmed in the afternoon. Tuesday (March 26) got off to a slow start until 11:15 a.m. when Heather hooked a fish along the shore fishing a chatter bait. She said the fish was really pulling and that it was strong.

Ryan’s first thought was maybe she had false-hooked a carp or maybe got a decent smallmouth or largemouth bass. As she played the fish for a few minutes Ryan realized it might be a bigger fish, so he started to take more interest in what was happening. Needless to say, after fighting the fish for another 5-10 minutes, Ryan saw a flash and realized Heather had a good, if not great striper, and that is when he went into big fish mode and forgot everything else.

After a few more minutes of slowly working the fish to the boat they decided the net wasn't going to work so they tired this big specimen out. When it rolled over near the boat, Ryan grabbed it by the mouth and yanked it over the side of the boat.

More info: https://wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots/reports_lp.php