May 16, 2008

Rory’s Tips:

Sorry this report is late - I was out most of the week trying to set a record on how many Kleenexes I could use.

What a strange, windy spring. But it looks like the winds may calm down this weekend (yes, they’ve said that before). Wind or no wind, the fishing this time of year is superb.

The weekend before the Memorial Day holiday is the ebb before the great Valley-to- Mountain Exodus. So go catch a mountain trout now and avoid the rush. Some reports from Woods Canyon and Willow Springs are phenomenal. Big Lake is always a standout.

It may sound like a repetitive litany, but Pleasant, Roosevelt, Alamo and Bartlett are the best places to fish for bass et al.

But here’s a tip for taking the kids out – bluegill at Saguaro Lake. Try meal worms, mealies, night crawlers etc. two or three feet under a bobber in the coves. For variety, mom and dad try a hot dog and corn (two hooks per line) fished on the bottom with a slip sinker. When you hook up, let the youngster help bring in the monster cat or carp. It’s a one-two fishing whammy for the family you can practice at any of our desert lakes. The great part is you can fish from shore!

Hey, put on your sunglasses, it’s time to be a cool cat; catfish that is. You can catch them day or night right now at any desert lake. It’s a ball. Take along some tunes and an ice chest full of cold ones and have yourself a cool cat party on the shore.

That’s for now. For those of you planning ahead, here’s my top 5 picks for Memorial Day weekend:

1. Lake Powell for stripers, smallmouth, walleye and largemouth bass. My secret spot at Powell is Hall’s Crossing (head to Blanding, Utah and hang a left). There is a superb campground there that I have often seen half empty on Memorial Day weekend – everybody has houseboats in the mind. It might take more gas and time to get there, but you won’t have to use $100 worth of boat fuel to get to the prime fishing –you can find great fishing within sight of the launch ramp. No kidding. I call it a Poor Man’s Lake Powell trip – but it is not poor when it comes to fishing or scenery.

2. Lees Ferry for wild trout, majestic scenery and angling adventure. If you haven’t fished here before, get a guide. T his is a world-class experience in our northern yard. The Marble Canyon Gorge is the gateway to the Grand Canyon.

3. Big Lake in the White Mountains for rainbow, cutthroat, brook and Apache trout – Big has it all. Most people who visit here for the first time can’t hardly believe it’s in Arizona – it looks like a transplanted piece of Montana.

4. Black River (East or West Fork) for native Apache trout. We stocked them. You catch them. Get some cane poles and a can of worms, put on a straw hat and do the Tom Sawyer thing (great for young or old). Keep an eye out for bighorn sheep, elk, deer, turkey and bear.

5. Alamo Lake for largemouth bass, crappie and no recreational boaters. This is a pure fishing lake – if it gets crowded (it doesn’t really), it’s with others of your own kind. There is no gas available, so skiers avoid it like the plague.

So go catch some memories in Arizona. Maybe I’ll see you out there.

Visit azgfd.gov.