FISHING
REPORT EDITOR:
Rory
Aikens, (602) 789-3214
Regional editors:
Pinetop Region - Richard
Dreyer, (928) 367-4281
Flagstaff Region - Chuck
Benedict, (928) 774-5045
Kingman Region - Andy
Clark, (928) 692-7700
Yuma Region - Brad
Jacobsen (928) 342-4051
Tucson Region - Don
Mitchell, (520) 388-4451
Mesa Region - Richard
Wiggins, (481) 324-3544
May 20, 2009
Note: Expect increase OUI enforcement at the
lakes this weekend. Don't drink and operate a boat. Also, be sure
to wear you life jacket -- it's like wearing a seat belt in a vehicle
and can save your life.
URBAN FISHING
REPORT - Fishing is fair to good for channel
catfish at urban waters. The best baits for catfish continue to
be worms, shrimp, and dough/stink baits fished off the bottom.
An 8-pound albino catfish (white colored) was recently stocked.
Early evenings and night time periods have been the best fishing
times.
Bluegill and sunfish are biting well at 4-7 foot depths on worms
and mealworms fished along the bottom or under a bobber.
Bass fishing is picking up again
during the pre-summer period. Try small plastics presented with
split shot or drop shot rigs in the evenings and early morning.
At Green Valley lakes (Payson)
fishing is excellent for trout and good for crappie, bluegill and
bass. The final spring stocking of rainbow trout into Green Valley
Where:Chaparral Lake
When:05/07/09
Caught:Channel Catfish
Technique:Crappie rig, worm on both hooks.
Name:Jenna Fjeld
Where:Veterans Oasis
When:05/03/09
Caught: nothing
Technique: hotdog
Comments: Slow - nobody was catching anything
Name: John
Where:Kiwanis
When: 05/02/09
Caught: 8 average sized catfish and one 8lb monster
Technique: Believe it or not, power bait. you know the stuff for
trout, orange
Comments: On the all American way road at the very far end about
20ft. out. someone illegally put in about 50 hand sized goldfish
on Saturday so if you see them, take them out before they destroy
the lake
Name:Andy
TEMPE TOWN
LAKE - Fishing is fair for largemouth bass, yellow
bass, bluegill, carp and catfish. Try fishing early in the morning
and late in the afternoon, especially along the shade lines created
by the bridges. Night crawlers fished along the bottom might just
get you everything (except carp) this time of year. For carp, try
corn.
A recent Tempe Town Lake survey indicate a substantial resurgence
of largemouth bass, yellow bass and channel catfish, black crappie
and a very large increase in our catch of threadfin shad compared
to last year’s survey conducted after a golden algae outbreak
and a couple days of high runoff which led to the lowering of couple
of the downstream inflatable dams.
Angler reports:
Hello
Rory,
I haven't seen many reports about Tempe Town Lake lately, so I
thought I would help with this. My parents and I have been going
about three time a week lately in the evening and the cat-fishing
has really picked up. We have progressively reeled in bigger fish
with night crawlers fished on the bottom. This last time we went
our worms had been overheated, dead, and smelly but the catfish
my dad caught must have liked it. Attached is the picture of the
6 Pound cat, he was about 25 inches long, and was thick and strong.
Thanks for your tips Rory and hope this helps for the next report...Christopher
Heath
Where: Tempe Town Lake
When: 05/03/09
Caught: 2 Yellow Bass
Technique: Berkley Gulp Minnow, Rat-L-Trap, spinnerbait, Kast Master.
Under Rural bridge on South side of the lake.
Comments: A beautiful day on the lake, not much was biting though.
I caught a couple small (6") yellow bass and not much else. Had
a few bites here and there but nothing was really striking hard
and you had to be quick to get them. On another note, why do the
people from Tempe Parks feel the need to have the rowing people
so close to shore? I am all about sharing the lake, but couldn't
they move out 50' or so. Every time I would get my line in the
water another rowing boat would come by and run right over my line
and I was only fishing about 25' from shore. Please guys; there
is a whole lake there. Let those of us who don't have a boat enjoy
this wonderful resource.
Name: Barry
Where: Tempe Town Lake
When: 05/03/09
Caught: 2 Yellow Bass
Technique: Berkley Gulp Minnow, Rat-L-Trap, spinnerbait, Kast Master.
Under Rural bridge on South side of the lake.
Comments: A beautiful day on the lake, not much was biting though.
I caught a couple small (6") yellow bass and not much else. Had
a few bites here and there but nothing was really striking hard
and you had to be quick to get them. On another note, why do the
people from Tempe Parks feel the need to have the rowing people
so close to shore? I am all about sharing the lake, but couldn't
they move out 50' or so. Every time I would get my line in the
water another rowing boat would come by and run right over my line.
And I was only fishing about 25' from shore. Please guys; there
is a whole lake there. Let those of us who don't have a boat enjoy
this wonderful resource.
Name: Barry
LAKE PLEASANT -
Water elevation is 1,693 feet, which is 90-percent full.
Topater
poppers are working for some, and not others. The best surface
action will typically be at first and last light, but surface feeding
can occur at any time of day (or night).
Striper fishing appears to be picking up, especially at night (new
moon on Sunday).
A shore angler catfishing near the four-lane launch ramp in Castle
Creek said he couldn't keep the bait on his hook, and even caught
a striper.
Another angler fished in Humbug and caught 10 stripers tipping
the sacles over 2.5 pounds using anchovies fished 20 to 25 feet
deep.
One angler caught 15 stripers between 5 and 6 a.m. fishing the
points mid lake on the west side using Lucky Craft Pointers; all
stripers were between 15 and 21 inches long.
Other anglers report doing okay at night for stripers drift fishing
or slowly trolling pieces of anchovy with little or no weight,
especially along the submerged creek channels in the northern coves.
Not hearing much about the largemouth bass fishing, but most should
be in the post-spawn mode. Look for largemouth to be feeding toward
the surface at first and last light. You’ll likely find them
off the points in 10 to 15 feet of water during the day. Try drop
shots, small plastic lizards, or even Carolina-rigged worms.
Lake Pleasant Regional Park will host the Tribal Sprint
Triathlon the first weekend of June, and the event will
close both the north entry into the park and the four-lane boat
ramp at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 5. However, they will reopen to
the public at noon on Saturday, June 6.
Where: Pleasant
When: 05/02/09
Caught: bass, bluegill
Technique: plastic worm Texas rig
Comments: bass was 14 inches but the bluegill was just as big and
weighed in at a little over a pound
Name: Michael Culbertson
Where: pleasant
When: 05/02/09
Caught: bass, bluegill
Technique: plastic worm Texas rig
Comments: bass was 14 inches but the bluegill was just as big and
weighed in at a little over a pound
Name: Michael Culbertson
ROOSEVELT
LAKE -- Lake Elevation remains
at 2,150 ft
(99-percent full). Tonto Creek runoff is at 17 cfs
while inflow from the Salt River has slowed to 421 cfs.
The Tonto National Forest has instituted fire restrictions, and
so has the Game and Fish Department in its wildlife areas (3-Bar
and Roosevelt). So be careful out there - the habitat is
dry and fire danger is high.
This remains one of the state's bass, crappie and catfish
hot spots.
Some anglers have been finding a good topwater bite at first
light, others have found the morning bite to be slow. Try poppers,
stick baits and soft plastic jerkbaits. Have a second pole rigged
with a flutter-down bait such as a Senko if you get hit but no
hook up.
A good technique to use at any time can be targeting individual
pieces of submerged vegetation using flutter-down baits like Senkos
and curly-tail grubs. Or try working four-inch lizards and curly-tail
worms. There is certainly a lot of submerged cover that can be
worked right now.
Crappie fishing should be best at night (there is a new moon on
Sunday). Anglers have been catching crappies in the Salt end
in themorning trolling blue-black-chartreuse (BBC) and John
Deer grubs tipped with minnows. The crappies were suspended 15
to 20 feet deep.
It sounds like the flathead catfish anglers are out in force,
with some hauling in big monsters, but most are keeping the action
pretty quiet. Try where the Salt River enters the lake. But it
is possible to catch flats in just about any area of the lake.
We are not hearing much about the smallmouth action, but try the
rocky areas near the dam using crayfish-like baits when the wind
picks up.
The action is also pretty good for bluegills and yellow bass.
Try using meal worms under bobbers in the backs of coves, or along
those rocky secondary points inside the coves.
Channel catfish and carp are abundant
- you can probably load up with lots of bottom feeders along any
piece of shoreline, and you don’t need a boat. Although daylight
fishing is viable for these bottom feeders, this is the time of
year when they can also be pretty active at night as well.
Don Stich: 05/15/09 8-11 p.m. area-Schoolhouse
18 yellow bass-13-15oz
5 largemouth 1 over 1 slot 3 unders
12 bluegills & 5 crappies 4 small 1 keeper
05/16/09
Salt end. 3 flatheads 4lb 7lb 13lb
7 p.m.-5a.m.
A father-son duo slayed the fish
during a morning of fishing. Topwater lures worked best for the
first two hours in 3 feet of water. Once
the topwater bite slowed the bass went after the large 10-inch
worms on Carolina rigs at the main lake points in about 12 feet
of water. All bass caught by this duo were in the slot. They
reported the water temp at 73 F and about 10 feet visibility.
Another family fishing expedition
fished on the 9th and 10th of May. They caught a couple 3-pound
largemouth bass along with some smaller ones using Texas-rigged
plastic worms and green and white spinners. They also caught 15
sunfish and had a hard time keeping them away from the lure as
they were after some larger fish. They fished in and around
the submerged trees and near cliffs. They also did some flathead
fishing at night and had a hard time staying awake but still managed
to catch a whopping 7-inch one!
APACHE -
Lake elevation is still 1,911 feet (97-percent full).
Fishing continues to pick up at Apache. One avid angler
caught 30 fish in one day of fishing. He caught largemouth
bass, sunfish and yellow bass. The largemouth bass are on
beds right now and the best fishing is close to shore near overhanging
vegetation.
Another tidbit is the fishing seems to be better towards the Horse
Mesa Dam as opposed to the other direction. Fish were biting
on crankbait, a chartreuse spinners and purple plastic worms rigged
on a drop shot. People are also catching 6-9 pound catfish
near the marina using worms. A hearty thanks to David who
works at Apache Lake for providing detailed reliable fishing reports.
Game and Fish biologists sampled
Apache Lake and caught some nice largemouth bass, a whole lot of
bluegills and a fair amount of catfish. We electro-fished
and set nets and every time we e-fished near reeds, we would get
some nice largemouth. The rocky sites were not as fruitful, although
we did catch quite a few smallmouth bass in those areas.
The smallmouth we stocked in 2007 are now in the slot and doing
real well. We caught quite a few green sunfish and every
one of them looked like they just had a seven-course dinner. A
couple hot spots for bass and sunfish are the Crabtree area, plus
we caught a slew of catfish at Pine Cove. Another hot spot
was the area around Burnt Corral. We picked up a few of the
small 3-4 inch trout we recently stocked as a house cleaning effort
for one of our hatcheries.
Swim baits ought to work pretty
well there. Come to our Anglers Roundtable, scheduled for May 21
at Bass Pro in Mesa from 6 to 8 p.m. to see photos of the real
nice largemouth and smallmouth bass as well as the 30+ pound flathead.
We will also report on the health of the Salt River Reservoir lakes.
Apache is recovering albeit a little slower than Saguaro and Canyon.
CANYON
LAKE - Lake elevation is 1,657 feet, which is 95-percent full.
If you are looking for a place to take the kids to catch lots of
bluegills, give Canyon a try.
But for largemout bass, this is ioften best fished by experienced
anglers. Even then, don't expect high catch rates. However, there
may be a new state record lurking in the depths of this deep lake.
However, those looking for great bluegill and catfish angling can
have a ball here.
Many thanks for the UAAF anglers who helped stock largemouth bass
in Saguaro, Canyon and Apache lakes recently.
An angler waiting for the Game and Fish stocking truck to deliver
largemouth bass caught some nice largemouth bass using 4-inch worms.
Another angler caught a couple good sized 3-plus-pound largemouth
bass. He also caught about 15 small ones and two 3-inch feisty
smallmouth bass took 4-inch worms.
A happy couple fished late afternoon till about midnight and caught
two largemouth bass and a yellow bass on a crankbait near shore.
They also caught a small catfish, a bluegill, and a little smallmouth
on a worm.
A couple anglers fished from about 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and caught
five largemouth bass with the largest being a 3 pounder. All
were caught on watermelon/red Zoom worms on Texas-rigs or drop
shots.
SAGUARO
LAKE - Lake elevation 1,525 feet at 93 percent full. This
is a hot spot for bluegill and yellow bass, which are hitting KastMasters
worked in 5 to 15 feet of water.
For the plentiful bluegills, try areas next to emergent vegetation.
Worms and meal worms will entice any self respecting bluegill.
Not hearing much from bass anglers right now, but they have been
catching lots of yearling bass. This is a good time to fish at
night using submersible lights for both largemouth bass and yellow
bass using live minnows and small jigs.
Where: Saguaro
When: 05/15/09
Caught: Bluegill, largemouth, yellow bass
Technique: smallest jig I cold find with white 1" grub cut
down to 1/2" cast into the shallows in the back of coves.
Comments: 2 of us fished for 5 hours from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
and caught 81 fish most smaller than my hand but what a blast!
Name: Jim Lindquist
BARTLETT - Lake elevation is 1,790 ft, which has dropped
slightly during the past week to 88-percent full. Reservoir
release is 1,100 cfs.
Fishermen are caqtching largemouth bass using spinnerbaits, crankbaits
and plastics in the morning. The evening bite seems to be a little
better; try using Carolina-rigged worms or lizards along with poppers
and crankbaits. Try working the main-lake points, islands and reefs.
The islands and reefs can be very productive at times.
Smaller bass and bluegills are suceptible to slow-trolling curly-tail
grubs on small jigheads (1/16 to 1/8-ounce) up-lake from the Yellow
Cliffs.
One angler caught 10 fish, with some nice ones (one weighed 4
pounds) mixed in.
Another angler used lipless Rapalas and Rat-L-Traps to catch 12
bass in the 8- to 12-inch range.
Some anglers are doing well for crappies using small jigs (and
catching bass as well). This is an excellent time to fish at night
using submersible lights. There is a new moon this weekend. Try
jigs or live minnows.
This is also a good time of year to target flathead catfish. The
larger flatheads will often hold in the deep holes along the upper
end of the lake, but it is possible to catch these voracious bottom
feeders just about anywhere, night or day, but nighttime might
be a little better right now. Try live bluegills or small carp.
Channel catfish and carp are also
plentiful. Try corn and hot dogs on a small treble hook fished
on a slip sinker. Remember, it is legal to chum in Arizona, so
bring a can of corn and liberally toss some in the water where
you are fishing to attract catfish and carp. These bottom feeders
rely heavily on their olfactory senses, and can literally smell
your plentiful chum.
Angler report:
Harvey Nelson: 2 of us fishing at Bartlett on 5/6, caught 7 nice
bass using spinnerbaits, shad-colored crankbaits, and the go-to
bait-- Carolina rig with a Senko worm. Most fish caught 15 feet
deep in the sandy bottom coves with 2 caught shallow off points
where there was a lot of shad visible. All fish 2-3 lbs., no small
fish were caught.
Rory,
I fish Bartlett a lot and will try to keep my reports coming in
regularly. I read the reports all the time and they often help
me find good patterns. One pattern that I used a lot last year
was after it gets up to 100 F outside I like to Carolina rig fish
the lower lake islands bouncing Carolina rigs down the slope of
islands to the 16- 20 foot depths. It usually works great but one
part of the pattern is wind. It has to be windy or it just doesn't
work. The wind pushes shad schools up onto the island slopes and
the fish follow. No wind-- no shad schools- no bass.
We tried it this week but couldn't get the wind and it just did
not work--so we went into the points and rock piles in the coves
and found nice quality fish there.
Maybe that info can help somebody else too.
Harvey
HORSESHOE - Lake elevation is at 1990 feet, which has dropped
to 35-percent full. They are releasing water at 400 cfs, so
this lake will likely be slowly drained to keep up the lake level
at Bartlett. This also means the lake will be rimed by saturated
soils, making shoreline access challenging in places. The best
fishing will likely be just below the dam, especially in the deeper
holes.
Tammy Wagoner: While fishing the Verde River just below Horseshoe
Lake, fish were flipping out of the water frequently. We
caught quite a few channel cats, but let most go because they were
small. We fished with chicken liver and fish would bite almost
as soon as we got our line in the water. I also caught a
largemouth bass on a Carolina-rigged black lizard while fishing
on the east bank from a kayak. I've been a few times last week
and have had better luck there than at Bartlett and Pleasant both.
Also caught a carp on chicken liver.
VERDE RIVER - Verde River flow at Tangle Creek has slowed to 113
cfs. Release from Bartlett Lake is 1,100 cfs.
SALT RIVER -
Salt River into Roosevelt is 421 cfs,
and Salt River Canyon is 387 cfs. They are releasing 375 cfs
out of Stewart Mountain Dam from Saguaro.
A 47.9-pound flathead catfish was caught in the Upper Salt River
real close to Roosevelt Lake two weeks ago. A live sunfish
caught at that location was used as bait.
LOWER SALT
RIVER - They are releasing water out of
Stewart Mountain Dam at 375 cfs. We are still stocking trout
below Saguaro at Water Users and Blue Point sites. Trout
are scheduled to be stocked this week. Flies are working as well
as live worms. The fishing is best at first and last light. Largemouth
are holding around the overhanging vegetation.
Where:Lower Salt
When:05/06/09
Caught:big grass monster
Technique:fly rod
Comments:tough day. Plenty of strikes but just not hooking up.
Water way down (about 500 cfs) Anglers advised me the river was
VERY busy last week for fishing. Big grass monster (algae debris,
etc.) is growing by the hour. Anglers beware... the recreators
are out in force. See ya next time.
Where: Lower Salt River
When: 04/22/09
Caught: Rainbow Trout
Technique: Fly Rod and spinning rig
Comments: Time again? Fished midday. Started slow. Picked up nicely
and tapered off around 4 p.m. Spin anglers having a tough time
with the big grass monster (algae) a bit tough with the spinners.
Small jigs produced some fish. See ya next week.
CREEKS - All creeks along the Mogollon
Rim are fishing pretty well. Early mornigns and evenings are best.
Nymphs are workingwell, as are drifting simi seals. Blue winged
olvies are getting popular (size 18). In mid day, try a hopper
dropper rig with a No. 16 bead head nymph under it. Dry flies --
pay attentiong to the hatch and match.
Christopher Creek, Tonto Creek, Haigler Creek and the East Verde
have all been stocked this spring. Spin anglers should try night
crawlers, meal worms, Power Bait, corn, salmon eggs, small spinners,
and grasshoppers.
Canyon Creek was stocked recently.
Dave Duhigg: Sunday afternoon, May 10 at Tonto Creek my girlfriend
and I caught 6 or 7 trout between us in about two hours. Just followed
the creek 'till we found a nice pool and dropped in a line with
orange Power Bait nuggets. Let it churn around in the current and
waited for the fish. Most were around 9 inches; one was a little
under 11 inches. Our first attempt fishing Tonto and we weren't
disappointed at all!
HORSETHIEF
BASIN LAKE - No new reports. It’s
a pretty little lake that is worth visiting as part of a Bradshaw
Mountain experience, but it is pond sized water where the fish
are small; great for kids on a camp out. Bring night crawlers or
meal worms and fish them under bobbers.
OTHER
WAYS TO GET THE FISHING REPORT:
Internet Home Page - www.azgfd.com
Recorded Public Call-In Line (602)
789-3701
