Northern Arizona Lakes

Arizona Game and Fish Department's Fishing Report

FISHING REPORT EDITOR: Rory Aikens, (602) 789-3214

July 28, 2010

WILLIAMS LAKES: 

KAIBAB LAKE -  Fish on the bottom with corn and worms. Some nice largemouth bass were caught during our electrofishing surveys along with quite a few trout.  The majority of the bass were in the 1 lb range with a few up to about 4 lbs. Quite a few bluegill were also caught. Crappie and bluegill fishing was good on flies, especially crayfish patterns.

CATARACT LAKE - Stocked with catfish. Lots of nice size channel catfish and largemouth bass were caught during our electrofishing surveys. The biggest bass were in the 4-5 lb range and there were lots of catfish in the 3- to 5-pound range. 

CITY RESERVOIR -  Stocked with catfish.  One of our interns caught 2 catfish on flies last weekend. 

DOGTOWN LAKE - Stocked last week.  Fishing was fair to good on marshmallows.  A few large brown trout have been reported by lure anglers. We caught a lot of small crappie along with some nice size brown trout during our electrofishing surveys.  

JD DAM - Road is open. 

RUSSELL TANK -  Lake is to shallow to stock.

SANTA FE - Lake is full. Stocked with catfish.

WHITEHORSE LAKE - No report. With the monsoons hiting the area, the fishing should be decent when the barometer is dropping. Other than that, try fishing deep using traditional baits.

FLAGSTAFF LAKES:

LOWER LAKE MARY -  Fishing was fair to good during the week using worms fished about 3 ½-4 feet below a bobber.  Some fish were also being caught on pink Power Bait. Fishing is better early in the morning or late in the evening, but fish were being caught in the middle of the day, especially when the sun went behind a cloud. Fishing was better a couple of hundred yards uplake from the dam compared to fishing right off of the dam.  Fish seem to be growing quickly with some larger fish (12-14 inch) being caught.

UPPER LAKE MARY -  Perch were being caught on the upper part of the lake near the weeds and in the narrows area on worms.  Pike were being caught in the same areas on anchovies. Catfish are starting to be caught on the upper end of the lake with our creel clerks checking a 12 lb cat caught on anchovies and a 17-pound cat caught trolling. 

ASHURST LAKE -  We sampled the lake in mid April and caught mostly large (10+ Lbs) pike in our nets, only 1 trout was caught.  Some large pike and a few trout were bring caught. The folks were fishing the south end of the lake from shore.  Has been stocked 

FRANCIS SHORT POND -  Fishing was good. Catfishing was good on hotdogs, chicken and corn/hotdog combo. Trout were being caught on corn near the inflow area and on the dam.

KINNIKINICK LAKE - Road is open. Stocked last week

MARSHALL LAKE - No report

OAK CREEK - Fishing was good for brown trout and rainbow trout.  Use flies for browns and bait for rainbows. Scheduled to be stocked 

LONG LAKE - Road is open, 

SOLDIERS & SOLDIERS ANNEX - Road is open

BEAVER CREEK/WEST CLEAR CREEK -  No report.

STONEMAN LAKE - NO FISH.

VERDE VALLEY

BEAVER CREEK/WEST CLEAR CREEK - Fishing for trout is fair and fair to poor for smallmouth bass. Try night crawlers for the trout and small crayfish-like lures on ultra lights for the smallmouth.

DEAD HORSE STATE PARK - Catfish were stocked the week of April 19 and June 12. Frozen anchovies or night crawlers should work best for them.  Bass and bluegill are also active. If you would like your child to catch their first fish, Bluegill can be easily caught with a number 10 hook with a small pieces of worm under a bobber. These will not be large bluegill, but they can be a lot of fun for little ones to catch.

Trout stocking will resume in the fall. 

OAK CREEK - Stocked weekly through the end of summer. Fishing was good for brown trout and rainbow trout.  Use flies for browns and bait for rainbows. 

VERDE RIVER (throughout Verde Valley) - Bass fishing has been good using small spinners and curly tailed grubs. Both largemouth bass and smallmouth bass abound in the river between Clarkdale and Camp Verde. Look for some depth in pools with shady overhangs. Always check your regulations before fishing this area with live bait. Game and Fish Commission Rule requires anglers to only use live bait that has been caught in the river. No transporting of live baitfish or crayfish is allowed. 

PRESCOTT AREA

FAIN LAKE - Incentive Trout were stocked just before the Fourth. That was the last trout stocking until the fall. Fishing is best immediate following the stocking. Bright colored Power Bait, worms lures and flies all seem to work well. Catfish and Bluegill were stocked last the week of June 12th. Anchovies are your best bet for the catfish.

GOLDWATER LAKE - Trout were recently stocked. In general, fishing has not been as good this year as it was the last few years. 

The lake has been near full all year so trout may be using areas of the lake that require anglers to experiment more. Typically in the summer months, water temperatures force trout into deeper areas.  Anglers should try fishing in 15 to 20 feet of water with bait floating just off the bottom. 

The sunfish and bass should be actively biting.  One angler reported catching two bass after fishing hard all day, but they were 2 – 6 lbs. 

Game and Fish has been trying to boost the some of the warm water species in Goldwater. Bass and catfish have been stocked three times over the last three years. The bass are being stocked to give a boost to a dwindling population in the lake and to reduce the excessive number of crayfish. Please practice catch and release with the bass, while the population gets re-established.

Game and Fish Biologists surveyed Goldwater on Sept. 15, 2009 and found bass and catfish populations to be much improved over last year. The number of green sunfish was greatly reduced.  The bass had a successful spawn last year.   If you fish Goldwater and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others.

Granite Basin –The bass and bluegill are starting to bite, but it is still slow.   If you fish Granite Basin and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others.

LYNX LAKE - Brook trout were stocke the week of June 21st. Rainbow Trout were last stocked, the week of June 14th. This is the last scheduled trout stocking until the fall due to high water temperatures. Catfish and Bluegill were stocked on June 12th. Fishing should really pick up following the stocking.

Trout can be caught on Power Bait, corn, or spinners. The brookies tend to feed near the bottom. Cut anchovies, night crawlers or hot dog are your best bet for catfish.

Lynx can be difficult to fish, if you are not catching anything try moving to a new spot. There are some good spots on the north end of the lake that don’t get fished as heavily as the south end does. Again, at Lynx, there is not oxygen for fish below 20-feet at Lynx.  So fish in 15-18 feet using a floating bait such as PowerBait or marshmallow. 

Fingerling brook trout were stocked Sept. 17 ,2009.

MINGUS LAKE – Trout were stocked last the week of June 14. That was the last scheduled stocking until September. The gate is open. The best bait is usually orange, pink, or white Power Bait, fished on the bottom with a treble hook and an egg sinker. Fishing can be really good at times, because angler use is lower than other lakes in the area. This lake is more remote than the other Prescott area lakes and not very big.

Someone illegally stocked yellow bullhead into Mingus several years ago. These fish compete directly with the trout and keep growth rates very low.  If you witness anyone, anywhere, moving fish like bass, bluegill, catfish and stocking them, please report it to our Operation Game Thief Hotline at 1-800-352-0700.  Illegal stockings cost YOU money!

WATSON – No new reports- The fishing should be picking up by now, but I have not heard of many anglers fishing Watson.  Both Bass and catfish should be active by now.  Large numbers of small crappie are in Watson, but I have not heard about people catching them.

Game and Fish Biologists surveyed Watson last fall and found the bass,  sunfish, and bullhead to be plentiful.  Crappies were also doing well.  Look for the crappie fishing to pick up in a year or two. If you fish Watson and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others.

WILLOW CREEK RESERVOIR - The fishing has picked up. Anglers continue to have success catching bass. Plastics seem to be working the best for now.

If you fish Willow and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others.

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