Arizona - 4/21/2011 Fishing Report

b4youleap

Arizona Fishing Report Officer
Joined
Dec 15, 2010
Location
Phoenix
#1
note: I've been travelling so my boat has missed me. This report was compiled from the different reportings found at azgfd.gov.

Central Arizona:

Apache (Lake elevation is 1,909 feet - 95% full)
Big Fish - 60-pound carp (4/21/11 report)
Fishing is fantastic at Apache. Anglers are mostly catching bass hanging out on beds.
Crappie are susceptible to trolling jigs and minnows along the shorelines over the shelves.
Bluegill are hanging near emergent vegetation.
Carp and or buffalo fish are going nuts mingling in the coves and believe it or not bumping into the parked pontoon boats at the marina keeping some campers up at night.
Look for walleye in the shallows at first and last light, or in deep shady areas during the day. Walleye fishing at night could be viable using night crawler rigs, or drop-shot rigs with two hooks, one with a night crawler and one with a live minnow.

Bartlett (Lake elevation is 1,763 feet - 56% full)
Reservoir release is 1,300 cfs, which means the lake level is consistently dropping, which can disrupt the bass spawn. Some nice crappies are being caught, but it doesn't appear they are spanwing yet. Try up by the no wake buoys, along the Yellow Cliffs and in Cat Bay.
Largemouth bass fishing can be exceptional right now, this is prime largemouth bass spawning time. Look for bass in the coves. But don't ignore the points, islands and reefs for post-spawn bass, or even those bass just now staging for the spawn.
This is the leading edge of the great flathead catfish season. Small carp or bluegill can be the ticket to catching these huge voracious fish. This is also a good time to target channel catfish.

Canyon (Lake elevation is 1,657 feet - 95% full)
Canyon is producing some nice bass. Right now is a good time to get to know this lake and have a better chance of catching fish thanks to the spawn.

Horseshoe (Lake elevation is 1,985 feet - 24% full)
No report

Horsethief Basin
No report

Pleasant (Lake elevation is 1,697 feet - 94% full)
Big Fish - 31-inch Largemouth (4/21/11 report)
Phoenix Jr. Bassmaster Club Tournament on 4/17/11 reported 57 fish caught by 24 kids. Big Sack of the day weighed just over 10 pounds with the big fish of the day at 3.3 pounds
From all reports so far, the best striper fishing is best using frozen anchovies. But we are also hearing about some stripers hitting shad at the surface -- not a lot, just sometimes. Not a bad strategy to be armed with a topwater lure.
Seeing lots of bass fry in the northern coves, which also means you'll be able to find post-spawn bass, spawning bass and even bass staging for the spawn right now. If you can't zone in on one group, try the others. Post spawn bass will likely be found around points, islands and reefs, but not exclusively so -- they will follow the shad. Or the males will be hanging out with the fry in the coves. Staging bass might also be found off the points -- points can be a really good bet right now. Don't ignore them.

Roosevelt (Lake elevation is 2,146 feet - 94% full)
Having a stable lake level may result in sport-fish entering patterns anglers can more easily figure out. Lots of clear water this year -- it's not soupy brown gravy like last year at this time.
The spat of cold weather more than a week ago might have also played a role in disrupting biological patterns.
By all accounts so far, the crappie have not begun to spawn. A biologist doing a linear sampling on his days off said the crappies he caught were possibly a week to two weeks away from full egg development.

Saguaro (Lake elevation is 1,524 feet - 91% full)
No report

Mogollon Rim:
Note: All of the Rim Lakes are now ice-free; however, the Rim Road (FR 300) at the junction of FR105 at Woods Canyon Lake is still closed due to snowdrifts and muddy conditions and is scheduled to open around May 15, making Bear Canyon Lake our one access hold out right now.
Fool Hollow Lake, Show Low Lake, and Scott Reservoir are the best opportunities in the Show Low/Pinetop-Lakeside area. Pike are staging for the spawn at Rainbow Lake.
Becker Lake, Luna Lake, the Greer Lakes, and Nelson Reservoir in the Springerville and Alpine areas are ice-free with anglers beginning to catch some rainbow trout.
Willow Springs Lake and Black Canyon Lake are producing some larger hold-over trout. For fly anglers, Chevelon Lake has been overflowing. It's a hike-in, float-tube special for larger hold-over trout.

Bear Canyon Lake
Not accessible - no report

Black Canyon Lake
Fishing is fair to good. The lake is ice free. The lake was stocked last week with catchable size rainbow trout. Forest Roads 300 and 86 are open to the lake. Recent netting revealed holdover rainbow trout ranging from 12 to 19 inches and largemouth bass ranging from 12 to 16 inches.

Chevelon Canyon Lake
Fishing is fair to good. The lake is ice-free, full and spilling. Forest Road 300 is still closed due to snowdrifts, but the lake can be accessed from Forest Road 504 from Heber, then north on Forest Road 169. Forest Road 300 is scheduled to open on May 15. When the lake is spilling like this, the creek below the lake can provide good fishing as well.

Cholla Lake
No report

Knoll Lake
The FR 300 is open on the Coconino National Forest side, but not from the Woods Canyon Lake side. No reports from anglers. Fishing should be fairly decent for the larger hold-over trout, but catch rates might start off a little slow until the water warms a few degrees and the trout get into higher activity patterns.

Long Lake
No report. Scheduled to be stocked this week with rainbow trout. This lake also has northern pike and some walleye.

Soldiers Annex Lake
No report

Soldiers Lake
No report

Willow Springs Lake
The lake is ice-free. Fishing is fair. Anglers are catching some holdover trout (11-14 inch rainbow trout) on red Power Bait and worms. Forest Road 149 is open to the lake. The water temperature last weekend was 52 degrees. All campgrounds are open.

Woods Canyon Lake
Fishing is fair. Anglers are catching some rainbow trout (11-14 inches) on worms and Power Bait. The lake is ice free. Forest Road 300 will be open around May 15. The gate near the store and to the Dam will be closed until road repairs are completed.
Access to the boat ramp and parking lot will remain closed for the interim. It is a ¼ mile hike to the lake. The water temperature last weekend was 54 degrees. The store is open and boat rentals are available. There are also two campgrounds open.

North Central:
VERDE RIVER (throughout Verde Valley) The last trout stocking was the week of March 7. Stocking sites were at Tuzigoot Bridge outside of Clarkdale, The bridge that leads to the Deadhorse State Park, at Deadhorse State Parks access point called the Jacks, at the White Bridge in Camp Verde, and at Bignotti Beach. 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.

Ashurst Lake
Stocked last week - No report

Cataract Lake
Campground is closed. Scheduled to be stocked this week with rainbow trout.

Dead Horse Lake
The last trout stocking was the week of March 7. Fishing is usually great following the stocking. Power Bait or homemade dough baits are your best bet this time of year. Catfish were last stocked the week of September 20.

Fain Lake
Fain Lake is closed while it is being dredged. Stocking will be canceled until the dredging is completed. The surplus fish that would normally be going into Fain will be stocked in Watson Lake at the new boat launch. Power bait and spinners will likely be your best bet. Try Watson while Fain is closed. Fain will likely be finished and open by the beginning of June.

Goldwater Lake
Trout fishing was good following the last stocking. The next trout stocking is scheduled for the week of May 9. The handicapped parking area and boat launch or open for now. A pair of anglers reported catching 6 fish between them in just 1 hour. Others have not been as lucky. The fishing can be really good at Goldwater this time of year. Hold-overs are not uncommon. Look for the fishing to pick up following the stocking.
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.

Granite Basin Lake
No report - As the water warms the bite should increase for largemouth, bluegill and catfish.

JD Dam Lake
No report

Kaibab Lake
Campground is closed. No report. Has been stocked

Kinnikinick Lake
No report

Lake Mary - Lower
Anglers have been catching some nice size rainbows and quite a few small pike late in the day, one even caught a crappie recently. Stocked last week.

Lake Mary - Upper
Northern pike and yellow perch should be active right now, but we haven’t received any reports.

Lynx Lake
The next trout stocking is scheduled for the week of May 9. Trout can be caught on Power Bait, corn, Power Worms, Jakes, Panther Martin and Rooster Tails, just to name a few.
Brook trout, catfish and bluegill were all stocked the last spring. 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.

McClelland Lake
No report

Mingus Lake
Trout are scheduled to be stocked this week, the week of April 18. The gate to Mingus Lake is locked. If you choose to walk in, the water level is up and fishing should be good following the stocking. 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. Trout stocking will resume in the spring.

Santa Fe Lake
No Report. Has been stocked

Watson Lake
Watson Lake was stocked with 8,250 Rainbow on March 30. More than 13,000 rainbow trout have been stocked since January into Watson Lake. Prior to the January stocking Game and Fish had not stocked trout here since 1962.
Some anglers have reported having great success in the last week. Limiting out in as little as 30 minutes, while other anglers have reported not catching a thing while watching the fish feeding in the distance. There is no shortage of trout in the lake, if you are not having success try using something different or a new location at the lake, but don’t give up. Power bait, spinners, and flies will be your best bet. Watson is surrounded by large boulders limiting shore access to less agile anglers. Fishing from a boat may improve your odds of success. Remember, while Watson Lake has no motor restrictions, it is flat wake only.
Game and Fish Biologists surveyed Watson last fall and found the bass, sunfish, and bullhead to be plentiful.

Whitehorse Lake
Campground is closed. Scheduled to be stocked this week.

White Mountains:
Carnero, Crescent and Lee Valley did not fish kill this winter. Hold-over brookies at Crescent will be a treat.

Ackre Lake
No report

Becker Lake
The lake is ice-free. Fishing is fair to good. Fly Fishers recently reported catching some nice sized trout (up to 22 inches) on midges and small nymphs. New fishing regulations took effect on Becker Lake Jan. 1, 2011. The new regulations are catch-and-release fishing for trout with artificial lure and fly with a single barbless hook only. All trout must be released immediately. The water temperature last week was 52 degrees.

Big Lake
Fishing is good. Anglers have been catching trout on worms, Power Bait, and lures. The lake is ice-free. Highways 261 and 273 are open. The store is open and boat rentals are available. The Lake is ice free. The water temperature last week was 43 degrees.

Carnero Lake
Fishing is good. The lake is ice-free and did NOT have a winter fish kill. Fly Fishers are catching trout on small nymphs. Forest Roads 117 and 117A are open.

Concho Lake
Fishing has been poor. The water temperature last week was 55 degrees.

Crescent Lake
Fishing is fair to good. The lake is ice-free and did NOT have a winter fish kill. Highways 261 and 273 are open. The store is still closed. The water temperature last week was 41 degrees.

Fool Hollow Lake
Fishing is fair to good. The lake was stocked with rainbow trout last week. The lake is ice-free and full. Anglers have been catching trout and small walleyes on night crawlers and lures.
Black crappies should be staging around the west side fishing piers. Try small crappie jigs, worms, and mealworms.
Recent netting surveys revealed lots of nice sized channel catfish, walleyes, bass, and northern pike. Some nice sized black crappies were also taken. The water temperature last week was 51 degrees.

Hulsey Lake
Fishing is fair. Anglers have been catching some carryover rainbow trout on night crawlers. The lake is ice-free. Forest Road 56 is open.
The water temperature last week was 50 degrees.

Lee Valley Lake
Fishing is fair. The lake is ice-free and low but did NOT have a winter fish kill. Highways 261 and 273 are open. The water temperature last week was 43 degrees.

Luna Lake
The lake is ice-free and full. Fishing is fair to good. Anglers are catching trout on lures such as spinners and spoons (KastMasters and Z-Rays), woolly worms, woolly buggers, Power Bait (pink), salmon eggs, corn, and night crawlers. The water temperature last week was 48 degrees.

Lyman Lake
Lyman Lake State Park is currently closed. Local authorities are working to re-open the park this summer, but nothing is definite.

Rainbow Lake
The lake is ice-free, full, and barely spilling. Fishing is fair to good. The lake was stocked last week with 1,730 rainbow trout. The pike are no longer spawning and will be found anywhere in the lake. The water temperature last week was 50 degrees.

Show Low Lake
The lake is ice-free. Fishing fair to good. The lake was stocked with 4,757 rainbow trout last week. The water temperature last week was 49 degrees.

Woodland Lake
The lake is ice-free, full, and spilling. Fishing is good. Anglers have been catching trout on small spinners (Panther Martin). The lake was stocked with 2,055 rainbow trout last week. The water temperature last week was 52 degrees.

Colorado River Northwest:

Lake Mead (Lake elevation is 1,096 feet)
Lake levels have been farily steady the last month. The Largemouth are biting. Try plastics in 5-8 feet. Striper fishing has been slow, even at night under lights. Cut anchovies are still the bait of choice. Full moon was April 17, so fishing under lights at night might not be as good right now unless you chum when spotting schools of stripers on your fish finder. Lyrid meteor showers this week may make night fishing more interesting though.
Fish for stripers in 50 plus feet of water to find the larger fish. If you can locate the shad, the stripers are not far behind. Trolling usually works best in areas were shad are found and best done in the early mornings and evenings.
Launching conditions at South Cove have improved as the water level has gone up. There are currently four lanes. Launching conditions in general are better at Temple Bar than South Cove.

Lake Mohave (Lake elevation is 642 feet)
The smallmouth are are hitting soft baits when worked slowly. Trolling with anchovies in 30-50 feet has been producing some stripers, while catfish are on the bottom. While the number of stripers in Mohave has been decreasing, the quality of the fish caught has increased.
Biologists from both Arizona Game and Fish Department and Nevada Division of Wildlife with the help of volunteers, National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation personnel have continued to install fish habitat in Carp Cove, Box Cove, Shoshone, and Arrowhead. Fish habitat consists of PVC structures, wood pallet structures, tamarisk bundles, and some Christmas trees. The largemouth, smallmouth, bluegill and catfish are really utilizing the new structures. Additional habitat will be added at several locations over the next two years. These structures are fish magnets.
There is a wheelchair accessible fishing pier just south of the main launch ramp at Katherine's Landing.

Topock Marsh
Bass, crappie and catfish are all biting, but the bite can be hit and miss. Several crappies have tipped the scale at just over 2 pounds. Minnows and small road runners are the preferred bait. Bass bite has taken off. Arizona Game and Fish Department is currently doing a creel survey on the marsh. Two weeks ago a local fisherman caught over 30 largemouth bass with 5 fish over the 13 inch minimum length and the week before he caught a 21 lb. channel catfish. He uses black, white or red spinner baits. Pumpkin colored crankbait and six inch watermelon trick worms are working in shallow water. In deeper water it is deep diving crank baits in a fire tiger color that is producing.
You can access the marsh by boat at the North Dike, Catfish Paradise, and Five-Mile Landing. All three also provide plenty of area for shoreline fishing too.

Lake Havasu (Lake elevation is 448 feet)
Big Fish - 34-pound Striped Bass (4/21/11 report) measuring 42 inches long with a 27-inch girth caught by George Lloyd of Lake Havasu using a Luckycraft Pointer 128 lure on April 19 at 6:30a.m.
Lake Havasu is certainly a hot spot right now for striped bass, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. The Parker Strip is probably worth a try as well for smallies. Stripers hitting topwater and shallowrunning lures like the Pointer 128s in Pearl threadfin shad & Chartreuse Shad. Best topwaters are Kobes, Super Spooks or Pencil Poppers.
Lake Havasu and the river upstream of the lake is becoming an excellent destination for largemouth and smallmouth bass. Fishing for largemouth bass, as well as smallmouth bass, is expected to be good to excellent this spring. There is a 13-inch minimum size limit for bass on the lower Colorado River.
Largemouth bass in the four to six pound range are becoming very common on Lake Havasu, with occasional fish exceeding 10 pounds.
Smallmouth bass are becoming more and more common, and bags at bass tournaments are now showing close to a 50/50 mix of largemouth and smallmouth bass. If you are unfamiliar with smallmouth bass, they are very aggressive and scrappy, and will give you a much more exciting battle than a similarly-sized largemouth. Smallmouth bass generally do not grow as large as largemouth, but four and five-pound smallmouth are becoming common.
Both bass species tend to be in very good condition in this water body. Perhaps because of the exceptionally clear water in Lake Havasu, they are also some of the most strikingly colored fish in the Region. The warmer weather should cause the bite to improve, making crankbaits and topwater lures a good choice as the water warms.
Striped bass fishing will likely continue to be fair to poor, with catch rates far below what have been experienced in past years. Striped bass are very dependent on threadfin shad for forage. Shad numbers appear to be on the increase, but all reports indicate that striper-fishing has not seen a dramatic comeback, nor do we have terribly high expectations that it will.
Remember, schools of shad move around, and populations tend to fluctuate, so spots that have been hot in the past may no longer be so if the shad have moved elsewhere, or are in lower numbers. Historically, the majority of striped bass in Lake Havasu tend to be smaller fish of 1 to 2 pounds, with an occasional 20-30 pound fish. It seems that the smaller fish are much more uncommon than they were several years ago. The jury is still out on the effects the quagga mussel infestation in Lake Havasu may have on the fish community in Lake Havasu, but the arrival of the mussel has seemed to coincide with a decrease in the catch rates for striped bass. Live shad seems to be the most productive bait for stripers, with cut anchovies not seeming to work as well as they did in years past.
Angling for bluegill and redear sunfish will be good to excellent. Lake Havasu is well known for large (2-3 pound) redear sunfish, and with the proliferation of the quagga mussel in the lake, we are seeing large redears becoming more common. Redear sunfish are also known as “shell crackers,” due to their preference, and morphological adaptation, for eating clams and mussels, so they may actually benefit from the presence of the invasive quagga mussel. Bluegills will also eat quagga mussels, although they are not as well adapted for capitalizing on this suddenly abundant food source. Redear sunfish up to four pounds (or even larger) are found in the lake. Decent crappie numbers can be found, primarily in the lower end of the lake (Bill Williams River Arm), but fishing for crappie is likely to be only fair.
Threadfin shad are also an important food source for crappie, and the abundance of this species hinges on the size of the shad population. Flathead catfish can be found throughout the lake, but the larger individual, up to 40 pounds, or greater, can be found in the lower portion of the lake, especially in the Bill Williams River arm. Fishing for flatheads should improve as the water warms this spring. Live bait is the key for flatheads, as they are extremely predatory and are unlikely to strike much other than a lively bait fish. Channel catfish are also found throughout the lake, and they will take a variety of live bait, cut bait and commercial preparations.

Lake Powell (Lake elevation is 3,610 feet)
Spawning tension continues as bass and crappie are ready to spawn but temperature is just not warm enough. Days are warm but a persistent afternoon breeze mixes the warm surface layers which delays spawning. Water temperature this morning was 53.7 at Wahweap. In years when warming is late, spawning occurs in isolated locations in each cove as temperature exceeds 60 F in the afternoon. There are places on Lake Powell where bass spawning has begun but over the majority of the lake it is still a waiting game.
Remember that bass spawn more than once with each male protecting as many as 4 different nests of fry each spring. The first spawn is overdue because of weather which will reduce spawning potential to only 3 nests this year. Expect bass spawning to extend well into mid May. The first spawn is the most exciting because low lake levels allow shallow nests and guarding bass to be seen with the naked eye. After water rises rapidly, nests are deeper, banks slough in the water, clarity is reduced and sight fishing is over for the year. Bass and crappie are still caught but the visual portion of the equation is greatly reduced. Nevertheless spawning is imminent and good fishing continues for bass. It will be better as spawning begins over the length of the lake.
Striper fishing in the southern portion of the lake is still HOT as striper schools roam along cliff walls. Large numbers of stripers have been caught by bait fishermen from the dam to Navajo Canyon. The key feature to find is a 25-40 foot deep ledge or shelf that extends into the main channel. Stripers swim over shallow ledges looking for crayfish and will respond to chum lying on the bottom. Pre chum likely spots and return to them sometime later to catch fish as they return to look for more food. Perhaps the best spot this week has been Buoy 3 near the mouth of Antelope Canyon.
Water temperature is essentially the same as it was in March. That means most fish are still behaving exactly as they did last month. Patterns that worked in March are still working this week. Largemouth bass are in shallow muddy water in the backs of canyons. They are vulnerable to a slow methodical retrieve as lures are worked through tree limbs and allowed to rest on bottom for extended periods. Crappie are near brush but can also be found suspended in open water. Try trolling a small jig very slowly using the trolling motor to control speed.
A good portion of the striper population, particularly juvenile fish and trophy size individuals, still reside in the back of the canyons. Juveniles are vulnerable to fast trolling (4.5 mph or faster). My most effective technique now is to troll fast and hook a juvenile fish. As that fish is being retrieved spoons are deployed by other anglers in the boat. School fish trailing the hooked fish dive as they see the boat and discover the spoons at depth. Spoons are readily taken by trailing fish. More stripers are caught on spoons than by trolling at the end of the day.
There are many ways and many places where fish are being caught on Lake Powell. The next 2-3 weeks will provide the best of the spring fishing. Use your favorite technique to catch fish. It's just a matter of being here on a day when the weather cooperates.