Central Arizona
June 23rd, 2008
| Central Arizona |
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URBAN LAKES — Spring catfish stockings to end. There is one more catfish stocking the week of June 23-28. Over 7,000 catfish were stocked every other week in the 19 Urban Fishing Program waters in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. It takes two large stocking trucks with 20 compartments per truck to safely deliver the nearly two-pound catfish all the way from Arkansas. As summer approaches and temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees, it becomes impractical to haul live fish into Arizona’s urban lakes. No fish stockings will be scheduled during July, August and the first half of September. Fall catfish stockings will resume in mid-September. Anglers can still fish for catfish, bass and bluegill at urban waters throughout the summer, but the action is generally slower. Urban fishing report: Fishing for catfish continues to be good to excellent the week of stocking. Anglers are having luck using stink baits or shrimp fished on the bottom. Sunfish continue to bite well on small worms fished under a bobber. The cool weather is keeping lake temperatures low allowing fish to be active throughout the day. At Green Valley lakes (Payson) fishing is slowing down for trout, but anglers are still getting bites using worms or Power Bait. Bluegill, crappie and bass are still biting well on small jigs and worms fished under a bobber at Green Valley.
Where: Kiwanis Where: Chaparral Lake Where: Surprise Lake TEMPE TOWN LAKE – Don’t forget when fishing Tempe Town Lake the east end of the lake is more productive and fish near structure. In that lake that means the bridge abutments or piers. I’m not saying that where all the fish are but your chances are a little better there. A couple fishermen reported catching bass on drop shots and spinners. Watch for the shad boils. Worms are enticing the catfish to bite. Another fisherman stopped by in the evening for a half hour and caught two bass fishing from shore using a green spinner bait. Where: river view Angler reports: Where: Lake Pleasant Editor’s note: Great going Matthew and Luke – it does us old dads good to be skunked by the youngsters once in awhile – helps keep us humble. Where: Lake Pleasant Where: Lake Pleasant (all over the place) Where: Lake Pleasant Where: LAKE PLEASANT ROOSEVELT LAKE – Bass and crappie fishing have slowed somewhat, but catfish angling is picking up by leaps and bounds. This is also an excellent time to target bluegills. Try the flooded brush in the backs of coves using mealworms under bobbers – the kids will have a ball – they eat pretty well too. Where: Roosevelt lake APACHE – Analysis by biologists indicates high levels of golden alga at all locations. Threadfin shad have been dying since May 13. CANYON — Lake elevation is 1659 ft, which is 93-percent full. Angler reports: Where: Canyon Lake Where: Lake Pleasant SAGUARO — Lake elevation 1526 feet at 95-percent full. This is a hot spot for large bluegill. Perfect for youngsters fishing worms under a bobber. There are also plentiful yellow bass, channel catfish galore, and plenty of yearling bass to catch. Where: Saguaro Lake Where: Bartlett Where: Bartlett lake VERDE RIVER – Verde River flow at Tangle is 90 cubic feet per second. Release from Bartlett Lake is 950 cfs. SALT RIVER – Salt River into Roosevelt is 632 cfs, and Salt River Canyon is 599 cfs. They are releasing 575 cfs out of Stewart Mountain dam from Saguaro. LOWER SALT RIVER (below Saguaro Lake) –Stocked the week of June 9 and is scheduled for June 23 at Blue Point Bridge and Water Users. Don’t forget your Tonto Pass – you have to buy it before going (it’s a Forest Service deal, the Game and Fish Department is not involved). A good technique for spin anglers (ultra-light or lightweight rods) is to use night crawlers with little or no weight cast slightly upstream into the riffles. Let the current carry the bait downstream to any deep pool or back eddy. For small spinners (or casting spoons like small KastMasters), cast perpendicular to the flowing current and maintain tension on the spinner by slowly reeling in as the current sweeps the lure downstream. Typically, once the spinner gets at least to a 45- to 60-degree angler downstream from you, it will spin with increased action, which can often cause a trout to hit. Where: Lower Salt River CREEKS – Fly-fishing is picking up in the streams. Haigler Creek – Nymphs and leaches are a good bet. Canyon Creek – Try nymph patterns, caddis, pheasant tails, hares ears and midges, mostly in the mornings and evenings. Try dry fly action in the evening. Christopher Creek — Desert Sportsman suggests using a dry dropper with a nymph below, not just in Christopher but other streams as well. Tonto Creek – Fly fishermen are reporting good fishing but I have no details to give. East Verde – No reports. HORSETHIEF BASIN LAKE – Lake level is up, fishing is okay. |
| Colorado River Northwest |
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LAKE POWELL – By Wayne Gustaveson Runoff is slowing down but the lake is still going up. The wall of incoming water still measures 87,000 acre feet per day. That amount is double the spike flood released earlier in the year. Flood waters have muddied the water upstream from Bullfrog and picked all driftwood that has been resting on the shoreline for the past decade. It is not a good idea to go upstream yet. Wait two more weeks for water to clear, wood to settle and fish to regain visibility. Its not a boat wake -Those are stripers! The good news is a large shad spawn occurred in the upper lake. These small fish are protected from intense predation by low visibility. As soon as the small stripers can see shad there will be day-long boils in the upper lake. In the lower lake the slurp boils are heating up. Tiny shad are being discovered in more and more canyons. Now Rock Creek has come alive with 8-12 inch stripers slurping in larval shad less than an inch long. These micro boils are going strong in Navajo Canyon, San Juan between Cha and Piute Canyons, Last Chance and other canyons yet to be discovered. There are many stripers that didn’t get the shad memo. They remain in the channels eating plankton. There has been a resurgence of steady catching at the Dam, Navajo Canyon, Padre Bay, Last Chance, Lake Canyon, Halls Creek at mouth and Moki Canyon mouth. If stripers elude your best efforts, realize that they are making a transition between the open clear water and shad water in the back of the canyon. When regular spots don’t produce, look toward the back of the canyon to find migrating stripers. The search image is changing from plankton to shad. Anchovies will work better in clear deep water while a small white jig or small spoon may be better in the murky, shallower water. Bass are still two weeks away from settling down into a summer pattern. There are small bass shallow on shore but larger fish are randomly scattered enjoying the new brush forest they have been given by rising water. Walleye did not put on much of a show this spring. Now may be the time. It is mid June but the water temperature is now at the point that walleye have become very active and are showing up in greater numbers than any time this spring. They seem to like the water in the 70’s for stronger activity. Catfish are providing a strong evening fishery and many bonus cats are being caught by anchovy fishermen whose bait gets too close to the bottom. Fishing is still great at this amazing fishery. Cast in front of the leading fish - Don’t throw into the middle of the school.
LEES FERRY – Report by: Ted Welling, Lees Ferry Anglers: Fly Fishing: There are so many locations to catch fish right now. We are working back eddies, deep runs, and riffles. About the only time to consider wading is during the early morning hours. Otherwise plan on drifting along the outside seams and through deep runs with a weighted nymph rig. As of late the best bite is zebra midges. They have stopped taking to the scud and San Juan worm, I am still using these patterns for attractors however. The trout are bumping large patterns at the surface, which I see as great news. I heard a couple cicadas buzzing during the afternoon on Friday. Any day now! It’s my favorite time of the year! Our season for cicadas starts typically around the third week of June. If you’re looking for some the best top water fishing our river has to offer, make the time to fish with us from the third week of June through the second week of August! Call# 800-962-9755 for more information and details about our guide service and lodge. Walk in: No new reports have been received during the last couple of days. The fishing at this section has been pretty good here as well. Spin Fishing: Spin fishing is still great! Stop in and pick up some egg patterns and ask us about the recommended rig and best areas to fish. The marabou jigs are also working. We do have maps available in the fly shop as well.
Important notice: With the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Mead, Mohave and Havasu, proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please drain and dry your livewell and bilge on land. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see. For more information, go to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s web pages at azgfd.gov or visit http://100thmeridian.org/. LAKE MOHAVE –The fishing is picking up a little on the upper end of the lake. The lake is running high at 644.6 feet above msl. The stripers seen in the fall were fat and full of shad, with schools of shad being chased by striped bass. No sign of shad this spring so far. If you can find schools of shad, throw a small crankbait. Biologists from both Arizona Game and Fish Department and Nevada Division of Wildlife have continued to install fish habitat in both Carp cove and Box cove. The largemouth and bluegill 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. If you fish Mohave and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others. Important notice: With the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Mead, Mohave and Havasu, proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please drain and dry your livewell and bilge on land. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see. For more information, go to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s web pages at azgfd.gov or visit http://100thmeridian.org/. Important notice: With the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Mead, Mohave and Havasu, proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please drain and dry your livewell and bilge on land. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see. If you fish Willow beach and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others. TOPOCK MARSH –Water level is up, but still be careful while launching. The catfish are biting on night crawlers and anchovies. Bass bite is still not bad. Crappies have shut down. Try night crawlers or anchovies for catfish. Game and Fish biologists surveyed the Marsh starting on the week of Jan. 15. The largemouth bass population was observed to be very healthy, as well as channel catfish. Crappie were also present, but in smaller numbers. You can access the marsh by boat at North Dike, Catfish Paradise, and Five-Mile Landing. All three also provide plenty of area for shoreline fishing too. For more information on the marsh, contact the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge at (760) 326-3853 or go to http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/arizona/havasu/index.html. Important notice: With the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Mead, Mohave and Havasu, proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please drain and dry your livewell and bilge on land. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see. For more information, go to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s web pages at azgfd.gov or visit http://100thmeridian.org/. COLORADO RIVER BELOW DAVIS DAM –The striper bite is picking up. Trout were last stocked on March 24-25. This was the last trout stocking until next winter. Important notice: With the recent discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Mead, Mohave and Havasu, proper cleaning of all watercraft is critical to help prevent the spread of these invaders. Please drain and dry your livewell and bilge on land. Drain all the water you can from your engine. Also, inspect your vessel and trailer, removing any visible mussels, but also feel for any rough or gritty spots on the hull. These may be young mussels that can be hard to see. For more information, go to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s web pages at azgfd.gov or visit http://100thmeridian.org/. |