Good fishing for trout will continue through March as all lakes receive their final stocking the week of March 2-7.  Most trout are falling for Power Bait fished on the bottom.  Other good baits include worms, corn and salmon eggs.  The cool morning hours are the best times to target the trout.

As waters warm up, try fishing for largemouth bass and bluegill that are now moving closer to shore as they prepare to spawn and search for food.  Regulations require that all bass under 13 inches must be released unharmed immediately.

Reports keep coming in of anglers catching catfish, even though it has been nearly four months since the last cats were stocked. Speaking of catfish, the catfish stocking season starts on Thursday, March 19 at all Phoenix and Tucson area Urban waters. A 7.6 pound catfish was caught from our newest Urban Lake, Veterans Oasis.  The angler, Rex, used bacon and it took all of 5 minutes for the catfish to take the bait.

On the other hand, excellent trout fishing conditions can be found at Payson’s Green Valley lakes.  Best bets for these pine country trout are Power Bait, corn and worms.  Some success has been found by anglers using spinners, small spoons and nymph and wet fly patterns.  For Payson’s Green Valley Lakes, trout stockings will continue every two weeks until the middle of May. Crappies are just starting to bite at Green Valley and some good reports are coming in from Silverbell Lake in Tucson.

All lakes and ponds in the Phoenix and Tucson areas will be stocked with 15-20 inch channel catfish on Thursday, March 19.  Catfish will be stocked through June at rates averaging from 40- to 60-fish per acre.  Nearly 14,000 pounds of Arkansas farm-raised catfish will be delivered and stocked into 20 Urban Fishing Program lakes every two weeks by Mr. Fish, our outstanding fish contractor for many years.
Angler reports:
Where:PAPAGO POND 3
When:02/28/09
Caught:2 lgmouth bass(2-3lbs),2catfish,1trout
Technique:white spinner bounced off the bottom, minnows
Comments:
bass are in the shallows and picky
Name:Jason and family
Where:veterans oasis
When:02/27/09
Caught:bass
Technique:
I threw plastic worms, top water and shallow crank baits but I landed more fish on yellow and a few on black spinnerbaits.
Comments:
All bass measured approx 6-8inches 1/2lb range. Good fighters can’t wait till they grow bigger.
Name:Angel Ulloa
Where:Chaparral Lake
When:02/22/09
Caught:Eight nice Channel cats, three 20 inches plus
Technique:Daylight to 9:30 am, night crawlers on unweighted line in 13′ to 15′ water.
Comments:
Two of the bigger cats were long and thin, one was fat. Put them all back in so they are ready for next trip. Hadn’t seen the stocking report but thought it was too early for cats again. Must be lots of holdovers in the lake.
Name:George
Where:surprise
When:02/22/09
Caught:1 rainbow trout
Technique:Blue and silver KastMaster.
Comments:Trout are extremely hard to land lost 2 at shoreline and when my friend arrived on his first cast he brought one to the shoreline and that one also escaped.
Name:Brandon Ryer
TEMPE TOWN LAKE – Has not been stocked recently, but fishing should be decent for warmwater fish such as bass. Remember no gas motors are allowed (electric trolling motors are) and you must have a boating permit, which can be obtained at the Town Lake operations center.

You can fish around the marina area and catch some dinks or search for some structure, that’s what one angler did and found a nice pocket of 3+ pound bass.  He flipping worms and Texas-rigged imitation crayfish in overhanging trees and did pretty well.  The larger fish are there, but you need to think like a bass and find the structure.
Where:Tempe Town Lake
When:02/28/09
Caught:1 catfish
Technique:Hot dogs and dough balls originally used for carp
Comments:Slow all day, little nibbles here and there, but nothing to get excited about. Nonetheless had a great day fishing at T.T.L.
Name:Tim Y.

LAKE PLEASANT – Water elevation is 1688 ft, which is 84-percent full. Largemouth bass are staging for the spawn and you will likely find some spawning bass in the sheltered and shallow northern coves.

The white bass and striped bass are stacked in the areas with inflows, especially the Agua Fria Arm of the lake. There is no vehicular access from Table Mesa Road, but you can hike in to fish. A pair of anglers a week or so ago did extremely well from float tubes after hiking in and the bite should be better now. Also see the report below from two kayakers. Let us know how you do.

Where: Lake Pleasant, Agua Fria arm.
When: 03/03/09
Caught: You name it, we caught it!
Technique: curl tail grubs
Comments: I was initially angry when Maricopa County closed the road off at the Table Mesa access, but now I’m very grateful for it. This place is so nice to visit now without all the trash and people ripping it up with quads and motorcycles. My buddy and I walked in and I took my kayak along. We caught 2 stripers @ 19 in., 3 whites, a largemouth just over 16 in., a bluegill about the size of a small plate, and a channel cat almost as long as my arm, all trolling white grubs. It was a LOT of work getting back out of there with the kayak and gear plus fish, but definitely one of the best fishing trips we’ve had in the 4 years I’ve lived here. But definitely not for the faint of heart.
Name: Matt Waite

Where: Lake Pleasant
When: 02/28/09
Caught: 5lb 21 inch Largemouth Bass
Technique: anchovie on a hook floating to the bottom without a weight
Comments: Was fishing in Castle Creek area all the way at the end by the bridge. Watched guys catch shad with nets and flip them back in the water to catch stripers hand over fist! I anchored 15ft away from the bridge and sat there working the area. Water temp was 61 I got photos of this fish if anyone wants to see it!
Name: Warren Risberg
Where: lake pleasent
When: 02/28/09
Caught: 14 stripperss, 3 larqemouth bass, 22 channel catss, 7 crappies
Technique: usedd roboworm for all bass,usedd anchovies and used stink bait on the wormss,usedd worms for crappie niqquhss<33′
Comments:
Name: bill heffernan

Where:Lake Pleasant
When:03/01/09
Caught:nothing
Technique:jerk baits ,bass assassins ,drop shots ,I tried everything
Comments:5 hours of nothing I saw one guy catch a large mouth on a boat in humbug creek area but that’s it -  a couple weeks early I think n ext weekend but I’ll be at Roosevelt fishing then
Name:Andrew Althaus

Where:Lake Pleasant
When:02/28/09
Caught:14 stripperss,3 largemouth bass,22 channel catss,7 crappie
Technique:used Robo Worm for all bass, used anchovies and used stink bait on the worms, used worms for crappie niqquhss<33′

Name:Bill Heffernan
Anglers are catching crappie in the shallows and white bass are staging in around the dam area in 20 to 40 feet of water.  White bass are happy to take anchovies.

By the way, Lake Pleasant Regional Park will be hosting the annual Honeywell Company Employee Campout from Thursday, March 19 through Sunday, March 22. This event closes the north entry and four-lane boat ramp of Lake Pleasant at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18 and reopens to the public at 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 22. Park visitors are encouraged to use the 10-lane boat ramp on South Park Road accessed through the main entrance of Lake Pleasant Regional Park.

For more information, contact Lake Pleasant Regional Park directly at (602) 372-7460 or Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department at (602) 506-2930.

ROOSEVELT LAKE – Lake Elevation is 2,151 feet (100-percent full).  Tonto Creek runoff is at 194 cfs while inflow from the Salt River is at 1,990 cfs (outflows should pretty much match inflows).

Some bass are staging for the spawn while others are still holding deep. A variety of techniques are working.

A couple avid crappie anglers had a rough time catching crappies last weekend.  They fished the Salt end using red eyed jig heads with a minnow.  They caught one real nice female. They also caught a couple bass in the bushes around 4 p.m.  Water clarity was real good on the points they were fishing.

Another couple anglers fished the Tonto end and caught a largemouth with a jig and another couple with 10-inch Berkley worms off a point.  The best presentation was a curly-tail greenish worm pulled through the submerged trees and the largemouth bass bite was triggered by the fall.  Water clarity is around 8 to 10 feet.

A couple more Salt end fishermen caught had an excellent outing using a zoom lizard in 35 feet of water on one of the points.  This provided a little excitement then they fished in the coves with spinnerbaits and did real well with the largemouth bass.  Fish moved into the submerged trees later in the day and weightless worms provided lots of fishing excitement.  In all these two fishermen boated over 50 slot bass, 3 overs, 4 unders and 3 crappies.

Two bass anglers threw blades into the trees at mid lake. Fishing was pretty good throughout the morning with this technique and they switched to jigs a little later on. The fish didn’t seem to have a favorite colored jig; they were hitting on a variety of them. They caught most of the bass in less than 10 feet of water.  In all they caught quite a few slots, and 6 overs.

Another two anglers fished the back of the southern coves on the Salt end with blades through the brush in 5 to 15 feet of water. Although they fished around, this was where the bulk of the 35 or so fish were caught.  The water is warmer in the backs of those coves.  Since the snow melt is on its way; the backs of coves may be a good bet.  Keep an eye on the Tonto and Salt River inflow.

With water being released, the current near the dam could make it a fishing hot spot at times for smallmouth bass in the rocky areas.

All boaters take heed anglers have witnessed the big dirt wall in Why cove sloughing off into the water.  That wall is unstable and could swamp your boat or worse if you have the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Where: Roosevelt
When: 03/01/09
Caught: large mouth and smallies
Technique: spinnerbait crankbait chatterbait softplastic
Comments: this lake is on fire; we caught well over 70 bass about 15 overs all overs were 16 to 18 inches and about 2.2 to 3 pounds caught fish all day but really hammered them at 1st light and at dusk. Where we caught them im not telling; lol
Name: shawn salow

Where: Roosevelt Lake
When: 03/02/09
Caught: Crappie and LM Bass
Technique: Kalin’s 2″ black N’ blue chart grub tipped with a minnow
Comments: The bite was exceptionally lite. Had our best luck casting out and rather then just reeling it in we would reel in the slack then very slowly raise the rod then reel back down and raise the rod. The fish never did “bite”, you would just feel a little weight on the line. One crappie was 16 inches and lost a bass over the slot to my 4 lb crappie line.
Name: Enno Malling

Where: ROOSEVELT
When: 02/27/09
Caught: 1 LAGRE MOUTH 1 CRAPPIE
Technique: CAUGHT THE LARGE MOUTH ON A NIGHT CRAWLER; CRAPPIE WAS CAUGHT ON LIVE MINNOW WITH A CRAPPIE RIG
Comments: CAUGHT CRAPPIE AT 1 IN THE AM FRIDAY NIGHT; 10 MINUTES LATER CAUGHT THE LARGE MOUTH BUT FISH WAS IN THE SLOT; BITES NOT TO OFTEN; STARTED FISHING 6 AM SATURDAY NOTHING ALL DAY FISHED THE MARINA AND TROLLED; TRIED JIGS; NOTHING WAS TOLD BY A FAMILY MEMBER THEY WERE REALLY CATHCING THEM ON BOTH FLATS; ITS SPAWNING TIME SO THEY ARE COMING IN TO THE SHALLOW WATER; GOOD LUCK GUYS; WILL BE OUT IN ANOTHER 2 WEEKS UPDATE THEN
Name: JASON

Where:Roosevelt
When:02/24/09
Caught:bass
Technique:soft plastic
Comments:caught 31 bass early morning then right at dark this lake is smoking with 3-pound bass caught 8 overs
Name:Shawn Salow

Where:Roosevelt
When:01/28/09
Caught:1 bass, multiple trees
Technique:Everything. Crankbait finally did it
Comments:There from sunup to sundown. Rough day for catching fish.
Name:gb
Where:Roosevelt
When:01/26/09
Caught:6 largemouth 1 smallmouth
Technique:I’ve fished Pleasant, Bartlett, and Roosevelt.  Roosevelt is the place to use ROBOWORMS on a “Carolina Rig”; you can’t go wrong.  I just sat with a beer and flipped it every few minutes don’t reel it in just let it sit and remember fish are slow this time of year….good luck
Comments:Went to Pleasant the other day and no results but Bartlett is not bad. The best lake to fish is Roosevelt, just go and let the bass prove it.
Name:Ryan
Where:Roosevelt Lake
When:01/24/09
Caught:2 Crappie 3 Largemouth
Technique:Both crappie and one bass were caught slow trolling minnows. The other two bass were caught on white and chartreuse spinnerbaits.
Comments:The bass caught on a minnow was under the slot and the two caught on spinner baits were in the slot. Saw a good bass caught on another boat with a red Senko on a drop shot.
Name:Joe Freye

Where:Roosevelt
When:01/30/09
Caught:10 crappies 1.5 to 2.75 lbs.
Technique:Trolling 1/8 oz. jigs in 30 to 40 feet of water.
Comments:Weather was windy, had to troll with the wind. fished from 11:00am to 6:00pm
Name:David L. Taylor
A couple anglers fished the Tonto end and caught 3 largemouth bass on spinnerbaits and plastic worms.

APACHE – Lake elevation is 1,912 ft (98-percent full).  Temps are mid 50s.

An angler caught a 1.5 and a 2 pound largemouth bass shore fishing with brown plastic worms at Burnt Coral.

A Challenge to Anglers: There are so many fish in the lake, people are seeing them on their fish finders but catching them is proving to be difficult.  Find out what the fish will bite and you will have an awesome fishing experience. Thousands of trout were stocked in that lake, so swim baits ought to do pretty well.

Yellow bass are taking live worms (pieces will work just as good).  They also like KastMasters; the blue and silver seem to be a yellow bass favorite this year.  They like the points where the substrate drops off.

This lake has good smallmouth habitat and they like to hang where the runoff hits the lake.

Largemouth will take advantage of the feast coming down the washes as well – don’t forget largemouth like the overhanging vegetation.  Catfish are taking worms, hotdogs and just about anything else.  It’s a little chilly for them so give yourself an advantage and find them on the fish finder.

CANYON LAKE – Lake elevation is 1,658 ft, which is 96-percent full. This lake has been stocked with trout throughout the winter. Swim baits should work for bass. Although catch rates are typically low here for bass, there is always a chance to catch one of the lunkers. This lake also has walleye, but we seldom hear about them being caught. Yellow bass are plentiful. So are channel catfish.

Anglers are seeing a lot of bass on the graphs but they don’t seem to have any interest in spoons. Drop shots worked a bit for this angler.  You got to use the fish finder and have a lot of patience to determine what will illicit the bite.  Try using an American lipless shad or whatever you have in your tackle box.  If you’re not catching anything you might as well experiment.

Where:Canyon Lake
When:03/01/09
Caught:nothing
Technique:used just about everything except live worm and live minnows. Jigs, crankbaits, spinning baits, Power Bait, salmon eggs, gulp worms and flys.
Comments:2 hours on the shore and not a single bite. Wind calmed down some so we rented a fishing boat. 4 hours on a boat all over the lake and in coves and not a single bite. Fishing boat rental guy said only 1 person had caught a fish so far that day that he had heard of. Don’t think we were fishing deep enough or the fish weren’t biting.
Name:hopper

Where:Canyon Lake
When:02/25/09
Caught:9 Largemouth and numerous yellow bass
Technique:Trolling and Cranking Chrome/black back medium diver. Found pods of bass suspended in 55ft. of water over huge schools of shad. All bass caught between 9:30 and 11:00am. Largest over 4lbs., most around 1lb.
Comments:Tried drop-shot, Westy worms, deep diving cranks. No results until I noticed pods suspended over deep water. Love those electronics!!!

Where:Canyon
When:02/19/09
Caught:Bass 4 overs 2 unders 1 slot, cat,bluegill and yellow bass
Technique:Carolina rigged live night crawlers with tail blown up
Name:Steve Wiz
Where:Canyon
When:02/19/09
Caught:Bass 4 overs 2 unders 1 slot, cat, bluegill and striper
Technique:Carolina rigged live night crawlers with tail blown up
Name:Steve Wiz
Where:Canyon Lake
When:02/15/09
Caught:largemouth bass 3 lbs
Technique:crankbait – Rapala – behind last boat dock – up cove
Comments:thought it was a catfish
Name:nate & ryan albery

SAGUARO LAKE – Lake elevation 1526 feet at 98-percent full. Outflows are currently 1,100 cfs, and due to outflows at the top of the chain, Saguaro should have routine inflows as well. This should create a dynamic current situation. Expect predatory fish to face into the current to feed or ambush prey, so fish accordingly.
Some anglers this past week reported difficulty catching fish, while others did extremely well. If there is a current, make it work for you. This can be a great place to catch a mixed bag of fish from winter trout to yellow bass and yearling largemouths. It’s a great place to catch lots of bluegill.

Where:Saguaro
When:02/26/09
Caught:Lots of Bass
Technique:Silver deep diving cranks worked the best; the drop shot had no results.
Comments:We caught 26 bass cranking in deep water the fish are getting fatter and more aggressive. Afternoon bite stalled.
Name:CJ Greco

Where:Saguaro Lake- Butcher Jones ‘Dock’
When:02/25/09
Caught:Bluegill, Yellow Bass
Technique:Drop line, various depths, and night crawlers.
Comments:Mostly small bluegill (4-7in) and a yellow bass (10in). Almost a dozen bluegill in an hour. All released.
Name:KB

Where:Saguaro
When:02/24/09
Caught:Nothing
Technique:Everything, tried live and artificial
Comments:What and where is everyone fishing on the lake? I have barely even gotten a bite!
Name:Ryan

Where:Saguaro Lake
When:02/21/09
Caught:1 Rainbow Trout
Technique:My friend and I fished all types of lures for the first few hours with no luck. My buddy brought out the fly rod and got himself a rainbow in no time. Besides that nothing else was caught.
Comments:Fished from 10AM to 2PM and only caught the 1 fish from the dock. Fished from many different sides of the lake with no luck. Maybe ill rent boat next time.
Name:Hopper

BARTLETT LAKE – Lake elevation is 1,784 feet, which is 80-percent full.  Reservoir release is 100 cfs. Fishing is picking up and should continue getting better as the season progresses. It looks like bass are staging for the spawn right now and many anglers are doing well, while some are still having trouble locating fish.
The flows down the Verde River have slowed significantly this past week. Horseshoe is still releasing 400 cfs into Bartlett and Bartlett is releasing 100 cfs downstream.   This sets up that excellent sibling-lake relationship that will pay off big time for anglers again this season.

Horseshoe will be slowly drained to keep Bartlett full this fishing season, which means it will also act as a huge nursery for sport-fish and forage fish.
Salt River Project expects this lake to fill this season and based on the flows right now, it might not take all that long.

Crappie fishing might be a little more hit-and-miss right now, but try along the Yellow Cliffs or in the riverine portion of the lake using small jigs or live minnows. But it is possible to catch a crappie or two most anywhere in the lake. With the slight current, crappie might also hold on the downstream side of major structures, such as islands and reefs and actively feed on the edge of the current.

This is likely the leading edge of the flathead catfish season, but with the inflows, you’ll likely find huge flats holding in deeper holes and feeding on any delectable morsels the current brings them. Channel catfish might be active at times as well, especially places like Bartlett flats. Try stink bait fished on the bottom.

An angler caught 9 largemouth bass and all but one was good sized.  No specifics given but try fishing near the jojoba boat ramp under the no wake line.  The bass like to hang by the submerged yellow pipe.  Also, look for the warmer water and start by trying chartreuse plastic worms.
Where:Bartlett
When:02/27/09
Caught:5 LM Bass & 8 Crappie
Technique:Swimming a Senko for bass and jigging a John Deere grub for crappie and a few of the bass.
Comments:Water temps are warming nicely. 63 degrees Friday by 3PM. It appears the crappies are near or already in spawn.
Name:Darron

Where:Bartlett Lake
When:02/27/09
Caught:Large Mouth Bass
Technique:Plastic Worms; Various colors
Comments:My son and I caught 6 LgMouth. 2 weighed in over 2 pounds and the others less than a pound. Saw another angler with 19 Bass caught on crankbait.
Name:John Graham
Anglers are catching bass and crappie in the riverine portion of the lake.

HORSESHOE LAKE — Lake elevation is at 2,008 feet, 60-percent full and rising.  They are releasing water at 400 cfs.

This lake is expected to fill this season, but will eventually be used to keep Bartlett full. Once again this year, it could act like a sport-fish and bait-fish nursery for Bartlett, just like last year and back in 2005. This might be the year to get that annual Tonto permit and avoid the hassles with daily ones.

VERDE RIVER – Verde River flow at Tangle has reduced significantly this past week and as of Monday was 1,270 cubic feet per second.  Release from Bartlett Lake is 100 cfs.

LOWER SALT RIVER (below Saguaro Lake) — The releases from Stewart Dam were 1,800 cfs on March 4. This stretch of river close to Phoenix was stocked last week with rainbow trout, so fishing should be good. Trout are stocked at the Water Users area (where the tubers put into the river just below Stewart Mountain Dam) and at the Blue Point Bridge, which is the only bridge crossing of the river along Bush Highway.

This is a superb opportunity to fish from a canoe, kayak or other floating device, but there is a pretty good current right now, so be careful. Wear your personal flotation devices.

A father-and-son reported canoeing from Water Users to Phon D. Sutton (confluence of the Verde and Salt rivers), and they had a ball catching lots of trout.

Two sisters kayaked and fished from Water Users to Blue Point, one fly fished, the other used spinning tackle, and they both caught-and-released more than double the trout limit, but took a couple home for dinner as well.
According to AZ Fly Fishing, fly fishermen are having good luck using egg patterns, San Juan worms, green weenies and nymph patterns. There are also some mayfly hatches in midday, so try mayflies in the afternoons.
For spin anglers, try night crawlers or meal worms with little or no weight cast slightly upstream into the riffles, then let the worm float naturally downstream, mending your line as it moves. Also, small spinners (Mepps, Rooster Tails and Vibrex) cast slightly downstream can work well. Some anglers are adept at catching trout in the river using Power Bait, but most find it difficult to use. Plus, Power Bait might not get you action from bass and other sport fish.

Because of the overly-abundant food supply (lots of insect larvae etc.), the trout will grow super fast here. The hold-over trout not readily caught will look like small footballs in a month or so, so keep this fishery close to Phoenix on you’re a-list.

Where:lower salt river
When:02/28/09
Caught:8 Rainbow Trout ( Released all)
Technique:Worms, one bb shot 12″ above, floated down in semi fast water below ripples — all nice size today 10-12 inches. Started fishing today at 11 am, first cast = first fish!!
Name:Blake
Where:lower salt river
When:02/21/09
Caught:hooked two rainbow trout
Technique:fly fishing, tried just about every fly in my box, a grey colored dry fly is what got them.
Comments:Fished most of the day with only those two fish that both got on my line about 10am. They both jumped off the hook before I could get my hands on them.
Name:Matthew

Where:Lower Salt River
When:02/18/09
Caught:2 rainbows
Technique:Spinning from shore 4lb test & 1/32oz Panther Martin and casting out to the middle of the flow.
Comments:Great flows now
Name:Rusty Court

Where:Lower Salt- Water Users
When:02/14/09
Caught:2 Rainbows
Technique:Drifted night crawlers with a bobber and 3-4ft of depth
Comments:Had to use my waders and get out into the river a bit, but managed to get two rainbows, one was 13in and the other 11in.
Name:Nathan

Where:Tempe Town Lake
When:02/15/09
Caught:One Trout
Technique:Extra Scented Power Bait/Caught around 10:00am
Where:Lower Salt River
When:02/02/09
Caught:Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout
Technique:Fly fishing from personal pontoon & wading. Drifting nymphs & wooly-buggers.
Comments:Fished 2/2-2/4 from Water Users down to Granite Reef. Beautiful trip, but the fishing was VERY slow. Saw lots of “fishy” looking spots, but saw no fish! I tried just about everything over the course of 3 solid days and only caught one tiny rainbow and two tinier bass. Ran into several other fishermen that seemed equally frustrated. If you’ve had recent success here, please share it!
Name:Chris

Where:Lower salt river
When:02/05/09
Caught:caught and released 8 rainbows
Technique:black yellow Rooster Tail- Best luck drifting from rapids to slower water
Comments:all decent size(12inches)
Name:Larry
Where:Lower Salt River – Water Users
When:02/01/09
Caught:3 Trout
Technique:Fished a Panther Martin where the current meets calmer water.
Comments:
Got nothing to bite on any flies but saw another fly fisherman catch at least 3 on stoneflies.
Name:Joe Freye

CREEKS – According to Arizona Fly Fishing you might want to check the flows to where you want to go and if we don’t get any rain and the northern temperatures are not too hot to spur major runoff you may get a couple weeks of decent fishing, before the inevitable runoff begins.