The catfish season officially kicked off at all Urban Fishing Program lakes and ponds in the Phoenix and Tucson areas on Thursday, March 19 when all lakes received deliveries of 15-20 inch channel catfish.  Two large trucks were used to bring 8,000 catfish to 19 waters throughout the day.  Warming spring temperatures signal the stocking changeover from trout to catfish.  Over 14,000 pounds of Arkansas farm raised catfish will be delivered and stocked into Urban Fishing Program lakes every two weeks from now through the end of June. Traditionally, when the Department switches fish suppliers from winter trout to spring catfish deliveries, anglers are given the specific day of stocking.  For all other catfish stockings, only the stocking week (Mon.-Sat.) is announced.  The usual baits such as worms, stink baits, and shrimp should work well for catching “Mr. Whiskers.”  Daily limits are four catfish per person at Urban Lakes or two catfish per person at Urban Ponds (note regulations and park signage for Lake and Pond designations).

BLUEGILL STOCKINGS COMING MARCH 23-28
Twice each year, the Department stocks 5-8 inch bluegill into all Urban Fishing Program waters to replenish this popular sport fish and offer some great fishing for young anglers.  A delivery of bluegill is scheduled the week of March 23-28.  Over 18,000 of the feisty, hard biting sunfish will be stocked at rates of 90-150 fish per acre.  Daily bag limits for sunfish (includes bluegill and hybrid sunfish) are 10 per day at Urban Lakes or 5 per day at Urban Ponds.

TEMPE TOWN LAKE

You can try the usual methods for the rainbows (baits like Power Bait, night crawlers, mealworms or try spinners and spoons such as panther martins, KastMasters…)  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.

Angler reports:

Dear Fishing Report Editor;

While fishing at Tempe Town Lake with my brother Lloyd, I hooked into a monster catfish.  It weighed 9 pounds 12 ounces.  It pulled the Jon boat around for about 15 min. thru and around the columns until it finally surfaced.  WOW what a ride.  All on a light spinning rig loaded with 6 lb. test.

Loren Thompson

Where:Tempe Town Lake
When:03/18/09
Caught:one large mouth
Technique:drop shot Robo worm
Name:Andrew Althaus
An angler fished from 10 to about 11:30 by the bride pillars and picked up a nice 20 inch largemouth using crankbait.

Where:Tempe Town Lake
When:03/12/09
Caught:Striped Bass
Technique:Spinner Bait
Comments:What are stripers doing in this lake?
Name: Tom

**Probably yellow bass not stripers.
Where:Tempe Town Lake
When:03/08/09
Caught:7 Pound Largemouth Bass
Technique:Rooster Tail – slow retrieval
Comments:This was around 11:15 AM. The bass seem to be moving closer to the shore around this time of day. She was SO FAT and filled with eggs. We got her back in the water safely so she can produce some more lunkers in TTL. Good times!
Name:BG Davison and Luke Brye
LAKE PLEASANT – Water elevation is 1,690 feet, which is 87-percent full.
An angler fished in the morning till early afternoon in the northern coves.  He caught five largemouth bass.  Drop-shot technique and jigs enticed the bite.  All fish were nice and healthy.
Largemouth are on beds in Humbug and if you’re going to fish for them use crayfish imitations, or something that looks like carp or bluegill i.e. natural egg predators.

One novice angler fished from about 9:30 till 3 p.m. and caught two largemouth bass using drop shots.

Where: Agua Fria branch
When: 03/15/09
Caught: channel catfish
Technique: trolled dead bluegill from kayak
Comments: Dead cow in the water. Does that make the fish unsafe? Does that make Peoria’s water supply unsafe?
Name: Dave Collins

ROOSEVELT LAKE
Lake Elevation is 2,151 ft (100-percent full).  Tonto Creek runoff is at 88 cfs while inflow from the Salt River is at 1,800 cfs.  Temperature reported as 64 F by 2 p.m.

An experienced angler noted a good number of small male largemouth bass have moved into the coves.  The early and late bite was on small crankbait and soft plastics worked in between time.   Larger bass weren’t volunteering.

Another couple productive anglers caught quite a few of the smaller bass.  The larger bass were taking white blades until about 8 in the morning.  They caught more fish in the trees using plastic worms and Slugos.  Swim baits were also enticing the bite in the coves.

An angler got schooled by his son on crappie fishing.  Nothing was working till his son decided to throw a grub in a bush and that was the ticket.  In three hours of enlightened fishing, they caught 60 crappies with the largest just under two pounds.

A couple fishermen caught about 20 bass blades and Senko’s.  They caught smallmouth and largemouth on beds.  Most of the fish were in the main lake coves.
Where:Roosevelt
When:03/22/09
Caught:2 largemouth bass
Technique:green lizard
Comments:You can see them in trees all over the place but they won’t hit it for some reason.  All of them are slot bass and I saw one today that look like he was about 20inches.  I tried everything and lizards were the only thing that worked
Name:Andrew Althaus
Where:Roosevelt
When:03/21/09
Caught:5 largemouth bass
Technique:green rubber lizards and top water
Comments:If you see them surface throw your top water
Name:Andrew Althaus
Where:Roosevelt
When:03/14/09
Caught:21 Largemouth
Technique:White spinner bait, willow leaf, slow rolling main channel casting to trees in the Salt end 20 feet, water temp was 58.
Comments:Most of the fish were in the upper end of the slot with a few overs and unders.
Name:Jim Lindquist

APACHE – Lake elevation is 1,913 ft (99-percent full). This is the leading edge of the largemouth bass spawn.

Finally a good report from Apache – I knew you guys could do it!
A family of 3 anglers caught a lot of small 8- to10-inch largemouth bass.  They found a nice bedding area and pulled out a 2.5 pounder.  All fish were caught on small soft plastics and night crawlers.  One 2.5 pound largemouth bass was caught on a small plastic craw rigged on a tiny jig head.  The bigger bass were in the backs of coves in/near vegetation.
Where:Apache lake
When:03/21/09
Caught:not a thing
Technique:worms on bobber worms on bottom and all sorts of lures
Comments:hard lake to shore fish
Name:Andrew Althaus

CANYON – Lake elevation is 1,659 ft, which is 98-percent full. This is the leading edge of the largemouth bass spawn.
One angler caught seven bass in an hour using red worms. Anglers were catching bluegill on worms.  One angler caught four largemouth bass on jigs near Boulder Creek and he said they were all about 5 pounds.
Where: Canyon Lake
When: 03/12/09
Caught: 4 largemouth , 1 rainbow, 1 sunfish
Technique: Saw no one was catching fish but I was the terminator! You get what you pay for …buy a 6 dollar RAPALA…UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR KID TO CRY FROM BOREDOM… First, got a rainbow and a largemouth in the morningish 10-11am…then moved spots to a nice quiet cove and it got hot! 3 bass and a sunfish in about 10 minutes, all released, biggest was 2 lbs and change on my scale others were a bit smaller size…also water level is way up…I’ll be back…what’s the slot on these bass I want to have a fish fry next week? haha
Name: “yettit”

Where: Canyon Lake
When: 03/11/09
Caught: 7 Largemouth
Technique: Caught one LM on Chrome/black back medium diver. Six LM on dropshot-4 inch Robo worms.
Comments: Found BIG bass on beds in one to two feet of water. Smallest bed bass just over two pounds, largest over five pounds. All fish were released.
Name: John

Anglers were catching bluegill on worms.  One angler caught 4 largemouth bass on jigs near Boulder Creek and he said they were all about 5 pounds.
SAGUARO – Lake elevation 1527 feet at 97% full.  This is the leading edge of the largemouth bass spawn. Expect lots of yearling bass. This is a great time to load up on bluegills using meal worms or night crawlers.

Where:Saguaro
When:03/19/09
Caught:Bluegill, bass slow yet
Technique:various
Comments:Bass are just starting to bed, left them alone. Not much happening with the staging bass yet, loads of saucer size bluegill though
Name:anonymous
Where:Saguaro Lake
When:03/19/09
Caught:bluegill
Technique:mealworms/night crawlers
Comments:Bluegill were hitting hard, caught over a hundred that were over a pound each. Caught by Boat
Name:Michael Childs

Where:Saguaro
When:03/30/09
Caught:7 Largemouth
Technique:spinnerbait and drop shot worms
Comments:Fished the late afternoon till Sundown. Most fish were pretty small
Name:My Maria

Where: Saguaro lake
When: 03/15/09
Caught: 1 yearling bass 20 bluegill and 1 yellow bass!
Technique: I used a blue and silver KastMaster from the time I got there til the time I left second cast I got the bass then bluegill there was no reason to change baits.
Comments: Fished Butcher Jones dock and couldn’t keep the blue gill off my hook I was only there for 2 hours and got all those fish. This lake is amazing to take the kids to.
Name: Matthew Burch

Where: Saguaro
When: 03/19/09
Caught: Bluegill, bass slow yet
Technique: various
Comments: Bass are just starting to bed, left them alone. Not much happening with the staging bass yet, loads of saucer size bluegill though
Name: anonymous

Where: Saguaro
When: 03/15/09
Caught: 12-Large Mouth, 3-Trout, 1-Yellow Bass
Technique: Night Crawlers w/ Weedless Hook & Medium Split-Shot
Comments: Fished from 9:30 – 12:30. Started w/ small rattle-trap that had no luck, then switched to night crawlers and the fun began! All fish were healthy; most bass were in the slot. The bite never actually stopped, but the lake just got a little too busy. All fish were released. Great time to go right now…
Name: Mike

Where: Saguaro lake
When: 03/15/09
Caught: 1 yearling bass 20 bluegill and 1 yellow bass!
Technique: I used a blue and silver KastMaster from the time I got there til the time I left second cast I got the bass then bluegill there was no reason to change baits.
Comments: Fished Butcher Jones dock and couldn’t keep the blue gill off my hook I was only there for 2 hours and got all those fish. This lake is amazing to take the kids to.
Name: Matthew Burch

Where: Saguaro Lake
When: 03/03/09
Caught: bluegills
Technique: night crawlers and bobbers from shore
Comments: The bluegills were not that big, but we got more than enough for a good meal.
Name: Perry Gillis

Some anglers caught around 30 largemouth bass using 7 inch Robo worms on Texas and Carolina Riggs next to aquatic vegetation near the Meadows, Snags and Mesquite Flats.  Drop shot technique was also working in deeper water.  Use your fish finder to give yourself a fighting chance for the drop shot bite.  The jerkbait bite was also productive in the early morning along the same vegetated areas.

Where: Saguaro
When: 03/06/09
Caught: 1 Trout
Technique: We tried everything…The trout hit only when the lure stopped moving.
Name: Lance

Where: Saguaro Lake Butcher Jones
When: 03/07/09
Caught: 100 bluegills
Technique: Drop shot with mealworms (5 to 9 in)
Comments: caught around 8 to 11
Name: Moses Haskins

BARTLETT – Lake elevation is 1,796 ft, which is 97-percent full.  Reservoir release is 100 cfs. Bass and crappies are in the spawning mode. At this lake level, a lot of the shoreline camping areas at Bartlett Flats are under water.
Crappies are taking minnows rigged with a slip bobber. One angler reported the crappies are starting to move up and he caught them in the backs of coves about 5 feet deep and 20 feet of water in the mouths of coves.  JD grubs and minnows enticed the bite and for the most part the majority was caught in about 12 feet of water.  They were nice and fat.  These gentlemen kept a few for a fish fry but returned quite a few for others to enjoy.

Where: Bartlett
When: 03/12/09
Caught: 32 crappie
Technique: Slow trolling with Katlin bbc grubs on 1/16 oz jig head in 10 to 15 feet of water near submerged trees.
Comments: A Ranger told us on Thursday to expect the water levels to rise on foot a day.
Name: Rocky Anselmo

Where: Bartlett Lake
When: 03/08/09
Caught: Largemouth
Technique: Jigging real real slow off points (crawdad imitation)
Comments: Fished from shore lost a few jigs but caught 12 bass 1-3 pound range with 2 pushing 4pounds.Tony
Name: Tony Major

Where: Bartlett
When: 03/08/09
Caught: Nothing
Technique: Senkos, Robo Worms, Crawdad Imitations, Crankbaits, Spinners, Top Water etc etc
Comments: Threw everything but the kitchen sink at them. Water temp still too cold, air temp too cold that day as well. Fish are still very lethargic. Wait for warmer temps to kick the fish into gear.
Name: Ryan

Where: Bartlett Lake
When: 03/09/09
Caught: 2 Largemouth Bass, 1 Channel Catfish
Technique: Swimming Curly-tail Jigs
Comments: Bass and Catfish were nice and healthy. All over 3lbs. (all released, was searching for Crappie). One healthy Otter sighting. (didn’t know we had them here).
Name: dt

Where: Bartlett
When: 03/06/09
Caught: 3 bluegill and 3 channel catfish
Technique: Night crawlers and chicken livers.
Comments: All the fish were pretty small and were released but when the catfish hit, they hit hard.
Name: Ashley, Chris, Ralph and Mary
Anglers are catching bass and crappie in the riverine portion of the lake.
HORSESHOE – Lake elevation is at 2001 feet, 47-percent full.  They are releasing water at 400cfs.

VERDE RIVER – Verde River flow at Tangle Creek has slowed to 259 cubic feet per second.  Release from Bartlett Lake is 100 cfs.

SALT RIVER – Salt River into Roosevelt is 1800 cfs, and Salt River Canyon is 1560 cfs.  They are releasing 1600 cfs out of Stewart Mountain dam from Saguaro.
With the higher flow be careful wading out and Desert Sportsman recommends using egg patterns, scuds and small red midges for the fly fishermen.

Where:Upper Salt
When:03/21/09
Caught:not a thing
Technique:worms and stink bait
Comments:I know there is catfish here and carp but what else is in here
Name:Andrew Althaus
LOWER SALT RIVER — Stewart Dam release is 1,600cfs. Scheduled for stocking this week at the Water Users and Blue Point areas. Fishing should be good at first and last light. Try using live night crawlers with little or no weight cast slightly upstream, then let the bait drift downstream.
This is a superb area for canoes and kayaks. You can put in at the Water Users and float to Blue Point Bridge or Phon D. Sutton.

Where: Lower Salt River at Blue Point Bridge
When: 03/14/09
Caught: 3 Largemouth Bass
Technique: Night Crawlers on 4lb. test with single split shot. I let the bait drift downstream and slowly retrieved it across the bottom.
Comments: The Bass were not very big, the largest being 12 inches but had a great time fighting them on the light tackle.
Name: Bardsley

Where: Lower Salt River
When: 03/13/09
Caught: 24 trout/released
Technique: spinners
Comments: Fish slow.  Trout need a lot of time to examine lure before striking.
Name: John LeFevers
CREEKS – According to Arizona Fly Fishing the creeks are a bit high and not too muddy yet.

Haigler Creek – No new reports.

Canyon Creek – Harley Ough at the Game and Fish Canyon Creek Hatchery provided the following report: Most of the snow is gone, thankfully. The temps are great and the fishing pressure is nonexistent basically on the creek. Stocking have not started yet but good fishing can be found. Water levels are still up a bit from normal and the water is a slight bit off color than the normal crystal clear. Fly fishing was good; caught a dozen in about a horr and a half.

According to Arizona Fly Fishing excellent fishing at Canyon Creek; use semi seal leach patterns and fish closer to the bottom.

Tonto Creek – Accessible and try dry fly dropper rig with size 14 to 16 bead head nymph according to Desert Sportsman.

Christopher Creek – Accessible and try dry dropper rig with size 14 to 16 bead head nymph.

East Verde – No new report

Workman Creek – No new report

HORSETHIEF BASIN LAKE – No new report