Hot off the presses:

• According to the Forest Service, the road into Willow Springs Lake on the Mogollon Rim should open on Friday.
• We are stocking the upper reach of the Lower Salt (Water Users) with trout on Friday at noon – come join us (we’ll try to get some media out).
• The road is open to Ashurst Lake near Flagstaff.
• We have now stocked 29,000 rainbow trout into Lower Lake Mary as of March 31.
• Bass and crappie fishing is busting loose at Roosevelt, Alamo, Bartlett, and Pleasant.
• The spawn is still underway for wild rainbows at Lees Ferry.
• Havasu is getting hot for stripers, smallmouth and largemouth.
• An angler reported that the FS 504 Road from Heber is open to Chevelon Lake, where the trout fishing is hot (it’s a hike-in lake at high altitude).

Whew, say it all fast, take a deep breath, make a choice, grab your fishing poles and go.

By the way, the boat dock is damaged at Willow Springs Lake – you can launch at the ramp, but you might have to get your feet wet. There is some ice-cover left in the narrow fingers. Cold water temperatures mean trout will be lethargic, but go deep and slow for the larger hold-over rainbows. Live night crawlers or meal worms might be the trick, or try slow-rolling, bottom-bouncing small spoons like Z-rays or KastMasters.

At Lower Lake Mary, the water temperature was 43 F last Friday. This was an elk meadow last fall and now it is THE trout fishing HOT SPOT for the state in the high country for hungry stockers. Life in Arizona is always interesting. By the end of summer or maybe by next winter, this ephemeral lake may turn back into a giant elk meadow, kind of like Cinderella’s carriage turning back into a pumpkin. Don’t miss out on this seasonal trout magic.

How to find Lower Lake Mary you ask (and many did at our Game and Fish Expo)? Simple, head toward Flagstaff on I-17, get off on Lake Mary Road, (turn right) head east and start fishing when you see the large shallow lake on your right. Well, get out of your vehicle first.

By the way, travel down Lake Mary Road a smidgen farther and you’ll see Upper Lake Mary where huge toothy northern pike have been caught lately on frozen anchovies and small spinners. You might just catch a new state record.

As it turns out, the standing state record on northern pike (32 pounds) was caught out of Ashurst Lake near Flagstaff (not that far from Lake Mary). The road just opened to Ashurst this week and our guys are busy trying to get it stocked with trout by this weekend, but it should have plenty of hold-over trout. It is usually the trout anglers who catch the big pike there – by accident. So go have a pike accident.

The other big tip of the week is the Lower Salt River. Salt River Project is now releasing around 300 cfs from Steward Mountain Dam. For the first time since last year, we are stocking the entire reach of the Lower Salt River starting at the Water Users area on the river just below Saguaro Lake. That’s an 11-mile early trout fishing bonus for you – close to home for most folks. With gas prices soaring, this is pure gold – remaining in your bank account. We plan on stocking at noon on Friday, April 4.

It’s also supposed to be a little cloudy this weekend – perfect cooler conditions for catching trout in the desert. But don’t worry, even when the sun is out, the water from the bottom of Saguaro Lake is around 52 F. You can sweat and shiver at the same time while catching feisty cold-water trout along a desert river lined with Saguaros. It’s a unique Southwest fishing experience. Chew some chili pepper jerky to complete the experience.

Getting there: Take the Superstition Freeway (or the 202) to Power Road, head north and it simply turns into Bush Highway. Bush Highway runs along the Lower Salt. When you cross a bridge (Blue Point Bridge), that is one location we stock trout. Or keep going until you see a HUGE parking lot – that is the Water Users area just downstream from the dam. Or, take Beeline Highway (Highway 87) like you are going to Payson, hang a right at the Saguaro Lake turnoff, keep going until the road makes a huge, 90-degree right hand bend (there is a river in the way) and you will see the Water Users parking lot immediately on your left.

Once there, unlimber your fly rods and flies or your favorite ultra lights and worms/spinners etc. This is a nice swift-flowing river. You might have to wade out through rocky areas (wear sandals, tennis shoes or waders) to get to the prime fishing reaches with deeper water and better riffles/pools. You don’t need a boat, although it can be a ball in a canoe or inflatable.

Here’s something fishing news that will wet your appetite. A fish survey last week at Fool Hollow in Show Low revealed lots of walleyes (average size 23 inches), a few large northern pike (average size 30 inches), a couple of big smallmouth bass (41/2 pounders), some largemouth bass (average size 17 inches), trout (average size 10 inches) and small black crappies plus sunfish. The Fool Hollow State Park has modern, up-to-date campgrounds and even has showers (my wife loves it there). The department will also be stocking it with trout throughout the late spring and summer.

Also this week, Oak Creek, Beaver Creek and West Clear Creek will all be stocked with rainbow trout. They are all very kid friendly. Personally, I like cane poles and night crawlers for kids, or for those who want to feel like one. It’s a ball. No reels and backlashes to fool with.

To get to Beaver Creek and West Clear Creek, get off I-17 at the Sedona exit and simply head east instead of west. For those willing to put on their hiking boots, Beaver Creek and West Clear Creek are a trout-fishing adventure, but not all that strenuous a one.

Now for the warmwater lakes.

If you look on our wonderful Game and Fish 2008 calendar, under April 4 it says “Prime fishing for bass and crappie in warmwater lakes.” That says it all – pick your favorite and go. The spawns are underway or commencing in the warmwater lakes.
The dark of the moon is Saturday, April 5, so dust off your submersible crappie lights, it’s time to fish at night for crappie and bass (add stripers as well at Pleasant). Why the dark of the moon? Your light doesn’t have to compete with a bright moon for attracting plankton. The plankton attracts shad. Shad attract predator fish, such as crappie and bass. It’s a good-chain thing (top of the food chain ma). Roosevelt, Alamo, Bartlett and Pleasant are the top night spots (got catch the acts).

By the way, if you haven’t visited our Arizona Fishing Blog yet, click here. http://www.azgfd.net/fish/ It’s great – all the fishing stuff in one place. You can even take the Anglers’ Legacy Pledge (there is a link) to take someone fishing.

For all of you who came to the fishing outlook talks at our Game and Fish Expo this past weekend at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility, thanks. What great audiences and excellent questions. For all of you who didn’t make it, well, I hope you were out fishing instead. But wow, what a hands-on outdoor show! It knocked my socks off. My wife and 7-year-old boy were upset because they couldn’t’ see or do it all – they only spent six hours there on Sunday.

You won’t want to miss the outdoor expo next year: it’s March 28-29, 2009. Mark your Outlook calendar now (I did).

Good luck. Maybe I’ll see you out there.