Crappies are spawning in the coves and shallow flats at Roosevelt, Alamo and Bartlett. Small curly-tail jigs fished on 1/16-ounce or even 1/32-ounce jig heads make a lot of sense right now. Live minnows can work well at times, but at other times jigs will out produce them.

This is the leading edge of the largemouth bass spawn at most warmwater lakes. In fact, anglers at some lakes, such as Roosevelt and Pleasant, are already reporting some lethargic post-spawn bass hovering in trees with a case of lockjaw.

Keep in mind that unlike crappie, largemouth bass don’t all rush to the spawning beds at once – the spawn is very spread out – there could even be a handful of bass on beds in late June or early July. However, right now you will probably encounter lots of bass in the spawning mode, some bass in the post-spawn mode, a lot of bass in the pre-spawn mode, and even some bass lingering deep in the winter mode. That gives you lots of different areas and techniques to deploy if you are so inclined. So think outside the spawn.

I’ll start sounding like a broken record, but Roosevelt, Bartlett, Alamo and Pleasant are the hot spots, but on any given day, they might have to share the glory with others such as Havasu, Mead, Martinez, Patagonia, and Powell.

If you want wild rainbow trout in the spawning mode, then load up your lightweight fishing gear or fly rods and trek to Lees Ferry. It is quite simply some of the best trout fishing in the nation.

Thanks to abundant snowfall this past winter, there are still a lot of lakes inaccessible right now, although with the intermittent warm again, cold again weather, things could change rapidly – one way or the other.

Right now, the trout fishing hot spot is Lower Lake Mary near Flagstaff where we have stocked thousands of rainbows. Anglers last weekend were having no problem picking up a quick limit if they so desired, or catching-and-releasing some pretty impressive numbers. Not bad for an area that was a huge soggy elk meadow last fall.

I chatted with the every helpful Victoria at the Black Canyon Ranger District and there are trees down as well as snow drifts across the Forest Service 300 (Rim Road) Road (she sent me some nice pictures), so it will still be some time before Woods Canyon and Bear Canyon are accessible.

Here’s a NEWS BREAK– the road into Willow Springs Lake and the Sinkhole Campground just opened Wednesday, and there is open water at the lake. The water is likely to be very cold, and the action might be slow. However, you might just catch a large holdover trout or two.

Also, the FS 504 Road from Heber toward Chevelon is open and the road from Heber to Black Canyon Lake (the lake is full and spilling) is open.

This time of year, always check before going. March is a changeling month.

Although we might be hitting the 80s and 90s in the deserts at times, the road into Big Lake is closed and still has lots of deep snow drifts, although anglers had been going there via snowmobile for some time. With weather fronts still blasting thru the state at times and shedding white stuff in the mountains, It may be some time before we all can make our first spring run to Big and Crescent. Be patient. It’s coming – and when it does, fishing ought to be superb.

For striped bass, it doesn’t sound like any of the Colorado River lakes is really on fire yet, but this is a nice time of year to be out on the water – when the wind doesn’t blow. A couple who visited Lake Mead provided a good report. Check it out. Of course, by the time you read this, the striper action could be in high gear.

Once again I heard from anglers in the area of Martinez Lake (a Colorado River backwater near Yuma) where the anglers were catching for huge bass, and lots of crappies as well.

If you aren’t out fishing, come to our Outdoor Expo this weekend and drop by the fishing demonstration tank and say hi. Get outdoors and enjoy this beautiful spring weather; maybe I’ll see you out there.