It was just a few weeks ago when I was writing about the roads finally opening to all the mountain lakes and streams, and now Memorial Day weekend is creeping up on us way too quickly. It feels like we are in a time accelerator.

Let’s start with the warmwater lakes. As of May 17, the waning moon will be in its last quarter, which is important for those fishing at night under lights for crappie. The less moonlight, the better your artificial lights work at attracting the plankton-shad-crappie food chain. There will be a New Moon (meaning no moon), on May 24 during the Memorial Day weekend.

With lots of folks heading to our lakes the next couple of weekends, fishing at night can become even more attractive to escape the increased recreational boating activity. Be sure to be safe and have your 360-degree light on and visible when anchored or slowly drift fishing. It is very wise to wear your personal flotation devices while fishing at night – the inflatable ones are very unobtrusive. Don’t become a sad holiday statistic.

I have received reports of anglers catching some nice crappies at Roosevelt, Bartlett and Alamo during the day, but these were mostly knowledgeable crappie anglers who know where and how to fish these waters.  Rosey, Bartlett and Alamo are still the bass and crappie fishing triple threat.

It sounds like both Patagonia and Arivaca lakes in southern Arizona are both worth a visit right now for largemouth bass.

Here’s a great success fishing story of the leviathan kind. A huge channel catfish was hauled from the waters of Green Valley Park shortly after the Payson Wildlife Fair on Saturday, May 9.  Using shrimp on the bottom and fishing the inlet end of the main lake, Tuy Sayasavanh, of Peoria, hooked into and landed the 26.9- pound leviathan.

With more than 500 people gathered at the park for the annual wildlife fair and fishing clinic, Sayasavanh’s massive fish attracted a lot of interest and excitement. Most folks were enjoying a pleasant morning catching some of the 1,500 rainbow trout freshly stocked or some of the abundant bluegill found around the lake.

The lunker cat, measuring over 37 inches in length, shatters the previous Urban Fishing Program record 11.4 pound catfish caught in 2002 from Evelyn Hallman Pond in Tempe. Additionally, this is the largest channel cat reported to the department in 20 years and is only five pounds shy of the state record 32 pounder from Parker Canyon Lake.

What a fish tale.

This is great weather to visit the desert lakes, making some of the impoundments a little crowded at times. One of my favorite places to go this time of year is Lake Powell. With around 1,750 miles of shoreline, you can find plenty of areas to fish with no other anglers present. Plus, most anglers at Powell go after striped bass, leaving the feisty smallmouth, plentiful largemouth and tasty walleye to a smiling few.

Here’s another hint – there have been some Memorial Day weekends when the campground at Hall’s Crossing (Utah) on a bluff overlooking Lake Powell has not been full. It’s a scenic drive to get there through Kayenta, Monument Valley, past Mexican Hat, passing near the Goosenecks of the San Juan, and then past  Natural Bridges National Monument. With so many natural scenic wonders, it is easy to get distracted.

This is also a decent time to hit Willow Beach, the tail water fishery below Hoover Dam (between Kingman and Hoover Dam) along the Colorado River. It won’t be long until the temperatures soar into the triple digits, even during the mornings. Right now, mornings are temperate and delightful. This is a decent time of year to see desert bighorn sheep, catch some trout, and maybe land a huge striper.

Another place to escape the crowds is the world-renowned Lees Ferry. This starts a period when most trout anglers have mountains on their mind, leaving lots of openings on the sandbars at the Ferry for others who like to catch wild rainbows.

Okay, on to the trout lakes. If headed to the high country, the typical night crawlers and Power Bait can work. Inline spinners, such as small Mepps and Rooster Tails, are always good bets. But if you have youngsters, have them collect a bunch of grasshoppers), especially if you are going to fish the streams. A wiggling hopper can almost be irresistible to a hungry trout.

I wrote last week about using cane poles (no reels) to fish for trout in the mountain streams. Mix in some hoppers and you have a natural kid adventure worthy of Huck Finn. The key to setting up cane poles is making the line (4 pounds or less or even a tapered fly line) about as long as the length of the pole (that is usually 10 or 12 feet) and definitely no longer than the length of line it would take to reach the ground if the youngster was holding the pole (vertically) in the air over his or her head while landing a trout.

Also, during my last couple of trips to the mountain lakes I witnessed some of boats on the water with children who did not have on life jackets. It’s not only contrary to the law of survival (the mountain lakes are extremely cold), it is also the law. All children 12 years of age or under MUST wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket while underway. Please keep your children safe.

By the way, last week the department worked with the United Anglers Foundation and distributed 1- to 2-inch-long largemouth bass (northern) at Apache, Canyon and Saguaro lakes as part of the effort to help these fisheries recover from golden alga blooms in past years.  Here are the numbers:

* Apache:            105,000
* Canyon:            55,000
* Saguaro:           54,000

For an update on the health of the Salt River Lakes, come to our Anglers Roundtable, scheduled for May 21 at Bass Pro in Mesa from 6 to 8 p.m. We’ll have photos of the real nice largemouth and smallmouth bass as well as the 30-plus pound flathead from Apache Lake collected during our recent survey there.

Go catch some memories. Maybe I’ll see you out there.
Here is a report from an ardent crappie angler who now works at Bass Pro:

Bartlett- Good news from Bartlett. One of our best B-lett slab hunters got into them good the other day. He was fishing in the early am up past the no wake buoys. The best part was that he caught some small Crappie. For years we have been concerned about the spawn (or lack of one), so this news is good. Bartlett can be funny, some days they want a BBC jig, some days John Deere and some days only a minnow will do it. So go well stocked. I would also suggest night fishing under lights with minnows. And remember that we (Arizona Crappie Association) will be doing netting surveys this fall with Game & Fish, volunteers are welcome. I will post more as this develops.

San Carlos- Although bass fishing is red hot I haven’t heard anything about Crappie for about a week but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try there. Just remember to get your San Carlos fishing permit and be careful on the water. There are no marker buoys.

Pleasant- Sorry, no report. If I were going to try Pleasant I would try the Castle Creek area or the back of Humbug Cove.

Roosevelt- Things are getting better every day. The night bite has been strong on both ends of the lake and around the marina as well. I heard from a bass angler yesterday that he was fishing near Windy Hill and Crappies were chasing his bait all the way to the boat. The north shore of Windy may be a great place to night fish, especially near Ship Rock, which is now under water.

Alamo- Weather permitting Alamo always seems to produce. The Arizona Crappie Association will be meeting there this Saturday for some night fishing. I hope to have a good report from our trip to share with you next week.

For more info on the AZCA you can find me at www.azbasszone.com under the name “Piscolli”. Also, I have a recipe for Crappie Chowder and Crappie Tacos I would be happy to share with you. Holla!

Bill (Piscolli) Eveland
Arizona Crappie Association/ Bass Pro Shops