Arizona Lake Fishing

Carp are quickly becoming a popular sport fish in Phoenix. Fly fishing for carp in particular has become a hot topic in the valley. There are several popular fly fishing locations in Arizona to catch carp. Some are in the Phoenix metropolitan area and some you may need to take a little drive to get to but all are great carp fishing bodies of water.

A reader of Arizona Lake Fishing, Johnny, from Mesa, emailed in with a question:

“Where can I go to fly fish carp in the Phoenix area?”

Well, Johnny, thanks for writing in to Arizona Lake Fishing and if any of you have questions on fishing in Arizona’s freshwater lakes, ponds and other bodies of water gives us a shout at arizonalakefishing {at} gmail dot com we’ll be happy to answer.

So, Johnny, to get to your question, we put our guys out into the local fishing community and have come up with a few top fishing holes for fishing carp around the Phoenix area.

Carp in the Valley

• Salt River Canal – The lower stretch is the most popular fly fishing hole in the valley. But the canals, owned and maintained by the Salt River Project, SRP has introduced a few hybrid carp called White Amur or Grass Carp into their system to help with vegetation over growth. SRP maintains a strict catch-and-release policy for all fish caught in the their canals. Rumors abound of 50 pound carp swimming in these canals but the biggest carp caught has only been in the 20 to 30 pound range with the norm around 4 to 12 pounds. A “bread fly” seems to be working the best.
• Tempe Town Lake – Your best option is on the south side of the lake. Try a “bread fly” here as well.
• Canyon Lake – If a trip to the Superstition Wilderness isn’t too far for you, Canyon Lake is a great lake for fly fishing. Most fly fishing at Canyon Lake is during the winter when fly anglers are going for the nice sized winter trout. But in the spring and summer months it’s great for carp as well as small mouth bass.

Carp in Arizona

If taking a little trip to fly fish for carp is on your list, here are a few popular lakes for catching carp.

• Alamo Lake – The carp population is growing in numbers at Alamo Lake and are expected to be good fishing this season.
• Apache Lake – This is a good lake for carp. Look for them in the murky waters in the coves around the marina.
• Roosevelt Lake – An annual Carp Camp is held at Roosevelt Lake every May and is one of the best lakes in Arizona for fishing carp.
• Silverbell Lake – There are nice sized carp in this Arizona Lake some in the range of over 20 pounds.

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Canyon Lake is about 94% full and the fishing is decent.

Fly anglers are getting the bite using semi seal leeches and woolly buggers at the Boulder Recreation area.

Spin anglers are having great luck catching bass using 6 inch swim baits .Start at first light and the bite should go until about noon.

Remember there is now a slot limit for all Canyon Lake bass

Canyon Lake is part of the chain of lakes created by the Roosevelt Dam. Recently biologists have found Gizzard Shad in Roosevelt Lake and expect them to spread through to the other chain lakes including Canyon Lake.

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photo: Gizzard Shad found in Roosevelt Lake

Biologists Found Gizzard Shad in Roosevelt Lake

AZ Game and Fish biologists have discovered a population explosion of American gizzard shad in Roosevelt Lake. They say that it is a “wait and see” situation to determine if these invasive shad will have a positive or negative impact on the Roosevelt lake and fisheries along the Salt River.

There is a concern that the fish will continue to spread through the entire chain of lakes including Apache Lake and Canyon Lake. Gizzard shad have already been found at Lake Powell, Lake Mead and have invaded the Colorado River as well.

“This species looks like thread fin shad on steroids,” said Fisheries Chief Kirk Young. “These wide-bodied invaders from the eastern United States are shaped like footballs and can readily grow past the size where they are available to most sport-fish as forage.”

Most of the gizzard shad found during a fish survey were between 9 and 14 inches. But 2 were found over 17 inches long and weighted in at 2.3 pounds. Gizzard shad tend to grow very fast, quickly surpassing the size of 4 inches in their first year.

“We are still entering all the survey data, but based on what we saw during the sampling process, it appeared that gizzard shad were almost as numerous as the largemouth bass,” said Natalie Robb, the Mesa regional fisheries program manager.

Gizzard Shad are seldom caught by hook and line, but I doubt anyone would want to try. They don’t make a very good sport fish especially one that you would want to serve at your dinner table. Gizzard Shad are pungent in odor and have soft flesh.

A few facts about Gizzard Shad

Characteristics: Bright silvery blue-green on back, silvery sides and dull white belly. They have a wide body that is stockier than most herring.

Native Range: Extends from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River west to eastern South Dakota and central New Mexico.

How to tell gizzard shad from threadfin shad: Gizzard shad have an upper jaw that projects well beyond the lower jaw. If you run your finger underneath the mouth forward and if the fingernail catches on the upper jaw and opens the mouth, you have just become acquainted with a gizzard shad.

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Canyon Lake is looking good right now at 89% capacity.

For the best fishing at Canyon Lake go out to the Boulder Recreation area and fish off the pier. Here you will find a fishing pond within the lake where boats are not allowed. You an catch bluegill, largemouth bass, walleye and channel catfish.

The bass are hitting on plastic worms like Robo Worms on a drop shot. Look for overhanging vegetation.

The walleye prefer a chunk of night crawler on a jig. They also hang out near the steep, shaded submerged rocks.

The bluegills are in the back coves and are biting on worms.

The catfish are hitting the plastic worms as well but also try their favorites like hot dogs and chicken liver.

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Canyon Lake elevation is around 1650 feet and is 94% full.

Great fishing is still coming from Canyon Lake with anglers reporting that fish are lively and healthy. Bluegill, bass and catfish are all biting and if your lucky, maybe a rainbow trout will be on the end of your line.

Some of the top spots for boats are: Beer Can Point, Beaver Landing, Mormon Flat, the mouth of First Water and LaBarge Cove near the bridge. If you’re shore fishing try the Boulder recreation area, Acacia picnic site, Teddy Bear Point, Mormon Flat and Beaver Landing.

Get out in the mornings, the bite seems to be over by noon.

For best results: Head over to Beer Can Point, Beaver Landing or Teddy Bear Point with your boat and a 1/8 oz. Kastmaster on your line. If you’re shore fishing go to Acacia picnic site with worms on a bobber.

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Lake elevation is 1,658 feet, which is 96-percent full.

Fishing is a little inactive compared to April, at least for largemouth bass.

Channel catfish seem to be biting mildly but the need a lot of coaxing. Try dead minnows, silver rattle traps, and night crawler.

600,000 walleye sac fry were stocked end of April.

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* Closed to boating.

Shoreline is ok but be careful. Water levels are dropping rapidly with a drawdown by SRP and the lake will be lowered to 50 feet for routine dam maintenance.

All recreation boating will be closed during the drawdown which will last until late June.

For more info go to SRP.net

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