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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Roosevelt Lake is at 100% full and the bass are starting to bite. Just about the entire lake is a good spot for fishing bass but there are a few hot spots to keep in mind once you’re out there.

The Salt end and the Tonto end seem to be the hot spots for largemouth bass. At the Salt use shallow crankbaits and at Tonto try blades or cranks at about 20 feet deep. The drop-shot method might work at Tonto as well.

Another area you can try is over by the dam, both largemouth and smallmouth bass are going for topwaters. Mid-lake has also been working for anglers try a nice jerkbait for large and smallmouth bass.

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Fishing Roosevelt Lake is a little slow this time of year. Mostly due to the fresh water flows from Tonto Creek and the Salt River but all this fresh water will pay in dividends this spring.

The Crappie Bite is OK

The crappie have moved into the main body of the lake but can easily be tracked down. The schools will look like upside down triangles on your graphs.

You can also find crappie hanging out under brush and fallen trees. They love wood.

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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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Carp are the number one sport fish in Europe and are quickly catching on here in the states as well, especially here in Arizona. If you have fished for carp, you’ll know why they have become so popular – they fight like crazy! They also get huge and you can fish them all day.

1. Roosevelt Lake – Is one of the best lakes for fishing carp in Arizona. In fact they hold their annual Camp Carp at the end of May which has been running now for 18 years.
2. Apache Lake – This is a good lake for fishing carp. Dough bait and corn on treble hooks work best here. Look for carp in the murky coves around the marina.
3. Alamo Lake – You can expect to fin carp around 4-6 pounds in this Arizona lake. The traditional worm-on-a-hook works best here.
4. Silverbell Lake – You’ll find the big ones at Silverbell lake with some in the range of over 20 pounds. Chicken liver and a slip sinker work well here.

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Roosevelt Lake is just over 2000 feet, about 90% full.

Where there’s shad, there’s bass and there are a lot of shad out at Roosevelt Lake. Get out to the southern coves for the largemouth bass. Rig a drop shot with plastics.

In open water look for the boils. Use shad and/or anchovies.

Also, try fishing along the Salt end along the brush line with a crank bait.

Flathead catfish are also biting. Expect them to keep biting until the lake turns.

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Roosevelt Lake is 94% full with an elevation of 2100 feet.

Night anglers are catching a bunch of largemouth bass, some reported up to 40 fish. One angler caught 20 and all were in the slot. Even though the bite is slow, the action is not. The water temp is at 84 degrees in the morning and water clarity is around 8-10 feet.

For best results: Use the drop shot method with plastics. The Texas and Carolina rigs are working well. If you are seeing boils which are more common in the mornings, try crankbaits and topwater lures.

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Water elevation remains at 2,099 feet, which is 45-percent full

For bass the action is at dawn and all but stopped an hour after sunrise. It is expected to pick up with the new moon.

Try deeper water around 20 feet just off the steep rocky shores. Use deep diving crank bait.

The coves are also hitting for largemouth bass. Try using spider jigs.

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Water elevation remains at 2,099 feet, which is 42-percent full.

Large mouth bass are biting during late morning. Try crankbaits and jerkbait.

Crappies are also biting on 1/16 oz. jigs with a split shot attached at about 3 feet above jig.

Best spot:Tonto end of lake.

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