Arizona Lake Fishing

Northern Pike have been illegally stocked in Francis Short. If you catch a Northern Pike at Francis Short pond please remove it from the pond.

Northern Pike are a non-native species and when stocked illegally they often become the dominant fish in the water. They aggressively prey on other fish and also small water foul and amphibians.

Northern Pike are a fun fish for anglers. They have a ferocious fight and an aggressive hit. You will need heavy line and heavy duty lures. Try crank baits, spinners, and inline spinners.

The shad are on a comeback and with schools of shad you’ll find striped bass hanging around. The stripers seen in the fall were fat with shad and healthy. If the shad continue to bounce back we could start seeing more mid-size stripers in the basin.

For best results look for schools of shad and through in small shad-looking crank bait. You might even get a largemouth bass or 2 at depths of 20 - 25 feet.

Get out to Lake Mead. The stripers are all biting and biting well. Most are ranging between 13 to 18 inches and anglers are leaving with their limit. The limit being how many fish you want to clean.

The catfish are also doing well. Try anchovies. The full moon is the 19th so trolling with crank baits during the day will get better and better.

Lake elevation is 1,909 feet (95-percent full).

Channel catfish, largemouth bass, crappie, trout and small mouth bass are all being caught at Apache right now.

Go to the coves for the catfish or try Alder Creek.

For trout, try the cooler water near Horse Mesa Dam or by the fish habitat. Use power eggs.

Small mouth bass can be found near rocky shores.

Walleye were stocked at the end of April; 2.4 million walleye sac fry, to be exact. Walleye are biting the best. Try trolling with shad-patterned crank baits just off Bronco Creek.

Lake elevation 1,525 feet at 93 percent full.

Bass fishing is still good at Saguaro Lake but stubborn. The bass are on the beds and really need to be coaxed to bite. Some are catching the 10 inchers by flipping worms in the brush or crank baits.

The lake is healthy at about 3 - 4 feet visibility as well as the river with 1 foot.

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.

Black Canyon lake is down about 6 feet making the boat ramp very low, so use caution.

Fishing is fair with the water temp at 77 degrees.

Try using worms, meal worms, salmon eggs, Power Bait, and lured such as spinners, and crank baits.

Shoot for the rocky area for bass and sunfish.

Stocked with catfish just 2 weeks ago, fishing is looking good.

Also largemouth bass, bluegill, and trout fishing are doing well.

Try the middle lagoon for the largemouth bass. A few 10 pounders were caught there over the summer. Use in-line spinners, plastic grubs, and small crank baits.

For bluegill try both the middle and lower lagoons with salmon eggs or small worms on a small bait hook (size 10) and a bobber.

Trout stocking will resume in November.

Water release from Paker dam has dropped off and the fishing has picked up. Parker Strip on the Colorado River, smallmouth bass have been biting, bulking up for the colder winter months.

Try crank baits with shad colors (black and white).

Smallmouth bass can be found throughout the Parker Strip and down river and prefer the rokier shorlines.

Catfish are also biting but only at first light or early evening. They have slowed for the cooler weather. Try night crawlers, goldfish and sunfish.

Spring is the best time to hit the water at Lake Pleasant, Arizona. This time of year the water is high, the temperatures are cool and all the fish are biting.

The largemouth bass are in spawn this time of year and migrate to the shallows. First introduced in 1897, the largemouth bass is a carnivorous fish that will bite on live and artificial bait alike. For live bait try waterdogs. For artificial try plastic worms, plastic lizards, top water lures or shad looking crank baits. Largemouth bass are warm water fish that prefer clear water with structure and cover.

White bass, a non-native fish only found in Imperial Reservoir on the Colorado River and Lake Pleasant, are also biting and looking for shad schools. The best lures for white bass are spinners, jigs, spoons, and shad crank baits. IF you prefer live bait try catching your own live shads and minnows.

Striped bass are a non-native fish introduced in 1959 and can reach a weight of over 59 pounds. They are found throughout the Colorado River from Lake Powell to the Mexican border and most recently in Lake Pleasant. Effective lures include spoons, plugs, jigs, crank baits, and streamer flies. For live bait try anchovies or shad.

The catfish are feeding at this time of year. Try the muddy or sandy coves with liver, mackerel, night crawlers or stink baits. Crappie and blue gill are active in shallow water. Try live minnows and a bobber.