Arizona Lake Fishing

Drop shot fishing is a great way to catch largemouth bass especially in the cooler months when they are a little slower than during the spawn. With a drop shot you can catch bass consistently in deep water, say 25 feet to 35 feet or even at 45 feet deep.

How to rig a drop shot?

Photo: Roboworm: Red Crawler RoboTail

The drop shot rig is a finesse worm technique. I prefer to use Roboworms (pictured above) and have found them to be very effective at Bartlett Lake

1. Tie your hook (#1 wide gap hook preferred) about 18 inches above the loose end of your line. Use a Palomar Knot.
2. Take the loose end of your line and bring it back through the eye of your hook. This will help the hook stay straight.
3. With the loose end, attach a 3/16th once drop shot weight with another Palomar knot.
4. Choose your bait. Work with 3 to 4 inch soft plastic worms or soft plastic shad type imitations. Color is dependent on the water color. Use watermelon or green shades in clear waters and reds to June bug in murky water.
5. There are 3 ways to rig your bait for a drop shot:
   1. Texas rigged where you hook the bait into the worm and bury the hook into the back to make a weed less hook. Texas rig works best in deeper waters.
   2. Wacky style where you hook the bait through the center and leave the hook exposed. Wacky style works great in deep water when fish are suspended away from structure
   3. Standard style hook your bait directly through the nose and leave the hook exposed.

Using a Drop Shot Rig

• A drop shot is best used on a spinning rod and reel. You want a rod that is flexible and sensitive to any taps.
• Your choice of line depends on water clarity. In deep clear water use 6 and 8 lb test line.
• Cast out into the lake. Drop shot has a tendency to twist. Try tying a swivel onto your weight.
• Allow the bait to sink to the bottom. Pay attention and you’ll feel when the sinker hits the bottom through your rod.
• Slowly work the bait back and keep the line taunt. Try walking, skipping, swimming the bait and wait several seconds in between each motion. The timing is important. Cool water bass, like in the early spring and fall, will have a slow reaction time where warmer water bass might move in quicker.
• You’re waiting for the “TAP-TAP”, the trademark of the largemouth bass strike on your bait. Sometimes it’s very soft and you might miss it, others it’s so sharp you can’t possibly miss it.
• When you feel the “tap-tap”, set that hook as quickly as you can. You got a fish.

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.

Saguaro Lake is at 91% full and fishing is fairly decent.

Shad boils seem to be the ticket for catching stripers. Use a topwater lure during the boils. When the boild dyes try using a jerkbait and throw it towards the shore. Try the divider reef area, the snags or around Butcher Jones.

Largemouth bass are also active but finiky so be patient and try everything you got in your box. Winning methods seem to be the drop shot, jerkbaits, Carolina rigs and flipping worms.

Fly anglers get out to Butcher Jones, the trout are biting well. Use prince nymphs or wooly buggers.

Remember there is now a slot limit for all Saguaro Lake bass.

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.

Apache Lake is around 90% full, the fishing is good and more anglers are getting out there.

Channel cats are hanging in the marina, Hackberry Cove and Goat Ledge. Try hot dogs, chicken liver and stink bait.

Yellow bass are where the substrate levels off. Use silver. Silver spinners, cranks, what have you.

Small mouth and largemouth bass are biting on plastic worms like Robo Worms. Put them on a drop shot around overhanging vegetation, boulders or ridges.

Carp are biting on yellow canned corn.

Lake Pleasant is currently 75% full with large concentrations of shad along the shore. These large numbers of shad make for great bass fishing whether it’s along the shore with the largemouth or in open water with the stripers.

Look for boils. There will be a lot of them but they don’t last long and are unpredictable so be ready to strike at any moment.

Anglers are catching stripers around 4 pounds down lake. The stripers in the coves are hungrier and more aggressive but a little smaller. Use anchovies and shad.

Hit the drop shot for those largemouth bass. They are feisty but small. No use working the cranks.

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.

Bartlett Lake has an elevation of 1789 ft making it 87% full.

Anglers are reporting that fishing is good out at Bartlett Lake. The largemouth bass are biting on crank baits, and drop shot with plastics. Bluegills are biting mealworms, crickets or small portions of earthworms on a small hook with a bobber.

For best results: To catch largemouth, try fishing the points at about 20 feet of water. Using the drop shot with plastics seems to be working best. For the bluegills, try shore fishing around rocky areas. They seem to be more aggressive in these areas. Live bait seems to be working best but if you’re not a fan of live bait, try 1/32 oz or smaller jigs, grubs or spinnerbaits.

Tempe Town Lake fishing is good.

Largemouth bass are in spring spawn and are hitting on spinner bait.

For best results: Go to the east side of the lake and fish by structure. Look for shad boils. Use spinner bait, white/white trailer or green or plastics on drop shot.

Catfish are also biting. Use worms for best results.

Trout fishing should be good following the stocking. Brook trout were stocked in September and rainbows earlier this month and are scheduled to be stocked again in November.

Brooks are expected to be in good catching size in spring.

A few bass are being caught and stocking from the past 2 years is begining to pay off this year. Use plastic worms, plastic grubs, and small spinner baits.

Catfish were stocked in June along with 200 pounds of bluegill in March. Use worms or mealworms on a bobber.