Arizona Lake Fishing

After a long summer and hundreds of anglers throwing in spinners, the bass get wise and a jig could be just enough to land that big one. Swimming a jig takes a little fineness and technique to get the presentation just right for a strike but after reading this post you’ll be casting it in like a pro.

The key to swimming a jig for a big bite is all about presentation and how to attract a bite. You want to pay attention to color, the bite (if you’re getting any), your retrieval speed and most importantly setting the hook.

Jig Swimming Tips: Pay attention to the bite.

1. If the bass is inhaling the jig, make no adjustments and keep hauling them in.
2. If they seem to be just nipping at the end of the jig, make a change with your trailer. It’s possible you could be getting the wrong action from your jig.
3. If they are following your jig but not striking, make a complete change in color. If you’re using a dark jig, switch to a bright color with a flash.

Jig Swimming Tips: Pay attention to presentation.

1. Hold your rod tip at about 10 o’clock.
2. Vary your speeds by dropping and ripping through cover.
3. Be sure to set the hook properly. Once you feel that bass on your line give it a good rip back and set the hook before he even knows what hit him. Make it one smooth motion.

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Eating your catch can be one of the most rewarding activities when fishing. But cleaning the fish, especially a largemouth bass, can pose a few problems if you have never done it before. Bass are different from other fish like trout. They have scales, larger bones, and will dull your knife quickly. Filets are the best and easiest way to clean a bass.

The best largemouth bass to eat are around 1 1/2 to 2 pounds. Anything over 3 pounds should be released for breeding.

What you need to filet a fish

1. A trash can.
2. A sharp filet knife.
3. A filet knife sharpener.
4. A flat, smooth board to cut on.

How to filet your fish

1. Ice the fish over night. Leaving your fish on ice overnight will produce a bloodless filet and a filet that tastes less fishy.
2. Use a sharp filet knife. You want to make sure you have a sharp knife before you begin. The best way to do this is the sharpen it just before you start. Some people prefer to use an electric knife but many people often cut through the backbone and that can be a messy clean up.
3. Flatten the fish out on the board and slit the belly. Start just under the jaw and move down past the anal fin. Don’t go too deep or you’ll cut through digestive organs and that is very messy. You just need to go as deep as the skin and that’s all.
4. Cut along the backbone. Start at the head and cut down gently until you feel the backbone. Once you’ve touched the backbone, turn your knife and move toward the tail. Be careful not to cut through the backbone. For this step, make sure your fish is nice and flat and that your knife is very sharp to get through all the rib bones.
5. Remove the skin from the filet. This is a matter of preference. Some people like the skin on because while cooking it keeps the moisture in and your filet from drying out. It is also much easier to remove the skin once it has been cooked. If cooked properly, the skin will just slide off. If you prefer to remove the skin prior to cooking, just take your knife and get under the skin. Then follow the backbone to the tail. Stop at the tail without cutting all the way through. Flip the fish over and then cut the skin from the meat.
6. Remove the ribs. This is also a matter of preference. Most of the rib bones you can just pull out with your fingers but some of the smaller ones you might want to use your knife and cut them out. I prefer to leave the ribs in because they are much easier to get out once the filet has been cooked.

Prepping and cooking a bass filet

One of the most popular ways to cook bass is to rub the filet in cornmeal and fry them. Best filets for this are both skinless and boneless.

You will need:

• Cornmeal
• Salt and pepper and/or other spices
• Cooking oil (your preference)
• Frying pan

1. Put the filets in a ziplock bag with salt and water. Add some salt to a ziplock bag. Then add the filets. Fill the bag with water. Let the salt dissolve and squeeze out the water and zip the bag closed.
2. Put in the refrigerator. Leave the filets in the fridge for a day or two.
3. Rinse them with cold water. Once you’ve taken the fish out of the refrigerator, you want to rinse them with cold water and pat dry.
4. Prepare your cornmeal. Put your cornmeal in a large glass bowl. Add some salt and pepper and other spices that you prefer.
5. Get your frying pan hot. You want your frying pan sizzling with a little cooking oil.
6. Roll the filet in the cornmeal and fry. Be sure to cover both sides of the filet with cornmeal. Then add them to the frying pan. Let the cornmeal turn a light, golden brown. Then flip the filet to cook the other side.
7. Remove from the cooking oil and let the filet drain. You can put the fried filets on paper towels to help catch and absorb any excess cooking oil.

Another way to cook bass

This recipe is a bit healthier alternative to frying you filets. This recipe works best with the skin intact and bone-in.

You will need:

• Fresh lemon (the fruit)
• Fresh onion
• Fresh garlic
• Salt and pepper and/or other spices
• Butter or olive oil (your preference on salt in or salt less butter)
• Tin foil

1. As above, put the filets in a ziplock bag with salt and water. Add some salt to a ziplock bag. Then add the filets. Fill the bag with water. Let the salt dissolve and squeeze out the water and zip the bag closed.
2. Put in the refrigerator. Leave the filets in the fridge for a day or two.
3. Rinse them with cold water. Once you’ve taken the fish out of the refrigerator, you want to rinse them with cold water and pat dry.
4. Prep all the fruit, onions and garlic. Slice the lemon and onions into slices. Then peal the garlic. You can either use the garlic whole, chop it, or mince it. What ever you prefer.
5. Prep the fish filet. Lay a sheet of tin foil flat on the counter, place one filet in the center of the foil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the butter or oil. Add 2-3 slices of lemon. Add a few rings of onion. Add the fresh garlic.
6. Fold the foil into a pouch around the filet and other ingredients. Grab the top and bottom of the foil and bring them together over the filet. Folder over the edges. Then fold the left and right ends into the center.
7. Bake in the oven. Put the pouch and it’s contents into the oven and bake.

This method also works well with fresh caught fish and a campfire. Just add the pouch to the hot coals and let cook for several minutes.

Tips for keeping the filets fresh

• You can keep a bass filet for several month in the freezer. Be sure to put them in a freezer ziplock bag.
• If the fish is a “white meat” fish like bass are, the fish will keep in the freezer for many months.
• Oily fish, like hybrids, however, will only keep for 2 months before going bad.

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Spinners can be used to catch bass in just about any weather or water temp or time of year. Tournaments can be won fishing a spinner. They’re a great lure for spring and fall when the bass are feeding heavily as well as in winter when the water is cold. You can also fish them in the warmer waters of summer and just buzz them by the fish to entice them to bite.

It’s a good idea to keep several spinners in your box and keep spare blades and skirts on hand so you can test the waters and see what’s biting. But the go-to spinner in my box is always a 3/8th ounce spinnerbait with a #5 willowleaf and #3 Colorado blade. Have one of each in gold and silver. A chartreuse and white skirt and a 3″ white curly tail trailer.

Spinners in Warm Water

Warm water, at and above 60 degrees, means fast retrievals. When the water is warm, run the bait just under the surface fairly quickly until the blade just brakes the water. Then slow down and let the skirt flare.

When the water is warmer, and the feeding is slower, speed up your retrieval and try for reaction strikes by buzzing it right by the bass and letting it brake the water’s surface.

Spinners in Cool Waters

Cool waters, bellow 60 degrees, you want to slow it down. Use a heavier spinner, around 1/2 once. Get heavier and slower as the water gets colder. The added weight will allow you to fish deeper and slower.

Tips for Using Spinners

1. The clearness of the water will tell how quickly to run your lure. In clearer waters you can run it fairly fast but slow it down in murky waters.
2. Try bigger blades. Up to a #7 blade has caught fish and was a popular method a few years ago and still catches fish.
3. Try different colors of skirts and trailers if the fish aren’t biting.
4. Attach the lure with a clip and swivel to allow for quick and easy changing.

Spinners are one of my favorite lures. They are easy to use, easy to fish and you almost never lose a fish on one. The big hook seems to keep them on the hook effectively.

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Tricking a zoom worm will work well right now as the spawn dies down. The bass will begin to come off their beds and will be more aggressive and hit this rig even better. This rig will work in both ponds and lakes.

What is a Zoom Worm?

A zoom worm is a straight worm about 7 inches long and they come in several colors like chartreuse, yellow, white and in natural colors as well.

Rigging your zoom worm

You rig your zoom worm with no weight and you fish it almost like a topwater lure. You can tie the hook directly to the line or put it on a swivel about 6 inches above the hook. The swivel will help keep your line from twisting as you retrieve.

Tricking your zoom worm

As you retrieve your zoom worm, you want to twitch them. This will cause the worm to jump back and forth.

One technique that I’ve found most effective is to twitch them just under the surface. Then pause and let the worm sink.

Best Bass Lakes in Arizona for 2009

1. Alamo Lake – This is the HOME of largemouth bass in Arizona and recent surveys show a large population of largemouth bass for the 2009 season.
2. Bartlett Lake – A great lake for bass fishing, Bartlett Lake is a 2,800 acre lake just north of Phoenix.
3. Lake Mead – An excellent bass fishing lake located near the border for Arizona and Nevada. Lake Mead boasts a whopping 160,000 acres of fishing waters.
4. Martinez Lake – more for the shore angler, Martinez Lake is only 600 acres but is worth the trip near Yuma, Arizona.
5. Lake Pleasant- a 10,000 acre lake also close to metropolitan Phoenix, great bass lake.

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Bass are predator fish and they follow schools of baitfish to prey on. So, if you can find the schools of baitfish, chances are pretty good that the bass are close by. But how do you locate the baitfish?

How to locate the baitfish and intern the big bass

1. Easiest to spot are the small minnows jumping out of the water and if your lucky swirls of bigger fish swimming close behind. If you see these tiny jumping fish, there is a school of baitfish swimming around just under them.
2. Loons also love baitfish. They feed on them regularly. The benefit of seeing loons feeding on fish is that they are easier to spot from a distance than jumping minnows. Follow the loons to the baitfish and the baitfish to the bass.
3. Gulls also prey on fish. You’ll often see them circling in one spot. This is a good place to head out and fish.
4. Herons are another bird species that prey on fish and are easy to spot in the air or on the shore.
5. If you see small dimples on the surface of the water chances are there is a school of shad near the surface. These dimples might look like little raindrops falling over a small are of water.
6. Use a depthfinder. On a depthfinder, a school of fish will look like a ball of solid mass.
7. And finally, when you see a group of boats fishing in one area, it’s probably a good spot to fish. Man also likes to prey on fish and they are very easy to spot in their boats with fishing poles.

So now you found the baitfish, what do you do?

Tips to use the baitfish to your advantage

• For your lure or bait selection, try to match the size and shape of the baitfish swimming around.
• Vary your depth to find the feeding fish (largemouth bass but also crappie, walleye, muskie, hybrids, white bass, striped bass)
• Get as close to the food source as possible to increase your odds of catching the fish you set out to catch.

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What is Pitching?

Pitching is a bass fishing technique anglers use to guide their bait to a desired location. It works best when you need to get your bait into a small opening near heavy cover, under low-hanging limbs, and/or around boat docks. The best anglers, the ones who always catch the big ones, are all proficient pitchers.

Pitching is ideal for:

1. Off-color or muddy water
2. Targets between 10 and 30 feet away
3. Target provides a quiet lure entry into the water

Pitching for Bass You’ll need:

• 25 pound test 100% fluorocarbon line
• 7′ 6″ heavy rod with plenty of backbone to wrestle the biggies

What to Pitch

A jig. But nearly any single-hook bait can be pitched. Rig it into a Texas rig.

How to Pitch for bass

1. With your rig on the line, face the target.
2. Depress the line release and let out enough line so the bait is even with the first guide.
3. Put the bait in your off-hand at about waist level.
4. Lower the rod tip toward the target and put a little tension on the line.
5. In one smooth, quick motion, swing the rod tip toward the target and upward. Letting go of the bait.
6. As the bait moves under the rod tip, release the line and continue raising the rod tip and control the spool with your thumb.
7. Stop the line just before it enters the water.

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It’s that time of year again and you should know what I’m talking about. It’s time for spinner baits and the big bass. It’s time to roll those big 1oz. spinners off the edges and over the humps. And we have some tips to get you started and on your way to catching the big one.

Tips for Using Spinner Baits

1. Rigging is most important. The best, is to rig a spinner on a medium-to-medium light tip rod.
2. Use braided line to help control the action and the line to hook the fish.
3. Look for shad chasing your spinner. If you do, you know you’re in the right place. If not, move on.
4. Use angles when fishing a spinner.
5. If you have shad but no bites, try changing your angle of presentation.

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You’re on the lake, just staring your day and wondering where to start fishing. Here are some tips to keep in mind on how to read where those lunker bass might be hanging out.

1. Look for subtle changes in the lake bottom. Even a change of depth of just a few feet could be a productive fishing spot. The bass use these small highways for feeding on bait fish.
2. Watch for bait fish. Wherever they are, the bass aren’t too far behind.
3. Keep an eye on the changes in weather. Just a few degrees warmer and the bait fish will move a foot or two deeper in to the water.
4. Works well in both shallow and deep water. Use this info all year round when fishing for bass.

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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.

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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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