Arizona has a lot to offer in terms of freshwater fishing lakes. Here’s a run down a few of the most popular lakes in AZ and the most popular fish to be caught there.
Lake Havasu is an excellent bass lake for Arizona anglers. With the cooler weather the bite has slowed but this just means you need to work your lures a little slower and deeper than normal. Use plastics, cranks, spinners and jigs. The fish are deep this time of year so topwaters and other floating baits you can put away until spring.
Sizes are ranging from 13 inches and up for largemouth bass. The skilled angler could hall in a 4 pounder. Smallmouth bass are also abundant in Lake Havasu, as well as striped bass. Stripers are in the size range of about 12-18 inches with an occasional 8 pounder waiting to be caught.
Bass aren’t the only species to be caught in Lake Havasu, channel cats are also a popular catch among Arizona anglers. Cats are ranging in the sizes or 3 - 10 pounds and are biting on anchovies, spam and mackerel.
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.
Rainbow Lake is down about 1.5 feet and the boat ramp is accessible. The fishing is fair but the last stocking of catfish was in June.
Anglers are catching bluegill, smallmouth bass, and bullhead catfish.
Reports say the bullhead cats are being caught around the fishing pier. Use wheat bread dough balls or night crawlers.
Bluegills are going for the green wooly bugger.
Smallmouth bass are being caught off the dock with a brown fly.
Weeds are beginning to become a problem since the days are warming up.
Rainbow Lake is open to electric trolling motors and/or 10hp gas motors only.
Water elevation is 1,692 feet, which is 89-percent full.
Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, white bass, striped bass and crappie are all biting at Lake Pleasant. Morning bite lasting until around 10:30 a.m. and evening picking up around 6 p.m.
For largemouth use drop shot and a shad looking swim bait.
For small mouth use minnows.
For striped bass use frozen anchovies with a little or no weight.
Best results: Go to the middle coves and look for schools of bait fish. Use Texas-rigged worms and brush hogs. The biggs (18 - 19 inch) are hitting on top water Spooks along the brush line.
Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass should be biting. Try plastic grubs and small spinner baits.
Catfish should be biting as well.
Trout were last stocked in March. Stocking will resume in November.
The striped bass boils are being spotted in the middle coves at Lake Havasu. Anglers have reported pods scattered in the basin of the lake and at the shorelines near Windsor Beach.
If fishing the boils, the R2S Rover 128 in Okie Shad, Chrome black or chartreuse shad are working well as is the bone-colored Vixen, and the Okie shad and bone-colored Zara Spooks. From the shore use Rat-L-Trap type baits like the R2S tungsten vibe in chartreuse shad, chrome/black or similar crankbaits in chrome/blue that can be ripped and retrieved quickly through the grass beds. If using bait, try using anchovies in the deeper water.
Smallmouth and largemouth bass are being caught throughout theday with the early morning bite being the best.
Use topwater baits like bone-colored Vixens, bone-colored Zara Spooks, or small Storm Chug Bugs in chrome blue and phantom chartreuse.
After the early morning use small plastics with a slip shot or drop shot in and on the outside edges of the weed beds or along rocky points in the main basin at 15 - 20 feet. The 4 inch straight tail Robo Worm in bold blue gill are working the best.
Trout stocking will begin this week at Colorado River bellow Davis Dam.
The fishing has been good bellow Davis Dam. Expect to catch some nice stripers and large catfish in the Big Bend area.
At Davis Camp some nice smallmouth are being caught.
At Topock Gorge smallmouth, largemouth and striped bass are all being caught.
Smallmouth bass are expected to be good this fall. Size range is over 2 pounds.
Redear sunfish should be good with 1 pound plus sizes.
Channel and flathead catfish are always good in the section of the river.
Striped bass should be fair. Fish bellow the dam with anchovies.
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.
