Arizona Lake Fishing

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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Dead Horse Ranch State Park

Dead Horse Ranch State Park is on 423 acres of land, includes the Verde River and 80 miles of fishing opportunity.  Located near Cottonwood, Arizona on highway 260.

The Dead Horse Ranch lagoons are pooled bodies of water created by the Verde River and are regularly stocked by the AZ game & fish.

Fishing Dead Horse Ranch State Park

Fishing continues to be good and is a wonderful spot for family day and a picnic. Rainbow trout, sunfish (bluegill and crappie), Channel Catfish and Largemouth bass are all available to be caught.The lagoons have been recently stocked with over 3,000 rainbows.

Results are best for spinner and fly fishing. Spin anglers use powerbait, worms or small spinners. Fly anglers love to fish the Verde River and the state park.

Pay attention to bag limits

The bag limits at Dead Horse Ranch are different than other state parks. So keep them in mind when fishing.

• 4 catfish
• 4 trout
• 2 largemouth bass with a 13 inch minimum length
• 10 sunfish

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For spin anglers, that’s ultra-light rods or lightweight rods, use night crawlers with a little or no weight. Cast slightly upstream into the ripples. Let the current carry the bait downstream to a deep pond or back eddy.

Also try small spinners like a casting spoon. Cast perpendicular to the flow of the current and maintain tension on the spinner by slowly reeling in as the current sweeps the lure downstream.

Typically, once the spinner lure gets at 45 to 60 degree angle from you downstream, the lure will spin with an increased action. The extra action causes the trout to hit.

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Rooster Tails – A brand of in-line spinner.

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Panther Martins – A brand name of in-line spinner.

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Mepps spinners – A brand name in-line spinner.

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buzzing – Retrieving a spinnerbait or buzzbait along the water’s surface to create a splash effect to resemble a wounded baitfish.

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