Arizona's Urban Fishing
Program is recognized nationally as one of
the best in the country. The Program is a
partnership with the Game and Fish Department
and local Parks and Recreation Departments
to intensively stock and manage park lakes
for fishing recreation. Simply put, the Program
operates on the premise that "if people can't
get out of town to fish, we will bring fish
into town for the people." The Program provides
convenient, affordable, accessible and fun
fishing for anglers of all ages and abilities.
There are currently 21 designated Urban Fishing
Program lakes in 11 cities. These lakes
are
intensively stocked
from 20-24 times per year with trout, catfish
and sunfish. The cost of bringing these
keeper-sized
fish into city park lakes means that anglers
age 14 and over must purchase a $18.50 Class
U (urban fishing) license to fish Urban Program
lakes. Participating lakes are identified
by signs posted at each park. Check for lake
locations, park hours and regulations, fish
species lists, and all kinds of fishing information
in the 2008 Urban Fishing Regulations [PDF,
1.7mb] available at your nearest license
dealer, Game and Fish office, or as a
download
(PDF) from this site.
These specially designated Program lakes
are
stocked
with healthy, catchable fish on an every-other
week basis throughout most of the year.
Farm-raised
channel catfish (15-18 inch average) are
stocked from mid March through early July
and from
late September through mid November. Rainbow
trout (9-12 inch average) are stocked from
mid November to March. Sunfish are stocked
two times during the year in May
and November. There are no fish stockings
scheduled between July 10 and September
20
due to high lake temperature conditions and
the high risk of transporting fish this
time
of year.
Many fishing clinics and
educational programs are held each year at park lakes. Youth participation
is a high priority and they represent 25% of the Program participants.
In addition to catching healthy and delicious 11-inch trout and 1.8 pound
catfish, anglers benefit socially and psychologically by spending time
with friends and family and relaxing along the shores of a sparkling lake
in a comfortable and safe park setting-making a positive quality-of-life
impact for our communities.
