Winter Fishing Forecast
Arizona anglers: Fishing report information is in transition. The current FishAZ site (https://fishaz.azgfd.com/) is no longer being updated and will soon be phased out. You can find angler reports, photos and more on our new FishAZ Facebook Group, or sign up for our revamped monthly fishing report to be delivered to your email address. You can also get information from our Fish & Boat AZ map. And remember to bookmark this page for the quarterly fishing forecasts.
The following is a general description and quarterly forecast for fishing conditions in major public water bodies in the respective regions. For information on all Community Fishing Program waters, visit our Community fishing page.
Good 
Fair 
Poor 
Central
Apache Lake – Rating:
Lake temperatures are generally in the 50s and 60 throughout this period. Water levels this fall should be stable with minimal fluctuation. See the current lake elevation. Trout stockings began the week of October 25 at Apache Lake and rainbow trout will be stocked again in December, January, and February. Check out the winter stocking schedule!
Largemouth and smallmouth bass are present in all sizes and fishing is expected to be fair throughout the winter. During the winter, fish become less active, their response is usually slower, and they tend to move to deeper water, though you can still find fish in the shallows year round. Try drop shot and jigging with Kastmasters and spoons. When in doubt, throw a live worm on the bottom and see what bites!
Shore fishing is best at the main launch area and at Burnt Corral. Dirt roads allow you to drive around the lake, take a short hike to the water and fish from the shore. The lake provides many coves to fish by boat. For walleye fishing, head toward the upper area of the lake past the no-ski buoys and fish Bronco Creek. A successful walleye technique involves a trolling shad pattern with crankbaits in 10 to 30 feet of water.
Bartlett Lake – Rating:
Lake temperatures are generally in the 50s and 60 throughout this period. Water levels have steadily dropped since the end of October and the lake is currently 54% full. See the current lake elevation. Fish tend to be most active during the 90-minute windows surrounding the sun and moon rise and fall. When the moon is at full or new moon stage, the effect is stronger. There are many apps that you can use that display this information for you. As fishermen know, severe weather changes have an impact on the way fish feed. If a cold front is approaching, the fish tend to move deeper into the water and lay low. Barometric pressure is a good indicator. If pressure changes quickly, the fish tend to be less likely to show interest in your bait. If the pressure change is gradual the fish will respond favorably.
Largemouth bass fishing is expected to be great throughout the winter. During the winter, fish become less active, their response is usually slower, and they tend to move to deeper water, though you can still find fish in the shallows year round. Try drop shot and jigging with Kastmasters and spoons. When in doubt throw a live worm on the bottom and see what bites! When focusing on largemouth bass, fish near shady areas with overhangs or drop-offs. The Department installed Georgia cube habitat at the lake in summer 2019 and Christmas trees at the lake after the holidays in early 2020. Check out the habitat sites! With the lower lake levels this habitat should all be fishable this winter. Additionally, the Department stocked 120,000 pure Florida strain fingerling largemouth bass in June 2020 along with an additional 7,499 Florida strain fry in May 2020. In June and July 2021, the Department stocked roughly 13,000 Florida strain fry into the lake.
It’s expected to be a good year for crappie. The Department stocked 14,204 3-4 inch Black Crappie in March of 2021. Try fishing around submerged trees or on shelves. Try using live minnows or jigs tipped with minnows. Flathead catfish are present throughout the lake, but are more common upriver or by the dam. Look for spots where the water is murkier with vegetation or rocky covering nearby. Fishing for catfish should be great this fall. Try using catfish baits like chicken livers for smaller catfish. To catch a trophy-size fish, try using live sunfish or carp collected on site.
Canyon Lake – Rating:
Lake temperatures are generally in the 50s and 60 throughout this period. Water levels this should be relatively stable with minimal fluctuation. See the current lake elevation. Trout stockings began the week of October 25 at Canyon Lake and rainbow trout will be stocked twice in January. Check out the winter stocking schedule.
Largemouth bass are present in all sizes and fishing is expected to be good throughout the winter. Canyon is known for its large bass; however, it’s a little harder to catch fish here if you aren’t familiar with the lake. During the winter, fish become less active, their response is usually slower, and they tend to move to deeper water, though you can still find fish in the shallows year round. Try drop shot and jigging with Kastmasters and spoons. The Department recently completed a habitat project at Canyon Lake last year, so don’t be afraid to hit these spots as fish move onto them quickly following their placement. Check out FishAZ!, as the habitat locations should be uploaded soon
Shore anglers can try fishing off of Acacia day-use recreational area where habitat is placed near the buoys. Shore anglers should also try their luck at the newly renovated Boulder Recreational Area. This recreational area is restricted from motorized watercraft and is a great place to kayak and there is also a fishing pier. During our recent fish survey we caught quite a few largemouth bass in the back of the cove.
Lake Pleasant – Rating:
Lake temperatures are cool, generally in the 50 to 60s during this time. Water levels should slowly rise throughout the winter as water is being pumped into the lake through the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal. See the latest water level.
The eagle closure is Dec. 15 to June 15, to prohibit boaters from reaching the upper end of the Agua Fria River via the main lake. The area above the closure provides prime spawning grounds for striped bass. These stripers tend to congregate in the Aqua Fria River arm during the closure. The Department, in coordination with the Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Land Management, have worked to get more angler access without causing a negative effect to bald eagles. The joint effort has resulted in reopening the access road off of Table Mesa Road and constructing a primitive boat launch area that is open for a brief time period each spring allowing access to Lake Pleasant above the eagle closure as water levels allow. To catch striped bass, try using live shad, anchovies, silver Kastmasters, plastic swimbaits and top-water lures.
Largemouth bass numbers have been average this year and fishing is expected to be fair throughout the winter. During the winter fish become less active, their response is usually slower, and they tend to move to deeper water, though you can still find fish in the shallows year round. Try drop shot and jigging with Kastmasters and spoons.
Try your luck at striped bass fishing top-water shad imitation lures targeting shad boils that pop up throughout the lake. Scan the surface until you find a boil then cast into and around the edges using top-water baits or swimbaits. Anglers have good success fishing anchovies under lights at night. The lights draw in schools of shad and the striped bass are drawn to those schools.
Flathead catfish are present throughout the lake but are more common in the Agua Fria River arm and up Castle Creek River arm. Look for spots where the water is murkier with vegetation or rocky covering nearby. Fishing for catfish should be great this winter. Try using catfish baits like chicken livers for smaller catfish. To catch a trophy size, try using live gizzard shad, sunfish or carp collected on site.
Lower Salt River – Rating:
The Lower Salt River flow and water temperatures are largely controlled by the release of water from Saguaro Lake at Stewart Mountain Dam, and from Bartlett Lake via the Verde River. During the winter and much of spring, releases from Saguaro Lake are slowed to a trickle, creating more intermittent pools and shallow water along the stretch of river upstream of Phon D. Sutton recreation site where the Verde River comes in. See the current river flows.
Access to the river is mostly through Tonto National Forest Recreation Sites where a Tonto Pass is needed to park. In order from Saguaro Lake downstream to Power Road, these sites are: Water Users, Blue Point Bridge, Coons Bluff, Phon D Sutton and Granite Reef Dam recreation sites.
Winter trout stockings began the week of October 11. Rainbow Trout will be stocked into the Salt River twice a month through March. Check out the winter stocking schedule! Trout stockings usually occur twice a month through March, making trout fishing in the desert a worthwhile endeavor. Try free-lining an earthworm through moving water, or dropping in some PowerBait in the deeper pools. This is also a great opportunity to try your hand at fly fishing, and a size 8 wooly bugger will catch just about anything that swims.
Bass can be found throughout the river, but during the period of low flows are generally stacked in the deeper holes. The Granite Reef Dam recreation area is a popular spot for kayak bass fishermen, and because it is below where the Verde River comes in, water levels stay more consistent throughout the year. Try using square bill crankbaits and spinnerbaits when the fish are more active and slowing it down with a dropshot rig when nothing else seems to be working.
The Lower Salt River has a variety of other species to offer that can be caught on rod and reel including carp, catfish, yellow bass, and native desert and Sonoran suckers. These species are rarely targeted along the river but can be just as much fun to catch.
*As a guideline, trout are primarily stocked at Phon D Sutton and Granite Reef recreation sites during the winter, and Water Users and Blue Point Bridge during the summer.
Roosevelt Lake – Rating:
Lake temperatures are in the mid 50s. Water levels should remain steady as SRP is pulling water mostly from the Verde system. The water level is currently at 67% full. Hopefully, we will see some late winter precipitation and snowpack and the water levels will remain stable or rise for the coming year. Current predictions are calling for a dry winter. If there is minimal snowpack expect the water levels to slowly decrease over the coming year. See the current lake elevation. Fish should have plenty of habitat with a lot of the shoreline shrubs and trees submerged, as well as all the fish habitat improvement sites. Check out the fish habitat site locations!
Fish tend to be most active during the 90-minute windows surrounding the sun and moon rise and fall. When the moon is at full or new moon stage, the effect is stronger. There are many apps that you can use that display this information for you. As fishermen know, severe weather changes have an impact on the way fish feed. If a cold front is approaching the fish tend to move deeper into the water and lay low. Barometric pressure is a good indicator. If the pressure changes quickly the fish tend to be less likely to show interest in your bait. If the pressure change is gradual the fish will respond favorably.
Largemouth bass are present in all sizes and fishing for them is expected to be great throughout the winter. During the winter fish become less active, their response is usually slower, and they tend to move to deeper water, though you can still find fish in the shallows year round. Try drop shot and jigging with Kastmasters and spoons. When in doubt throw a live worm on the bottom and see what bites!
We anticipate the crappie fishing to continue to be good this winter. Try heading towards the Salt River arm and fishing around the submerged trees or around the newly placed habitat. Fishing for channel catfish and flathead catfish should be excellent throughout the winter. The best place to fish for trophy-size flathead is the Salt River arm up the channel.
Saguaro Lake – Rating:
Lake temperatures are generally in the 50s and 60 throughout this period. Water levels should be relatively stable with minimal fluctuation. See the current lake elevation. Trout stockings began the week of October 25 at Saguaro Lake and rainbow trout will be stocked again in January and February. Check out the winter stocking schedule!
Fish tend to be most active during the 90-minute windows surrounding the sun and moon rise and fall. When the moon is at full or new moon stage the effect is stronger. There are many apps that you can use that display this information for you. As fishermen know, severe weather changes have an impact on the way fish feed. If a cold front is approaching the fish tend to move deeper into the water and lay low. Barometric pressure is a good indicator. If pressure changes quickly the fish tend to be less likely to show interest in your bait. If the pressure change is gradual the fish will respond favorably.
Largemouth bass are present in all sizes and fishing for them is expected to be good throughout the winter. During the winter, fish become less active, their response is usually slower, and they tend to move to deeper water, though you can still find fish in the shallows year round. Try drop shot and jigging with Kastmasters and spoons. The Department is wrapping up a habitat enhancement project at the lake this winter installing Georgia Cubes at multiple sites around the lake. The Department will also be doing a Christmas tree project this January at Saguaro, check out our volunteer page to come help out.
Yellow bass are abundant throughout the lake and fishing should be great. This lake has the ability to leave that record yellow bass in the dust. Try using jigs, spoons, spinners, small crankbaits, minnows and worms. Schools of yellow bass look for groups of shad, so if the bite slows, don’t be too impatient to move off a good point you’ve located. Use sonar from a boat to locate shad groups more precisely — yellow bass are not far behind. They may be below or to the side of schools. Pitch your lure adjacent to or drop it through the school, allowing it to settle to the bottom. Many times bass take the lure on the way down and you won’t feel a bite until you reel in and tighten your line.
If you crave catfish, set your line near the bottom and use worms, minnows and chicken livers as bait. Try fishing for catfish where water flows into the lake from a side canyon, especially if the side canyon waters flow into a deep hole.
For shore anglers, try fishing along the docks and shore near the second ramp. You also can follow a trail beyond the docks that winds along a cliff from which you can fish. Butcher Jones Recreation Area is another shore-access fishing site that has a trail you can fish along as well as a side cove along the cliffs
Tempe Town Lake* Rating:
(Community Fishing Program water)
Fishing at Tempe Town Lake is likely to be fair. Unfortunately, the Department is no longer stocking trout into Tempe Town Lake. If you are looking to fish for rainbow trout, check out the lower Salt River or nearby community waters such as Eveylyn Hallman, Papago, or Kiwanis.
Some largemouth bass can be caught dragging plastic worms slowly along the ledges, using drop-shot method, but bass fishing tends to be slow during the colder months. A good spot for bass is under and around the Highway 202 overpass on the east side of the lake near the Indian Bend Wash. Fishing with live minnows under a slip bobber is an effective way to catch yellow bass, crappie, largemouth bass, and catfish.
A two-fish, 13-inch minimum length regulation for largemouth bass is in effect. There are plenty of bluegill and yellow bass: try using mealworms and nightcrawlers. Fishing for carp can be excellent: use dough bait or corn. Try fishing in the shaded areas under bridges.
Boating anglers beware: power boats are restricted to single electric motors and operators must have a City of Tempe annual boating permit. Proper floatation devices are required on board. The boat ramp is located on the north side of the lake near the marina. All questions regarding boating information can be answered by the Town Lake Operations Center (480) 350-8625.
*Community fishing lakes
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