Fishing

Fishing Forecast

Southeast AZ | North Central AZ

Fishing Rating: Hot Good Fair Poor

Southeast Arizona

Arivaca Lake – Rating: 

As the fishing enters into the fall time anglers can expect water temperatures to begin to cool and fish to become more active throughout the day.  While early mornings and late evenings are still going to be the most productive times, anglers should find fish active throughout the day.

Continue to focus on the top 10-12 feet of water until the lake turns over approximately in October. After that, the entire lake from top to bottom may be holding fish. Arivaca can be tough to fish if you’re not accustomed to the aquatic vegetation that grows thick at this lake.  Plastics continue to be a good choice this time of year. Whatever bait you choose make sure it’s weedless to combat the thick aquatic vegetation. Bass anglers that focus their search along the edges of the weedline and in the various “holes” in the thick vegetation tend to be the most successful. This is an excellent lake to introduce youth to fishing as the sunfish are high in numbers and size (over a pound). A mealworm or nightcrawler on nearly any shoreline will provide fast action.

Cluff Ranch Ponds – Rating: 

Trout stockings will begin in November.  Various baits and lures will catch trout, such as: PowerBait, salmon eggs, nightcrawlers, mealworms, and corn. Lures proven to work include: small spinners (size 0-1), spoons and even small jigs tipped with various plastics imitating worms, minnows or creatures. A good rule of thumb for all fish is having a variety of baits/lures in different sizes and colors, placing it in different depths and retrieving it a different speeds. Continue to change until you find a combination that works. Fishing early in the morning or late in the evening generally will lead to more success.

Anglers searching for warm water species should still find plenty of action as temperatures cool.   Largemouth bass can be caught using nightcrawlers or several types of artificial baits and methods. Using lures is a good way to cover a lot of water in a short time, allowing you to locate which depths and locations are holding fish. Try crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits and jigs/hooks tipped with various plastics and methods like drop shot, Carolina or Texas rigs. Colors and lure shapes that look similar to a sunfish may work as that’s what the bass feed on.

Sunfish can be caught using pieces of nightcrawler, mealworms or small plastics. If you’re using a bobber, remember to only use one large enough to float your weight and hook. Often too large of bobbers are used and fish feel the resistance of the large bobber and steal your bait without you ever knowing.

Dankworth Pond – Rating:

Rainbow trout stocking will begin in November. Various baits and lures will catch trout, such as: PowerBait, salmon eggs, nightcrawlers, mealworms, and corn. Lures proven to work include: small spinners (size 0-1), spoons and even small jigs tipped with various plastics imitating worms, minnows or creatures. A good rule of thumb for all fish is having a variety of baits/lures in different sizes and colors, placing it in different depths and retrieving it at different speeds. Continue to change until you find a combination that works.

Bluegill can be caught using pieces of nightcrawler, mealworms or small plastics. If you’re using a bobber, remember to only use one large enough to float your weight and hook. Often too large of bobbers are used and fish feel the resistance of the large bobber and steal your bait without you ever knowing.

A survey last May caught a few very nice size Largemouth Bass up to 19 inches and 5 pounds. Try crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits and jigs/hooks tipped with various plastics and methods like drop shot, Carolina or Texas rigs. Colors and lure shapes that look similar to a sunfish may work since that’s what the bass feed on.

Frye Mesa Reservoir – Rating: 

Frye Mesa Reservoir presents a unique opportunity to catch a native Gila trout. The reservoir receives retired broodstock from Mora National Fish Hatchery as well as our Page Springs state hatchery. More than 200 retired broodstock were stocked in early June and should still be available. Those fish were very large and some were up to 17 inches in length! This is one of the very few places in Arizona to catch this rare species. Gila trout can be caught with similar methods used for rainbow trout. Fly fishing with nymphs or wet/dry flies is productive. If using a spin casting reel, small spoons and spinners as well as PowerBait or worms can work. The road to the reservoir is rough and a higher clearance all-wheel drive vehicle is recommended.

Parker Canyon Lake – Rating: 

As the fishing enters into the fall anglers can expect water temperatures to begin to cool but the action can still be hot.  Focus on the top 15 – 20 feet of water until the lake turns over approximately in October. After that, the entire lake from top to bottom may be holding fish.

Trout stockings will begin in late October or early November. The lake will continue to receive extra trout stockings due to Peña Blanca not being stocked. Various baits and lures will catch trout, such as: PowerBait, salmon eggs, night crawlers, mealworms, and corn. Lures proven to work include: small spinners (size 0-1), spoons and even small jigs tipped with various plastics imitating worms, minnows or creatures. Look for schools of trout cruising just under the surface in the bays. A good rule of thumb for all fish is having a variety of baits/lures in different sizes and colors, placing it in different depths and retrieving it at different speeds. Continue to change until you find a combination that works.

Sunfish will continue to be active much of September but expect that fishing will slow as cooler water temperatures drive fish into deeper water.  Live worms and meal worms fished with light tackle are an angler’s best option. Vary the depth you fish at until you find where the fish are hanging out.

Channel catfish are still active and actively feeding even though water temperature is cooling off. Anglers using prepared catfishing baits, chicken livers and frozen shrimp should find success off the edge of the weedline. Night fishing is the absolute best time to catch channel catfish. The standard method is to fish on the bottom using bait. Try using a “slip” sinker instead of one fixed to the line. The “slip” sinker functions like a fixed weight except the line is able to pass through the weight with little resistance, which should equal better success at hooking the fish. To use this method, start with the slip sinker, attach a barrel swivel and then a short 1-2’ leader to a hook.

Fall can be an excellent time to land very big largemouth bass that are hungry in preparation for the upcoming winter. Target the edge of weedlines with crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits and jigs/hooks tipped with various plastics and methods like drop shot, Carolina or Texas rigs. Colors and lure shapes that look similar to a sunfish may work since that’s what the bass feed on.

See the file for the remainder of the lakes in the Southeast Arizona region:

Patagonia
Pena Blanca
Riggs Flat
Roper
Rose Canyon

North Central Arizona

Editor Chuck Benedict 928 214-1244

Ashurst Lake – Rating: 

Trout fishing on Ashurst Lake will begin to pick up as the weather cools.  October and November are usually great times to trout fish in the Flagstaff/Williams area.  Expect to catch large holdover trout.

Anglers can catch nice size holdover rainbow trout on lures such as Rooster Tails, Joe’s Flies and small spoons. Fly anglers should be successful using woolly buggers and bead-head prince nymphs. Folks using flies and lures might also catch a nice brown trout.

For folks using bait, I would try fishing worms under a bobber until the water temperatures start to warm up. PowerBait fished on the bottom should also work.  Garlic PowerBait seems to out-fish unscented bait

Cataract Lake – Rating:

We recently sampled Cataract Lake and found some really nice sized bluegill, largemouth bass and channel catfish in the lake.  We also caught a 4-pound brown trout.

City Reservoir – Rating:

City is being stocked with trout and catfish. Fishing will be good using standard trout methods.

Dead Horse Lagoons – Rating: 

Channel Catfish were stocked in August and will be stocked again toward the end of September.  They can be easily caught using shrimp, nightcrawlers, hot dog or anchovies. Largemouth Bass action should be fair to good using plastic worms and jigs. Small bluegill can also be easily caught.  While they are small, this is a great place to take your kids fishing if you just want them to catch something.   Trout stocking will resume in November.  Look for the fishing to really pick up following any of the stockings.

There is an entrance fee at Dead Horse Ranch State Park which is currently $7 per vehicle (1-4 adults) and $3 for an individual (walk in/bicycle) and the hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Seasonal hours may apply and will be posted at the entrance.

See the pdf file for the remainder of the lakes in the North Central Arizona region:

Dogtown
Fain
Frances Short
Goldwater
JD dam
Kaibab
Kinnikinick
Long lakes
Lower Lake Mary
Lynx
Mingus
Oak Creek
Perkins
Santa Fe
Upper Lake Mary
Verde River
Watson
Whitehorse
Willow