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Arizona Lake Fishing Report

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Tuesday, August 20th, 2024

  • Maricopa County
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      Report: by VinnieTheFish » Tue Aug 20, 2024 10:42 am

      Haven't posted on WB for a while but figured I'd share a useful report. Fished first light till 8:30am this morning with my buddy Jeff Cooper at Lake Pleasant. Water temps were 89 degrees and weather is starting to turn the corner on summer, but was still pretty humid this morning. We were targeting big fish throwing jumbo spoons on salt water gear (25lb Pline CXX, 8' Phenix Abyss PSX-807 and a Daiwa Lexa 500). The Nichols Bass Mafia Larry Spoon 2.5oz in white was the ticket this morning for us. Caught a 8lb 3oz and a 6lb 1oz fishing flooded timber in 40-50 ft of water around the main lake. The fish were targeting gizzard shad and even the small stripers would attack the jump spoons on the way down. Both fish released alive but the low oxygen in the lake and falling water levels has the fish really lethargic this time of year. Very little surface activity but most of the fish were cruising in 30-50 ft of water where they felt comfortable.

Monday, February 26th, 2024

  • Yuma County
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      Report: At Alamo Lake (report courtesy of Sportsman's Warehouse), Senkos, Wacky and Texas rigged are always a favorite. Any craw-shaped plastic will do well here as well, either Texas-rigged or on a jig. Some better ones are the Strike King Rage Bug and the Googan Bandito Bug. Fish deeper waters where available. Grubs at about 20-40 feet deep should do well. For catfish, you can use any mixture of stink bait, chicken liver, or hot dogs to catch them. Using live blue gills as bait will also work to catch bigger flatheads. For crappie, crappie jigs and tubes are the way to go. Crappie Dapper Plastics have been a great soft plastic bait to use. Pay close attention to water clarity and be sure to check in on weather and wind reports.

  • Maricopa County
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      Report: At Bartlett Lake (report courtesy of Sportsman's Warehouse), the crankbait bite is slow, but dropshot and Texas rigs are producing fish. The best bite seems to be later in the day. Remember, bass can be caught around boulders and in brush lines on Senkos and spinnerbaits. The lake is 49% full. Be careful when launching. Crappie is just starting, try around the Yellow Cliffs with 1/16-ounce jigs and 2-inch Kalins. Slow trolling can work well. Catfish are becoming active. In the days and weeks to come they will be lurking the shallows in search food. For channel cats, use live worms, stink baits and chicken livers. For flatheads, load up with big line 20-pound plus, fish 5-15 feet deep with live worms, live bluegill of small carp. Rig up a Carolina rig with 1-ounce egg sinker to help keep your bait on the bottom. Fish from dusk to dawn.

Friday, January 19th, 2024

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      Report: At Lyman Lake (Jan. 19 report courtesy of Park Ranger Donna Hartell), fishing has slowed down. Some anglers are still experiencing success with Lyman’s walleye and channel catfish. Most of the walleye are being caught near the dam in 25 feet of water on chatterbaits and lipless crank baits fished near underwater structure. The channel catfish are biting best on nightcrawlers or anchovies fished on a slip sinker rig

Thursday, February 2nd, 2023

  • Maricopa County
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      Report: At Bartlett Lake, angler Gary S. reported some slow fishing the other day due to the cold temperatures. Had some success on 5150 worms, which should produce as the weather warms. Fish were in about 12-15 feet of water. Drop shot worked well. See Gary's' videos on his Youtube channel.

      Along the lower Salt River, AZ Fly Shop has a good video fishing report from Jan. 21. Visit https://www.azflyshop.com/videos/?v=e748b7c8fd06.

      Jeffrey Lewis has a video on carp fishing in the Valley canals. He recently caught a 16-pound carp. Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luLflYanKHY.

  • Maricopa County
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      Report: At Lake Pleasant (report courtesy of Sportsman's Warehouse), water temperatures are around 51 degrees. The main body of the lake reports have been very good for bass and crappie. Stripers are busting shad. Bass are shallow, currently chasing baitfish and poppers. Try some baitfish imitations on intermediate line. The catfish bite has also continued to remain strong as well, hitting on night crawlers and stink baits. If you're looking to do more active fishing then Senkos, try drop shots and skirted jigs for the bass. As for the crappie, the bite has started to pick up with anglers having the best success on 2-inch grubs bounced off the bottom.

  • Kane County
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      Report: Lake Powell - Water levels are low. Only one ramp on the lake is open. The open ramp is the Legacy Stateline Auxiliary Ramp. Water Temperature: 44 F (Wahweap Bay). Lake elevation: 3,523.45 feet on 2/1/23. No new reports likely until Spring 2023.

  • Stevens County
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      Report: At Roosevelt Lake (report courtesy of Sportsman's Warehouse), water temperatures are around 50 degrees. Try crankbaits early, Buzz Baits, Drop Shots, 4-inch Texas Rigged Worms, and Texas Rigged Brush Hogs for bass. Crappie fishing can be good around brush in 5-10 feet of water. Use minnows or 1/16 oz. jigs with 2" Kalins BBC or John Deer Green around trees.

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2022

  • Yuma County
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      Report: At Alamo Lake (report courtesy of Sportsman’s Warehouse), the morning bass bite has been great, and anglers are hooking into some plus size fish. Target shallow structure with Senkos and spinnerbaits. For crappie, the larger fish have been caught at night using light bars off the side of the boat. Catfish are being caught from shore using night crawlers.

  • Maricopa County
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      Report: At Bartlett Lake, angler Gary S. was catching bass drop shotting a 5150 pink worm. Most were caught at 18-19 feet deep, a couple around 10 feet, nothing shallow. Water temp was 65 degrees. No really big fish, but a lot of fun.

  • Kane County
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      Report: At Lake Pleasant (report courtesy of Sportsman’s Warehouse), fishing has been rated as good. The water level is dropping. Water surface level was at 1,662 feet this week (58.8% of max), and water temperature was 63 degrees. Fishing for white bass and stripers is fair as they adjust to the lowered water levels. Some reports of success with largemouth bass. Best baits seem to be topwater, drop-shot jigs, Texas-rigged worms, Senkos, and swimbaits.

  • Stevens County
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      Report: At Roosevelt Lake (report courtesy of Sportsman’s Warehouse), fishing is rated as good. Anglers are having luck with crankbaits early, buzz baits, Whopper Stoppers, drop shots, 4-Inch Texas-rigged Worms, and Texas-rigged brushhogs for bass. Crappie fishing can be good around brush in 5-10 feet of water. Use minnows or 1/16-ounce jigs with 2" Kalins BBC or John Deer Green around trees to load up with crappie.

      Also at Roosevelt Lake, angler Swik M. reported, "Fished Rosie one day last week and ended up with eight fish, including a nice crappie that came on a flicker shad. The bass were caught mostly on zombie & sangria sunset 5150' fished super slow on drop shot at a depth of 15 feet.

Saturday, February 8th, 2020

    • By

      Water Temp: 50 - 56

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Feb 8,2020 Phoenix Bass Masters Tournament Fishing Report @ Martinez

      Sat Feb 8th I fished the Phoenix Bass Masters tournament on Martinez Lake with Scott Brown. We managed to weigh in 4 fish for 10.12lbs, Big Fish 2.92lbs and a 0.45lb goon fish (striper). We took 1st place in the tournament, missed big fish by 0.08lbs and the goon fish pot by 0.44lbs. We caught our fish on delta craw rat-l-trap style bait and drop shot desert craw colored roboworm fishing deeper grass flats that had some healthy color to them in 8’-12’ of water near spawning areas. In true Mike Iaconelli fashion Scott managed to catch our winning fish with 10 min left in the tournament on Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits senko inside fishers landing no wake zone. I made him do his best Iaconelli impression yelling “Never Give Up” to the crowd of boats also hoping for a last minute miracle.

      Water temps were 50-56 degrees and much of the grass has died off due to the unusually cold winter we’ve had this year in Arizona. Most of the club reported excellent fishing on Friday during pre-fish with several anglers posting some big fish photos. Sat however was a bit tougher as many of the productive areas that had stained water Fri were gin clear Sat and the wind picked up on Sat around 10am. The bite was tough for most of the club and there was also added boat pressure from another 30+ boat tournament also fishing out of Fishers Landing.

      Phoenix Bass Masters next club meeting will be held at Sportsman's Warehouse on Mon March 9 @ 5:30PM in the upstairs conf room. The next club tournament will be held on Canyon Lake on Sat March 14. New members are welcome to join us whom are interested in fishing a shared weight team tournament format with a friendly relaxed atmosphere and dedicated to openly sharing info with all club members.

      “A rising tide raises all boats”

      Here’s a pic of Scott’s big fish during prefish caught on a jig. Tournament photos and video will be posted shortly to the Phoenix Bass Masters Instagram and Facebook page.

      https://www.phoenixbassmasters.com/
      https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixBassmasters

      Tips: Jigs, rat-l-trap style cranks in red craw/delta craw and dropshot Desert Craw 6" roboworms on outside weed lines near spawning flats 8'-12' of water.

Friday, March 22nd, 2019

  • Yuma County
    • By

      Report: From AZGFD At Alamo Lake, there has been some good prespawn action, although water temperatures are still around 61 degrees and the water is very stained. The crappie bite is slow but should pick up within a few weeks. . Many bass at Lake Havasu reportedly are still in pre-spawn as well.
      Lake level: 1,121.54 feet

      Water temperature: 61 degrees

      Mark Knapp from Alamo Lake State Park said largemouth bass are trying to pre-spawn, and anglers can throw white crankbaits, spinnerbaits, or flip Senkos.

      He said crappie fishing has been poor — some anglers have caught a few on the north side of the lake by the buoy line — and most of them are suspended in 30 feet of water.

      He added the lake is “a chocolate milkshake” and full of debris. “Be prepared,” he said, “because you can tear your whole lower unit.”

      He said in a few weeks the fishing action should be incredible.

      Editor’s note: One angler reported that some largemouth bass are in full spawn (on beds), but beds are hidden due to limited water clarity.

Wednesday, November 7th, 2018

  • Yuma County
    • By

      Report: From AZGFD
      Alamo Lake
      Mark Knapp of Alamo Lake State Park reported the lake is at 1,184 feet with releases of 10 cfs. Cholla Ramp is still open with about 4 feet of usable water over asphault. The main ramp has been high and dry all summer. The dirt ramp is still usable. Crappie fishing is fair to good and some anglers have been averaging 5-10 crappie a day using Roadrunners and minnows slow-trolling 15 feet deep in 30 feet of water. There’s a bit of a night bite by the dam but crappie will be moving up soon.

  • Montgomery County
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      Report: From AZGFD
      Roosevelt and Apache lakes
      Jim Goughnour of Rim Country Custom Rods reported, “Crappie anglers are reporting the best fishing in the past several years on Roosevelt and Apache lakes. Limits of crappie are being caught in just a few hours of fishing in the morning. Large crappie schools can be found in 25-30 foot depths and always in brush, trees or the artificial habitat structures deployed by the AZGFD. A vertical fishing technique is the most popular technique. November is traditionally considered one of the best months for crappie fishing due to the stable weather pattern.”

  • Maricopa County
    • By

      Report: AZGF
      BY NICK WALTER · NOVEMBER 7, 2018

      Here’s a quick update on the AZ crappie scene:

      Bartlett Lake
      The water temperature has dropped from 88 to 69 during the past 3 weeks. Better reports have been coming in from Bartlett that indicate crappie have been moving from deep water to about 10 feet. Some anglers were having success with small crankbaits by the power lines by the dam. Try small jigs or live minnows for crappie in 10 to 20 feet of water during the day. Most crappie have been in the 8- to 10-inch range but some anglers reportedly were catching crappie up to 2 pounds.

  • Stevens County
    • By

      Report: From AZGFD
      Roosevelt and Apache lakes
      Jim Goughnour of Rim Country Custom Rods reported, “Crappie anglers are reporting the best fishing in the past several years on Roosevelt and Apache lakes. Limits of crappie are being caught in just a few hours of fishing in the morning. Large crappie schools can be found in 25-30 foot depths and always in brush, trees or the artificial habitat structures deployed by the AZGFD. A vertical fishing technique is the most popular technique. November is traditionally considered one of the best months for crappie fishing due to the stable weather pattern.”

Friday, January 15th, 2016

  • San Juan County
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      Report: From AZGFD
      CANYON LAKE – Lake level is 1,656 feet (93-percent full.) Lake level has dropped 3 feet during the past week. Bass fishing is fair, although there have been reports of some monster largemouth bass being caught.

      Wintertime spoon-fishing also can be a good option. See a video of how a pair of fishing experts from Bass Pro Shops, Matt Shura and Gary Senft, went after bass during a December trip with plastics worms and Rapala Jigging Wraps (variation of a spoon).

      Don’t be afraid to throw a rainbow trout-imitation swimbait for some monster bass (trout were stocked the first week of December.)

      Shore fishing for channel catfish and carp can also be viable both day and night right now.

      AZGFD will classify Canyon Lake as an AIS-affected water under AIS Directors Orders #2. Read more.

      Finally, the fishing pier at the Boulders remains closed for repairs. The area is open for drivers/shoreline fishing.

  • Stevens County
    • By

      Report: From AZGFD
      Jan. 15 report from Jim Goughnour of Rim Country Custom Rods:

      AZGFD announced the results of the most recent fish survey done on Roosevelt Lake. The survey data clearly shows a significant increase in the 4- to 10-inch bass in the lake. The size of these fish are proportional to the Florida-strain Bass that were placed into the Bubbling Ponds Hatchery last spring at the same time Roosevelt Lake was stocked. This is the first survey since the bass were released, but if these findings continue, Roosevelt Lake may be on the road to recovery and would be excellent news for bass anglers.

      More good news is that large amounts of water continue to flow into Roosevelt Lake. Both the Tonto Creek and Salt River are flowing at above normal rates and the lake level increased another percent and currently stands at 45-percent full. The water temperate is right at the 50 degree mark which slows fish metabolism and can make for some slow days of fishing. During the winter a slow technique for jigs and worms is the best approach. If you find schools of suspended bass, a new bait has been brought to my attention. It's made by Rapala and it's called a Jigging Rap. It's an alternative to a typical Kastmaster or similar spoon for wintertime fishing.