There is a new moon Aug. 2, making this a superb time to fish at night using submersible lights. Top pick is Lake Pleasant for stripers using anchovies. Fish at night using little or no weight. Cut your bait into thirds, but cut your chum into quarters. Chum liberally. Add corn for a little extra fish excitement (it will also attract sunfish, carp and catfish). The more fish activity you can generate, the better -- it's like a dinner "gong" going off under water that attracts predatory fish.
School’s about to be back in session – time for a final fishing excursion.
Sporadic rain is predicted for high country areas this weekend, and desert regions don’t look like they’ll get some much-needed saturation until early next week. Hit the high country and catch trout just before a storm creeps through. Here's some good bets:
Top-5 AZ weekend fishing spots
- Big Lake. Cutthroats have been biting on and off, and there are plenty excellent campground amenities. You’ll want a boat because trout are deep. It was just stocked this week with rainbow trout.
- Lake Powell. Looking to really get away? Powell, spanning southern Utah and northern Arizona, has around 1,700 miles of shoreline. An angler can catch striped bass, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and walleye. As Wayne Gustaveson pointed out, go north for top-water bites.
- Woods Canyon Lake. A family fishing mecca. Woods has been stocked with tiger trout. For a novice angler – or for a kid's first fish – try putting a small piece of a worm on a small hook (No. 12 or smaller) and dangle it in shallow water between rocks.
- Dogtown Reservoir near Williams. Fishing is still good at Dogtown and there are plenty of shaded areas on the north side of the lake.
- Lake Mead. Fish at night. Mead (at top) has on “en fuego” for striper fishing. See some striper fishing tips for boils. Anglers also have been catching some healthy bass early in the morning.
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