Bartlett Lake fishing report.........

[AZRangerboy]

I went to Bartlett Lake for the first time about a week ago and had a great time! Pretty cool to go to a new lake that you have never seen and try to break it down. Just went for a day of fun fishing but I happen to pick a cold windy day. Nevertheless, I caught several bass on reaction baits as I covered the lakes shorelines from one end to the other. Bartlett Lake is located here in Arizona in the Tonto National Forest. In a town called Rio Verde where boaters enjoy camping, fishing, boating, and other recreational activities. There are a few launch ramps around the lake and a nice marina where boaters can moor and rent boats while enjoying some of the facilities on the docks.

As I drove my boat up the lake for the first time, I noticed campers and trailers along the shoreline where people drove down to the water edge to enjoy. The lake level looks like it’s down about 15-20 feet which gave me an opportunity to see structure that would normally be submerdged underwater like big boulders, small reefs along certain areas, steep bluffs walls with trees, and flats that had a brush line going along the edges. The lake had good water color due to the wind and low water level which helped the bite. I started with white and chartreuse spinnerbaits around the tree line along the edge of flats and caught as few smaller fish suspended. Then proceeded to go down the rocky shorelines with a 2.5 square bill crankbait focusing on windy secondary points. As the sun got overhead, I caught several more bass right down the middle of steep cuts with a dropshot using good ol’ morning dawn with a chartreuse tail which is a local favorite. That didn’t last too long because the wind really started to pick up which made boat positioning more difficult. So I decided to pick up my favorite Mc Spin tail spinner and fire it down the steeper bluff walls fishing it very aggressively. I caught several bass and a few crappie using this method but was able to get a lot of bites and covered lots of water at the same time. Seeing fish suspended on the graph and being able to drop the tail spin right over them is cool. They would come up off the bottom and slam it on the way down.

Most of the fish at Bartlett Lake run between 1-2lbs but are very plentiful. Most of the local tournament are won with 11-12lbs but there are some bigger fish caught from time to time. The biggest flat head catfish in the State of Arizona believe or not are caught out of Bartlett Lake. Including the record flat head caught by “Flat Head ED” last year weighing in at 76.52lbs. We have a few anglers that really target these giant catfish using live bluegill and small baby carp. Can’t wait to hook into one of those giants accidently but not sure how I would get that puppy in the boat. HAHA……. Hope when you guys are in the Phoenix area and are looking to check out a good lake that you will consider giving Bartlett Lake a try like I did. Hope this post helps and good fishin!

Joe Uribe Jr.

[VinnieTheFish]

Nice Report Joe. Thanks for sharing.

How do you fish the McSpins? I've never had much luck with them and would like to know more. Any pics of what was working or your gear setup? Probably would work great at Pleasant for the stripers right about now too.

[AZRangerboy]

Sorry for the delay and the Mc Spin is a very good bait this time of year. Because of the falling water levels in the late fall to early winter, bass tend to suspend a lot and are in many different water columns. The Mc Spin comes in two sizes like 1/2oz and 3/4oz with a many different colors available. I tend to use the chartruese shad and plain silver with flake patterns. I use a medium action Performance Tackle Custom rod in 7'2" length with a Daiwa Tatula 6.3 gear ratio reel. I like using braid like the Sunline SX series in 20-30lb with a FC Sniper floro leader in 10-12lb test. The braid enables me to feel the blade spinning no matter what depth of water I fish it and that is key with this bait. A lot of bites are going to be on the fall as the bait desends toward the bottom so the the braid allows you to feel the tick or just the blade stop thumping. I usually pump the bait off the bottom using the reel handle and lifting of the rod allowing the bait to move through the water in long strides. You can cast the bait up to a steep wall and stair step in down until you reach the peak of it or cast over points and flats. This bait can be used over most parts of the lake and can be a great locator. Swimming down creek channels work well this time of year as the bait fish hold there and suspend over deep trees. My favorite treble hook to use on this bait is a Mustad SureSet Hook in red or black in size #6. The long shank should always be faced downward and this hook has really increased my hook up and land ratio. You can fish this bait slow if the bite is tougher but I really like to fish it fast like a crankbait at times. Hope this helps and definitely give it a try. Good Fishin!