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Arizona Lake Fishing Report

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Friday, August 21st, 2015

  • Maricopa County
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      Report: From AZGFD
      The nighttime striper bite at Lake Pleasant still is one of the best bets going. Take anchovies, set out a high-quality submersible light, drop some ‘chovies deep (80-plus feet), and wait for the “zing.” We're at the tail end of the new moon phase (quarter moon Aug. 22) and using submersible lights at night will still be effective

  • Stevens County
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      Report: From AZGFD

      Bassin’ is also "average to good" at Roosevelt Lake. Feeding patterns have included top-water or subsurface reaction bites, as well as bass swimming in schools called “wolf-packs.”

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      Report: From AZGFD
      Looking for bass of the largemouth variety? Try Saguaro Lake. Night fishing has been excellent, and in the morning, bass are chasing bait. Try top-water lures and swimbaits in the mornings. As the morning progresses, throw dropshot-rigged Roboworms (morning dawn with a chartreuse tip and red crawler are good colors). Anglers can target humps, points, boulders, reef signs and grass bottoms. Of course, locate the food source (shad, for example) and you’ve found the fish.

Saturday, August 15th, 2015

  • Maricopa County
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      Report: Lake Pleasant
      Jim N.: Fishing at Lake Pleasant is great, while fishing the mouth of Humbug cove at 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. we boated top-water white bass, striped bass, largemouth to 2 pounds -- considering the water temp of 83 degrees and that species like whites and stripes can lose weight in such temps makes them feed heavily but for shorter periods making them harder to find for most anglers.


      We followed the stripers out of the cove, saw largemouth in the water by rock piles where stripers and whites were. Stripers went deep, bass stayed shallow by islands west side of Humbug/main bay. We used the Keitech swim minnow with the painted minnowhead. We boated bass on drop-shot with my son getting a nice channel too.


      My son and I can hardly wait for the cooler fall temps and dangerous storm season to pass.

    • By

      Report: From AZGFD
      Saguaro Lake
      Gene M.: My son and I fished Saguaro on Saturday Aug. 8 before sunrise. On my second cast I caught this 5-pounder and an hour later my son caught this 8-pounder. We both caught several 3.5-pound largemouth. We caught a total of seven largemouth all on frogs in the snags. It was a great morning of fishing with my son.

Friday, August 7th, 2015

  • Maricopa County
    • By

      Report: From AZGFD Release

      Lake Pleasant
      Rob C. of Goodyear: Some friends and I have gone night fishing for stripers the last three Fridays. We've had some pretty good luck each time catching a lot of fish in the 12-15-inch range, and some in the 20-23-inch range using anchovies under a light in the northern end of the lake. Bigger fish tend to be around 40-50 feet deep, but it’s hard to get down that far because the little runts keep intercepting the bait at about 30 feet. It takes a while to attract the shad, but once they move in the big fish aren't far behind. Last week was a 37-fish night. Looking forward to going out again this Friday!

Saturday, June 13th, 2015

    • By

      Report: Lake elevation is 1,525 feet (93-percent full). Largemouth bass fishing is good and some monsters are being landed recently – up to 10 pounds.

      Keep an eye out for surface boils -- it's top-water time. Get on the water at first light, or fishing at night.

      This is about to be a good time to load up on spawning bluegill.

      Saguaro is also a quality channel catfish lake. Try stink baits, hot dogs, chicken livers and the like. Also try chumming with corn.

      This is a good time to load up on spawning bluegill.

Thursday, June 11th, 2015

  • Maricopa County
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      Report: Jim N.: Fished the flats using different rigs to catch bass. Mojo and splitshot, Carolina-rigged Roboworms and lizards work well around points and reefs with boulder piles on main points. Tyler D. and I caught and released 20 largemouth bass with a 2.5-pounder being the best. Good fishing!

Tuesday, June 9th, 2015

  • Maricopa County
    • By

      Report: June 9 report from Derrick Franks:

      “Lake Pleasant fishing report by Striper Snatcher Guide Service. The lake is currently 89 percent full with a water temperature of 80 degrees. Every logistical component I monitor daily is in perfect alignment right now and will stay that way for a couple more weeks. I'm seeing several thousand striped bass and white bass in the areas I fish. When -- not where -- is the deciding factor of a successful catch.

      Focus on shade lines. Find a west bank in the evening that provides shade and you will see shad and striper fry everywhere. With that said, it is extremely important to recognize the size and color of the bait in the water. I am currently using a 2-inch bait to emulate striper fry and a 4-inch striped bass pattern Rat-L-Trap to emulate the striped bass fry. The white bass are back like I've never seen before.

      I'm seeing schools of just white bass in certain areas of the lake. Night fishing is also a productive way of catching striped bass right now. Just to be different, I am using a double rigged swimbait setup and catching two fish at a time all night. For more information on Lake Pleasant intelligence, please visit my website at www.stripersnatcher.com”

Saturday, June 6th, 2015

  • Stevens County
    • By

      Report: June 6 report from Jim Goughnour of Rim Country Custom Rods:

      Good morning, Rim Country anglers,

      Excellent fishing reports continue to come in from Roosevelt Lake. Recently, during a Tuesday night tournament, Frank Powell and Mike Elliot of Tonto Basin reported very aggressive top-water and jerk-bait action. Last week Don McDowell, a pro angler from Phoenix, and his clients reported an exceptional top-water bite on a buzz-bait. The most action was reported just after sunrise and just before sunset. These reports are typical of a post-spawn phase and the timing of the full moons during the February through June timeframe, have likely contributed to the great spring and early summer fishing we are experiencing.

      Keep in mind that when the top-water bite slows in shallow water, those fish will only move several yards into deeper water during the brightest times of the day. It is not necessary to leave an area to find new fish. Just move out into 15-25 foot depths and most likely you'll see more fish on your graph. During the midday hours, jigs, Senko worms, crawfish imitations and Roboworms were all reported successful.

      Crappie fishing reports are steady but sporadic at times. Curt Rambo, of Tonto Basin, reported days when 20 crappie are caught and other days when five are caught. Crappie are collecting into schools following the spawn and most anglers are fishing in 15-30 feet of water. Crappie schools prefer to be near cover such as a bush or structure such as a rock pile. If there is a ledge with deeper water nearby, that's a plus when fishing for crappie. A vertical fishing technique in clear calm water is the typical summer technique for crappie fishing. A small shad imitation bait in a pearl white color fished around the islands across from the dam, could produce some good results.

      Water continues to be drawn out of Roosevelt Lake for downstream use. The lake level is currently at 47 percent full. The recent rains throughout Rim Country, although not a huge amount, will mostly end up in Roosevelt Lake, so like they say: "every little bit helps." The water temperature in the lake continues to be in the mid-high 70s and the water clarity is clear for most of the lake.

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015

  • Maricopa County
    • By

      Report: Lake elevation is 1,776 feet, feet, 71 % full.

      Gary Senft, a Bass Pro at the Mesa Bass Pro Shops, fished the lake Wednesday, June 3, and said good numbers largemouth bass can be caught as deep as 35 feet. Like at many desert lakes, fishing at night might be the best option because of cooler air temperatures and no jet skiing activity. Good artificial bait options are dropshot-rigged Roboworms. At night, use darker colors. Texas or Carolina rigged Berkley 7-inch Powerworms with ribbon tails also are effective because they displace the water and trigger movement in the lateral lines of night-feeding bass.

      “Flathead” Ed Wilcoxson said flathead catfishing slowed at Bartlett recently with an algal bloom. From Rattlesnake Cove, SB Cove and up the river, fishing is fair, he said, for 15-18-pound flatheads.

  • Maricopa County
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      Report: June 3 report from Warren Risberg of Www.reeleminadventures.com:

      “Hello Anglers/Fisherman,

      It seems most of the fisherman only have weekends to tackle the lake! But if you can find time to hit it during the week by 6 p.m. to sunset you can find some very fun shad boils near "reef buoys." I have been finding the boils in shallow water 15 feet deep and toward the shoreline. Keep a look-out for bushes and points, which produce good ambush spots for the fish. Be patient and watch the water consistently between those times. Even when you land a fish, keep an eye on the water to see where the boils/shad are moving! White or pearl colored swim baits are my bait of choice, as well as the clear Zara Spook Jr.

      Right now the underwater green and white lights have been effective by attracting an abundance of fry, shad and baby stripers as bait fish. This is what I have been seeing on my lights within the past two weeks of consistent sunset/night fishing. Still able to catch large numbers of nice size striper bass and channel cats on cut bait frozen anchovies in around 50 feet of water. There is a plentiful supply of creatures in the shallows at night and as you know the fish are up there too eating those live baits!
      Good luck, anglers!”

      Lake levels are predicted to fall until August.

    • By

      Report: June 3 report from Warren Risberg of Www.reeleminadventures.com:

      “Hello Anglers/Fisherman,

      It seems most of the fisherman only have weekends to tackle the lake! But if you can find time to hit it during the week by 6 p.m. to sunset you can find some very fun shad boils near "reef buoys." I have been finding the boils in shallow water 15 feet deep and toward the shoreline. Keep a look-out for bushes and points, which produce good ambush spots for the fish. Be patient and watch the water consistently between those times. Even when you land a fish, keep an eye on the water to see where the boils/shad are moving! White or pearl colored swim baits are my bait of choice, as well as the clear Zara Spook Jr.

      Right now the underwater green and white lights have been effective by attracting an abundance of fry, shad and baby stripers as bait fish. This is what I have been seeing on my lights within the past two weeks of consistent sunset/night fishing. Still able to catch large numbers of nice size striper bass and channel cats on cut bait frozen anchovies in around 50 feet of water. There is a plentiful supply of creatures in the shallows at night and as you know the fish are up there too eating those live baits!

Saturday, May 30th, 2015

  • Maricopa County
    • By

      Report: The lake level has dropped five feet during the past week.

      Gary Senft, a Bass Pro at the Mesa Bass Pro Shops, said largemouth bass fishing is excellent. Water temperature on Monday morning was 73 degrees. He said anglers can catch some during the morning on crankbaits or spinnerbaits, but once the sun is up, bass will move into 10-15 feet of water into their comfort zone of about 65 degrees.

      Anglers should try a variety of techniques: dropshots, Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and with different colors of plastic worms.

      “Flathead” Ed Wilcoxson said flathead catfishing slowed at Bartlett recently with an algal bloom. From Rattlesnake Cove, SB Cove and up the river, fishing is fair, he said, for 15-18-pound flatheads.

  • Stevens County
    • By

      Report: May 30 report from Jim Goughnour of Rim Country Custom Rods:

      Good morning, Rim Country anglers,

      Now that the weather has stabilized, the fishing on Roosevelt Lake is back to a postspawn pattern. Recent reports reflect an excellent top water and shallow running crankbait bite. Rio Ricos, Sammys, Spooks and buzzbaits are successful top-water baits in the early morning and late afternoon. Crankbaits such as a Rapala SR5, Berkley minnows and Lucky Craft Pointers, which runs between 5 and 10 feet, will catch bass in a frenzy of feeding on shad. During the midday hours fishing was reported successful in 15-25 feet of water depth using Clifford Pirch Outdoors jigs, Senkos or Roboworms.

      Crappie fishing has also improved. Crappie are collecting into larger schools following the spawn. Most crappie anglers are fishing in 15 to 30 feet of water and always very close to cover or a rock structure. Vertical fishing using an ultralight power fishing rod and 4-pound test line are essential when fishing for crappie in clear, calm water. Any type of small shad imitation bait suspended in front of a school of crappie will attract some fast action.

      More water continues to be drawn out of Roosevelt Lake for downstream use. The lake level is currently at 48 percent full. We may now have to wait for summer monsoon rains or perhaps a late spring storm to bring more water into the lake. The water temperature is in the mid to high 70s, but rising as the ambient temperatures increase. The water clarity is clear for most of the lake.

Thursday, May 14th, 2015

  • Maricopa County
    • By

      Report: May 14 report from Jeremy Hoffman of the north Phoenix Sportsman's Warehouse: "Fishing is hot right now! Fish are being caught all over the lake on almost everything you can think of! The morning top-water bite is on for anglers throwing Ricos and Zara Puppies. Later in the day you can pick up fish on the old faithful dropshot rig with Roboworm colors such as oxblood lt., red flake, bold bluegill, and desert craw, just to name a few. Also, Zoom worms in watermelon candy will get the job done. Also, this is a great time to throw football jigs! One of my favorites is a 1/2-ounce football jighead with a 5-inch Gary Yamamoto Hula Grub in the 330 color (green pumpkin with purple/copper flakes). If you’re looking to throw crankbaits, try Rat-L-Traps and square bills in shad or craw colors."

Monday, October 13th, 2014

    • By

      Water Temp: 80

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Weather: fall
      Lake Level: full\Best Depths: Shallow
      Lots of Topwater in AM then deeper schools of fish in the afternoon
      Big Bass: Shallow10/10/2014 - largemouth - seven pounds
      yes
      Events: Fall fishing is at its best.
      Guide Information: The Arizona Fishing Guides (www.thearizonafishingguides.com)\Name & Number: Jon Griffith 480-772-8460

      Tips: Chase schools in am then slow down in afternoon

Sunday, September 21st, 2014

    • By

      Water Temp: 83°

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Weather: warm 100° mostly sunny
      Lake Level: 99% full\Best Depths: 10-15 ft
      The bass are staging in the grass on current swept points in the mornings and eves. Using Topwater and swim baits when the current is moving. After they pull current we are slowing down wit a drop shot rig and 6 inch robo worms in watermelon candy colors.
      Big Bass: 10-15 ft09/20/2014 - largemouth - 7 pounds
      yes
      Events: Fall fishing is just around the corner
      Guide Information: The Arizona Fishing Guides (www.thearizonafishingguides.com)\Name & Number: Jon Griffith 480-772-8460\Pricing Specials/Open Dates: call for scheduling

      Tips: Wait for current in mornings then slow down in afternoon

Sunday, March 23rd, 2014

  • Maricopa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 60 am 63 aftern

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: We fished Bartlett once again on Sun from 8am till 1PM as we had to be home by 2PM to be with the wife/kids. Working off the same pattern as the week before we fished primarily drop shot on main lake and secondary points leading into spawning coves. Seems every point held at least 1-2 fish in 15' of water like last week where the water clarity was at least a foot or more. This week we started at the dam and worked our way towards the middle of the lake. Didn't get our first fish in the boat until 10:45am however the size was a little better this week than last. Not as many bites but we're starting to put a better pattern together.

      We didn't see much activity on the graph around the points near the dam area but we did see some huge schools of bass out in the middle of the lake over 100' of water chasing what looked like shad or bluegill in 30-40'. Not exactly sure how to catch those bass but we did try throwing spoons for them for a little bit. Any advice on how to catch those fish or what they are would be greatly appreciated.

      Spoke to a few other boats who were on the same pattern as us running points and ran into a guy with a Tracker aluminum bass boat with his 2 teenage kids in the back. He too was out last Sunday and was catching unusually larger bass in the 3+ lb range last week whereas most our fish we were catching were rats. Rather than throwing the Bartlett staple of morning dawn chart tip roboworm (like we were throwing) he was throwing the new Strike King dropshot baits with the coffee scent built into the worm. This is probably the first time I've heard someone swear by strike kings coffee scent bait and probably wouldn't believe him until I had a chance to throw the baits myself. Especially with the report of how big the fish he was catching and how small some of the fish have been for us (largest was maybe 2.5 lbs the last 2 weeks). Then I saw some pics posted on the Facebook group by another angler holding (3) 3lb+ bass from Bartlett yesterday that was fishing the same area as us and I'm thinking I'll give them a try next outing. Doesn't hurt I suppose to give them a try as maybe that's the key to some bigger bites for us.

      From what I can tell the bait he was throwing was a fairly good bluegill imitation bait and the roboworm we were throwing was more of a shad color bait. As for boat traffic it didn't seem to bad in the morning on Bartlett especially around the middle to south part of the lake. From what I heard Saguaro has been a zoo lately and the Rangers shut down the boat launch around 10:45am on Sag saying there was close to a 3 hr wait to launch a boat.

      Tell you what the size of fish are no where near what you're seeing at Saguaro but at least the lake traffic is much more manageable. If we can get the bigger fish to go at Bartlett I'll be happy fishing a less pressured lake than dealing with the circus on Saguaro until the weather is warm enough for night fishing comfortably.

      As for Bartlett conditions water temps in the am 60 degree 63 when we got off the lake at 1PM. Didn't see any fish on beds yet. Bartlett must spawn later than the Salt River chain of lakes. Threw dropshot, senko, shakey head, jigs, spoons and crankbait but only seemed to be able to catch them on dropshot.
      City: Cave Creek

Sunday, March 16th, 2014

  • Maricopa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 59 am 64 aftern

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Bartlett with my buddy from 10am to 2:30 as we had a late start. Lots of boats on the water and the lake water level appears to be dropping. Sportsman's said the lake was a 60% but with this many boats the lake is fishing really small. We started up both above the no wake zone but all the brush was out if the water and looked like chocolate milk. Moves to the main lake and the water cleared up considerably and saw water temps from 59 in the morning to 64 by end of day. Caught about a dozen rats to 2lbs fishing a dropshot on 15 fort rock points leading into spawning coves and boulders. Missed just as many fish as we caught as it was a mush bite. Key for us was dead sticking the dropshot if you shook the bait they wouldn't bite. We threw cranks, spinnerbaits & jigs but couldn't get bit throwing anything moving.

      Talked to a guy in a Champion who was on the same patten who only had 9 bass all day fish a Texas rig. Seems like the wind Sat messed up the bite but as the water warmed up the bite improved. No fish on beds yet. Bite should pickup in another few weeks
      City: Cave Creek

      Tips: Fish points leading into spawning coves in the middle part of the lake where you have at least 2' of water clarity or more.