Tip of the Week
Let’s talk bass! On Wednesday, Arizona bass fishing guru Gary Senft joined us live to talk about where and how anglers can find bass. Water temperatures in many desert impoundments have been topping out in the low-80s and anglers can still catch bass close to shore. We also discussed night fishing tips, hot spots, fishing this full moon phase, and more. See the Facebook video.
The Reel Deal
If you want to avoid shoreline congestion and catch fish, then consider fishing from boats, float tubes, canoes or kayaks. There are boat rentals at Big Lake, Woods Canyon Lake, Luna Lake, Reservation Lake and Hawley Lake. Trout fishing in the Flagstaff/Williams area tends to slow this time of the year as water temperatures become uncomfortable for trout, but fishing has been good for anglers fishing deep at Kaibab Lake near Williams.
White Mountains region:
While partial forest closures are blocking access to some areas, it is still hardly impacting fishing in the White Mountains region, and is presenting some great opportunities.
The only access that is blocked to prime fishing areas in this region includes Black Canyon Lake and the West Fork Little Colorado River upstream of Greer to the Highway 273 bridge at Sheeps Crossing.
It is important to note that stream fishing within the town of Greer is still open and the stocked trout are more concentrated. We are still stocking it weekly with the same number of trout, but putting them all down within the town of Greer. Fishing in front of the Rendezvous Cafe and along the East Fork Road is great.
It is also important to note that fishing at Sheeps Crossing is still open but only upstream of the Hwy 273 bridge. We are still stocking it weekly with the same number of trout, but putting them all upstream of the bridge (up to the old bridge).
This region has also accepted thousands of catchable size rainbow trout that could not be stocked into closed areas on other national forests in the state into lakes that are open to fishing. Woods Canyon Lake and Willow Springs Lake have been stocked with over 10,000 rainbow trout and over 4,000 tiger trout each over the last several weeks (over 28,000 trout total). Big Lake has been stocked with 4,000 extra catchable rainbow trout and may get more.
Plus, all other lakes in the region (except for Black Canyon Lake) are still getting stocked on the regular schedule.
Check out the stocking schedules.
Catch of the Week
Tim B. caught this 20-pound striped bass on the Colorado River in Bullhead City. A 20.06-pound striper. He reported using a trout swimbait and using a slow retrieve.
