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Outdoor Writer

AZGFD -- Fishing Report -- Sept. 2020

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Fishing Report


September 2020
Arizona Game and Fish Department
 

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Fall 2020 fishing forecast is now available

To see the fall 2020 fishing forecast for major public water bodies in the respective regions, visit https://www.azgfd.com/fishing/forecast/.

 

Commission to consider proposed amendments to fishing regulations at its Sept. 25 meeting

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission will consider approval of proposed amendments to Commission Order 40 (sport fishing bag and possession limits, special regulations, and specific closures) for calendar years 2021 and 2022 at its Sept. 25 meeting. For a meeting agenda, visit www.azgfd.gov/commission, select the Commission agenda link, then select the Sept. 25 agenda.

 

The proposed amendments went through a public comment period that ended Aug. 28. A webcast on Aug. 6 discussed the changes (starts about 35 seconds into the video).

 

Tips

Temperatures will warm again this week after last week's cooler, windy weather.

Western Arizona/Lower Colorado River

 

Lake Mead

Striped bass can easily be caught under crappie lights at night. Try anchoring in around 40 feet and put out your submersible lights. Cut anchovies usually work well. You can fill your ice chest with small stripers. Don Martin recently caught a 32.8-pound striper using this technique. Don’t get your hopes up, though. They are usually much smaller.

 

Lake Mohave
Anglers are doing well for stripers near the dam and telephone cove. Trolling with an umbrella rig has been working the best. The largemouth and smallmouth bass are going after various plastics and some of the spinner baits.

 

Colorado River - Below Davis Dam
The striper bite along the shores of the Colorado River below the Davis Dam has been very productive. They are running mostly in the 1- to 3-pound range, but now and again we get a nice surprise. When they get over 5 pounds they can peel some line. Our local angler Isaias Gonzales was fishing from shore using anchovies near the end of Yale and landed a nice 7.16-pound striper, 27-3/8 inches.

 

Lake Havasu

Report courtesy of John Galbraith of Bass Tackle Master via AZ State Parks. Striped bass action is decent and observant anglers can find boils of stripers chasing shad in the morning and late afternoon. Trolling super spooks, sassy shads and white or chrome/blue Rat-L-Traps is currently your best bet. Search for boils from Black Rock & Calif. Bay north to the river entrance. The channel catfish bite is excellent right now and numerous cats are being caught on cut mackerel or squid off deeper points and coves in 15 to 35 feet of water. Smallmouth bass are keeping anglers busy! Try throwing Smoke Sparkle or Green Pumpkin Hula grubs rigged on a 3/8-ounce football jig fished around rocky points and gravel shorelines in 6 to 15 feet of water. The topwater bite is on too! Poppers, Sammys, and Buzzbaits are working well for both smallmouth and largemouth over gravel flats and submerged weedbeds in the morning and late afternoon.

 

Flagstaff area

 

Ashurst Lake
Road is open. Stocked with 53,000 trout so far this year. Ashurst was stocked with brown trout two weeks ago and rainbow trout last week. According to the campground host, folks fishing off of the points and deeper areas of the lake are catching trout on garlic PowerBait on the bottom. Lures and flies are working for folks fishing from boats. The campground is open.

 

Francis Short Pond
No report. The pond is still too warm for trout, so this week’s trout stocking was canceled. Hopefully the temperatures will drop soon so we can begin stocking here.

 

Kinnikinick Lake
Road is open. No report on fishing.

 

Lower Lake Mary
Not a lot of water left. No report.

 

Upper Lake Mary
Some pike are being caught in the shallows. Walleye are being caught by boat anglers and folks on the dam.

 

Williams area

 

Cataract Lake

We caught a lot of nice bluegill during our sampling. We also caught some nice-sized catfish in the shallow areas all around the lake. There was a big concentration of brown trout in the shallows near the county park on the opposite side of the lake from the Forest Service boat ramp. I did get a report of an angler catching decent-sized bluegill on the lake on worms under a bobber.

 

City Reservoir

Closed because of fire danger.

 

Dogtown Lake

Stocked 9/4 with rainbow trout. I spoke to an angler last week that was fishing near the boat ramp. He said he was catching trout by fishing on the bottom with PowerBait. He started using chartreuse PowerBait, but was also catching fish on other colors. During our sampling, the majority of the trout we caught were in the shallow areas near the inflow area of the lake. We caught both rainbow trout and brown trout in that area, with one brown trout that weighed about 2 pounds. Looks like the best place to catch trout right now is in the shallows in the evening.

 

Kaibab Lake
The lake is full. Stocked with trout last week (has been stocked with 38,000 rainbow trout since March). Most of the trout seemed to be concentrated near the dam. Lake had gotten warm so some anglers recommended fishing on the bottom. Green garlic PowerBait has been working. During our sampling we caught a lot of nice-sized crappie and bluegill in the shallow area of the lake. Crappie jigs or worms work for crappie and bluegill in the shallow area on the east side. The campground is open.

 

Santa Fe Lake
Closed because of fire danger.

 

Whitehorse Lake

We sampled Whitehorse in August. We caught a lot of bluegill during our sampling along with quite a few bass. The biggest bass we caught was a little over 3 pounds. Considering that the bass were stocked in 2018, that was a surprise. One of the crew caught a large bluegill fly-fishing while we were waiting for it to get dark enough to sample the lake. He estimated it was close to a 1-pound bluegill. The campground is open.

 

Lake Powell

Report courtesy of Wayne Gustaveson at www.wayneswords.com. The warm blanket of water was temporarily ripped off the surface by last week's cold blast from the north. Daily air temperature before that had been in the 100s, with low air temperature in the 80s. The water temperature had been holding in the 80s but is now 76.

 

Last week stripers were feeding on the surface at dawn and dusk. They were not dependable each day but when it was about time to give up, they would surface again. The surface action was short, only a half hour or so, but very rewarding when they finally surfaced. This pattern is repeating lakewide. A few boils randomly early and late. When the school went deep, more fish hit spoons when the school showed up on the graph. Smallmouth bass were cooperative in 20-40 feet of water off rocky slopes and ledges next to deep water. The standard plastic grubs and Ned rigs continued to entice bass.

 

Good fishing reported last week for bluegill and catfish near camp. Worms were the best bait. Best timing was after dark when the weather was cooler. One little boy was very surprised when a huge largemouth bass ate the worm he was using to catch bluegill.

 

Electrofishing surveys will be conducted at San Juan, Good Hope, RIncon and Wahweap, so no new report for this week.

 

Cottonwood/Verde Valley

Dead Horse Ranch State Park

Report courtesy of Arizona State Parks. Channel catfish were last stocked in August. Standard catfish offerings like hot dogs, nightcrawlers, uncooked shrimp, and prepared dough baits were working well for fish on the bottom. Try using a swivel and barrel sinker so the fish don't feel resistance when they pick up the bait. This gives them a chance to position the hook correctly for a good hook set. Bass fishing has been slow, but a few anglers are picking up fish with small crankbaits fished near structure. Bluegills are biting on mealworms and earthworms fished about 18 to 24 inches under a bobber.

 

Mogollon Rim/White Mountains

Several rim lakes and White Mountains lakes were stocked with trout in the last two weeks (see list further down).

 

Angler reports

For each edition of the Fishing Report, we'll select some photos and reports submitted by members of the angling public either through the Fish AZ Facebook Group, or through the bfishing@azgfd.gov email address. If you'd like your photo/report considered for publication here, please indicate the species, place, date, name (we only publish first name and last initial), and any other information you'd like to provide. For more photos (including new photos each day), visit the Fish AZ Facebook Group.

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Dave R. was at Dogtown Lake and proudly shows his catch - and dinner - with the FishAZ Facebook group.

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Emiliano B. recently landed this huge cafish. He released it, but not before weighing it - about 72 pounds! Location undisclosed. 

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We’re not sure where in Arizona Jenny T. took this photo, but that face shows pure happiness!

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Jim N. was at Kaibab Lake the week before last and said bass, crappie, catfish and trout are biting using worms on the bottom and on a bobber.

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Tom F. said fishing was awesome at Knoll Lake a few weeks ago. They caught rainbows every day they fished. The trout were deep, so they used rainbow and lime twist PowerBait about 4 feet off the bottom. 

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Proud of his catch at Kaibab Lake, Tomy Jr. Yellowhair shared this picture with the FishAZ group. 

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Lance S. caught this nice largemouth at Arivaca Lake a few weeks ago.

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Genevieve F. fished with her family and caught two bass at Granite Reef. Nice job!.

 
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Waters recently stocked

Greer/White Mountains area
- East Fork of the Black River (stocked 9/3 with rainbow trout)

- West Fork Little Colorado River (Greer) (stocked 8/31 with rainbow trout)

- West Fork Little Colorado River (Sheeps Crossing) (stocked 9/1 with rainbow trout)

- Silver Creek (stocked 9/6 with rainbow trout)

 

Show Low/White Mountains area

- Fool Hollow Lake (stocked 8/25 with rainbow trout)

- Show Low Creek (stocked 9/9 with rainbow trout)

 

Payson/Mogollon Rim area
- Bear Canyon Lake (stocked 8/26 with rainbow trout)

- Canyon Creek (stocked 9/4 with rainbow trout)
- East Verde River (stocked 8/27 with Gila trout)

- Haigler Creek (stocked 8/27 with rainbow trout)

- Tonto Creek (stocked 9/10 with rainbow trout)
- Willow Springs Lake (stocked 9/1 with tiger trout and rainbow trout; stocked 9/8 with rainbow trout)
- Woods Canyon Lake (stocked 9/1 with tiger trout and rainbow trout)

 

Flagstaff area

- Ashurst Lake (stocked 9/8 with rainbow trout, 9/3 with brown trout)

 

Williams area
- Dogtown Lake (stocked 9/4 with rainbow trout)

- Kaibab Lake (stocked 9/10 with rainbow trout)

 

Cottonwood/Verde Valley area
- Oak Creek (stocked 9/4 with rainbow trout)

- Mingus Lake (stocked 8/31 with rainbow trout)

 

Prescott area
- Fain Lake (stocked 8/31 with rainbow trout)

- Goldwater Lake (stocked 9/10 with rainbow trout)
- Lynx Lake (stocked 8/31 with rainbow trout)

 
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Catfish stockings in some Community Fishing Program waters to start in mid September

Community Fishing Program core lakes in the Phoenix/Maricopa area, Tucson/Sahuarita area, and Yuma area are scheduled to resume biweekly catfish stockings in mid September. See the Community Fishing Program stocking schedule.

 
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Fishing jumps in popularity during pandemic

The Covid pandemic has canceled or restricted many outdoor activities such as athletic events, festivals, and concerts, leading many people to turn to other outdoor recreational activities they can enjoy safely. Fishing is one of those activities. It has been growing in popularity during the pandemic, and there are still many places to go where you can enjoy time with family and practice safe social distancing. ABC 15 recently did a story on the growing popularity of fishing during the pandemic.

 
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Learn how to fish

Are you or someone you know interested in fishing but don’t know where to start? AZGFD has a video series for beginners. This first video discusses fishing equipment for beginners. You’ll learn about what you need to get started, including rods, reels, bait and more.

 
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Nice surprise

What are the chances of opening the daily newspaper and finding a photo of your father fishing 49 years ago? That’s exactly what happened to FishAZ member Monica Horton’s father! Monica shared the surprising news with the FishAZ Facebook community, saying “My dad would’ve been 24 years old when this article ran, so it was like a gift to him today!”

 
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Pilot project

Our audience is growing and we want to ensure we’re serving our diverse community. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is launching a pilot program, and we want to hear from you! If you’d like to see a section of our monthly Fishing Report in Spanish -- or if you have ideas about how we can better engage with our Spanish-speaking community -- please email dcaverohann@azgfd.gov. We’ll share more details soon.

 

 

 
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Save time, buy your license online

Need your fishing license or hunt/fish combo license? It’s easy to do online. Simply visit https://www.azgfd.com/license/ to view the license options and fees, then select “Buy a License Online” (or directly visit https://license.azgfd.com/). Remember, your purchase of a fishing or hunt/fish combo license helps conserve all species of fish and wildlife and provides funding that goes back into fishing opportunities.

 
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Thank you, anglers!

Arizona fishing opportunities wouldn’t be possible without the Sport Fish Restoration Program. It was created through the Dingell-Johnson Act of 1950 (Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act) and the Wallop-Breaux amendments of 1984. Through a federal excise tax paid by manufacturers on fishing gear and motorboat fuels, it provides grant funds for fishery conservation, boating access, and aquatic education.

 
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The Arizona Game and Fish Department prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, or disability in its programs and activities. If anyone believes that they have been discriminated against in any of the AZGFD’s programs or activities, including its employment practices, the individual may file a complaint alleging discrimination directly with the Director’s Office, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086-5000, (602) 942-3000, or with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attn: Civil Rights Coordinator for Public Access, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS:WSFR, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803. Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation or this document in an alternative format by contacting the Director’s Office as listed above.

 

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8 hours ago, Sheephntr said:

Where did you find that fishing report? Been on azgfd a few times and the reports are old on the site.

I get emails from AGFD. This one might not have been updated on the website yet. 

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