The striper bite here at Lake Pleasant has been incredible.  Several of our trips last week caught 50 plus, with a few topping out at over 100 fish in a four hour period!  We are catching them in the main basin off of points and humps out in 40 to 60 feet. 

The largemouth bite has been decent with topwater providing the best action first thing in the morning.  Dropshots and Carolina rigs have been the best bet during the day.  Great time go up in the river an fish all the trees.

We have had several trips up at Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona the past month.  Fishing has been great with many rainbows and browns more than willing to take a dry fly.  The weather is beautiful this time of year there.  Great fun to wade in the cool clear water.

Come on out and enjoy some great fishing with us!

Fishing has been great at Lake Pleasant.  We are catching good numbers of striped bass on anchovies in about 60 feet in the main lake.  Also look for stripers in the Agua Fria River arm that recently opened.  We are seeing the larger stripers coming from this area.

Largemouths are spawning at various depths throughout the lake.  The shallower spawning fish are in the 1 to 2 pound range.  Look for the lunkers in deeper water.  With the clear water and great visibility, expect to find them in harder to see locations.  A recent tournament produced a few fish in the 5-6 pound range.

With the recent high temperatures we anticipate great fishing to follow.  Come on out and have some fun!

The striper bite is on at Lake Pleasant!  We are seeing large schools move up on main lake points and reefs to feed.  Great time to come out and catch the action!  Largemouth bass are moving up and are staging for the spawn.  With visibility pushing 20 feet, we should have some awesome sight fishing this spring.  Come on out and look for the lunker you’ve been waiting for.

Canyon Lake is producing some nice largemouths in the 4 to 6 pound range.  Some are on beds, so look shallow and then fall back on deeper water. 

Saguaro Lake is the place to go if your looking for a monster!  Big largemouths have moved up to spawn.  Get you gear ready to haul in one of these beasts.

Lake Havasu is the place to be for spring site fishing.  There are tons of beds everywhere with hefty largemouths and nitro-powered smallies!

Get out any enjoy some great spring fishing!

Arizona is such a beautiful place to be most of the year, but man is it hard to beat March and April for fantastic weather.  We’ve been in the low 80′s all week in the desert, and there’s just nothing better than fishing in shorts and flip flops again!  Even better than the weather is the onset of the great spring fishing, which is now officially getting under way.

Lake Pleasant has seen some incredible fishing days the last couple weeks, mixed in with some slower tough days.  It’s all about water temperature right now, and the fish are really looking for that 60+ degree’s.  When we get a little front come through it toughens it up, but the weather is so nice now that things will just start staying good no matter what.  The Largemouth have started to move up in waves to spawn.  We’re seeing mostly males up right now, but Captain Mike has been catching some stud female largemouth just out a little deeper this week, so look for the bigger fish to move up any day.  Sight fishing is certainly the draw on these fish, and makes for some of the most exciting fishing of the year.

Striped bass have started schooling up in huge spawning schools.  Some of these schools have thousands of fish in them.  The challenge again has been water temp’s, and under the right conditions we’ve been catching fish every cast.  Look for this bite to really heat up over the next few days.  Early March through May is prime time to crush stripers at Lake Pleasant.

Saguaro Lake has also been fishing well.  There are a lot of fish up spawning and some big ones moving up every day.  Look in the backs of the coves in flat areas and sight fish around tullies.

Carp of the fly fishing in town has been hot!  Fish are really active in the warmer weather and biting well.  The next couple months will be fantastic for in-town urban fishing.

Trout stuff should start coming around by the end of March if the weather holds.  Lakes are starting to de-frost and run off is almost over, so look for some reports from the high country over the next couple weeks.

Bottom line right now is the weather is incredible in the desert, and the fishing is really close to just blowing up.  If you have a chance to get out on the water over the next couple weeks take advantage of it!

Stripers and white bass have been finicky as we grind through our so called winter here at Lake Pleasant.  The bite is on one day then off the next.  We continue to catch some decent stripers in the northern creek arms on anchovies and one ounce spoons.  Stipers are being found at various depths throughout the water column in pursuit of the deep bait.

Largemouth bass fishing as slowed a bit, which is normal for this time of year.  Everyone is getting anxious for the spring spawn.  With a few weeks of consistent weather and the water temperatures in the mid to low 50s, we may see some early spawners.  The water level is up with loads of spawning ground available for the lunkers to move up.  Get ready for some awesome sight fishing this spring!

Saguaro and Roosevelt Lake continue to fish well for the winter months.  Saguaro has produced some nice sized largemouths willing to take swim-baits and one ounce jigs.  Roosevelt produced a double-digit bass recently surprising many anglers in a tournament.

Always a great time to practice your fly casting skills against carp and koi in urban ponds and canals.  These fish are a blast to catch on a fly rod and are close by.  Scout out your local ponds and canals and have some fun in anticipation for some awesome spring fishing.

Happy Holidays to everyone!  We had a great time with the kids and grand-kids over the weekend, and hope everyone did as well!!!

Fishing is looking great for the end of the year.  If you’re in town for the bowl games or have family in town for the new years, the weather is going to be great and the fish are biting!

Lake Pleasant has continued to be excellent for largemouth, white and striped bass.  Fly anglers and conventional anglers both are seeing good numbers of fish in the shallows feeding on shad in the backs of the creek arms.  Topwater and shallow water baits have been the best bet.  Look for birds or boils and fish around the activity.  It’s all about timing right now so if you’re in an active area just keep working until things come together.  Keep the baits real natural, white’s and grey’s.  If the shallow bite doesn’t come together, head out to 60-65 feet in the creek channels, look for shad balls, and there are plenty of stripers ready to eat spoons and bait.

Oak Creek is continuing to fish well for end of the season trout.  There are a lot of rainbows still active in the deeper pools, as well as some nice browns sunning themselves in the afternoon.  Most of the action now is on nymphs, but on the warmer days there can still be some dry fly action on tricos and blue winged olives.  Upstream of Sedona up in the canyon has shown the best action.

Silver Creek in the White Mountains continues to kick out monster rainbows and some little Apaches.  Streamers and midges have been the most consistent, but there is some dry fly action as well.  Little adams and BWO’s have been the best bet.  The rainbows are all set up for spawn, and are showing their spawning colors.  This is an exciting winter fish if you’re in the high country over the next couple of months.

We look forward to seeing everyone out on the water.  Have a safe and wonderful new years! 

The great striper bite is still on from last month at Lake Pleasant!  We have continued to catch large numbers of stripers in depths of 40-60 feet on cut bait and spoons.  There are hundreds of stripers roaming the lake in pursuit of the abundant shad population.  Northern creek arms are producing some of the larger stripers in the late evenings.  Largemouths have been crushing swim baits thrown on a new rig that is the hottest thing on Arizona lakes lately.  Fishing has continued to be good following last month’s fun, just be prepared for the rainy and cold weather if you’re headed out this week.  Next week looks to be the return of sunshine!

Oak Creek in Sedona is producing feisty rainbows and a few large browns.  One large brown was seen chasing down and eating a rainbow! It was awesome!  Bundle up for the chilly weather and a great time.  Be sure to bring your camera for capturing the scenic red rocks covered in fresh snow. 

Silver Creek is the place to be this winter if you are looking for big trout action!  The rainbows are in pre-spawn mode and chasing each other in the shallow water.  There is great potential to catch a big beautiful rainbow there.  Don’t miss out!

What a November!  We had one of the busiest Novembers we’ve ever had, and as luck would have it the fish decided to turn on and give us one of the best fishing months we’ve had all year. 

Lake Pleasant has been on fire!  There are schools of stripers by the thousands staging on offshore flats and humps just munching bait.  The key depths are 45-65 feet.  Cut bait and spoons have been the way to go out here, and most of the month we’ve been seeing fish counts of 50-100 fish for our half day charters.  If you want action, this is the time to get out.  Shallow water fishermen have also been blessed the last couple of weeks with a fantastic topwater and boiling fish bite.  The bait is following the rising water and all three bass species are following the bait and crushing it in the shallow brush.  Topwater walking baits, swimbaits, little crankbaits, and fast stripped shad flies have been crushing fish largemouth, stripers and white bass.

We’ve continued to see good fishing in Oak Creek Canyon as well.  Even with no real hatches to speak of the dry fly action has been great.  Small mayfly patterns, adams type stuff, have been kicking butt up stream.  Also keep an eye out for the big browns.  They have finished spawn and are very aggressive.  We had a client land a 22 inch brown this week that ate his 8 inch rainbow he was catching.  Pretty cool!

The White Mountains have also been kicking out some great end of the year fishing.  There are still a few streams and lakes accessable and the trout fishing has been great.  This is a mix of dry fly and nymphing, with lots of solid 20″+ fish coming out.

The Fall Snap has finally arrived at Pleasant!  Stripers, whites, and largemouth are all chasing bait up shallow.  The largemouths are traveling in “wolf packs” and have been stout 3 to 4 pounders.  Our best success has been with spoons, swim baits, and top water walking baits.  Stripers have been seen in big numbers suspended and moving into main lake coves chasing bait to the surface.  It is game on for the avid fly angler!  Don’t hesitate and miss out on this action.  Come out and enjoy the great fishing in our beautiful fall weather.

Saguaro Lake is producing some hefty largemouths on swim baits.  If you’re looking to score a big fish this fall, now is the time to trophy hunt!

Trout fishing up north in the Oak Creek Canyon area has been phenomenal!  The browns have been active throughout the day and have been smashing drys and streamers.  A large 20 inch brown attacked a small rainbow recently on one of our guide trips as the angler was striping in the fish.  With the trees in full fall color, now is the time to come out and experience the cool mornings up north.  Bring a camera to capture the breathtaking scenery of Sedona in fall.

I am always reminded each year on the first day of fall how funny living in the desert is.  As I was watching the today show and the changing leaves and cooler temps most of the country is seeing, as I started to laugh, as we remain sweating in 107 degrees and are asking, really?  Fall huh?  Well, luckily for us we love wearing shorts and t-shirts, because warm weather is going to stay for a while longer.

With the warm weather fishing remains great!  Lake Pleasant has continued to be excellent for both largemouth and stripers.  The topwater bite has really turned on this week, but keep in mind the lake is supposed to stall out today, meaning they are going to stop releasing water, which usually throws things off a bit for a couple of days.  Once the fish get used to the stable conditions this can be one of the best times of the year to catch fish on this lake.  The deep fish are still positioned in 50-70 feet over bait.  They should start pushing the shad up to the bank now that the water is still.  Keep your eyes on the graph at all times, and be flexible in your approach!

Roosevelt Lake slowed way down this week, as off and on cooler nights kind of got it in a funk.  Flippin and topwater is still the best bet, but fish are few and far between, so I’d look elsewhere for a week or two.

Saguaro Lake is still fishing decent.  Bass have been eating topwater and finesse plastics in the mid lake section.  Early and late have been the best times of the day.  Look for fish chasing bait, and fish all around those areas.

Oak Creek Has still been fishing great.  Fish are starting to get active in the cooler temperatures that the mountains are seeing.  We are still wet wading up here, so leave your waders at home for another couple of weeks.  The dry fly action is still decent, but nymphs and little streamers are really popping fish well.  Look for the better brown trout cruising the slack pools as they fatten up for spawn.

Lake Mary is getting better each day.  We still have yet to see this lake really break out this year and kick out those 50-60 fish days, but we are seeing more fish being caught, with the quality being real solid.  We had a couple of 40+ inch fish this week, so things are getting better.  Chatterbaits and buzzbaits are still the main baits right now, and should remain hot until things really cool off temperature wise.

Even though sometimes it doesn’t seem like it will ever happen, sooner or later fall will actually come to Arizona.  For now, weather is warm, fishing is good, so get out and enjoy fishing in one layer of clothing while you can!