I’m sorry for lag in reporting.  Spring break, 80 degree temperatures, and great fishing have had us hopping!  What a time to be in Arizona fishing.  Everything is starting to break loose!

In the Phoenix / Scottsdale Area, Lake Pleasant and Saguaro Lake have been great options.  We are starting to see large numbers of stripers moving in to the traditional pre spawn areas at Lake Pleasant.  On the good days we’re catching fish every cast at times.  Cut bait is the ticket for spin fisherman, and heavy sinking lines with shad pattern flies have been the go-to for fly guys.  Some stripers are starting to show shallow early and late in the day, and are biting well on jerkbaits and clousers.  Because we’re still having fronts come through here and there, the fishing can be a little inconsistant, but the good days are really good!  There is also a new wave of largemouth moving up in the shallows, which should provide us another month or so of good sight fishing.

Just a little outside the Phoenix area, Roosevelt Lake and Alamo Lake have been fishing excellent!  We have had several giant largemouth this week out of Roosevelt flippin heavy cover.  Alamo has been kicking out a ton of fish on swimbaits and flippin.

In the Sedona area, Oak Creek Canyon has opened up and is now finished with runoff.  Fishing has been good, with some decent browns coming out last week, and a good numbers of rainbows.  nymphs are still the ticket for now, but there are signs of hatches starting to come off, so a mix of dry flies and nymphs are the ticket.  Waters high in the canyon seem to be the most productive stretches for now.

Other trout waters: Ice is starting to melt, and more and more waters are opening up throughout the high country.  Most of our lakes and streams are full of water this year, so expect to see some fantastic fishing!

This year is shaping up to be a fantastic spring!  The waters are still on the rise, and the fishing is getting good.

In the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, Lake Pleasant is getting hot.  Largemouth bass are moving in to the shallows to spawn, and the great water visibility makes them very accessable.  Sight fishing with various plastics and flies is the ticket.  This is the only time of the year to sight fish, so get out while you can!  The stripers are starting to heat up as well.  They’re not totally consistant, but big fish count days are becoming more and more common.  We had a couple 100+ fish outings this week.  Most of the fish are in the 40-60 foot range, with cut bait still the best option.  Look for these fish to move up towards the surface to spawn in the next couple weeks.

Roosevelt Lake and Alamo Lake are also great options within a couple hours of town.  The spinnerbait bites and flip bites are off the hook at both places. 

In the Sedona area, Deadhorse Start Park on the Verde River continues to kick out good trout fishing.  Various dries and bead head’s are the ticket for schooling rainbows.  Look for the schools cruising the shorelines.  Lake Pleasant is also a good option not far from Sedona.

This is the time to fish in Arizona warmwater lakes.  If you get a chance, get out!

This is what we all live in Arizona for.  85 degree temps, water temps warming to the 60’s, and fish moving up in force into the shallows!  The spring bite is here!

Lake Pleasant is turning on strong!  White bass and Stripers are starting to stage.  The bite is still inconsistent, but the good days are awesome, with large numbers starting to show.  Cut bait and spoons are the best bets for the deeper fish, and small jerkbaits and clouser minnows are the best bet for the shallow fish.  There continues to be a decent crappie bite in the upper end of the lake on minnows and little crankbaits fished around brush.  The largemouth bass are also starting to stage up in the shallows, and with our water clarity being almost 30 feet in some areas, the site fishing in setting up to be banner this year.  The big females are moving up!  the next few weeks should be excellent!!!  Non-bedding bass are vulnerable to jerkbaits and little swimbaits.  The bedding fish are munching jigs and dropshots.

 Roosevelt Lake continues to kick out great numbers of fish.  Largemouth, Smallmouth, and crappie are all biting well.  Big numbers of bass are in the shallows.  Senkos, spinnerbaits, and bed fishing are all producing.  This lake has been hot for a while, and continues to kick it out!

Alamo Lake slowed a little this week, as the lake came up 4 feet overnight a few days ago, and positioned the bass a little funky.  With our warm weather, expect this lake to get back in action very quickly!

Deadhorse state park is still kicking out some great trout fishing up in the Sedona area.  Big numbers of rainbows are munching dry flies in this warmer weather.  Try small caddis or hare’s ear flies, and look for the schools of trout moving in and out of the shallows.

The urban Carp bite has been fantastic.  If you’ve ever thought of tangling in to a carp on the fly rod, this is the time of year to get out and do it!  We are seeing all the species, the common carp, grass carp, koi, goldfish, buffalo all up in the shallows, and accessible to sight fishing.

It’s spring!  It’s warm!  And the fishing is getting hot!  Get out here and enjoy while the getting is good!