By Rory Aikens
Arizona Game & Fish
Two magic words: Big Lake. It's the trout fishing hot spot in the state.
Yes, it not only survived the Wallow Fire, there was only a small area of grassland burned near the lake. The store, campgrounds and other facilities came through unscathed.
Plus fishing is good to excellent for trout, with lots of anglers easily catching limits of rainbow trout. Some larger cutthroat trout are also being hauled in as well.
Because it wasn't fished for such a long time during the forest closure, the trout grew up fat, healthy and without any fishing pressure at Big Lake. Plus, the fishing pressure since the forest reopened has been pretty light as well.
The fishing is best from a boat, but you can catch trout from shore as well, especially off rocky points (like the one near the store). The store is open and boat rentals are available. Plus, the typical summer crowds aren't there right now. You'll want to take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts.
Right now, it’s monsoon time in the high country; afternoon thundershowers can help desert dwellers shed those triple-digit fidgets.
Last week we stocked Apache trout into Sheep's Crossing along the Little Colorado River (on the way to Big Lake from Sunrise). You can't fish below the bridge, but there is plenty of great fishing above it. We also stocked Apache trout into the Little Colorado in Greer, which is another fire survivor.
Another piece of good news is that Rose Canyon Lake in the mountains above Tucson is now open -- it was stocked during the forest closure period, so is now full of trout that have not had any fishing pressure. This is a good time to reel in some memories there.
Parker Canyon Lake in southern Arizona is also open again. The store there has boat rentals available. This is a good time to go after largemouth bass, catfish and bluegill. You might even hook into a hold-over rainbow or two.
One of the fishing hot spots in the state is Lake Pleasant. Anglers are catching lots of striped bass there on frozen anchovies. There is also a decent daytime topwater bite for striped bass and largemouth bass -- fishing the points, islands and reefs in the main lake basin.
There is also some hot topwater action during the day at Alamo Lake -- can you say buzzbait without smiling? It's sure worth braving the heat for some Alamo topwater action. Zara Puppies can work superbly here. This is also Zara Spook land. Although the Cholla Ramp is closed for the summer, the main ramp now has a neat new dock, courtesy our boating access program. They do great work.
Another great spot to try right now is Lake Havasu. There are some decent striper boils, but summer frog flipping into the tulles and cattails where the Bill Williams River enters the lake is truly wild. Give it a try.
Just upstream, the Topock Gorge is definitely worth a try. They have been pulling plate-sized redears out of there for the past year, plus there are some voracious smallmouth bass and even an occasional trout surprise.
The desert bighorn sheep are still in the rut, making Willow Beach below Hoover Dam an enticing possibility for trout (stocked every Friday) and huge striped bass on swim baits. There is a New Moon July 30, making this a superb time to fish at night using submersible lights. This is also the leading edge of the Perseids meteor showers, but may be the better time to see them in the dark night sky. If you can get binoculars on one of these fiery "shooting stars," it will be an experience you'll long remember.
If the humidity and heat both rise, that means it's time to fish at night for Mr. Whiskers. When it comes to catfish angling, the hotter the better. Channel catfish are especially plentiful at all our lakes and can be readily caught on stink bait, hotdogs, anchovies, or corn.
PS: You can send your fishing reports and fishing pictures directly to me at raikens@azgfd.gov and I will do my best to share them with other anglers.
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