ROOSEVELT LAKE - Lake Elevation is 2,130 ft (76 percent full). Tonto Creek runoff is 0 cfs while inflow from the Salt River is at 201 cfs.
The nights are getting longer and cooler, so look for action to pick up during the day, especially at first and last light. We should be seeing the leading edge of the fall topwater bite right now.
An angler fished from 7:30 to 11 p.m. and caught 7 nice bass mid lake in the vicinity of Windy Hill. Two were over 16 inches. They were all caught on plastics around 30 feet of water. The bite was real soft.
An angler did real well using buzzbait in the morning landing a couple 3-pound largemouth bass and a couple more between 13 and 16 inches. Once it was warm and the clouds burned off, a ½-ounce shakey head rigged red Power Worm enticed four largemouth along a rocky bank that had a nice slope to it. He finished till about 2 p.m.
APACHE - Lake elevation is 1,909 feet (95 percent full). This lake has been producing well all summer, especially for largemouth bass. With the nights getting longer and cooler, expect the topwater action to start picking up here during the daytime.
An angler fished for about 3.5 hours from 5 to 8:30 p.m. He threw shad color 5-inch Senkos that resulted in boating three smallmouth bass, three fat largemouth bass and one walleye. Water temps were about 88 degrees and water clarity was 3 feet.
One fisherman caught 12 largemouth and three smallmouth bass on various colored Robo Worms on dropshot along the banks. Average size was about a pound. Largest was 2 pounds. He noted a spawn was successful this year as he caught two youngsters. He also caught something big but it straightened the hook and the fish got away.
CANYON - Lake elevation is 1,658 ft, which is 96 percent full. An angler on a fishing tube fished early morning at Boulder and caught four largemouth bass on topwater. Bite shut down in after 7:30 or so. Jig bite was real slow later on.
Another angler had the same luck. Topwater worked well in the morning but the bite fell off and he only caught one two pound bass after 7:30 a.m.
With the nights getting longer and cooler, expect the topwater action to continue picking up.
SAGUARO - Lake elevation 1,525 feet at 93 percent full. Daytime topwater action is picking up, but it's still a little crazy with recreational boaters on the weekends. However, if you can fish during the weekdays, this is a good choice, especially for a mixed bag of largemouth bass, yellow bass, bluegill and channel catfish.
Fishing at night under lights should continue getter better and better as we move toward a new moon. Should be a quarter moon this weekend, so watch the moon rise and set times.
A group of 3 anglers caught 2 small bass and a yellow bass in about 4 hours of fishing. No details on what they used.
BARTLETT – Lake elevation is 1,758 feet, which is 50 percent full. Reservoir release is 125 cfs. This lake has been producing well all summer. Try the major points, islands and reefs along this long, narrow desert reservoir. This is the time of year when you are just as likely to catch bass during the day as you are at night, so take your choice.
With the nights getting longer and cooler, the days getting shorter, the water temperatures on this lake -- especially at the surface -- are cooling down. Bait fish and predatory fish will both become increasingly active as the season progresses. Go armed with topwater baits, jerkbaits, and crankbaits for the more active fish, and use drop shots, jigs and spoons for the deeper less active ones.
An angler fished from midnight to 3:45 in the morning. He boated 5 largemouth bass. The largest was just over 4 pounds. He got 20 or more hits and lost 4 while reeling them in.
HORSESHOE - Lake elevation is at 1,952 feet 0 percent full. They are releasing water at 110 cfs.
AZGF:
Just wanted to share my last fishing trip to the Verde River below Horseshoe Dam. We arrived around 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 18th. It was a last minute trip , so all we had for bait was worms and chicken liver. We didn't have time to get water dogs.
Around 11 p.m. I tossed a large piece of chicken liver just below rapids in the "channel." Instantly, my pole nearly bent in half and I hooked a channel cat. This fish was jumping clear out of the water like a trout or bass. Little did I know it one of the largest channel's I had ever caught in this area. When I finally landed it, I instantly weighed it and it came in at a healthy 4 pounds even.
In total, we caught at least 20 fish. All channels except one largemouth bass and two flatheads. This is the third weekend fishing the Verde river below Horseshoe Dam with excellent fishing. I would like to say exactly where we are catching them, but I don't want to spoil it for us.......we catch and release. I will say that the most of the excellent areas to fish are at least one mile below the dam. A canoe or small boat is a must! Good Luck!!
Scott- Phoenix
VERDE RIVER – Verde River flow at Tangle is 103 cubic feet per second. Release from Bartlett Lake is 125 cfs.
Angler Report:
Rory,
Decided to go to the Verde instead of the Lower Salt yesterday. Had a fairly productive day. Caught 5 Smallmouth Bass and 2 Roundtail Chub. Two of the Bass and one of the Chub were caught on a #4 Panther Martin spinner; the rest were caught on a nymph wet fly. If you can deal with the heat and the sun the fish are still biting pretty good on the Verde.
Happy Fishing!
Tom Leeper
Liberty Mutual Group
SALT RIVER (above Roosevelt) - Salt River into Roosevelt is 201 cfs, and Salt River Canyon is 194 cfs. They are releasing 1,625 cfs out of Stewart Mountain Dam from Saguaro.
LOWER SALT RIVER (below Saguaro Lake) – Try inline spinners, Power Bait or drifting night crawlers. Fly-fishing can be good with nymphs and Wooly Buggers. We have mixed angler reports: some aren’t catching many fish, others are catching limits. Some bass can be found in the portion above the Verde confluence. Fish early or late to avoid the barrage of inner tubes.
CREEKS BELOW MOGOLLON RIM
Haigler Creek – Haigler Creek is stocked weekly with rainbow trout near the campgrounds. These fish can be easily taken using bait, spinners and a variety of flies. The upper hike in section (from Fisherman’s Point) has good numbers of wild rainbows and some large wild browns. Try attractor patterns and small beadhead nymphs like hares ear, copper john and prince nymphs.
Canyon Creek – The upstream portion of Canyon Creek (above OW Bridge) is stocked weekly with rainbow trout and you can keep four trout of any size. Bait, spinners and flies are very effective for the rainbows. The lower section below OW Bridge contains primarily wild brown trout and is catch-and-release only using artificial flies and lures. Please obey these regulations.
This time of year terrestrials can provide some good action. Try using a grasshopper or cicada pattern and dropping a small beadhead nymph off of it. Don’t be afraid to fish for the larger browns after dark. Try using wolly buggers, muddler minnows or even a floating mouse pattern. Fishing can be slow but you might be rewarded with a large brown trout.
Tonto Creek – Upper Tonto Creek (above Hwy 260) is stocked weekly with rainbow trout. Try the usual stuff. There are good numbers of wild rainbow and brown trout downstream of Bear Flat. The hiking is strenuous and you should be prepared to swim if you plan to fish very far below Bear Flat.
Although there is a mercury consumption advisory for Tonto Creek, it does not affect the portion of the creek where people trout fish, nor is there any issue with eating trout caught there.
Christopher Creek – Stocked weekly with rainbow trout. The section of stream near the See Canyon trail head contains a nice mix of stocked rainbow trout and wild browns. This is a really nice section of stream to fish. Try your typical trout arsenal.
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