There's Never A Better Time Than Now To Fish Arizona

Hello, anglers,

It's a good time to round up some swim baits and Roboworms and head to the Phoenix area (if you aren't already there) to do some bassin'.

High temperatures are beginning to rise back into the 70s. We're stocking rainbow trout into Canyon Lake, land of the lunkers. Avoid Canyon Lake if you want great catch rates, but for something to hang on the wall, come here and throw some big swim baits (that represent the stocked trout). Plus, the scenery is exceptional.

Apache Lake is a great fishing-camping spot. Anglers can catch smallmouth and largemouth bass, as well as yellow bass. With some luck, an angler can hook into a pesky, tasty walleye. Apache is being stocked until Feb. 10 with rainbow trout.

Speaking of walleye, we should be getting close to the early walleye bite at Lake Powell. Sounds like the striper action is pretty good. Be nice to get them both biting at the same time.

Haven't heard many good reports about crappie. The north end of Bartlett Lake is a good bet. Avoid Alamo Lake.

Finally, we've stocked rainbow trout until Feb. 10 into the following fisheries: Dead Horse Lakes, Fain Lake, Lynx Lake, Watson Lake, Apache Lake, Cluff Pond, Dankworth Pond, and Graham County Pond.

Beginning Feb. 10, we were scheduled to start dumping trout into Mingus Lake, Goldwater Lake, Canyon Lake, the Lower Salt River, Parker Canyon Lake, Patagonia Lake, and Pena Blanca Lake.

Get ready for more first-time stockings in the Community Fishing Program. The expansion continues with the first of scheduled stockings that will take place every two months. During one day from Feb. 10-15, a total of 815 pounds of rainbow trout will be delivered to the eight ponds in these following cities:

• Gilbert: Discovery Ponds (Discovery Park, 2214 East Pecos Rd.) and McQueen Pond (McQueen Park, 510 N. Home St.).

• Glendale: Bonsall Pond (Bonsall Park, 5840 W. Bethany Home Rd.)

• Phoenix: Granada Ponds (Granada Park, 6505 N. 20th St.) and Roadrunner Pond (Roadrunner Park, 3502 E. Cactus Rd.)

• Scottsdale: Eldorado Pond (Eldorado Park, 2311 N. Miller Rd.) and McKellips Pond (Vista Del Camino Park, 7700 E. Roosevelt St.)

• Maricopa: Pacana Pond (Pacana Park, 19000 N. Porter Rd.).

These waters had been stocked by their respective cities. Be sure to keep up with the Community Fishing Program by signing up for the Community Fishing Bulletin.