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Sixteen tons - of fish!

You may have heard the old song by Tennessee Ernie Ford, "16 Tons." Well, by early April, that's how many catfish and sunfish will have made their way into Community Fishing waters. We stocked the first catfish of the season March 19, and more recently, we stocked all the "core" waters with bluegill sunfish.

Another 14,400 pounds of feisty catfish are beginning to make their home in the Phoenix and Tucson core waters.

See the Community Fishing Program stocking schedule for full details, including which waters are "core" and which are "expansion."

Our expansion waters will get stocked the week of April 20-24. Get your family, grab a picnic basket, and come on outside because it's the perfect time of year to hit the lakes and try your luck at fishing!

1,000 Youth Fishing Licenses To Be Donated

Glendale City councilmember Jamie Aldama has partnered with generous sponsors, including West Valley Foundation, Glendale Chamber of Commerce, Glendale Pawn & Jewelry, Gorman & Company, Inc., to donate youth fishing licenses to get kids engaged in fishing.

The Department, in cooperation with the City of Glendale, will host a free fishing clinic at Bonsall Pond, located at 59th Ave. and Bethany Home Rd., on Saturday, April 25 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. The first 1,000 youths, age 10-17, will receive a free fishing license! The licenses are valid for 365 days. Grab your kids and come on out for a fun-filled fishing clinic.

CFP's Newest, Avondale's Friendship Pond, Now Open To Fish

We've recently stocked Friendship Pond with a huge stocking of bluegill -- nearly 300 pounds of whopper-sized sunfish. The first stocking was a big kick-start to providing a new opportunity in the West Valley.

Friendship Pond is located at 12325 W McDowell Rd. The lake is slightly less than one acre, and the park has bathrooms, ball fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, ample parking, and kids' playground areas.

Come on out and hit the lake – there's lots of fish to be caught.

Golden Alga Responsible For Minor Fish Kill

Recent stockings of catfish and sunfish were followed by minor fish kills at Gilbert's Water Ranch. Staff from the Department's Water Quality Program collected samples on March 31 and detected golden alga. The lake will be treated with an approved algaecide to control the golden alga bloom.

Golden alga is a microscopic flagellated form of algae that, when conditions are just right, release toxins into the water that can be lethal to gill-breathing organisms. It has been present in Phoenix area lakes since 2005, but the alga poses no risk to humans or pets.

Future fish stockings for Water Ranch Lake are suspended until follow up tests are negative for golden alga.

Contacts: Specialist Joann Hill (623) 236-7268; Call 1-800-352-0700 to report fishing violations.