Northern Arizona Lakes

Arizona Game and Fish Department's Weekly Fishing Report

FISHING REPORT EDITOR:
Rory Aikens, (602) 789-3214

Regional editors:
Pinetop Region - Richard Dreyer, (928) 367-4281
Flagstaff Region - Chuck Benedict, (928) 774-5045
Kingman Region - Andy Clark, (928) 692-7700
Yuma Region - Brad Jacobsen (928) 342-4051
Tucson Region - Don Mitchell, (520) 388-4451
Mesa Region - Richard Wiggins, (481) 324-3544

August 6, 2008

Note:  Northern Pike have been illegally stocked in Francis Short.  If you catch a Northern Pike at Francis Short Pond please REMOVE IT FROM THE POND.  

WILLIAMS LAKES:  
KAIBAB LAKE - Campground area is open.  Fishing was fair over the weekend.  Try Pistol Petes for crappie.  

CATARACT LAKE - Campground is open.  Fishing for trout and catfish was good. Stocked with catfish.   

CITY RESERVOIR -  Road is open.  Lake is full.   Stocked with catfish. 

DOGTOWN LAKE - Campground area is open. Lots of folks are catching crayfish.   Some browns are being caught on lures.     

JD DAM - Road is open. 

RUSSEL TANK - Has been stocked

SANTA FE - Lake is full.  Anglers are catching trout and yellow perch.  Stocked with catfish     

WHITEHORSE LAKE - No report from anglers.  Campground area is open.  Scheduled to be stocked this week.

Where:Whitehorse lake
When:07/27/08
Caught:Crappie
Technique:small jig head with yellow and black feathers resembles wasp. torpedo float reeling in slow. Cast next to reeds or cover.
Comments:
caught lots of little ones. Kids had a blast.
Name:
Jake Culp

FLAGSTAFF LAKES:
LOWER LAKE MARY - A fish kill has occurred.  There may not be any fish left.

UPPER LAKE MARY - The lake is full.  Some northern pike are being caught on anchovies.

Angler report:

Where: Upper Lake Mary
When: 07/29/08
Caught: 9 perch, 2 bluegill
Technique: fished off shore with split shot sinker and Canadian worms on bottom
Comments: Got caught on bottom a few times but caught 9 perch all about 6-10 inches
Name: Brian Camilli

ASHURST LAKE - The lake is full, the road is open. Scheduled to be stocked this week.
Angler report:
Where:Ashurst Lake
When: 07/26/08
Caught: Nothing.
Technique: Trolled and cast spinners, spoons, dragged wooly worms and drowned powerbait. Not a single bite in ten hours. Saw a few hundred fishermen but saw only one (1) actual trout caught ALL day. This lake is completely depleted of catchable fish and in desperate need of better management. It is beautiful, but there are no fish to be caught. Heavy pressure, not enough stockers. Waste of time and precious gas to get there.

FRANCIS SHORT POND - A fish kill has occurred caused by a die-off of an algal bloom which reduced oxygen levels in the water.  Some fish survived the kill, but fishing will be tough until the lake gets stocked after water quality improves.
 
KINNIKINICK LAKE - Scheduled to be stocked this week. No angler reports.

MARSHALL LAKE - No angler reports. 

OAK CREEK - Fishing is fair. A few small rainbow trout are being caught on flies. Scheduled to be stocked this week.

LONG LAKE - Lake is open.  Water level is good.  Lake has been stocked.  Some nice fish being caught near the ditch.  

SOLDIERS & SOLDIERS ANNEX - Lakes are open.

Angler report:
Where: Soldier Lake
When: 07/19/08
Caught: Nada
Technique: Believe lake had TOTAL FISH KILL due to algae. Fished an hour or so at dawn with no strikes. When the sun was up enough, I realized water was cloudy with floating algae particles throughout. No surface activity at dusk nor dawn. No baitfish swimming around. Dead crawfish litter the shore. Shame.

BEAVER CREEK - No report. 

WEST CLEAR CREEK - No report.

STONEMAN LAKE - NO FISH.

MINGUS LAKE - The seasonal gate across the access road is open. Mingus was stocked on June 16.  This was the last scheduled stocking until September.  The best bait has been white Power Bait, fished on the bottom with a treble hook and an egg sinker. Fishermen using night crawlers under a bobber are also having some success more than one month after the last stocking.

Someone illegally stocked yellow bullhead into Mingus several years ago.  These fish compete directly with the trout and keep growth rates very low.  If you witness anyone, anywhere, moving fish like bass, bluegill, catfish and stocking them, please report it to our Operation Game Thief Hotline.  Illegal stockings cost YOU money!

Where:Mingus Lake
When:08/01/08
Caught:trout, yellow bullheads
Technique:worms, bobber
Comments:I read bullheads were illegally stocked. They are multiplying fast - there were thousands of baby fish in the lake - they were in schools shaped like balls of 1 foot to 3 feet in diameter moving around the lake.
Name:
mike c

DEAD HORSE STATE PARK - Largemouth bass fishing has slowed a little.  Try using small plastic jigs, plastic worms, or small spinnerbaits near deeper cover.  Catfish stocked June 9.  The catfish bite has been fair in the evening.   Some angler’s are having limited success in the day.
Bluegills are very abundant, but most are small.  This is a great opportunity to teach kids how to fish.  Try using a No. 12 hook with a small piece of worm under a bobber and you should have success.  While the crappie numbers are up a little, most are small.  Look for the crappie fishing to be good late this year or next year. 

VERDE RIVER (throughout Verde Valley) - Channel catfish action is starting to pick up in the Verde Valley. Most success on catfish is by using night crawlers and chicken liver after dusk.  Look for the bass to be biting early morning and in the evening.

LYNX LAKE - Catfish were stocked June 9 and again on June 25.  Trout were stocked  the week of June 16.  This was the last scheduled stocking until the fall.  The fishing has been slow.  With the water warming trout will become increasingly hard to catch, but for now some veteran anglers report trout still biting.  Some of the brook trout that were stocked in February are showing up.  Try using chartreuse Power Bait on the bottom for these pretty little fish. Try using night crawlers or hot dogs for the catfish. 

Game and Fish Biologists installed PVC fish structures on Jan. 3.  These structures should protect small fishes from predation.  Some 7-inch brook trout were in February and 5-inchers in September. Game and Fish stocked catfish the week of June 4. There were 200 pounds of bluegill stocked on March 29. Game and Fish biologists surveyed Lynx in May and found that the brook trout stocked in September 2006 were still present.

FAIN LAKE - No new reports-  Catfish and sunfish were stocked the week of June 23.  Try using night crawlers for the catfish.  The sunfish will bite on meal worms or small worms.  Panther Martins are working well for the sunfish.  The lake has some debris from the recent rains.  Fain lake was last stocked with rainbow trout the week of June 16.  This is the last trout stocking scheduled until September. For trout try using spinners or bright colored Power Bait.  Fain lake was stocked with brook trout on Feb. 25. 

GOLDWATER LAKE - Trout are scheduled to be stocked this week, the week of Aug. 4.  I have not gotten any feedback on how they are biting.  You may want to try using KastMasters. If that does not work you may try worms or Power Bait.  Early in the morning and in the evening the bite may be a little better. Some days the fishing seems to be better than other days as well.

The water temperature is 73?F on the surface.  If the temperature continues to increase we will postpone scheduled stockings until the spring when the water cools.  Bluegills were stocked Feb 25.

Game and Fish biologists weighed a 22-pound channel catfish that was caught at Goldwater in March. On July 11, a 26-pound catfish was caught on a hotdog and an 11-pound catfish was caught since then. While the number of catfish is low, the quality is exceptional. 

Game and Fish Biologists surveyed Goldwater during the middle of May 2007 and found the trout and sunfish plentiful. While the number of catfish and bass was low, the quality was exceptional. One 16-pound catfish was sampled and released. The bass averaged about 3.5 pounds.

On March 29, 2007, there were 400 pounds of bluegill stocked. These fish were hand-sized and should be easily caught.  Try using worms or mealworms on a bobber.  Small spinners may work as well. If you fish Goldwater and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others.

Angler report:
Me and my nephews fished lynx lake Friday afternoon till dark, no one was catching anything until  I landed one small stocker rainbow on a piece of night crawler. then we fished granite basin lake on sat morning, nothing but 2-inch bluegills and a turtle.
Then we tried Watson Lake off the fishing pier, nothing there. Saw a nice bass swimming in the water. Watson Lake must be the most fertile of all the Prescott lakes; lots of places to hide with all the plant growth. And then last we tried Goldwater and nothing, nothing but lots of crayfish. That lake is getting taken over with them.

That's my Prescott report
Have a great day
Dale

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