Arizona Fishing Report

The predatory fish will likely feed all night, so don’t expect lots of first light surface boils (although it can still happen). Typically, the good daytime bite will come in late morning, around 9-10 a.m., following a moon bright summer's night. Also keep in mind that black-colored topwater lures, including buzzbaits, can sometimes get you dramatic action at night if you can find active predatory fish from bass to pike.

Hearing reports of topwater action picking up at most bass lakes. Some stalwart, Barlett, Mead, and Havasu. Use your binoculars. Also watch for feeding bird activity.

No doubt other lakes are experiencing similar activity levels. Topwater stick baits, poppers, torpedoes and even buzzbaits can all be effective at times. Slightly subsurface lures, such as jerkbaits, can sometimes provide excellent action. Also try wide-wobble crankbaits or for stripers, lip-less crankbaits that sink.

Be sure to have a rod rigged with a flutter-down lure to toss in when a bass hits but misses your topwater lure. Senkos, curly-tailed jigs, and spoons are all good bets. A friend of mine throws in-line spinners and lets them drop and flutter-down like a spoon -- whatever floats your imagination and gets you hits.

The larger drop-bellied lunker bass will often hold well below the surface melees and feed on leftover shad body parts slithering down the water column. These big boys know how to maximize protein intake and minmize calorie output (like watching Sunday football at a Sports Bar with nachos and hot wings).

Largemouth bass are also actively feeding on bluegills and dragonflies. I once used a dragon-fly imitation fly tied by a friend with a bluegill swim bait trailer to catch a bunch of lunkers at Patagonia along the tule line. One toad snapped my line by hitting the bluegill after I had caught a smaller bass on the fly. It was awesome but sad at the same time (lost my only dragon fly imitation).

So for all you fly anglers, dragon fly flies (sound refreshingly redundant) this time of year can really produce some terrific bass action. Look for areas where there is dense shoreline vegegation, especually bulrushes, cattails and the like that provide bass places to hide in ambush.

Another treat this time of year is topwater frogs. Once again, tules help, but I have taken bass on frogs in open water that is 50 feet deep after seeing a bass slurp some shad at the top. However, it’s best to work the shoreline, especially along tules or over grass beds.

John Galbraith of Galbraith’s Tackle Store in Havasu said the secret is pitching the frog into the vegetation and then plopping it into the water to best mimic the action of a real frog. He proved it in action along where the Bill Williams River enters Havasu. It was a hoot. Thanks for the tutorial John! I have had a lot of fun fishing Arivaca with frogs (and rats) in past years. If weed beds are a problem, make them work for you by using topwater frogs rigged weedless. There are lots of them on the market. Should work for fly anglers as well.

I suspect that those mountain lakes with bass, or brown trout, might be worthwhile places to try the smaller topwater frogs. I am itching to try them at Fool Hollow, Willow Springs, or Reservation Lake. They might even get you some big pike at Upper Lake Mary, Ashurst or Long Lake. Let me know the results of you try them (raikens@azgfd.gov).

When the monsoons storms are hitting, or better yet, building up, trout fishing (and catching) can be tremendous in our mountain lakes. Use small spinners, cranibaits, casting lures such as Z-rays, or anything else that allows you to work the top of the water column.

Following such storms, trout will often go deep and the bite can be tough or even nonexistent. With all the wildflowers and mushrooms generated thanks to monsoon rains, if the the bite slackens or disappears, put away you pole and get out the camera, or just go enjoy the lush mountain meadows. Look for elk rubs on trees -- many bull elk are still rubbing off their itchy velvet.

Believe it or not, the days are getting shorter, the nights longer, the lakes will gradually cool down and the fish will get more and more active as we head into Autumn. Also keep in mind this should be a terrific year for young, fat squirrels. Starting planning your squirrel-and-trout autumn expedition now. It's great for kids, and those who want to feel young again (if Ponce de Leon had only known).

Don’t ignore Lees Ferry, although most do this time of year. The fishing for wild rainbow trout is tremendous, there are lots of large line-stripping 'bows to catch, and you’ll mostly have this world-class fishery to yourself. Fly anglers, think nymphs. Spin anglers, try in-line spinners and my secret -- small colorful bassin’ crankbaits in pink, orange and bright chartreuse. These are now the stocker trout most people catch in the popular mountain lakes, but wild-grown big rainbows full of fight that will run in the swift current and thrill you will a tail dance or two, or three.

Then to make your trip complete, slip upstream to Lake Powell and go after stripers, smallmouth and largemouth bass on topaters lures, and delectable walleye on jigs along shadowed cliff faces and in deep rock wall fractures. It's another world-class angling experience that only attracts dozens of anglers for a lake what can easily handle thousdands, with plenty of elbow exploring room to spare.

I am heading back to the Colorado River this week to gather pictures and experiences from Blythe to Yuma for our fishing guide book we are doing with Arizona Highways magazine, so I should be able to give you some first-hand reports for next week’s report (or maybe sooner).

By the way, if you don’t have a boat but would like to get on the water to fish, consider a kayak. Here’s a link for some interesting information http://www.kayakfishingtales.com. I am not endorsing anything, just providing you a way to get some info.

Visited the Colorado River below Blythe this week on a quest to get quality photos for our fishing book with Arizona Highways magazine. Few boats, no anglers, and this stretch gets little recreational pressure. Yet places like the A-10 backwater hold lots of superb fishing opportunities. If you are looking to escape the crowds and experience something different, go fish this area of the river -- you'll likely finds lots of dumb bass (those that have never seen a lure before).

If I had to choose the one great spot to fish this week, I would head back to the Parker Strip for smallmouth bass on topwater lures and chartreuse-colored Yamamoto curly tails on jig heads. Of all the spots I was privileged to fish recently while collecting photographs and fishing tales, that excited me the most. There are also lots of docks and other man-made structures for flippin’, pitchin’ and skippin’. Next time I am taking my big box of Gizits, they skip nearly as good as flat rocks zipped across the surface by veteran rock-skippping youngsters.

However, the Imperial Divison, especially the Imperial National Wildlife Area, is just made for playing Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (or Huckleberry Hound). Something about being on a river with lots of mysterious side channels that just shouts “fishing adventure.”

Go catch some summer memories while you can. Maybe I’ll see you out there.

Rory Aikens — AZGFD

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