Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
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The Japanese have a term "Shinrinyoku" that literally means "forest therapy". They know that getting outdoors soothes your soul and relaxes your mind. It is really good for kids to get outdoors and be able to run and play and explore nature – and yes, even get really dirty. My dad started taking me camping and hunting when I was very young, and I always love the feeling that you get when you leave the city behind. To this day, it lifts my spirits to get out where there are no buildings in v... Full story
The Tonto National Forest will begin the orderly closure of the following developed recreation sites as early as Monday, March 23, to protect public health and safety and align with state and local measures already in place to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. The developed recreation site closures will remain in effect until further notice. The Forest Service thanks all visitors and partners for their cooperation. Please report any instances of vandalism to facilities to the local ranger district... Full story
An old friend of ours, Tony Gaillombardo, has been fishing since he was five years old. He hosted Fishing Arizona, a local television show, for a year, and pro-staffer for Mepps and Mister Twister for many years. He's got an extensive collection of antique lures, and although he specializes in bass fishing, he also fishes for trout, catfish, sunfish, and even crawdads. He took us up to Bartlett one fall and we caught a ton of fish. As soon as the water starts to cool off in the fall, bass move... 
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These Are Recommended As Summer Temps Continue Into Fall - By Nick Walter For AZGFD Sun sweats, triple-digit fidgets, dog days - they seem to make most outdoors lovers crave cool times in the high country. Some of the best family camping and fishing options include waters with stocked or self-sustaining fish, quality camping amenities, and striking scenery. Those factors were used by AZGFD fishing report editors and regional staff to determine this list. Be sure to check the latest fire... Full story
Apache Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes in Arizona, and because the road is not paved, Apache rarely gets crowded, even in summer. Fishing can be awesome here, with largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, trout, yellow bass, catfish, carp, sunfish and crappies all represented. From the main marina west to Horse Mesa Dam the shoreline is mostly steep and rocky. Several good-sized coves cut into the shoreline, though, and provide plenty of good shallow-water fishing at this end, too. Right... Full story
Sun sweats, triple-digit fidgets, dog days -- they seem to make most outdoors lovers crave cool times in the high country. Some of the best family camping and fishing options include waters with stocked or self-sustaining fish, quality camping amenities, and striking scenery. Those factors were used by AZGFD fishing report editors and regional staff to determine this list. Be sure to check the latest fire restrictions. It's a good idea to reserve a campground in advance if possible, but if... Full story
Publisher's Note - Margie mentions Wide World of Maps later in this article. Wide World of Maps has maintained a mini-store at Lookout Mountain Outdoors. With the retirement of the owner of Lookout Mountain, Wide World of Maps will expand at this location. You may visit https://maps4u.com/, or call 602/279-2323 for information. Please tell them Jim and Carol sent you. Thank you. A Change In Plans Turns Into A Great Road Trip Sometimes plans don't work out. We had planned to go on an ROV ride wit... Full story
Alamo has great bass, catfish, and crappie fishing. We were up there with Greg Pishkur one May and we caught a bunch of nice largemouth on Chatterbaits in the main lake. Greg also took us up into the submerged trees in the river end and we tied into some big bass flipping white jigs.... Website
At press time, Lake Powell was continuing to drop about one foot per week. The Castle Rock Cut should be passable for another two months. It was recently announced that a High Flow Experiment (HFE) will occur during the first week of November. At that time, the outflow from the dam will increase dramatically to move sediment from the river bottom to the river banks further downstream. This event improves habitat for native fish in the river and in backwaters. It is likely that the Castle Rock Cu... Full story
Hopefully we will get some rain soon - and during the summer months - and the forests will re-open, but if not, there are still places you can go to enjoy the outdoors. Arizona's State Parks are super places to visit - John and the girls and I have been to many of them. Here are a few of our favorites, with cooling-off in mind. Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park This beautiful place is near Superior, Ariz., on highway 60. It does get warm there during the day, but they open at 6 a.m. from May ... Full story
Quality of life is measured by amount of time spent fishing. Welcome back to the weekly fish reports from Lake Powell - 2017 was a banner year with high water levels that covered shoreline vegetation and provided extensive habitat for both predators and prey fish. Young fish survived in big numbers and these fat healthy fish will awake and become active as soon as Lake Powell water temperature rises above the 54-57 range. "Warm water" fish residing in Lake Powell really do like warmer water... Full story
When I met John (decades ago!), I had never really fished much at all. My dad took my brother and me hunting and camping all the time, and we always did a lot of target shooting, but we never really fished. In fact, I hadn't even seen most of the lakes because Dad didn't go there. Too many people, he said. But John was both a hunter and a fisherman. And once he took me fishing, I was hooked. We went to Christopher Creek and caught trout. I had a blast. Bartlett Was Our Favorite Once we got... Full story
The fish shown in this picture are tilapia. These warm water fish, native to Africa, cannot tolerate cold water temperatures below 55 degrees. When lake temperatures fall below 55 degrees, then tilapia most often die. This situation occurs during normal or cold winters and generally lasts a few weeks to a month. Tilapia are found in many Community Fishing Program lakes. There is no public health risk. Cold water temperatures cause the immune system of tilapia to fail. Consequently, dying... Full story
Wear a life jacket when fishing from a boat in cold water - it could save your life, plus here are some good catching tips to snag a keeper this fall/winter. Nearly one-third of Arizona's boaters say fishing is their favorite activity to do while boating, and for many, fall is an ideal time of year to go out in search of that state record bass (or trout or catfish or ...). But, as the weather cools down, so does the water temperature. The U.S. Coast Guard reports that cold-water immersion and hy... Full story
Patagonia Lake is a small reservoir about an hour south of Tucson. Formed by damming Sonoita Creek, this beautiful little lake offers good crappie, catfish, and bass fishing in Southern Arizona. The terrain around Patagonia is very different from the deserts surrounding the central Arizona lakes. Patagonia is at an elevation of 3,750 feet, and the surrounding country is grassy hills and scrub oak and juniper. Dan Marzano Takes Us To Patagonia Patagonia looks more like a midwestern lake than an... Full story
From highlighting the Sonoran pronghorn recovery to an in-depth look at the making of a wildlife manager, the Arizona Wildlife Views TV show covered a diverse range of wildlife and topics in the last season. And, there's good news if you missed any of the shows from 2016: You can watch them all now on the Arizona Game and Fish Department's YouTube channel. The Emmy-award winning program is produced by the department's Information Branch and airs on PBS and city cable channels. It was recently... Full story
PHOENIX -- To protect large fish that are targeted by tournament anglers, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has requested that the USDA Forest Service temporarily suspend angler tournaments from Apache, Canyon and Saguaro Lakes until environmental conditions improve. Golden alga blooms have developed over large portions of Saguaro and Apache Lakes. Golden alga produces a toxin (prymnesin) that affects any organism with gills. Currently, the primary species that is being affected is threadfin... Full story
Warming nighttime temperatures play a big part in regulating lake water temperatures. Already in our beautiful desert impoundments, water temperatures have popped into the magical upper-60s, lower-70s range, prompting bass, shad and other fish to increase their activity levels. Before the Memorial Day weekend, Arizona Game & Fish had stocked an additional 20,000 trout and catfish into waters statewide. Through June, they'll have stocked a quarter-million more trout, catfish, bass and sunfish.... Full story
To protect large fish that are targeted by tournament anglers, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has requested that the USDA Forest Service temporarily suspend angler tournaments from Apache, Canyon and Saguaro Lakes until environmental conditions improve. Golden Alga Blooms Golden alga blooms have developed over large portions of Saguaro and Apache Lakes. Golden alga produces a toxin (prymnesin) that affects any organism with gills. Currently, the primary species that is being affected is... Full story
Wayne's Words - http://www.wayneswords.com Surface water temperature today and for most of the week was 64 degrees. End of report! For those who need a bit more information, here are the details: Striped bass adults prefer a temperature of 64 degrees. At this comfort level, trophy size fish, adults, and juveniles have free reign and can travel in any direction, any depth and feed anywhere. Trophy fish cannot handle warmer water and must stay in the 64 degree range. Adult fish are found close to...
A giant fish tail, dark and maybe two feet in length, curled beneath the surface of the water. Carson Pete, shore-fishing about 50 yards away, hiked to where he spotted the tail Sunday at Upper Lake Mary near Flagstaff. He happened to have brought a heavy spinning rod with 50-pound braided line, a 60-pound fluorocarbon leader, and a 7/0 Gamakatsu circle hook. Just before the sun crawled beneath a horizon of pine trees, Pete grabbed a few frozen anchovies he'd dipped in a homemade fish... Full story
So you've caught some line-ripping cats and taken advantage of bragging to some buddies about your Mr. Whisker's success; now try cooking for them with this great recipe. Here's an alcohol-infused creation to turn your catfish into some fine Southern dining. Fare Afield's Bourbon-Glazed Catfish By Johnathan O'Dell (https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnathan-o-dell-4372b677) Serves 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Ingredients: • Four 6-ounce catfish fillets • 1/4 cup cornmeal ... Full story
As many of us reflect on 2016 and think about the changes we’d like to make in this new year, how about adding an outdoors resolution to the list? From the Arizona Game & Fish Department here are some ideas for current outdoors enthusiasts and some who are new to the joys of participating in it: 1. Buy a hunting, fishing or combo license and head out for some outdoor fun while supporting wildlife. Licenses are inexpensive: Arizona residents pay $37 for a general hunting or fishing license or $... Full story
Some new fishing regulations took effect on Jan.1, Be sure to look for the full 2017-18 Arizona Game and Fish Department fishing regulations online around the first of the year. Also, the new fishing regulations booklet will be available at all AZGFD offices and license dealers in early January. Here are the changes: • Reduce the daily trout bag limit to five at the Colorado River from Lake Mead to California-Nevada boundary (including Lake Mohave and Willow Beach). • Reduce the daily... Full story
Tip Of The Week Bartlett Lake in the Tonto National Forest can be a great place for winter crappie and bass. Some of the best crappie fishing can be done in the cold of the morning - then anglers can switch to bass. Consider throwing crankbaits and spinnerbaits with a slow presentation. Trailers on spinnerbaits, and slow-rolling across the rock stringers, can work well at times. Once you get a feeling for where the bass are holding, switch to the finesse style of drop-shotting. Did you know the... Full story
