Urban Fishing

November promises to provide excellent fishing at Urban Fishing Program lakes. The lakes have been loaded with catfish all fall with one last stocking the week of Oct. 28 – Nov. 2.

Coming soon is the first trout delivery for the winter season that begins on Nov. 15. Fishing for catfish, especially cats over 4 pounds, has been excellent following the last stocking that included a huge number of incentive-size fish.

Every urban lake received some of the whoppers up to 7 pounds. Excited anglers have been pulling in these trophy cats up to 10 days later.

Top baits for catfish are hot dogs, shrimp, worms, and stink baits with fish biting throughout the day. On Oct. 19, Green Valley Lakes (Payson) were stocked with the first load of rainbow trout to kick off the eight-month trout-stocking season at this pretty lake in the pines.

Fishing at Green Valley has been good to excellent with trout up to 15 inches biting well on Power Bait, worms and small spinners and jigs.

Catfish Season Winds Down; Trout Stockings Begin Nov. 15

The fall catfish stocking season wrapped up the week of Oct. 28 – Nov. 2 with another 13,000 pounds of fish scheduled for delivery to 18 Urban Fishing Program waters in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. Now fish-stocking trucks switch from delivering catfish to trout.

Lake temperatures are cooling down towards the 66-degree target for trout, a cold-water species. The winter trout-stocking season is begins Friday, Nov. 15. Rainbow trout ranging from 10-14 inches will be stocked at two-week intervals throughout the winter.

More than 100,000 trout from Colorado have been ordered for delivery to Urban waters during the four-month stocking season that lasts from November to March.

Located in Payson's high mountain country, Green Valley Lakes have already been stocked with trout since mid-October. Green Valley's every-other-week trout stockings extend from October to May.

2013 Urban Fishing Licenses Half-Off Sale

If you recently found out about the great fishing in the urban lakes and the start of the trout-stocking season, we have a deal for you. Starting Nov. 1, the 2013 Class U, Urban Fishing Program license went on sale for 50-percent off during the last two months of 2013.

Stop by a Game and Fish office or any of our sporting goods or retail license dealers and ask for your 2013 discount Urban fishing license for $9.25 (same price for non-residents). The Urban license is valid for all fish species including trout, catfish, bluegill and bass. Youth ages 13 and under do not need a license to fish.