Excerpts From AZGFD Fishing Report

Tip Of The Week

At Lake Havasu, a.k.a. Arizona's West Coast, anglers can have banner days on the bedding smallmouth bass. Crappie and largemouth bass will follow with their egg protecting endeavors. (Did I say, "crappie"? Yep, and it looks like Alamo Lake is ripe to be targeted for this great-tasting fish. Just get some good advice from an area tackle shop – if you need it -- and mean business.)

The Reel Deal

Most bass are in pre-spawn mode in most of the desert lakes. Before recent storms, some desert drinks such as Saguaro Lake were said to have decent numbers of bedding bass.

Mr. Whiskers Comes Back

A lot is going on right now and it's nearing one of the best times of the year to fish - Mr. Whiskers is coming back to Community waters, trout will be a refreshing mountain option, and bass will be feeding and attacking almost any bait you can throw in front of their bucket mouths.

Good Time To Visit Powell

At Lake Powell, the expected springtime fish movement to shallow warmer water is now occurring. Stripers that were holding at 40-100 feet can now be found at 15-30 feet. Good time to visit this scenic, red-rock gem.

First-Fish Recipe

This is the first fish Hailee has caught. Her family fished from shore as they were camping at Davis Camp on the Colorado River. The family wasn't getting any bites and Hailee decided to rub cheese flavored stink bait on the anchovy and caught that fish. A great call by the young angler! They estimated it was 3-4-pound striper.

Big Fish Of The Year

Bob Foy is the leader in the channel catfish category with this 9-pound, 10 1/4-ounce, 28 ¼-inch channel catfish taken from Red Mountain Lake at the first of last month.

Fish Salvage At Tempe Town Lake

Water is being drawn down at Tempe Town Lake to remove the previous dam system. The lake is closed for water activities until April 30. Meanwhile, Arizona Game & Fish is working with the City of Tempe to save as many fish as possible.

Fish Stocking Update

The following waters were stocked recently: Red Mountain; Encanto; Cortez; Rio Vista; Surprise; Pioneer; Desert West; Alvord; Lynx Lake; Silverbell; Kennedy; Sahuarita; Lakeside; Copper Sky; Veterans Oasis; Desert Breeze; Tempe Kiwanis; Riverview; Chaparral; Oak Creek, Frances Short Pond; Deadhorse; Verde River; Goldwater; Parker Canyon; Frances Short, City Reservoir, Cataract.

The first load of catfish has arrived at many Community lakes and ponds.

For more timely stocking updates, follow @NickFishAZ on Twitter and look for tweets with #AZfishtracker

Fish Kill Temporarily Hampers Angling

A moderate fish kill occurred at Lower Lake Mary in Flagstaff in March and water-quality testing by the Arizona Game And Fish Department discovered areas of low dissolved oxygen that remained from the past winter.

Lower Lake Mary has been stocked with trout, and although fishing will slow temporarily, be on the lookout for when fish become active on the surface. The Department will be monitoring the water quality at Lower Lake Mary and will stock more fish once it has improved.

Meanwhile, fishing at Dogtown Lake south of Williams or Frances Short Pond in Flagstaff will be good alternatives.

Patterson Ponds Join CFP

Patterson Ponds, located in the rural community of St. Johns in the White Mountains of northeast Arizona, will become the Arizona Game And Fish Department's newest Community Fishing Program (CFP) water. The ponds received their first stocking of rainbow trout during the week of March 21-26.

How Fishing Opportunities Are Funded

Did you know the Arizona Game And Fish Department receives no Arizona general fund tax dollars? We hold the state's wildlife in trust for the public without a dime from Arizona taxpayers.

Conserving fishing for future generations will require, in part, dedicated anglers to purchase licenses each year to maintain funding for conservation of all Arizona's wildlife species.

Buy your license online and fish our great state for a year (and help conserve all species of wildlife while doing so).