Fishing is really busting loose right now from the high pines to the lower deserts. Full moon is Sunday. We have nice warm weather shooting up into the nineties this weekend in the deserts. This should definitely be the time for the crappie to spawn. Mini-jigs and live minnows should be the trick for most.
Alamo, Roosevelt, and San Carlos should be going gangbusters. Bartlett should be fairly good, but for some reason this year anglers haven't done quite as well on the speckled beauties. That could change right now. Anglers are still catching some huge crappie, on occasion, at Lake Pleasant.
We should also see a spawning surge for largemouth bass right now. Check the backs and sides of shallow coves. Use polarized glasses to see. For lures, think bright colors -- ones you can see if you plan to sight fish the beds if you are so inclined.
But please, if you catch a bedding fish, immediately release it. Give nature a chance. It's not a requirement, just a good ethical and responsible practice. Okay, enough preaching.
The picture is Jim Shultz with a monster (uncertified) 31-inch largemouth bass he caught-and-released at Lake Pleasant on a six-inch Bold Bluegill Roboworm (20-pound test braided line, 14-pound Copolymer leader) in 5 to 7 feet of water in the Agua Fria arm of the lake. It was my privilege to meet Jim when he brought the paperwork to apply for the catch-and-release state record. He is a truly nice guy. Unfortunately, the picture he provided as required did not have a ruler or even a fishing pole immediately adjacent to the bass so our biologists would somehow verify its length. By the way, the current catch-and-release record was set in 2005 by Bill Wilson of Glendale who caught a 28-inch largemouth bass at Lake Pleasant.
Jim, you may not have gotten a state record, but in my book, you are a record nice guy. I look forward to fishing with you some time in the future.
So, for those of you who aspire to a catch-and-release fish record, be sure when you take the picture of your proud fish that it you include a tape measure ruler or other measuring device next to the fish in the photograph. Check page 36 of the Fishing Regulations for complete information.
Another side note. I was privileged to speak to the Phoenix Junior Bassmasters on Wednesday night at the Sportsman's Warehouse. They have a tournament this weekend at Lake Pleasant. If you see these superb youth out fishing on Sunday, give them a thumbs up or something. They are reeling in the future of angling.
For the high country, great news just keeps coming.
I just talked to the Black Mesa Ranger District in Heber. The Rim Road to Woods Canyon will open on Friday, April 15, but the parking lot and boat ramp etc. at Woods will not be accessible quite yet -- you'll have to walk in a little bit to fish there. It will likely be another couple of weeks until the Rim Road is open to Bear Canyon Lake. Right now, it's wait-and-see time.
But Willow Springs Lake has been open, and even stayed open during last weekend's snow storm. Black Canyon is also open and accessible. You can get to Chevelon via the FR 504 from Heber (turn left just past the Circle K on the hill above Heber).
Another piece of great news -- Knoll Lake is now open off Highway 87 on the Coconino National Forest side of the Mogollon Rim. I chatted with the Blue Ridge office of the Mogollon Rim District and was told the roads are open on the Coconino, but there are spots or segments with barricades. But the FR 300 (Rim Road) is open from that side into Knoll Lake.
CC Cragin (Blue Ridge Reservoir), has been open for some time.
GREAT NEWS -- Highways 261 and 273 into Big Lake from the Sunrise area opened the morning of April 14. Remember, it's paved all the way now. We have a juniors turkey hunting camp in the area -- be sure to wave. Big Lake has been ice free for some time and the store is open. If you are looking for information on the campgrounds at Big Lake and in the area, click here http://www.rrmofa.com
Ashurst Lake near Flagstaff is now accessible. We culled the pike population a little using nets last week (see the lake report for more details) and will be stocking it very soon with 15,000 trout. I'll update this report when I get word it has happened.
Here's something you'll like, it's a radio add about fishing -- it's the coolest fishing add I have ever heard. Check it out. MP3
Now that you are sufficiently jazzed, be sure to take the pledge at the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation to Take Someone Fishing.
For all you night anglers, here is something else to watch for: Spinning Asteroid Fly By. A 50-meter asteroid is flying past the Earth-Moon system on April 15. There's no danger of a collision, but the 50-meter space rock is remarkable. It is elongated and spinning, which causes the asteroid to flash like a strobe light in amateur telescopes. Observing tips are at http://spaceweather.com
Pick your favorite fishery and go. Spring fishing is definitely ascending toward its peak -- don't miss out. Go catch some memories. Maybe I'll see you out there.
Back in 1996, when sardonic screenwriter Kevin Williamson and inventive director Wes Craven devised this humor-tinged concept, it was a new and totally different type of horror picture, as the characters rattled off self-reflective meta-commentaries, often in the form of rules. There were two sequel ...
Fishing is really busting loose right now from the high pines to the lower deserts. Full moon is Sunday. We have nice warm weather shooting up into the nineties this weekend in the deserts. This should definitely be the time for the crappie to spawn. Mini-jigs and live minnows should be the trick f ...
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