New in Arizona

[Nipes]

I am new to the Arizona board. I am originally from Idaho and want to get my lines wet again. I am headed to the Payson area this weekend and was wondering where a good place to fish is and what to use. I mostly fish for trout, but would like to get into fishing for bass too. Thanks for any info and I hope to contribute to the board often!

Tyler
[signature]

[AFFamily]

Hey welcome to the AZ boards!

What method of fishing are you going to be doing (shore/toon/fly/spin).
How far are you willing to go?
[signature]

[Nipes]

I will be fishing from shore because I do not have a boat or pontoon. I have a spinning set up and I also have my fly fishing gear with me. We are going to be staying in Heber and I know there are some lakes around there. I saw one that says it has grayling in it and that has been a goal of mine to hook one of those. I have lures, flies, and like chucking some worms too. Thanks for the reply!

Tyler
[signature]

[AFFamily]

Okay the secret to fishing here in Arizona this time of year is going to be where the other masses of people aren't, especially this coming up weekend.

I've been skunked my last three visits to Fool Hollow Lake this year. Show Low Lake can give up some nice fish and is shore friendly. But it would be a safe guess it's going to be PACKED with people.

Somewhere that is worth putting up with people is Hawley Lake. It's by far one of the prettiest lakes in all of Arizona and very shore fishing friendly. Again, there will be a lot of people there. Very popular camping spot.

If you're into tossing flies, shoot me a PM and I'll tell you a few creeks up that way.

Personally, if I was heading up there this weekend I'd be looking towards Knoll Lake or Woods Canyon.

Usual fare will work on the slimers, you won't find a lot of holdovers or bigguns. Lots of hatchery trout. Powerbait, spinners, worms. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
[signature]

[Jrpadilla26]

Hey buddy welcome to AZ. I see I'm a little late on this post and you've already been up to the rim country but ill tell you what I know for future reference. Bear canyon lake on the rim has arctic grayling. I've only fished there once and caught nothing but stocker trout. I'm not even sure how to catch a grayling. AFFamily is right though. On a busy summer weekend you need to do all you can to avoid the crowds. Most of the rim lakes are just too popular and get way too busy. Fools hollow lake in show low is pretty dead because it is so popular with the Phoenix crowd though it is always great for catfish. Show low lake can be great for trout in the spring and fall. I've also done great catching cats there and it also produced the state record walleye. As AFFamily said hawley lake is about as beautiful as it gets and holds some of the states biggest brown trout. There are also spots in the white mountains where it is easy to catch 200 smallmouth in a day. That's a bit more of a secret and will take some bribing to get that info I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July weekend and more importantly, I hope you caught a lot of fish.
[signature]

[AFFamily]

[quote Jrpadilla26] There are also spots in the white mountains where it is easy to catch 200 smallmouth in a day. That's a bit more of a secret and will take some bribing to get that info [/quote]

Give up that secret, I'll do the driving, drag my boat, and pay for the gas! How's that for bribery? [laugh]
[signature]

[Jrpadilla26]

Ha you're on the right track! A boat won't be necessary. You will need a 4x4 and your hiking shoes. Two of my buddies went last weekend. They started fishing at 9:30 and fished until evening and between the two of them caught 395 fish. I'm planning on going in August sometime. I might require that you wear a blindfold on the drive so the word doesn't get out. If too many people find out about it the fishing will never be the same.
[signature]

[AFFamily]

I have the 4x4 (Big Dodge). As for the blindfold, might have to buy me dinner first.
[signature]

[Nipes]

Well, we ended up going to Black Canyon lake. It was pretty busy, but we walked to the opposite end of the lake and took up shop. I have had better days of fishing, but I have also had worse. We were just using worms and my wife caught a little largemouth bass on her first cast. Things kind of heated up and we caught about 8 bluegill, also pretty small, but with one nice one. I kept tossing worms and kept missing a fish that was in some deeper water. Finally hooked it and it was the only trout we caught on the day. It was only about 12 inches but fought pretty well. Saw a pretty good size largemouth cruising the shallows and eating minnows, but never could get him to bite. Thanks for all the info!

Tyler
[signature]

[Jrpadilla26]

Haha I will make you a deal. You wear the blindfold and I will promise to take you to the best fishing hole this side of the Mississippi. You will catch so many fish you'll get sick of it. Your hands will be sore and blistered by the end of the day. I can also promise you that you will dream of going back every day after and will probably offer me a fair amount of money to take you there without a blindfold.
[signature]

[Jrpadilla26]

Well Tyler some fish are better than no fish at all. Black canyon lake can be pretty slow. I haven't been for a few years but we used to catch quite a few trout. That area is home to world class elk if you're into hunting at all. Get yourself up higher to big lake or crescent lake and you'll get into some great trout fishing. Especially in the fall or ice fishing in the winter.
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

Have you given up on the Walleye until later in the year?
[signature]

[Jrpadilla26]

Well I moved to Phoenix which is 3 hours from my home town and my walleye hotspot. I've been really busy with school so I've only been back walleye fishing once so far. I will go back when I get a chance but come fall I will do all I can to get up a lot more and hopefully I will catch the big fish of the year again for arizona! I will post pictures if I pull in anything worth talking about. I have very high hopes though.
[signature]