Urban Fishing Report for Arizona
Arizona Game and Fish Department 11.13.12
November offers excellent fishing at Urban Program lakes with catfish, bluegill and rainbow trout stockings all taking place in recent weeks. Rainbow trout stockings will begin Thursday, November 15 at all Urban Fishing Program waters. Trout fishing will be good to excellent for anglers using scented dough baits (such as Power Bait), worms or small trout lures. Winter trout stockings will continue every two weeks from November to March with 12,000 trout delivered each time. All lakes were recently stocked with plenty of bluegill on October 31. Bluegills are fun to catch for anglers of all ages and will bite all day long. The best baits are mealworms or small pieces of night crawlers. Use lighter tackle, smaller hooks in the size 10-12 range, and small bobbers for the best bites. Catfish action is fair to good after four fall stockings have loaded up the lakes. Trout fishing is good to excellent at Green Valley lakes in Payson with the best action coming on Power Bait, salmon eggs, worms, Super Dupers and small spinners.
Trout Season Kicks Off November 15
The first trout delivery of the winter season will take place Thursday, November 15 at all Urban Program lakes in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. Trout ranging from 10-15 inches will be stocked at rates of 80-100 fish per lake surface acre. Fish deliveries will occur throughout the day starting from early morning into the afternoon. Trout stockings will continue at two week intervals throughout the next four months. A total of 12,000 rainbow trout will be delivered to 20 waters in one day. With the colder temperatures at Payson’s Green Valley Lakes, trout stockings already started in October and will continue every other week. Remember, daily bag and possession limits for trout at Urban Lakes are 4 fish per person for licensed anglers and 2 fish for unlicensed children under the age of 14. Trout limits at Urban Ponds are 2 fish for licensed anglers and 1 fish for children. [NOTE: Twice each year the Urban Fishing Program releases the exact stocking day: the first trout stocking in the fall, and the first catfish stocking in the spring. For other stocking dates throughout the year, only the week of stocking is announced to the public (Monday thru Saturday).
2012 Urban Fishing Licenses 50% off Sale
The 2012 Urban Fishing licenses (Class U) are on sale for 50% off during the final two months of 2012. Stop by a Game and Fish office or any sporting goods or retail license dealers and ask for the 2012 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 for the remainder of 2012. The weather is great, so pick up a license and head out for some fishing fun at a nearby lake.
Big Fish-of-the-Year Contest
With less than two months to go, there are plenty of opportunities to report your big fish catches for the 2012 Fish-of-the-Year contest. Tim Nichols just turned in a catch and release record 40-inch white amur caught at Green Valley Lake. Application forms and instructions are in the current Urban Fishing Program guidebook. Some categories have had no entries yet. Updates on the current leaders can be checked out on our web site at www.azgfd.gov.
Remember the Web, www.azgfd.gov, for stocking schedules, the Fish&Boat Arizona webmap, outdoor events calendar, and other great fishing and outdoor information. Also check out the web for Weekly Fishing Reports, to submit your fishing photos or to send us your latest fishing report. We are also on Facebook.
