FISHING REPORT

STAFF REPORT~ 8/24/2011

This is a scaled down, North Valley focused, version of the weekly fishing report produced by Arizona Game and Fish. To view the complete listing go to http://azgfd.net/artman/publish/FishingReport/J20-Fishing-Report.shtml

LAKE PLEASANT – According to Mike McFarland with Hook Up Outfitters, the late summer topwater bite is underway and should continue getting better and better as the days continue to get shorter, the nights get longer, and the lake cools down.
There are daytime surface eruptions of bass chasing shad off-and-on throughout the lake.  Mostly, Mike said, it's striped bass chasing shad, but lunker largemouth bass are also hanging on the fringe of the boils to pick up an easy meal. So try swim baits, Skinny Dippers, crankbaits and even spoons along the edges of the boils for bucketmouths.
Mike advised that action is also picking up for channel catfish, with lots of whiskered bottom dwellers being caught weighing up to 8 pounds or so. Try corn, chicken liver, anchovies, or hot dogs.
With a waning moon, nighttime fishing under lights should be decent. Try using anchovies with little or no weight. If you catch one, be sure to chum to hold the school. It's always a good idea to mix in some corn with your chum. The corn can attract bluegill and channel catfish, creating more of a feeding frenzy that will attract other finned predators.
Two anglers fished in Coles Bay at night.  Fishing started out pretty slow but after a while they landed a lot of 10 to 12 inch stripers and one was 22 inches.  They also landed 8 channel cats the largest was 4 pounds.  They didn’t mention what they were using but my bet is on anchovies. 
An angler fished the early morning on Aug. 15 for about 3 hours in the northern coves with long silver and blue spoons and caught four large stripers. 
BARTLETT – Lake elevation is 1,758 feet, which is 50 percent full.  Reservoir release is 125 cfs. This lake has been producing well all summer. Try the major points, islands and reefs along this long, narrow desert reservoir. This is the time of year when you are just as likely to catch bass during the day as you are at night, so take your choice.
With the nights getting longer and cooler, the days getting shorter, the water temperatures on this lake -- especially at the surface -- are cooling down. Bait fish and predatory fish will both become increasingly active as the season progresses. Go armed with topwater baits, jerkbaits, and crankbaits for the more active fish, and use drop shots, jigs and spoons for the deeper less active ones. 

An angler fished from midnight to 3:45 in the morning.  He boated 5 largemouth bass.  The largest was just over 4 pounds.  He got 20 or more hits and lost 4 while reeling them in.  

SAGUARO - Lake elevation 1,525 feet at 93 percent full. Daytime topwater action is picking up, but it's still a little crazy with recreational boaters on the weekends. However, if you can fish during the weekdays, this is a good choice, especially for a mixed bag of largemouth bass, yellow bass, bluegill and channel catfish.
Fishing at night under lights should continue getter better and better as we move toward a new moon. Should be a quarter moon this weekend, so watch the moon rise and set times.
A group of 3 anglers caught 2 small bass and a yellow bass in about 4 hours of fishing.  No details on what they used. 

APACHE – Lake elevation is 1,909 feet (95 percent full).  This lake has been producing well all summer, especially for largemouth bass. With the nights getting longer and cooler, expect the topwater action to start picking up here during the daytime.
An angler fished for about 3.5 hours from 5 to 8:30 p.m.   He threw shad color 5-inch Senkos that resulted in boating three smallmouth bass, three fat largemouth bass and one walleye.  Water temps were about 88 degrees and water clarity was 3 feet. 
One fisherman caught 12 largemouth and three smallmouth bass on various colored Robo Worms on dropshot along the banks.  Average size was about a pound.  Largest was 2 pounds.  He noted a spawn was successful this year as he caught two youngsters.  He also caught something big but it straightened the hook and the fish got away. 

CANYON - Lake elevation is 1,658 ft, which is 96 percent full. An angler on a fishing tube fished early morning at Boulder and caught four largemouth bass on topwater.  Bite shut down after 7:30 or so.  Jig bite was real slow later on. 
Another angler had the same luck.  Topwater worked well in the morning but the bite fell off and he only caught one two pound bass after 7:30 a.m. 
With the nights getting longer and cooler, expect the topwater action to continue picking up.
Catch any whoppers lately? Email photos of your recent catch to ffeditiorial@hotmail.com with the name of the angler, the time, date, the name of the lake, where you are from, the kind of fish caught and weight and length if you know it along with the kind of bait/lure used to make the catch and you could see it on the newspaper’s Facebook page (facebook.com/TheFoothills.Focus).