Happy Holidays to everyone!  We had a great time with the kids and grand-kids over the weekend, and hope everyone did as well!!!

Fishing is looking great for the end of the year.  If you’re in town for the bowl games or have family in town for the new years, the weather is going to be great and the fish are biting!

Lake Pleasant has continued to be excellent for largemouth, white and striped bass.  Fly anglers and conventional anglers both are seeing good numbers of fish in the shallows feeding on shad in the backs of the creek arms.  Topwater and shallow water baits have been the best bet.  Look for birds or boils and fish around the activity.  It’s all about timing right now so if you’re in an active area just keep working until things come together.  Keep the baits real natural, white’s and grey’s.  If the shallow bite doesn’t come together, head out to 60-65 feet in the creek channels, look for shad balls, and there are plenty of stripers ready to eat spoons and bait.

Oak Creek is continuing to fish well for end of the season trout.  There are a lot of rainbows still active in the deeper pools, as well as some nice browns sunning themselves in the afternoon.  Most of the action now is on nymphs, but on the warmer days there can still be some dry fly action on tricos and blue winged olives.  Upstream of Sedona up in the canyon has shown the best action.

Silver Creek in the White Mountains continues to kick out monster rainbows and some little Apaches.  Streamers and midges have been the most consistent, but there is some dry fly action as well.  Little adams and BWO’s have been the best bet.  The rainbows are all set up for spawn, and are showing their spawning colors.  This is an exciting winter fish if you’re in the high country over the next couple of months.

We look forward to seeing everyone out on the water.  Have a safe and wonderful new years! 

The great striper bite is still on from last month at Lake Pleasant!  We have continued to catch large numbers of stripers in depths of 40-60 feet on cut bait and spoons.  There are hundreds of stripers roaming the lake in pursuit of the abundant shad population.  Northern creek arms are producing some of the larger stripers in the late evenings.  Largemouths have been crushing swim baits thrown on a new rig that is the hottest thing on Arizona lakes lately.  Fishing has continued to be good following last month’s fun, just be prepared for the rainy and cold weather if you’re headed out this week.  Next week looks to be the return of sunshine!

Oak Creek in Sedona is producing feisty rainbows and a few large browns.  One large brown was seen chasing down and eating a rainbow! It was awesome!  Bundle up for the chilly weather and a great time.  Be sure to bring your camera for capturing the scenic red rocks covered in fresh snow. 

Silver Creek is the place to be this winter if you are looking for big trout action!  The rainbows are in pre-spawn mode and chasing each other in the shallow water.  There is great potential to catch a big beautiful rainbow there.  Don’t miss out!

What a November!  We had one of the busiest Novembers we’ve ever had, and as luck would have it the fish decided to turn on and give us one of the best fishing months we’ve had all year. 

Lake Pleasant has been on fire!  There are schools of stripers by the thousands staging on offshore flats and humps just munching bait.  The key depths are 45-65 feet.  Cut bait and spoons have been the way to go out here, and most of the month we’ve been seeing fish counts of 50-100 fish for our half day charters.  If you want action, this is the time to get out.  Shallow water fishermen have also been blessed the last couple of weeks with a fantastic topwater and boiling fish bite.  The bait is following the rising water and all three bass species are following the bait and crushing it in the shallow brush.  Topwater walking baits, swimbaits, little crankbaits, and fast stripped shad flies have been crushing fish largemouth, stripers and white bass.

We’ve continued to see good fishing in Oak Creek Canyon as well.  Even with no real hatches to speak of the dry fly action has been great.  Small mayfly patterns, adams type stuff, have been kicking butt up stream.  Also keep an eye out for the big browns.  They have finished spawn and are very aggressive.  We had a client land a 22 inch brown this week that ate his 8 inch rainbow he was catching.  Pretty cool!

The White Mountains have also been kicking out some great end of the year fishing.  There are still a few streams and lakes accessable and the trout fishing has been great.  This is a mix of dry fly and nymphing, with lots of solid 20″+ fish coming out.

The Fall Snap has finally arrived at Pleasant!  Stripers, whites, and largemouth are all chasing bait up shallow.  The largemouths are traveling in “wolf packs” and have been stout 3 to 4 pounders.  Our best success has been with spoons, swim baits, and top water walking baits.  Stripers have been seen in big numbers suspended and moving into main lake coves chasing bait to the surface.  It is game on for the avid fly angler!  Don’t hesitate and miss out on this action.  Come out and enjoy the great fishing in our beautiful fall weather.

Saguaro Lake is producing some hefty largemouths on swim baits.  If you’re looking to score a big fish this fall, now is the time to trophy hunt!

Trout fishing up north in the Oak Creek Canyon area has been phenomenal!  The browns have been active throughout the day and have been smashing drys and streamers.  A large 20 inch brown attacked a small rainbow recently on one of our guide trips as the angler was striping in the fish.  With the trees in full fall color, now is the time to come out and experience the cool mornings up north.  Bring a camera to capture the breathtaking scenery of Sedona in fall.

I am always reminded each year on the first day of fall how funny living in the desert is.  As I was watching the today show and the changing leaves and cooler temps most of the country is seeing, as I started to laugh, as we remain sweating in 107 degrees and are asking, really?  Fall huh?  Well, luckily for us we love wearing shorts and t-shirts, because warm weather is going to stay for a while longer.

With the warm weather fishing remains great!  Lake Pleasant has continued to be excellent for both largemouth and stripers.  The topwater bite has really turned on this week, but keep in mind the lake is supposed to stall out today, meaning they are going to stop releasing water, which usually throws things off a bit for a couple of days.  Once the fish get used to the stable conditions this can be one of the best times of the year to catch fish on this lake.  The deep fish are still positioned in 50-70 feet over bait.  They should start pushing the shad up to the bank now that the water is still.  Keep your eyes on the graph at all times, and be flexible in your approach!

Roosevelt Lake slowed way down this week, as off and on cooler nights kind of got it in a funk.  Flippin and topwater is still the best bet, but fish are few and far between, so I’d look elsewhere for a week or two.

Saguaro Lake is still fishing decent.  Bass have been eating topwater and finesse plastics in the mid lake section.  Early and late have been the best times of the day.  Look for fish chasing bait, and fish all around those areas.

Oak Creek Has still been fishing great.  Fish are starting to get active in the cooler temperatures that the mountains are seeing.  We are still wet wading up here, so leave your waders at home for another couple of weeks.  The dry fly action is still decent, but nymphs and little streamers are really popping fish well.  Look for the better brown trout cruising the slack pools as they fatten up for spawn.

Lake Mary is getting better each day.  We still have yet to see this lake really break out this year and kick out those 50-60 fish days, but we are seeing more fish being caught, with the quality being real solid.  We had a couple of 40+ inch fish this week, so things are getting better.  Chatterbaits and buzzbaits are still the main baits right now, and should remain hot until things really cool off temperature wise.

Even though sometimes it doesn’t seem like it will ever happen, sooner or later fall will actually come to Arizona.  For now, weather is warm, fishing is good, so get out and enjoy fishing in one layer of clothing while you can!

Well, I think we’re all ready for the summer to be over.  We’ve had record heat almost every day this week in the desert, with several days reaching 115+.  There is only so much heat a person should have to take, and even for desert dwellers like us enough is enough.  Most of our fishing right now is early and late in the day to avoid the main heat of the day, but some crazy anglers are still braving the conditions and staying out all day.  If there is a bright side, it seems that the fishing has heated up along with the weather.  Here’s a breakdown of conditions for the week:

Lake Pleasant has still been hot and spotty.  When the timing is right, fishing is fantastic right now.  Stripers are chasing, boiling, eating well.  Largemouth are starting to chase and crash bait, and we’ve had some fantastic days on topwater for good fish this week.  The biggest challenge now is, the timing is different every day, and if you miss the window fishing is tough.  The best and most consistent times for the topwater action is absolutely the early morning hours.  If you want to catch some good action on top, you need to be out first thing.  Buzzbaits, Spooks and Ricos are all producing good largemouth and stripers right now for gear guys, and gurglers, poppers and shad streamers are still producing for fly anglers.  The afternoons have been fantastic for striper action deep over main lake channels in 50-60 feet.  Most of this action is on bait, but you can catch them on just about anything you drop if you get the schools going.  These are still massive schools of stripers and an absolute blast to get on.

Saguaro Lake has fished really well this week.  We’re not seeing huge numbers of fish, but there is some good quality largemouth coming out right now.  Again, the morning hours have produced good topwater and swimbait action.  Once the sun gets up the fish pull out into the shade and finesse tactics like a dropshot rig have been best.

Roosevelt Lake has also fished well this week.  This is very technical fishing right now, with precise casts a must, but anglers who can make the right cast can catch a lot of fish.  Most of this action has been on frogs and flippin.

Oak Creek Canyon has fished extremely well this week.  The browns are much more active than we have seen them this summer, and there are tons of rainbows in the stream right now.  Nymphing is still the best all around way to get them to go, but sometimes you can get a good one to come up on a big terrestrial fly.  The upper and lower stretches have fished well this week.

In town carp fishing has also been excellent this week.  Although it is blistering hot, the fish are very active and aggressive right now.  Most of the fish we are seeing are feeding in the ultra shallows, so it’s an exciting time to fish for them.  Little nymphs, eggs and crab imitation flies are always best.  Remember these fish are super spooky so use ultra light tippet.

If you’re coming out fishing this week be prepared for some sweat!  The good news is, the fish are biting, so it makes braving the heat worth while!  We’ll see you on the water!

You never know what to expect in the dog days of summer.  The one thing you know for sure is that you’re going to sweat, but how good the fishing will be in always an unknown.  Luckily for us, this summer is shaping up to be great fishing!

Stripers have been the buzz of Lake Pleasant again.  The boils are still hit and miss, and predominantly smaller fish (even though some better fish have started showing up this week), but the deep bite has been off the hook again.  Large pods of fish are stacking up in the creek channels, and if you can get on the right school you can catch them every drop.  Most of these fish are fresh from deep water, and are bigger fish (2-6 pounders).  We’re finding most of the action in 45-65 feet, and cut bait is definitely the way to go.  The interesting thing about these fish right now is that they are feeding heavily on crawfish and not shad, but they are super aggressive on the bait.  Fly fisherman can also mop up right now if they have the patience to let their line sink 60 feet and strip back quickly (again, even though the fish are eating crawfish, shad streamers are more effective on this).  This bite is good now day and night, so take advantage while it’s going!

Largemouth bass fishing has slowed down for numbers this week at Pleasant, but we’ve seen some nicer fish, with several 5+ pound fish coming on structure.  Finesse plastics and jigging spoons are the best way to target them right now (50-60 feet), but the start of the shallow water bite is starting, with scattered topwater and jerkbait action as well (especially on the cloudier days).  These fish are also feeding heavily on craws, but are starting to chase little bluegills and shad, so take it day to day.

Roosevelt Lake has slowed down considerably this week and is dropping steadily.  The structure bite is getting tougher and the shallow bite just isn’t great.  We did see some nice fish early morning crush frogs, but it shuts down pretty quick.  This lake should be red hot right now, and no doubt will be soon, but isn’t quite yet.

Bartlett and Saguaro Lake have still been fishing well for numbers, but we’re not seeing a lot of size at either.  These could be good places for action, but I think Lake Pleasant is just as good on action and has bigger fish coming out.

Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona has been fishing well.  The fish are getting active and are crushing most dry flies.  The upper canyon has been the hottest action, and terrestrial style flies have been best.  Look for little pocket water.  The fish have been hanging out in the current and are aggressive.  Still light tippet (5x-6x) on the dries.  Fishing has been better early and late in the day with the shadows on the water than it has in the bright mid-day sun.  Stick with browns, blacks and reds for fly patterns, and larger flies such as cicadas and stimulators have been the best.

Pike fishing has started to pick up a bit at Lake Mary.  Some good quality fish have come out this week.  Most of the action is on conventional gear (chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, etc.) over fly gear since the water is real muddy this year, and the fish are still scattered, but it is getting good.  Look for the fish still suspending in funnel areas, and the key is just covering a lot of ground.  The fish seem to be bunched in little areas, so the more water you cover the better your odds of connecting with more schools.

Look for the fishing to remain good for the next couple weeks.  End of summer fishing can be some of the most exciting of the year!  We will see you on the water!

Monsoon season is always a nice welcome when we actually get some rain and cloudy days and not just dust storms a mile high.  This week the weather has really been fantastic, with most mornings being more on the cloudy side than sunny side, making it just nice enough to say “this is nice!”

Lake Pleasant is really helped by the clouds, as the striper and bass boils have been staying up for hours with the sun tucked behind the clouds.  We have started to see some bigger fish packing up together which is exciting.  Good schools of fish have been seen all over the lake, with the mouths of bays and channels still being the most active.  With the cloud cover the schools are a little less spooky and fishing has been good.  The size of fish really varies from school to school, with some schools still kicking out little 1 year old stripers all the way to schools of 3-4 pound largemouth and everything in-between.  This is certainly exciting fishing, as it is all surface action! 

When, or I should say IF the topwater bite dies down, there is still a decent bass bite over structure in 20-30 feet on soft plastics.  Dropshot rigs and light line are the main weapon, and this can really be fun fishing as well on the lighter gear.

Oak Creek near Sedona has been fishing well still.  This time of the year nothing really changes too much on Oak.  Look for some morning and afternoon hatches, and if nothing comes off the fish will commit to big terrestrial flies like a stimulator or ant pattern, or you can always use a bead head nymph in a pheasantail or hare’s ear type pattern.  Remember to use super light tippet (7x, 6x) as these fish are very wise.

We did get a couple groups up to the white mountains this week, and had some great fishing!  Most of what we fished this week was still water, and saw mostly rainbows and a few brook trout.  We will be venturing into some of the rivers and streams this week to see what if any fire damage happened to our waters.  We will keep you informed…

If you’re heading out this week you have some great options!  Bass and striper fishing is good, trout fishing is good, carp fishing is good, everything is good.  Get out and enjoy the week!

If you are a summer sun worshipper, then Arizona is surely your favorite place to be!  There has been no lack of sun this year, and water temps are finally getting to where they should have been a month ago.  Fishing has just been a solid month behind this year with the cooler temps, but no matter how off air temperatures are through the beginning of the year, one thing will always be consistent, and that’s the summer heat.

While the heat picks up fishing tends to stabilize.  The other thing we start seeing is the onset of summer monsoon storms, which usually spikes the fish activity at certain times of the day.  You certainly don’t want to be fishing in a monsoon, but if you use them to your advantage and time them right, you can optimize your fishing by hitting the best areas before and after the fronts.

Lake Pleasant continues to fish well.  The stripers and bass are still chasing bait, but the timing this week has shifted to early morning.  Large boils of fish can be found in the mouths of the creek arms chasing small fry, and topwater and fly action has been great!  These boils are still sporadic, not happening every day, but when they go they can last hours.  Again, early morning seems to be critical right now, so plan accordingly.  Remember the fish are still on small bait, an inch or two long, so keep your offerings small and as transparent as possible.  If the boils slow there is a real solid largemouth bass bite on finesse plastics in 20-30 feet of water.  Dropshot techniques with again clear/transparent plastics have been hot.  Look for this bite to continue all summer on offshore reefs and islands as well as channel bends as the water falls.

Bartlett Lake has been producing some good bass fishing as well.  While the fish aren’t real big, the topwater action has been great, and no one ever complains about action!  Small ricos or any little popper has been the ticket over walking style baits.  Look for the best fishing to be in shade pockets in the main basin.

Roosevelt Lake is kicking out some great bass fishing over structure at night.  Big texas rigged worms and jigs, as well as dropshots have been producing a ton of fish, and some big ones mixed in.  Most of the fishing is 15-30 feet on main lake structure.

Oak Creek in Sedona has been fishing well for both browns and bows.  There are some hatches still coming off, but the bigger story is the terrestrial bite.  There are ants and hoppers starting to show and the fish are responding to bigger dries.  The upper canyon has still been producing the best.  Stick fish 6x or 7x tippet as the water is low and clear.  Good, precise casts should yield some fun fishing for the next few weeks.  The only thing to watch for here is monsoon flooding.  Keep an eye on the weather as you get close to your trip, or call us for current conditions, and make sure the stream doesn’t blow out right before you show up.

Pike fishing on Lake Mary has still been a little slow, although the quality is improving.  The lake is falling so fast that the weeds and grass just don’t have time to grow this year, and it’s scattering the fish and making it a little tough.  Chatterbaits and jerkbaits have still been the best weapons.  Just grind it out, enjoy the beautiful high country weather, and you’ll come across a few.

It looks to be another warm one this week, but if you dodge the monsoons right, the fishing has been great!  Remember to load up on sunscreen and get out on the water!

Scorching temperatures have been the topic of the week.  There’s no way around it, it’s hot!  We’ve had temperatures in the “teen’s” all week in the desert, and with 117 degrees scheduled for the holiday weekend, it should be a crazy weekend all around the state.  Now the good news about hot conditions is it keeps the bite coming along, and we’ve certainly seen that starting to happen.

Lake Pleasant has really had a tremendous amount of striper boils this week.  The challenge has been getting close enough to them to catch them.  For some reason this week these fish got extra spooky, so absolute stealth on the approach is vital for getting in position to catch them.  The other challenge has been keeping the schools going.  There are so many fish in these schools, that when you hook one it can literally have hundreds of other fish follow it to the boat, and then the school spooks down deep.  Now the last couple of days, we’ve seen these fish get a little easier and little easier to creep up on, and the size is starting to go up as well, which means good things are on the horizon for the summer bite!

Most of our success has been coming with baits just under the surface.  Fly fishermen are using shad and fry streamers in white and olive/white stripped quickly right through the boils.  Gear guys have had better luck with little jerkbaits and swimbaits than straight up topwater, which is normal when the fish are feeding so heavily on fry.  We’re still not seeing much in the way of shad, still all fry for forage.

Bass fishing has also really picked up at Pleasant.  There are some bass starting to run with the striper schools, which is common as the water starts to fall in the summer.  There is also a good structure bite in 20-30 feet on reefs and islands where bass are fattening up on crawdads.

Saguaro Lake is also continuing to offer excellent bluegill fishing.  This lake has been a lot of fun for kids and beginners.  There is also a decent bass bite early and late in the day on little topwaters.

Oak Creek has continued to produce well this week.  There are good early and late hatches, and the dry fly action has been good.  Look for the upper canyon to offer the best fishing this time of the year, and super light tippet is critical as these fish move through summer.

As we celebrate America this weekend, let’s remember those who served, and enjoy the waters that they have protected for us.  It’s going to be a beautiful, hot weekend!  Be safe everyone!