Saguaro Lake Fishing

Jimbo on the hunt for a fishing hole.

 Shore-fishing. It's what I do. To find the good spots, you need to put in the miles. That's why I like it so much. It's a good mix between hiking and fishing. Yesterday at Saguaro Lake was a first for both Jim and I. A changeup from the usual location at Bartlett. Saguaro Lake is nestled in the foothills of the Superstitions, and is an absolutely beautiful location (as far as desert reservoirs go). There are plenty of fish there too, including the three main varieties of bass, which is what we were after.

I was feeling optimistic as we reached our first location. The bass were active. We could see them jumping from the water all around us. Since they were surfacing so much, we started off with topwater lures. We would cast to the same spot we saw them jump. Another angler passed by on the trail. He had caught an 8 pound bass with a popper. Our optimism increased.... But nothing took our baits. We decided to keep hiking. 

Jimbo in the water

 We reached a marshy cove where the water was so still, clear and shallow we could see the bass just sitting at the bottom. Our luck was about to change, or so we thought. We tried crankbaits, spinners, worms and frogs, but we couldn't even manage a bite. We watched our lures drift by big bass untouched. For 6 hours we fished. Determined not to leave empty handed. If it weren't for the small bluegill Jim caught as we were wrapping the day up, we would have been skunked. But I wonder, when your target are big bass, does catching a bluegill even count? Until next time.

Catch of the day.

Return to the Honey Hole

The Honey Hole

What amazes me about the Honey Hole is that I never see anyone else there. It's as if the place is some great secret. Maybe that's why I was sworn to secrecy about its location in the first place. Jim and I fished many holes in the low lying area between Bartlett and Horseshoe that day, but only the Honey Hole produced. That entire area down there is teeming with wildlife, and feels like one of the wildest places in Arizona that I've been too. The Honey Hole is not easy to get too either. A 4X4 will get you close, but eventually you'll have to do some bushwacking.  

The water in the Honey Hole is only a couple feet deep max, but the size of the bass we pull out of there is pretty amazing. In that shallow water, bouncing plastic worms off the bottom seems to do the trick. Sometimes you can see the fish hit your lure it's so shallow.

Delicious Bass

What really made this trip special was a new piece of kit that I brought with me. A new beer koozie by YETI that kept my beers ice cold despite the sweltering heat. Check back later for my review. 

Bartlett Lake Fishing

Verde River

Once upon a time I fancied myself a decent fisherman, usually catching a fair number of trout in one of the many lakes, rivers, and streams of the Pacific Northwest. If you've been following my blog at all you know that since I moved down to the desert I haven't fared well in my fishing endeavors. Mainly, I think, because the primary game fish in these desert lakes are bass and catfish, and my experience with these species is limited. My primary location is Bartlett Lake, being only about a 45 minute drive from home. Bartlet is located in Tonto National Forest, and is not a true lake, but a reservoir created by the damming of the Verde River. I've spent significant time fishing this lake and the river with its many tributaries and landlocked ponds created by the fluctuating water levels.

Bluegill

I started out using crankbaits after reading that they are the best bass lures around, but thus far I haven't caught a single fish with one. I don't really feel like I've quite got the retrieve down, and on top of that I keep losing them. I've reached a point now that I've practically given up on the crankbaits because not only do they not work for me, they are so damn expensive. In these waters, at least from shore, the plastic lures seem to work best; the slimy worms with the twirly tails, or the lizards or frogs. I'll drag one across the bottom slowly, jerking up every once in awhile to give an appearance of something alive. This method seems to work best for both the bass and bluegill, and my fishing buddies and I (well mainly my fishing buddies) have caught quite a few nice fish this way. My buddy Mike even caught a lunker largemouth at one of the ponds near the Verde that ended up on the Arizona Game and Fish website. Check out the photo HERE.

Snapped Cabela's rod

My bad luck seemed to extend to my fishing gear as well. My trusty Shimano reel I've had for a few years now began suffering from some grinding gears, so I sent it in to Shimano for repairs. In the meantime I had a cheapie Zebco reel that unfortunately quit working the second time out with it. WIth two reels out for repair I purchased a third that seems to be holding up so far. Then, two trips ago my rod snapped in half while trying to negotiate a snag. Talk about a buzzkill. Nothing can ruin a trip faster then a snapped rod. In the meantime I found an old Abu Garcia rod with a missing guide ring, that I repaired and took out last week. It's more of a trout pole than anything, but does the job well enough for now.

Jimbo at Rattlesnake Cove

With some help from my buddy Jimbo I've managed to try my hand fishing for catfish as well. I haven't caught one yet since I am currently borrowing equipment for the job, and am pretty new to it. Jimbo has caught a few using stink bait. I know there are some seriously big catfish in Bartlett Lake. In fact the biggest fish ever caught in the state of Arizona was a flathead catfish caught last year from Bartlett by a fella ironically called "Flathead Ed". It was nearly 77 pounds! Talk about a whopper! You can see Flathead Ed's monster catfish HERE. I've decided that once I get my bass fishing set-up back on track I'll start working toward some catfish gear. I would love to catch a fish that big. 

Bass

Although I haven't caught as many as my buddies, I still enjoy spending my days out in the desert. I feel like I'm on track to becoming a better angler, but just being outside is fun in itself. Hopefully I'll have some real success stories to write about in the future... Until next time.