The Honey Hole

Verde River

 Fishing in the desert has been somewhat of a challenge for me. In fact, I've been skunked in every desert locale I've been too. I used to believe I was a semi-decent angler. Now I'm not so sure. So I was excited when I got an invite to fish a secret spot on the Verde River that always produces for a couple of Cave Creek locals I know. It was a beautiful sunny day, and despite the huge rains we had last week, the water was very low. The Honey Hole is a tributary of the Verde River that becomes landlocked when the water is low, trapping an untold number of fish inside. My friend Mike said the water at the Honey Hole was the lowest he'd ever seen, and I for one was dubious of fish even being in there because the water was just so shallow. Because of that mistaken belief, Jim and I started fishing on the river itself, with no success. Eventually we moved on to the Honey Hole after Mike started hollering about the fish he was catching. "I got one!", and "I got another one!" he would shout.

Jim at the Honey Hole

 The water at The Honey Hole was shallow, stagnate, and covered in a purple algae that made fishing difficult. Mike caught 2 bass and a bluegill in an hour, so we knew there were fish in there, but when Jim and I arrived all was quiet. We fished The Honey Hole for maybe 2 or 3 hours without even getting a bite. Finally Jim trekked back to the river, and after after a few more minutes I followed. Literally 5 minutes after I left the Honey Hole, I hear Mike shout, "I got one!" I couldn't believe it. Back at the river nothing was biting, while Mike continued hootin' and hollerin' about all the fish he was catching.

The Honey Hole king

Reluctantly Jim and I trudged back to The Honey Hole to try and catch something before dark. We had been fishing all day with zero luck and our morale was in the toilet, especially with Mike catching so much. In fact Mike caught 11 fish in all. A smattering of bass and bluegill. Jim landed one large-mouth right at the end of the day, and I was skunked yet again. Damn. One of these days I swear I will post a fishing report where I actually catch something! It was still a great day of fishing though. Just being out there in the breeze listening to the buzzing bees and chirping birds made it all worth it.