Fishing Reports

Arizona’s Hot Channel Cat Action Continues — Arizona Fishing Report

Arizona’s Game and Fish Department recently reported that fishing for catfish continues to be good to excellent during any week where they have stocked channel cats in local impoundments, but it continues to be fair after that. The warmer air and lake temperatures have made the catfish action best during low light or nighttime conditions. Anglers are using stink baits, shrimp or worms fished on the bottom and doing well. The state is indicating that the next catfish stocking is taking place this week – from June 14-19 at all Phoenix and Tucson area Urban waters.

Recent catfish deliveries to Alvord Lake and Water Ranch Lake were cancelled, but lake management actions have improved conditions at the lake, and they can now allow stockings to resume. The extra fish were stocked into nearby Urban lakes making for some exceptional fishing at Desert West, Cortez, Encanto, Kiwanis and Red Mountain.

On other fronts, the state department is reporting that the sunfish continue to bite well on small worms fished under a bobber.

An 8.7 pound, 29-inch channel catfish was recently caught at Kiwanis Lake in Tempe. That’s a nice catfish by anyone’s standards.

At Green Valley lakes (Payson) most of the trout have been caught, according to the Division, but anglers are enjoying great action on bluegill, crappie and bass. Try small jigs and worms fished under a bobber at Green Valley.

There’s plenty of great fishing available. Go enjoy it as we enter the summer months.

South Jersey Fishing Report: Backwater Striper Action Heats Up

Captain Bryan with Iowa Fortune Service contacted us and said that last week moved the needle once again as the next phase of the season fell into place with a great top water bite. As we approached the new moon, this week delivered us the best sight fishing opportunities of the season with nice groups of Bass laid up, or traveling in small schools.

All week long, the stripers tracked fairly predictably as they made their way into the South Jersey back country on the heels of the ever thickening quantities of bait that are invading our shallow bays and basins. Mostly all the bass this week were taken on top water and as we had good moving water all week with the approach of the new moon, this pushed a lot of bass into some very fun areas.

I have to say that there is nothing more fun than targeting a Bass in a small shallow pocket of water, or in a 2 foot wide creek, 10″ deep, and watching him explode on a top water fly or plug as it passes by, and with the new boat this season the Maverick is getting us closer than ever to these sneaky line siders.

Bryan expects that the flats fishing will continue to strengthen as we make our way post spawn and head into July, and as I say every season, as the fishing is by July 4th so goes the season. As more and more of the bait shows up or hatches on the moon phase, the shallower these bass will move, and this will translate into quality sight fishing opportunities.

The Blues still continue to make a rear throughout the backcountry as well, making short time of anything put in front of them. Even though he spends good amounts of time trying to avoid them, these 4 to 6-pound eating machines do provide some very fun action.

Virginia Beach Fishing Report: Cobia Action Gets Hot

World-renowned angler Dr. Julie Ball dropped us a line and told us that cobia are now available all over the lower Chesapeake Bay. Cobia are making their presence known as they take chummer’s offerings.

Boats using the chumming technique are having good results from the Buckroe area off Hampton, to the Inner Middle Grounds and the Nine-foot Shoals closer to the mouth of the Bay. Sight casters are having the best success, with many boats scoring with double-digit hook-ups while cruising the lower Bay and CBBT areas. Anglers fishing on the Ocean View Fishing Pier are also landing a few small cobia lately.

The red drum bite is still very good as big reds continue to hit along the surf and at buoy 10 near Fisherman’s Island, and the Nine-foot Shoals area. Many anglers are finding top water action as schools of red drum continue to cruise near the 3rd and 4th islands off the CBBT.

The black drum have shifted to the islands of the Bridge Tunnel, where various lures can prove effective. Julie recommends taking the time to revive these fish when releasing them, as they tend to tire, leaving them unable to recover without assistance.

Pier anglers are also getting in on some of the black drum action. Arthur Hoylle of Norfolk released two blacks up to 52-inches while fishing from the Seagull Fishing Pier at the first island of the CBBT.

Spadefish are showing up on lower Bay structures, inshore wrecks, and the Chesapeake Light Tower. Anglers have hooked a few fish, with most weighing around 6-pounds. The larger spades will come from the inner Bay hot spots soon, such as the Cell and Wolf Trap Light. Sheepshead action is not much yet, but a few fish are cooperating along the CBBT, with one fish pushing to over 13-pounds boated last week.

There is finally good news on the flounder front. The bite is still improving, with more anglers reporting limits of nice fish. The folks at Ocean’s East 2 report that flatfish pushing 9-pounds are taking drifted minnows and cut bait near the islands of the CBBT. Anglers jigging and working live bait along the pilings and over the tubes of the Bridge Tunnel are also scoring with nice fish, with the 1st and 2nd islands most productive lately.

Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets are still giving up above average numbers of keepers. Chris’ Bait and Tackle reports that the seaside area of Oyster, the Cell, and the buoy 36 area are producing big flounder for drifters, with a few doormats in the mix.

Many anglers are reporting the recent arrival the Spanish mackerel into local waters. These fish provide quick action, and are easy to catch. Boats are encountering good numbers of Spanish while trolling off Cape Henry and along the Virginia Beach Ocean front. Taylor size bluefish are also in these same vicinities.

Reports of speckled trout and a few puppy drum are still coming from within Rudee Inlet, Lynnhaven Inlet, and Mobjack Bay.

Anglers are catching small bluefish and croaker all over the lower Bay. The HRBT, the Hampton Bar, the Monitor-Merrimac, the James River Bridge, Little Creek, and the southern small boat channel at the CBBT are providing the best action on a range of sizes of hardheads. Sea mullet are also biting along the ocean front, where pier anglers had a good run of small to medium sized fish this week. Small spot are also hitting within lower Bay inlets.

Deep dropping boats are finding decent catches lately. The head boats out of The Virginia Beach Fishing Center are finding good numbers of black bellied rose fish, and some nice blueline tilefish. On a recent trip, one lucky angler boated the new state leader for the year, weighing in at 19-pounds, 5-ounces. Scattered golden tilefish, grouper, and wreckfish are also in these same areas. Boats targeting seabass are finding some nice fish on a few offshore wrecks, and as a by catch while deep dropping.

For more information on fishing Virginia Beach, visit Dr. Julie’s website at www.drjball.com.

Lake Powell Fishing Report: Hot Bass Action Cools Slightly

Wayne Gustaveson of the Utah Division of Wildlife reported that the warm weather is here for Lake Powell. The lake level is rising rapidly. That means transition time and tougher fishing.

Bass fishing has been super all spring. Rising lake levels cover bass habitat and disguise fish holding spots that have been so obvious at lower lake levels. Bass fishing is still good but it will be necessary to fish deeper and more intuitively when bass nests or actual fish can no longer be seen. Structure fishing is a must. Identify where fish would likely be holding by looking at the landscape. Pick out rock points, rockslides on steep cliff walls and submerged brush for a starting point.

Try to identify a pattern. Bass tend to do the same thing at the same time in many lake locations. Sometimes they will inhabit structure at the intersection of the main channel and a canyon mouth. At other times they are in the very back of a cove. Fish both areas to determine present location. When one fish is caught try to duplicate that in a similar habitat location. It may be that fish are more readily caught at the intersection than in back of the cove during the first week of June. Smallmouth and largemouth will differ in habitat choice and location. Smallmouth are much easier to catch now, particularly the smaller fish. A single tail plastic grub cast to a submerged island in open water is sure to be eaten by a hungry little bass.

Walleye fishing is good in the early morning and afternoon. Afternoon winds are common. Find muddy coves and pockets where wind blows soil into the lake on a regular basis. Crawl a plastic grub or night crawler on a worm harness slowly along the bottom in 15-25 feet of water to target light sensitive walleye.

Stripers Start Spawning
Striped bass will likely spawn this week. In recent years the spawn has not been so important as many fish were not mature or too thin to develop eggs. This year virtually all of the 3-5 pound stripers are in spawning condition. This intense focus on spawning means little feeding is occurring. Striper schools are more likely to move away from boat noise or high traffic areas. This uncharacteristic shyness makes them hard to find and catch. Cut bait is the best technique now and will remain so until the spawning event concludes.

Stripers have been caught on bait at Glen Canyon Dam, Navajo Canyon (second point beyond double islands), Padre Bay (east wall), and Moki wall near Bullfrog. Fishing is inconsistent at all of these locations. Fish will be there one day and gone the next. Try a spot and then return later for another try until fish are located.

The best part is that there are so many opportunities to catch one species or another that most trips will be successful. It is wise to be a generalist under these conditions and fish for any target of opportunity. One strategy would be to try for walleye and stripers at dawn and dusk. Then switch to bass in morning and afternoon. Little smallmouth will be catchable all day long on small sized main channel rock slides which would be a good chance to teach children how to catch fish.

Lake Mohave & Willow Beach Fishing Report: Fair Fishing Continues

In Lake Mohave, the Arizona Game and Fish Department is reporting that the lake level is around 642 feet above msl. The bass bite has been fair. Trolling with anchovies in 30-50ft has been producing some stripers, while catfish are on the bottom. While the number of stripers in Mohave has been decreasing, the quality of the fish caught has increased.

The night time bite has begun to pick up. Submersible lights fished during the new moon is an effective way to catch stripers. Cut anchovies usually work the best. The next new moon is this weekend, 6/12/10.

Biologists from both Arizona Game and Fish Department and Nevada Division of Wildlife with the help of volunteers, National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation personnel have continued to install fish habitat in Carp Cove, Box Cove and Shoshone. Fish habitat consists of PVC structures, wood pallet structures, tamarisk bundles, and some Christmas trees. The largemouth, smallmouth, bluegill and catfish are really utilizing the new structures. Additional habitat will be added at several locations over the next two years. These structures are fish magnets.

There is a wheelchair accessible fishing pier just south of the main launch ramp at Katherine’s Landing.

In Willow Beach, trout fishing has been fair, but not great. Trout are stocked every Friday. Fishing is best immediately following the stocking, then the trout move out and shore success drops quickly. Most anglers are having success with power bait, salmon peach was the one most effective.

There are some indications that the large stripers are beginning to move into the Willow beach area. Get ready!

Arizona Creeks Fishing Reports — Trout Time Continues

In the Arizona creeks, the Game and Fish Division is reporting that if you are going for the brown trout, they generally like brownish wooly buggers and minnow streamers.

For rainbows use a variety of nymphs, pheasant tail, hares ears and prince nymphs.

Don’t hesitate to give hoppers and ants a try and if all else fails, throw a caddisfly.

Night crawlers with little or no weight can work, cast slightly upstream and let the current carry the worm downstream, mending your line to keep contact with the bait so you can set the hook if a trout gobbles it up.

The following is the stream stocking report for the Arizona creeks:

Tonto Creek, has been stocked with rainbow trout;
Christopher Creek, has been stocked with rainbow trout;
Haigler Creek, has been stocked with rainbow trout;
East Verde River, has been stocked with rainbow trout;
Canyon Creek, has been stocked. Also has some larger holdover trout. There are two sections of the creek, and one requires catch-and-release-only with barbless hooks and artificial baits only, so pay attention to the signs.

New Hampshire Fishing Report DRAFT

New Hampshire has plenty of great action currently for the angler. From trout fishing to bass and panfish, the freshwater action is aflame. On the coast, winter flounder action is out-of-this-world, and the striper action is picking up, while cod and mackerel fishing continue to be good.

Looking for good fishing? Head out on the water in New Hampshire this weekend or in the foreseeable future.[mappress]

In the Northern part of New Hampshire, the recent heavy storms in northern NH have revitalized trout fishing in many areas. Water temperatures have dropped and flows have increased. These conditions have enabled Fish and Game personnel to not only follow the stocking schedule but actually increase numbers where possible. Surplus fish are finding homes throughout the state.

In the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, it seems like the long, dry spell has ended with fronts passing through every couple of days with showers and thunderstorms. These needed helped small brooks and streams recover from low water conditions.

Lake temperature is now in the high 60s (68 degrees on Winni) and bass nesting has pretty much ended. Look for adult bass roaming the shorelines, as the bass fry (jet black in color) swarm the shores looking for places to hide. This isa great time to fish for bass with small panfish poppers. Anglers have caught bass during the middle of the day over rocky shoals with my fly rod and poppers.

As the school year ends, the sunfish nest after the bass, so look along the shorelines for their nest depressions and drop a small fly or tiny panfish popper over their heads and watch the reaction! Sunfish populations can easily overpopulate small ponds and even some larger waterbodies, therefore, they are a great species to target with the younger set. This a great way to introduce kids to the sport of fly-fishing.

In the Upper Valley, the smallmouths haven’t gone deep yet. A recent outing to Swanzey Lake in Swanzey and Nubanusit Lake in Hancock/Nelson produced many nice smallmouth. Fish were caught in 3 to 8 feet of water on shaky jig heads and tubes. The fish were mainly along the edges of dropoffs and any place there were rocks.

The stocking trucks are still rolling out of the Milford Hatchery, according to the state. Everything has been stocked at least once this spring and the hatchery is putting out surplus rainbows. Trout fishing should continue to be good with the much needed rain from last weekend and cooler temperatures this week.

In the Merrimack Valley, last week, NH Fish and Game partnered with staff from the Anheuser Busch Facility in Merrimack, the city of Manchester (Department of Public Works and the Urban Pond Restoration Program), the Manchester Fly Fishing Association, Merrimack River Valley Trout Unlimited, NH Department of Environmental Services, NH Rivers Council, and several other volunteers and local businesses to perform a stream and pond litter pickup in Manchester.

The stream is located on the western side of the city and despite being seated in a densely developed urban landscape, has a robust wild brook trout population. It is expected that this will be the first step of many to ensure that this species, so important to our heritage and legacy, is able to remain present in our largest city. Additional restoration activities and potential funding sources will soon be prioritized and identified.

In three hours, 27 tires, over 25 full contractor trash bags, 3 bicycles, a car gas tank, a home heating oil tank,
2 shopping carts, 2 computers, a television, and close to a ton of rusted metal items were gathered. As interest for this project continues to grow, it is NH’s Fish and Game’s Division’s hope that those who litter develop an understanding of the value of aquatic systems…even in an urban environment.

On the coast, anglers continue to do well with winter flounder — that’s right, winter flounder! Fisheries biologist Kevin Sullivan fished with a friend for about 3 ½ hours Sunday morning and never left the harbor, managing to land 21 winter flounder, only one of which was under the minimum size limit of 12 inches. They took home 14 fish, with the biggest at 19 inches, a few over 18, the rest between 15 and 17, and they were a nice rewarding dinner for enduring the rain.

The striped bass catch is picking up, primarily in the Piscataqua River and Great Bay, and the mackerel are still available for bait.

Finally, the Mudhole is still providing giant cod again this year.

Central Arizona Fishing Report & Weekend Forecast: Catfish, Bass, Panfish Abound

The Arizona Game and Fish Division is reporting that Red Mountain received a double load of catfish June 4. Reports indicate that fishing at Red Mountain was unbelievably good with the extra fish they received.

Another lake that doesn’t seem to disappoint is Kiwanis. They say to be there early in the morning and look for structure. If you don’t have success in the place you are fishing move till you get some action. So often people camp out on one spot whether they are catching fish or not. [mappress]

Catfish are taking worms, stinkbait, shrimp, liver and even hot dogs. Bluegill will take worms and meal worms fished under a bobber at 3 to 6 feet deep. It’s pretty hot out there so fish early morning or when the sun is setting and bring lots of water and some sunscreen.

At Green Valley in Payson, the bite for crappie, bass and bluegill is picking up for anglers using small jigs, plastic worms and night crawlers.

In Tempe Town Lake, fishing should be fair to good for bass, catfish and sunfish. This is a good time to fish at night for channel catfish using stink bait, hot dogs or corn (or all three).

Don’t forget the current bag limit for largemouth bass at Town Lake is four fish per day with a 13-inch minimum length restriction.

Tempe Town Lake permits are available at the City of Tempe Town Lake Operations Center, 620 N. Mill Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281. Phone: (480) 350-8625.

In Lake Pleasant, the nighttime striper fishing should be heating up. They should have migrated out of the Aqua Fria or they are on their way out about now. In the past they liked hanging out around the tires outside Pleasant Harbor. But this isn’t the only place you can get them.

In The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s telemetry study where they tagged a few of them, they move around a lot and they tend to do a circuit from the Aqua Fria to the tires. Not all of them end up at the tires, they will disperse.

The lake is stratified (layers of water with different temperatures, creating what is called a thermocline) so the stripers will basically hang in the 25- to 30-foot range where the oxygen content and temperatures are more to their liking. They will, however, dive deep or follow shad schools into the shallows.

With the use of lights the shad showed up and the bite was kind of deep for the 2 to 2.5 pounders. Anchovies are good bait to use in this situation. Submersible lights should work even better this weekend with a half moon.

This is also a great time to fish from shore for channel catfish and carp using hot dogs and corn. Be sure to take along some corn to chum as well.

In Roosevelt Lake, the Lake Elevation is 2,150 ft (99-percent full). Tonto Creek runoff is 28 cfs while inflow from the Salt River is at 848 cfs. New Moon June 12, making this a perfect time to fish at night under submersible lights. There are mixed reports from anglers, with some easily catching-and-releasing limits, including some nice fish ranging up to six pounds, while others were having trout catching a fish.

Right now, just about any method can work at times. Be flexible. Try the larger coves at first light using topwater lures, then switch to the main lake points, islands and reefs using drop shots, Texas-rigged plastics, soft plastic jerkbaits, or shad-like swim baits.

In Lake Apache, the Game & Fish Department is reporting that the lake elevation is 1,910 feet (96 percent full).

Some anglers did well on yellow bass using light night crawlers or gold-colored KastMasters worked along the secondary points inside the coves. Some nice largemouth bass were caught as well. This should be a good time for fish for walleye at night, especially during twilight.

The Game and Fish Department finished sampling Apache this spring and at one site they caught nearly 2,000 shad in 25-foot section of their net.

The shad spawn is over now and predatory sport-fish will be ”slurping” the tiny shad, so down-size.

In Canyon Lake, the lake’s elevation is 1,658 feet, which is 96-percent full.

An angler was pretty surprised at all the catfish he caught while fishing for largemouth bass. Catfish were at every spot he tried but bass were a little more finicky. He also caught some good sized bluegill. No indication on what he was using or where he was fishing.

One fisherman fished from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and caught two largemouth bass under 13 inches and a 3 pound catfish on a drop shot. Spinnerbaits grabbed the attention of 2 smallmouth bass just under the slot.

A solo fisherman fished from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and caught 64 fish mostly up river off a main point in one of the bays. Most of the fish were bluegill caught in water about 6 feet deep using small shinny lures. They are still in their spawning colors. Six fish were yellow bass most were between 9 and 10 inches. They like KastMasters popped off the bottom as you reel it in. He caught two channel catfish with KastMasters off a main point. One was 19 inches and one was 22 inches. Largemouth bass liked purple and green tail worms via the dropshot method off a main point.

In Saguaro Lake, the lake elevation is 1,526 feet at 96-percent full. Two anglers fished from 4:30 to 10 a.m. and were pretty optimistic when they saw shad busting “everywhere” but the bass were happy going after the real thing (shad are super small right now, so downsize).

They switched to T-rigs and caught a nice 4-pound largemouth and had quite a few bites. Once the t-rig bite went away they tried jigs, cranks and Senkos with no luck so they tried T-rigs once again in other spots and caught a few. In total they caught 8 bass. Water temp was 75 when they arrived and 79 when they left.

If you want to catch a lot of yellow bass throw KastMasters and bounce them off the bottom. You will catch a few largemouth and some catfish this way as well. Throw T-rigged worms and other critters in the shallows and coves for bass. You can always employ the drop shot technique with 4 inch Robo Worms just off drop-offs and anywhere your fish finder leads you.

With a new moon June 12, this is a great time to fish at night using submersible lights (and avoid all the recreational boat traffic). Although Saguaro is a terrific bass lake, it is also one of our best producing channel catfish lakes. Try hot dogs, chicken livers or corn. Be sure to chum corn to attract the bottom feeders.

Saguaro also has plenty of fishing piers, so it is very shore-angler friendly. It’s a great place to a nightowl picnic with the family while catching some fish. Set the kids up with mealworms about three feet under a bobber.

In Lake Bartlett, the Game and Fish Department reports that the lake elevation is 1,796 feet, which is 97 percent full. Reservoir release is 1,000 cfs. This is a great time to fish at night under lights — there is a new moon June 12. Haven’t heard any crappie reports lately, but this would be a good time to try for them. Try the Yellow Cliffs area or off the mouths of deeper coves. Crappies will typically be suspended feeding on zooplankton, with the active feeders often 15 to 20 feet deep. Use live minnows and small jigs.

Keep in mind that bass and catfish will also feed on live minnows — they are an all-purpose nighttime bait. Take along some cans of corn and chum. Even if you are not using corn as bait, the chum will hopefully attract the small fish, which in turn attact the larger predatory fish. If you catch some bluegill, use them as bait for monster flatheads.

An angler fished with jigs all day and only caught one fish – a 30-pound flathead catfish.

One lone angler fished from 5 to 11:30 a.m. He started working the coves with Texas-rigged creatures and caught some small bass. He moved to a nice point with a shelf at the mouth of a cove and caught a 2.1-pound bass in the bushes with a creature. Big bluegills were going after crankbaits and he caught a 1-pound gill. He caught 9 largemouth bass, 1 bluegill and 1 channel cat. Water temp was 79 degrees.

At Horseshoe Lake, the Game and Fish Department is reporting that the lake is full and there is a bunch of submerged trees holding quite a few largemouth bass. Up river are the best sites, but there are a bunch of carp up there as well. They are fun to catch, use corn on a treble hook so you can’t see the hook. Dough bait works well too. For some reason carp seem to like homemade dough bait made with strawberry soda. The Department tagged a couple thousand over the last two years so it would be nice to cull the population…

The Department is reporting that on the Lower Salt River, the Stewart Mtn. Dam (below Saguaro Lake) release is 650 cfs, and the river is scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. Fishing should be good at first light, despite the rising air temperatures.

The water comes out the bottom of Saguaro Lake, so it is very cold, like most tailwater fisheries. The best trout fishing will likely be at the Water Users area where the tubers put in.

No new reports but anglers are picking up a few of the remaining trout in eddies and pools. Largemouth bass are what you want to go after now along the shores and in pools. There are a few roundtail chub in the pools as well. They will go after flies and small spinners.

There are big ones there and they are soft like trout and have no spines. You can keep one 13 inches or larger. They kind of look like trout without the spots and have a large mouth without the snub nose. They are dark on the dorsal side and light on the ventral portion.

Green Bay Fishing Report: Action Remains Solid

The Wisconsin DNR is rerporting that in Oconto County, hot and humid were the call words for this past week driving up the water temperatures at the landings to near 80 degrees. Although fishing pressure was light to moderate, the number of pleasure boaters increased.

Smallmouth bass and brown trout are on the menu in the Stiles Dam area with the smallies actively engaging small crank baits and the browns reacting well to nymphs. Pensaukee fishermen are enjoying the walleye bite by fishing 9 to 15 feet using crawler/harness, some small and largemouth bass are being caught in the Pensaukee River using crank and spinner baits.

Carp and smallmouth are putting on a good show at the mouth of the Oconto River. Some carp are over 20 pounds and put up a terrific fight. Walleye, northern, catfish and sheephead are being caught trolling the bay out of Oconto Breakwater and Oconto Park II trolling crawler/harness in 9 to 22 feet of water.

In Marinette County, Peshtigo harbor fishermen are catching some big cats, smallies and sheephead at the mouth of the river fishing dead stick with crawlers or casting small cranks and spinners around drops and structure. The smallmouth bite by the Peshtigo Dam area is in full swing with everything from live bait drifted in the current seams to streamers and crank baits.

One angler was successful for walleye out of the landing at Little River. Walleye fishermen on the Menominee River are catching fish by the Hattie Street, Mystery Ship and Government Pier areas early morning and evenings. There are reports of a few salmon and splake being caught in the bay in 50 feet of water fishing 40 feet down in the predawn hours.[mappress]

Delaware Bay Fishing Report: Decent Action With Few Anglers

I spoke with Shirley at Donovan’s Dock in Bower’s Beach today and the boat has been running and doing well with the flounder. However, few anglers have been fishing. This is actually an opportunity for anglers to get out and fish uncrowded decks for big flatties. The Delaware minimum size flounder is 18-1/2 inches, and when you land one of these big flatties, you have quite a meal.

Shirley said that the boat is running most every day, and the Reliable II, a headboat, only charges a fare of $45.[mappress]

The Local Fisherman