Rory's Tip
The nights in the deserts are dropping into the seventies and mountain nights are sinking into the chilly 40s -- fall fishing conditions are underway. Those lowering nighttime temperatures, and the shortened daylight hours, combine to drop water temperatures into the prime activity ranges for bass in the warmwater lakes and trout in the mountain waters.
Here's an example of what is happending out there. My friend Mike McFarland, who guides for Hook Up Outfitters, called me with a great fish tale on Monday morning. One of the guides was fishing Lake Pleasant during the weekend and hooked into a decent sized striped bass. As the striper was struggling at the end of the line, a huge striper came along and swallowed it whole. The smaller striper got stuck in the larger striper's mouth, allowing the guide to land both of them together.
The smaller striper measured 18 inches. The large striper measured 40 inches long and weighed 22 pounds.
Isn't that a hoot?
McFarland pointed out that this isn't just a fishing tale, it's an object lesson: if you want to catch a giant fish, it helps to use a big fish as bait. It's one of the reasons anglers use life-sized lures called swim baits, although Mike said he isn't aware of any freshwater lure the size of the 18-inch striper.
Please keep in mind that it is not legal to use striped bass or another other sport fish as live bait to catch, well, other sportfish. However check the regulations, at Lake Pleasant, Alamo Lake and the impoundments along the Verde and Salt rivers it is okay to use live carp or sunfish as live bait (collected on site only).
Pleasant is doing great for both striped bass and largemout bass. Anglers are often finding both species of bass actively feeding at the surface, especially in the northern areas of the lake. McFarland said Alamo has a great topwater bite and the bass fishing remains great at Saguaro.
There is a pretty good spoon and topwater bite for striped bass at Lake Powell right now (see the Lake Powell report below). My friend Terry Gunn at Lees Ferry sent me an e-mail saying there is a superb bite right now for wild rainbows and the weather is near perfect.
It doesn't get much better than Big Lake for trout this time of year. There's just a hint of color in the aspens at the higher elevations right now, but according to my high country sources, the bull elk are calling like crazy right now. There's not much better than hooking into a big cutthroat trout at Big Lake while listening to a raucous chorus of hormone crazed elk.
Another one of my fall favorites for elk calling is Knoll Lake along the Mogollon Rim. It's one of our most remote trout lakes, and it's sure a pretty drive there along the famous Rim Road, which pretty much follows the General Crook Trail. It shouldn't be long before the aspens turn color along this stretch as well. This is one of those places where the journey can be as exciting as the destination.
Writing about it makes me want to jump in the Jeep and head up there.
When trout are more active like this, it's sometimes best to use lures rather than bait, especially inline spinners like Mepps, Rooster Tails and the like. Casting spoons, such as KastMasters, can be devastating at times. I also like using rainbow-colored Rapalas. The larger more voracious trout will often feed on the smaller ones.
So go catch some autumn fishing memories while you can. With any luck, maybe I'll see you out there.
Read the Full Fishing Report
By Rory Aikens, AZGFD
