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Hi guys! I am moving to Arizona at the beginning of next month and I need a great panfish (bluegill) fishing hole (bank fishing). My wife has 3 pretty young brothers (two 10 year old twins and one that is 14) and they have never been fishing! They live in the Glendale area but I really want to hit a great area so I'm definitely willing to travel some serious miles if that's what it takes to make their first fishing experience a memorable one.
I've only fished in Ohio so feel free to throw as much tips on time, bait, location, depth and anything else you can think of!
Thanks!
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[#0000FF]Welcome to BFT...and hope you have a smooth move to the hot country. I lived 10 years in Tucson and another 10 in the Phoenix area (Chandler and Mesa). I was the one who started the Arizona board for BFT but it has never been super active.
The good news is that almost every lake within an hour of Phoenix has numbers of bluegills. But you will also find crappies, white bass and their smaller cousins the yellow bass. They all hit small jigs with a bit of worm or fish meat on them. But the time of year can make a big difference in where you find them and how you have to fish for them.
Not much out on the west side of Phoenix except the Gila River channel. It can be good fishing for bass, catfish and tilapia. But it has a lot of agricultural runoff (chemicals) and the fish are not recommended for consumption.
Up on the north side of town you have Lake Pleasant. Used to be a lot better for all species until they raised the dam. Now they fill the lake all winter from Lake Havasu and then drain it down to a very low point by late summer. That has killed the spawning for sunfish and others. But still some good bass and white bass...and catfish.
One of my favorite lakes was Saguaro Lake, on the Salt River. Not much shoreline access but there is some at the main ramp and some at Butcher Jones Beach. Some good bluegill and yellow bass action when you time it right.
Up the Salt River there is Canyon Lake. Again, there is limited shore access but wherever you can get down to fish off the rocks there are lots of bluegills. One good spot is the little side canyon on the north side of the lake. There is a turnoff just before you go over the one lane bridge. A good place to drive up and fish with the kids. Bluegills and green sunfish...plus some cats and other species.
There are actually quite a few lakes near Phoenix, for being a desert state and all. Spend some time at the bait shops and look at the topo maps. Still further up the Salt River is Apache Lake and then Roosevelt. Apache has almost no shore fishing but there are lots of spots around Roosevelt...even if it is a 2 hour drive. It can be good fishing too.
If you want to drive some more, get over to the Yuma area. Besides the Colorado River there are small lakes and irrigation canals that all have good fishing in them.
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Thanks for the heads up! I think I'm going to head to Saguaro lake for our first outing. It's just an hour drive from where the boys live.
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I didn't realize there was an Arizona section until after I posted but I'll definitely checkthat out as I try to go more in depth with learning the Arizona fishing hot spots!
Thanks!
OA
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[#0000FF]If you go back to the posts before July 2004 you will see quite a few of my reports on the different lakes.
Good luck.
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