7 Best Places To Fish In Arizona

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It might seem like Arizona is all desert, sand, rocks, and dryness, but this is actually not very true. The beautiful State of Arizona actually has lots of natural attractions that contain quite a bit of water.

You know what that means, Arizona is indeed quite a good place to go fishing if you know where to go. In fact, here there is an abundance of State parks, lakes, and reservoirs where you can find a heck of a lot of fish. So, when it comes to this awesome State, what are the best places to fish in Arizona?

Contents

Our Top 7 Fishing Spots In Arizona

1. Roosevelt Lake

Named after one of the best and most respected US Presidents of all time, Roosevelt Lake can be found in Tonto National Forest. If bass is the type of fish you are looking for, this is probably the number one spot to be in Arizona. This lake is 20,000 of wetness and it is chalked full of bass, literally tens of thousands of them waiting to be fished.

In Roosevelt Lake you can find both largemouth and smallmouth bass, with the largemouth variety being ample in numbers in the cold and deeper parts of the lake, and the smallmouth variety being concentrated in the shallows, especially around fallen trees, stumps, and other debris.

Roosevelt Lake
Photo Credit

Keep in mind that in Roosevelt lake, you can fish from the shore or from a boat, but be careful in the shallows due to debris and trees.

The reason why there are so many fish in this lake is because all of the fallen trees, stumps, and other organic debris provides the perfect feeding grounds for these fish. Here you can find many different types of fish besides the largemouth and smallmouth bass, ones including striped bass, white bass, and tons of catfish too.

2. Patagonia Lake State Park

Another beautiful State Park in Arizona, Patagonia Lake State Park is just an hour out of Tucson, so it is easily accessible. What is interesting to note is that this 265 acre lake is actually manmade. It might not be very large at all, or very deep, but the waters are warm and have a steady temperature all year long.

This makes it an ideal breeding ground and living environment for fish, allowing them to grow big and strong all around the year.
There is a fair amount of cover on the shoreline here, mainly brush and small bushes, but some added Christmas tree bundles too.

This helps to provide cover for the variety of fish that can be found here, ones that include bluegills, crappies, channel catfish, flathead catfish, and a heck of a lot of bass. In Patagonia Lake State Park you can often find bass between 5 and 8 pounds, or more.

The bass population is very big here, making it a great bass fishing location, plus it’s a great place to fish on a boat or from the shoreline too.

On a site note, we have covered the 5 best Catfishing spots in Tennessee over at this article.

3. Lake Havasu State Park

Yet another awesome State Park in Arizona, Lake Havasu is located in Lake Havasu City and it is one of the largest and best lakes to fish for bass and other species of fish. This lake is over 25 miles long, it’s very wide, quite deep in places, and features over 250 miles of shoreline to fish from.

This makes it a great place to do all kinds of fishing, both from the lake and the shore too. Lake Havasu is usually considered to be one of the very best bass fishing spots in the whole State, with huge numbers of largemouth and smallmouth bass. It’s not uncommon to find 4 to 5 pound largemouth bass here, and 3 to 4 pound smallmouth bass.

Not only are there thousands upon thousands of largemouth bass and smallmouth bass here, but you can also find many other fish that might suit your fancy, ones such as striped bass, several sunfish species, and several catfish species too.

4. Lake Pleasant

If you are near Phoenix, the Capital city of Arizona, Lake Pleasant is definitely one of the best places to go for fishing. This is actually the largest lake in the Phoenix area and it does not take very long to get there from the center of the city.

Lake Pleasant features over 116 miles of shoreline which can be easily fished from. It also features over 10,000 acres of water surface area, making it a great fishing spot for boats too.

Many people love to come here with power boats, for fishing, for swimming, and for day trips too. It is one of the more popular natural attractions to visit in the Phoenix area at this time. Weather conditions can vary greatly here, so be prepared for both blistering heat and cooler, windier, and rainy days too.

This is a pretty good place to go fishing for largemouth bass, one of the best in the Phoenix area to say the least. What is interesting to note is that the one and only population of white bass can be found right here in this gem of a lake.

5. Lees Ferry

Lees Ferry is a neat place located out of Page, Arizona. If you did not know, this place is located near the Colorado border and is actually a 13 mile stretch of the Colorado River. It is quite accessible, but it will take some time to get there.

The water here might not be very deep, and the river itself not very wide, but it is certainly home to plenty of fish that you can go fishing for. Here there is a whole lot of shoreline along each side of the river where you can fish from. Now, there are areas that are a little deeper, making it pretty good for boat fishing too.

If you want to do some exploring, you can even hire a licensed guide to take you through all of the little runoffs and small creeks which come off of this area of the Colorado river, also pretty good fishing spots. The warm and consistent temperatures around the year make it an excellent breeding ground and habitat for many kinds of fish.

If you like fly fishing in rivers, well then Lees Ferry is one of the best places to be in Arizona. Also, if rainbow trout is the fish you are going for, you will find thousands of them here, with some of these trout growing up to a whopping 22 inches in length. You might be able to find some other fish in Lees Ferry, but rainbow trout is the species which is the most abundant.

6. Big Lake

If you like mountain scenery, Big Lake is the place to be. Big Lake, as the name indicates, is a very large lake located in the beautiful White Mountains which can be found in North Eastern Arizona. Now, one thing to make clear here is that Big Lake is nearly 9,300 feet above sea level, so the air is a little thin, plus it can get quite cold and windy here.

Big Lake is in the mountains after all, so prepare yourself accordingly and make sure to be ready for some fairly cool conditions. This also means that the water can be a little bit choppy, but it is still a great place to fish, both from the shore and from boats.

Many people actually like to come here for kayaking and kayak fishing. What is neat about Big Lake is that there are lots of campgrounds located nearby, making it a great spot for a several day long fishing trip.

Here you can also rent boats, kayaks, get fishing licenses, and you have access to all of the bait and tackle that you could possibly need. If trout is the species of fish you want to go for, Big Lake is one of the best places to be in Arizona, and actually in the whole world. Here you will find massive populations of cutthroat, brook, and rainbow trout.

7. Lake Mead

The Lake Mead National Recreation Area is one of the best spots to be in all of the United States, especially when it comes to fishing. Lake Mead is partially located in the States of Nevada and Arizona and it makes up the largest water reservoir in the whole United States.

It features over 290 square miles of water surface, making it a great place to do kayak and boat fishing. At the same time, it also features over 700 miles of shoreline, where fishing can also be done. In all reality, this is one of the largest, most beautiful, and most versatile fishing locations in all of the United States.

In Lake Mead you can find many different fish species including some rainbow trout, bluegill, crappie, striped bass, largemouth bass, and channel catfish too. If you go to the areas of Katherine and Cottonwood Cove, both located in Lake Mead, you can often find largemouth bass ranging from 20 to 40 pounds, making it a good spot for trophy bass fishing.

If you want to find those really big trout, you should head to Willow Beach.

Conclusion

The fact of the matter is that there are many other awesome fishing spots in Arizona, but the 7 listed here are by far the best ones in this State. Whether large or small, these lakes and reservoirs, manmade or natural, house some of the largest populations of fish far and wide. Bass, trout, crappie, catfish, and so much more can be found in the great State of Arizona.

Jason Downs

I created Fishtackly to share my 30 years of fishing experience and knowledge with others with the aim to help, and hopefully get more people involved and educated in this fantastic hobby that I love.