Arizona, Valley Of The Sun, July, 2011, Monsoon season is officially underway. So far this has meant mostly dust storms and very little rain.
Superstition Mountains "Flatiron" the morning after a record-setting dust storm
Please remember that during the summer month’s it is extremely important that you carry enough water for you and all members of your fishing party. Suffice to say that dehydration and heat-related illnesses will quickly spoil an otherwise enjoyable day of fishing. Failure to carry enough water and exercise caution when hiking the shoreline has unpleasant consequences; there’s always a few residents of the waters that wait for you to make a mistake.
PLEASE NOTE: Unless otherwise indicated, all fish were safely released after being photographed.
LOWER SALT RIVER, Tonto National Forest, AZ
Success on the Lower Salt River was sporadic and highly influenced by the amount of pressure from float tubers. As such, I started exploring areas up river from the Water Users Recreation Area and down river from Phon D. Sutton Recreation Area. These areas are outside the boundaries of commercial tubing operations. Fishing often involved casting in and about tight places, off of rock ledges and sometimes more hiking than casting flies.
There were catches of trout and small bass, but not as exciting as the quantity and size of fish to be found in the cooler months.
Water flows remained high, but started to settle down to normal summer flows.
Below is the water flow chart for the Lower Salt River for the month from WWW.Watershedmonitor.Com.
CANYON LAKE, Tonto National Forest, AZ
Canyon Lake proved, again, to be a go-to place for the month. Regular catches of bluegill and fair sized bass could be found in several areas, including both sides of the first one lane bridge on highway 88, all around Boulder Recreation Area (fishing the bridge was good, but also try hiking all around the area, there are many fine locations to be found) and several areas located off highway 88.
Best of all in the mid-morning, usually between eight o’clock and ten o’clock, there was great top water action to be had. For bass, deer hair poppers worked best twitched, “popped” and paused along the surface. For the bluegill and crappy, a small # 16 grasshopper and # 16 foam ant delicately twitched and paused on the surface could not be beat. For non-fly fisherman, rebel “Pop-R” lures worked best during this time.
This nice bass was the result of top water action courtesy of a deer hair popper.
In addition to the top of the water action, once again, several sub-surface combinations proved effective, including a # 14 apache lady wet fly with a # 16 red serendipity nymph tied behind it, # 12 muddler minnow with either a # 16 rainbow warrior nymph or a # 16 peacock lady tied behind it. Fishing the apache lady and red serendipity combination off the fishing bridge at Boulder Recreation produced fun largemouth bass action when the bass came out from under the bridge to take the little # 16 red serendipity.
a video link is below 
We were able to capture some of the action on video, here is a convenient link to our video entitled “Serendipity Bass.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlYgmOSpbts
SAGUARO LAKE, Tonto National Forest, AZ
With favorable results at Canyon Lake, we decided to see how the action at Saguaro Lake was. We found several good locations both on the two fishing bridges and along the shoreline adjacent to and between the bridges. Use extreme caution when hiking down from the parking lot to the shoreline when fishing in between and adjacent to the bridges themselves.
The successful fly patterns were the same as Canyon Lake for both top water and sub-surface fishing. Di also had top water success again with the Rebel Pop-R’s and sub-surface action on small “Swimmin’ Squirt” tube baits on a 1/32 ounce jig head by Bass Pro Shops.
Bass – and – More Bass 
URBAN LAKE FISHING – GENERAL COMMENTS
The Urban lakes System is one of the best means of introducing a child to fishing. Unlike the larger bodies of water, where you may have to hike to a good fishing location, contend with natural inhabitants, bees, and snakes, to name a few the Urban Lake System provides a “user-friendly” environment for a child take catch their first fish.
My grandson, Stratton, age 2, practices his fishing skills
VETERAN’S OASIS PARK LAKE, Chandler, AZ
Fly fishing was slow, but I did notice a few bait fisherman with respectable catfish catches. I also once again noticed quite a few bass cruising the shoreline. These cruising bass were easily spooked and hard to catch using flies.
WATER RANCH LAKE, Gilbert, AZ
As I indicated in my June fishing report, this lake was once inundated with algae. I am very happy to report that when I revisited the lake on July 16th, water clarity was greatly improved. Small largemouth bass and bluegill could been seen from shore.
Given these positive signs, I look forward to anticipated good fishing in August.
RED MOUNTAIN LAKE, Mesa, AZ
Walking the shoreline and fishing as I do allowed me to regularly see respectable sized catfish and largemouth bass; sometimes within inches of the shoreline. In addition bluegill were regularly seen. Water quality was very clear and care had to be exercised in approaching these fish as they were easily spooked.
Good bass fishing could be found along the reed laden sides of the off-shore islands. Due to limited fly casting opportunities caused by the shoreline vegetation, I opted for a bait-casting bass pole and had good success with a top water Rebel Pop-R cast very close to the reeds and “popped” along the surface. Watch for a ravenous attack when the lure is paused prior to the net pop. Here’s a photograph of one bass caught using the Rebel Pop-R in this fashion
We were also able to get some video footage of two bass; the video is entitled “Red Mountain Bass.” Here is a convenient link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqiMVWBkNLg
OTHER:
DISCOVERY LAKE, Gilbert, AZ
I paid an exploratory visit to this lake on July 13th. There were several small bass fry that were interested in taking a # 16 wire caddis tied behind a # 14 claret wooly bugger. While I was elated by the prospects of good bass fishing in the fall, after the fry have had a chance to grow, I was disappointed to find a dead bass which must have been caught and carelessly discarded into the water flow from the upper lake to the lower lake.
I can not emphasize enough that in order for this small lake to produce quality fishing, care must be exercised in catching and releasing fish. Any negligence will result in fishing decreasing faster than the Dow Jones Average on Wall Street.
NEW VIDEOS:
SERENDIPITY BASS, Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlYgmOSpbts
BLOODY MARY BASS, Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8COsXhjoKTc
RED MOUNTAIN BASS, Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqiMVWBkNLg
For a very unique look at a historical aspect of fishing, you may wish to view “Fisherman As Warriors” by clicking this convenient link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cMRW503DbY
Until the next submission, I remain, fishing the Arizona desert known as “The Valley Of The Sun”,
Sensei John
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