Arizona, Valley Of The Sun, May, 2012, with triple digit temperatures upon us, mornings no longer have that awakening chill, the temperatures are, as the song goes, “Hot-Hot-Hot” and, if you persevere and have patience, so is the fishing. PLEASE NOTE: Unless otherwise indicated, all fish were safely released after being photographed.
LOWER SALT RIVER, Tonto National Forest, AZ
With the float, kayak and tubing season underway, fishing tended to be in the early morning hours and in locations that lay outside of the boundary of tubing operations, namely Water Users Recreation Area and up river and Phon D. Sutton Recreation Area and down river.
Trout and largemouth bass could be found along the shoreline and in the deeper and slower pools. My “go-to” fly patterns included a # 14 wire caddis nymph tied behind a sparkle shad streamer and a # 14 ju-ju bee nymph tied behind a # 16 orange/black wooly bugger.
To see a video of the above bass being caught and a rainbow trout caught on the very next cast, please see the “Featured Video” links bellow. Here is the water flow chart for the Lower Salt River for the month from WWW.Watershedmonitor.Com.
Hiking down from the many roadside locations produced some exciting fishing courtesy of the largemouth bass population. Some of the best action using the fly rod was found with a large purple salt water fly with a # 14 wet alexandra fly tied behind it.
On traditional bass tackle, a Bass Pro Shops swimm’in squirt (red flake and clear/black flake) on a 1/16 ounce jig head induced quite a few otherwise lethargic bass to strike.
The various areas within the Boulder Recreation Area produced consistent panfish action, particularly on a # 16 foam ant. While not as thrilling as the largemouth bass, panfish on a fly in triple digit temperatures will always make me smile.
URBAN LAKE FISHING
Biweekly stocking of cat fish was still in effect this month. As such, the majority of my time on the Urban Lakes was spent in search of these tasty whisker-faces. Most of the fishing was done at Veterans Oasis Lake with a few visits to Water Ranch Lake and Red Mountain Lake.
A most memorable night fishing for these tasty urban dwellers was on Cinco De Mayo (May 5th). On this night there was an uncommon “Super-Moon” full moon that provided a beautiful sight.
I was very pleased to have not only visited an urban “old friend” but to have also confirmed that this old friend still held some impressive fish. I was very pleased that the population of largemouth bass remained in tact.
I was surprised when a nice tug on my fly line produced an unexpected tilapia that hit a # 14 wet alexandria fished behind a large purple salt water fly. A very unexpected treat that was quickly photographed and released.
Noting that, in the past, when I wrote about my summer visits to this urban pond, the population of fisherman increased, for now, I’ll keep this treasure hidden and known only to the hand full of regulars.
FEATURED VIDEOS:
1. For a look at fly fishing at Phon Sutton where the first two casts produced a largemouth bass and a rainbow trout, please click the following link to our video: Lower Salt River – 2 casts – 2 fish – LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcbxR6L_n-I
2. For a unique historical look at “Fisherman As Warriors”, please click this convenient link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cMRW503DbY
FEATURED PRODUCT:
This month’s featured FFD Logo Product is the FFD Logo Trailer Hitch Cover; purchase information and link is below.
Until the next submission, I remain,
Sensei John
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