Angling for Everyone

Arizona fishing is as diverse as its scenery. There are desert lakes, high mountain reservoirs, sluggish rivers, and pristine brooks. And the state keeps size records on 28 species from common carp to exotic grayling.

There are waters easy to fish, tough to fish, and a host of others in between. You can carry a lawn chair and join the throngs at suburban lakes, load your vehicle and head for more offbeat sites, or elect to sling a pack and hit the backcountry, where trout and bass may not see a lure from one year to the next. Here is a sampling to start you on your way to fishing fun.

EASY ONES

For city-confined anglers, it is hard to beat the urban lakes in the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas. Arizona leads the nation in providing urban lakes fishing, with 19 impoundments, ranging in size from one to 25 acres, stocked with trout, bass, catfish, and panfish.

"Contrary to popular belief, urban fish aren't all pint-size midgets," says Bill Watt, urban program leader for the game and fish department. "Recently a state record blue cat was wrestled out of a Tucson impoundment, while waters in both cities consistently produce bass over five pounds." A brochure describing these lakes is available from the department.

The state also boasts several splendid trout streams within easy driving distance of cities. Spectacular Oak Creek, which gushes through a red rock canyon two hours north of Phoenix, is a perennial favorite.

Paved U.S. Route 89A skirts most of the better pools and has convenient pull-offs for vehicles. Fishing is largely for put-andtake trout, but lunker browns prowl hidden pools in lower reaches of the stream.

Tonto and Christopher creeks, located northeast of Payson along State Route 260, also offer roadside action with stocked trout. West of Payson, look to the East Verde River, which winds through private and public lands before reaching State Route 87 between Payson and Pine. This is a splendid stream for dry-fly action.

Farther away, but easily accessible, the White Mountains boast an abundance of easy-to-reach trout waters. The best is 280-acre Sunrise Lake on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. Paved State Route 273 passes alongside this trout-rich reservoir.

Glenn Ringe, who operates Sunrise Store, contends no lake in the Southwest provides better brook trout fishing.

The desert bass lakes closest to Phoenix are Saguaro, Canyon, Bartlett, Roosevelt, and Pleasant. Lake Pleasant is nationally famous for its spring white bass runs. Northern pike devotees can choose between Mormon Lake, Upper Lake Mary, and the Mill Pond in McNary.

MORE DIFFICULT

Anglers with a yen to depart the pavement and fish more remote waters can hit the seven "crown jewel" lakes atop the Mogollon Rim. Best fishing is found in Bear Canyon, Chevelon, and Black Canyon reservoirs. My favorite is little Black Canyon where I've taken brown trout up to four pounds within earshot of turkeys gobbling in the pines.

The 15 miles of trophy trout water between Glen Canyon Dam and Lees Ferry on the Colorado River near Marble Canyon is a world-class fishery. You can get into bruising-size rainbows casting along the road leading to the National Park Service launching area, but better action comes in pools and riffles upriver that are reachable only by boat.

Fly fishermen also will delight in Canyon Creek, near Young. This is a stream where you can dance a dry fly over placid pools loaded with better-than-averagesize browns and rainbows.

J. D. Tank and Whitehorse Reservoir near Williams, rockrimmed Rucker Lake in the Chiricahuas, Frye Mesa and Riggs Flat lakes on Mount Graham all are scenic and productive trout waters.

In the White Mountains, you can leave the beaten track and head deeper into the Apache land to beautiful Pacheta, Reservation, Hurricane, and Christmas Tree lakes. The latter two are stocked exclusively with golden-hued Apache Trout.

For grayling, look no farther than 30acre Lee Valley Reservoir for the finest action in the Southwest in landing these purple-toned gladiators.

Anglers anxious to tangle with big striped bass find plenty at Lake Havasu and Davis Dam. A 59-pound, 12-ounce world-record striper came from these waters in 1972.

Largemouth bass fishermen will find heavyweights to battle at San Carlos, Alamo, and Apache lakes, plus the tulelined sloughs sprawling out behind Imperial and Laguna dams above Yuma.

TOUGH ONES

Strap on a backpack and drop into the wilderness depths of Black River Canyon for some of the hottest smallmouth fishing in North America. This beautiful stream dividing the Fort Apache and San Carlos Apache reservations boasts some 40 miles of water that can be reached only with a pack on your back. Catching and releas-ing 50 bass a day is common on more remote stretches of the river.

Hell's Gate Canyon on lower Tonto Creek ranks as the toughest fishing trek I've made in the state, but the fact that I returned three times speaks for the qual-ity of the action in this wilderness water. Expect 18to 22-inch rainbows and browns lurking in pools up to 15-feet deep. The 1,500-foot climb out demands anglers be in top physical form. Take your choice. Make it easy or make it tough, but go for it.

Fishing Guide: Outdoors in Arizona: A Guide to Fishing and Hunting, published by Arizona Highways, provides information, maps, and tips on great spots to dip a hook. To order, telephone 1 (800) 5435432. In the Phoenix area, call 258-1000.

Robert B. Whitaker has been biking and fishing in Arizona for decades.

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