The big news among Rim Country anglers is the decreased amount of water being taken out of Roosevelt Lake to meet downstream demands. Each year during the winter months, water from Bartlett Lake and the Verde River is used as the primary downstream water source allowing Roosevelt Lake to replenish during the winter months. The Verde River runs into the Salt River just north of Mesa which permits the use of two watersheds to supply water to the Valley.
Roosevelt Lake water level currently stands at 34 percent full. The Salt River is flowing at 60 percent of its normal rate for this time of year while the Tonto Creek is flowing at about 30 percent. Now all we need is moisture and a good snowpack up on the Rim this winter for Roosevelt Lake to be in great shape for 2017 bass fishing tournament season.
Anglers reported slower conditions recently on Roosevelt Lake but still rating the overall fishing conditions as good. Bass continue to feed aggressively in preparation for the colder months ahead; however, the falling water temperature may be a factor. The water temperate is now is in the mid to high 60s.
A wide variety of baits are catching bass at this time. Top-water, spinnerbaits, paddle-tail swimbaits, a drop-shot, Texas rig and spoons have all been reported successful. One angler reported catching omore than30 bass on deep water spoons, while another reported mid-day success in shallow water on a crankbait. Due to the slower flows of water into the lake, the clarity remains very clear.
Experienced crappie anglers continue to report limits of crappie being caught on Roosevelt Lake in 20-25 feet depths. A vertical fishing technique, using a bait called a lil' Fishy or a small curly-tail bait are still the baits crappie anglers are using most often. By the way, the silver with a blue high-light is the lil' Fishy color to use.
Rim lakes fishing conditions were reported as good recently. Not many anglers are fishing right now so reports are lighter than usual. However, anglers are reporting that both wet and dry flies are working extremely well. Power Bait and small spinner-baits resulted in some nice limits being caught.
Anglers at Green Valley Lake are excited about the success rate of fishing. AZGFD completed its second stocking of about 700 rainbow trout this week. Experienced trout anglers are catching limits within a couple of hours each morning. PowerBait, wet flies and small spinnerbaits were the favorite baits reported. The stocked rainbow trout are measuring 12-13 inches and are feeding actively.
Have a great week of fishing and I hope to see you on the water. (2,084 feet, 35-percent full).