Arizona Urban Fish Stocking Begins
OutdoorHub 10.19.11
For the 20 Urban Fishing Program waters in the Phoenix and Tucson areas, channel catfish will be stocked during the week of Oct. 17-22, and bluegill will be stocked the next week.
Trout stockings begin at Green Valley Lakes Oct. 20
Payson residents and visitors can welcome back the trout to beautiful Green Valley Park on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 20. More than 750 Colorado-grown rainbow trout will arrive to kick off a trout season that features 11-14 inch fish delivered every two weeks.
Fall is a wonderful time to visit the rim country, see the colors, and relax and fish along the grassy shorelines of this popular urban fishery just a mile west of Highway 87 on Main Street in Payson.
The fish stocking program at Green Valley is different from all other Urban Fishing Program waters. Rainbow trout are the only species stocked by the department during an eight-month season that starts in mid October and continues through early May. No other fish species are stocked at Green Valley, however good populations of bass, crappie, catfish and sunfish can be found in this productive lake ecosystem.
Trout can be caught on small spinners and spoons, by fly fishermen using nymphs or wet flies, and by baits such as scented dough baits, worms or salmon eggs. To catch more trout use lighter line in the 2-6 pound range, smaller hooks and a minimal amount of weight. Limits on trout are four per day for licensed anglers and two trout for children under age 14.
Bluegill Stockings Coming Oct. 24-29
A truckload of 17,000 bluegills will be delivered to all Urban Fishing Program waters during the week of Oct. 24-29. Catchable size bluegills are delivered twice each year to Urban waters, in the fall and spring. Bluegills are fun to catch for anglers of all ages and will bite all day long.
The best baits are mealworms or small pieces of night crawlers. Use lighter tackle, smaller hooks in the size 10-12 range, and small bobbers for the best bites. Daily bag limits for bluegill and other sunfish are 10 fish per person at Urban Lakes and 5 fish per day at Urban Ponds.
The annual stocking of largemouth bass is scheduled at the same time with more than 6,500 fish on order. Bass will be from 6-10 inches in length—below the 13-inch minimum legal size. Juvenile bass are stocked to help rebuild the resident bass populations in our lakes. These smaller bass are not stocked for anglers to catch and keep (right away) like catfish, bluegill or trout.
Regulations require that anglers carefully release these young bass unharmed back into the water so they can grow to catchable size in the future. Please help conserve our bass populations by practicing proper release techniques.
Call 1-800-352-0700 to report any violators keeping bass less than 13 inches in length.
Urban Fishing Report
October offers some of the best fishing available at Urban Fishing Program lakes. Catfish stockings have been going on for the past five weeks with more on the way the week of Oct. 17-22.
Fishing for catfish is good to excellent for anglers using shrimp, stink baits and worms on the bottom.
Stockings of bluegill sunfish will occur from Oct. 24-29 at all lakes. Try mealworms, worms and corn 3-5 feet under a small bobber for bluegill.
Trout fishing will be excellent at Payson’s Green Valley Lakes following the first stocking on Oct. 20. Try Power Bait, worms and small spinners and spoons for the 11-14 inch trout.
Trout stockings will continue every two weeks at Green Valley all the way through spring.
For Urban waters in the Phoenix and Tucson areas, trout stockings will begin in mid November.
Last Stocking
- Oct. 5 — All urban fishing program (UFP) waters in Phoenix area and Tucson area received catfish
- May 7 — Trout were stocked at Green Valley Lake
Next Stocking
- Oct. 20 — Green Valley Lake in Payson will be stocked with trout
- Oct. 17-22 — All UFP waters receive catfish
- Oct. 24-29 — All UFP waters receive bluegill
Remember www.azgfd.gov for up-to-date stocking schedules, fishing clinic information, fishing reports, and other great fishing information! Also sign up for free electronic mailings of the Urban Fishing Bulletin, Weekly Fishing Reports, and more at the eNEWS link.
