Fishing Report Show Low Lake, AZ

Current Report: Fair To Good

Fly fishing is not covered in this website, but rainbow trout are being caught on plenty of other lures and bait.

SUMMER. Summer is here and the warmer water in the shallows has driven rainbow deeper, 15 to 40 feet deep and deeper. Early mornings and at dusk can be good as the trout move shallower to feed. Trolling, using leaded line, and drift fishing with bait, are currently the most productive methods. Anglers fishing from the bank are using heavy weights, set up on a Carolina rig, to get baits into deeper water.

FALL. Cooling water temperatures will again draw rainbow trout shallower. Anglers typically catching them anywhere baitfish are gathering. Now that they had a full summer to grow, there are some much bigger rainbows to be caught, with 2 to 4 pound fish caught with some regularity. Small spinners, spoons, miniature crankbaits and swimbaits are catching trout, as are salmon eggs and prepared baits.

WINTER. When Winter sets in, and the lake freezes over, ice fishing is popular here. Jigging spoons, and jigs tipped with bait, are catching nice limits of rainbows in 3 to 8 feet of water.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, stocked rainbow trout move from their winter holding areas to shallow, warmer water. Most rainbows are being caught from mid morning to late afternoon, during the warmest water of the day. A wide variety of small spinners are catching most of the fish.

Current Report: Fair To Good

The last five state record walleye were caught here, including the current record over 16 pounds. Spring and Fall are the best seasons for catching walleye, as they spend more time shallow.

SUMMER. Currently the water temperature is in the high 70's, and walleye fishing is slow. Throughout Summer, early in the morning, and from dusk to long after dark are good times to catch walleye. At those times they move shallow to feed in low-light conditions. Night fishing has been good, as well. The rest of the time they are cruising flats and creek channel edges, where they are harder to locate and catch. In Summer, the lake receives a great deal of fishing pressure. When the bite is slow, grubs and nightcrawlers, fished just off the bottom are catching a few walleye, and using a bobber can be helpful.

FALL. Fall brings cooler temperatures to shallow water, drawing walleye into the shallows. Jigs, swimbaits, spoons, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits are all historically good for catching walleye throughout Fall. Watch for the bigger walleye to be slightly deeper than the majority of the school.

WINTER. This Winter fishing for walleye was pretty good through the ice. They primarily feed on shad and other small fish, staying close to the bottom. Blade baits, jigs, swimbaits, spoons, deep-diving crankbaits, and worm harness spinners, all work while trolling or slow drifting.

SPRING. Anglers will begin finding walleye in the shallows, especially rocky areas and the area where Show Low Creek enters the lake. Here they will spawn once the water warms to the mid 40's. Afterwards, they move to shallow points, flats with weeds and vegetation, and ledges, just off shore. Bright colored jigs, tipped with grubs, prepared baits or nightcrawlers typically catch them in 5 to 12 feet of water. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and crankbaits are also working when walleye are up shallow.

Current Report: Fair To Good

SUMMER. Smallmouth bass are currently feeding shallow early and late in the day, where they are being caught on topwater, crankbaits, swimbaits, Ned rigs and tube baits. Smallmouth bass here feed on crawfish, shad, and small sunfish. They prefer rocky or gravel bottom areas, as this is where crayfish live. During the hotter parts of the day, they are being caught on points, humps, and ledges 10 to 45 feet deep. Often these deeper fish are part of a large school of smallmouth. Anglers fishing around the main section of the lake, are reporting good catches.

FALL. As Fall arrives, smallmouth here follow schools of baitfish into the shallows, where spoons, drop-shots, and crankbaits, are successful. The average fish being caught averages about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, but a few smallies 2 to 3 pounds are being caught with some regularity. Fishing shallow for smallmouth is often good on cold, windy, cloudy and rainy days.

WINTER. Winter will isolate smallmouth around deeper structure, points and creek channels, often suspending in open water above these features. They can generally be found from 20 to 40 feet deep. Here they hold, feeding less frequently, awaiting warmer water to return in Spring.

SPRING. When water temperatures rise into the 50's, smallmouth will have moved from deep wintering spots to shallower water, just outside spawning areas. They feed heavily at this time, and are typically caught on jerkbaits, crankbaits, tube baits, Ned rigs, and crayfish imitating plastics. Once water warms into the high 50's, they move into shallower water, and create nests in gravel or sandy areas, then lay their eggs. Females then immediately move to deeper water, and the males remain to guard the eggs, and then the fry. After a couple weeks, the males also move to slightly deeper water and feed aggressively. Crankbaits, tube baits, Ned rigs, plastic worms, spoons and swimbaits are catching smallies during this period.