Dorado

Smart I’ve tried it all. Now all I use are small crappie tubes. Berkley Atomic Teaser in grasshopper color is my #1 lure for stockers. I highly recommend using a technique specific trout rod to handle those micro jigs through. Such a good investment. Last trout season, in AZ, I had multiple 30-40 fish days just on that tube alone.

I hate to sound bitter and I’m sorry I’m not adding much value. I might PM you with a couple suggestions. When I moved here from Colorado about 5 years ago, there were a ton of hidden gems. You could just Google Earth places with water and find bass fairly easily. Nowadays, you have urban bass fishing tournaments and Instagram and YouTube local celebrity wannabes hot spotting ponds left and right that there are no honey holes anymore. It’s so sad. To further add to this troubling trend, are poachers who keep everything they catch. Prior to our recent monsoon, we’ve been suffering a severe drought. The canals were the lowest this year that I’ve ever seen them. There’s your source for our urban ponds, so follow the water. AZ Game and Fish don’t seem to care about urban stocking and especially maintaining healthy habitats. Golden algae blooms wipe out a lot of fisheries and that could take years to recover. Buckeye Hidden Lakes was an amazing fishery once upon a time. Golden algae hit that like the plague and the previous owner, a friend of mine, God bless his soul, for murdered on his own property last year….. it just goes on and on. Ask anyone who knows me, I’m a very optimistic, pie in the sky sometimes, chill dude, but I’m worried and frustrated with the fishing in AZ these days. I hope the monsoons help with our water levels but that’s only one attributing factor towards cultivating healthy fisheries. Social media to urban bass fishing tournaments on 3 acre ponds (seriously?) are pounding our resources. I sound like a lefty hippy, which I’m not politically, but yeah….. I’m bitter my friend.

I use a 4/0 Gamakatsu G-Lock worm hook and now Texas rig it with a very light bullet lead weight (pegged). I’ve refined this technique since that original post since I used to go weightless. Having that light weight in front keeps the worm on an even keel and gives me a little more distance in that cast. Weightless gives it a tendency for the worm to roll side to side. You want the worm to travel on top of the surface straight and let that tail do all of the action for you. The fast fluttering churns the surface and creates a nice wake too. I can’t buy a bite with a standard buzzbait. I fish very highly pressured ponds in the city limits and I’m just a firm believer that these trained bass turn away from the loud artificial metal clunking hardbaits. Now there are exceptions to everything and there are some windows in the valley, like prespawn and our very short “Fall” period in AZ, where chatterbaits and lipless cranks dominant. But for 90% of my fishing these days In urban ponds, it’s all finesse fishing for this guy. Back to the point, that Zoom Ultravibe Speed worm is a finesse buzzbait. With that light Texas-rig, just make sure you keep your rod tip pointed 11 o’clock and semi-burn it to keep it high on the surface or barely subsurface. Last tip, when you rig the worm, make sure the tail ends up pointed downwards. It helps churn the water more effectively. Hope this helps. Try it this Fall! It only last like three weeks lol

Finally caught the rare Gila Trout! Caught 9 today too. Beautiful colors! Most fell for the trout magnets and the largest was victim to an atomic tube. All caught and released on the beautiful East Verde River in Arizona. Now I just need the Apache Trout to catch all of the AZ trout species on my list

The males were wearing their black tuxedos getting ready for the big dance!

I’m interested to. I fished there last Friday for the first time. Got skunked only fishing for crappies though

Support local family-owned businesses. http://www.thehookuptackle.com Walking inside that place is like walking into a Toys-R-Us store as a kid

I’m a grub junkie! 3” Kalin’s Lunker Grub (Ron’s Craw) 3” Powergrub (Pumpkinseed) Zoom Fat Albert (Junebug) night fishing 3” Zoom Grub (White) 4” GYCB Grub (Natural Shad & Baby Bass)

Squarebills during the 1st wave. Grubs during the 2nd

Yes sir!

Safford, AZ. Another Albino Trout caught on an Atomic Tube Jig. Bonus Common Carp landed on Ultralight Gear - #4 test and a size 10 salmon egg hook. Took about 10 minutes to land and was a beast of a fight!

I have a buddy that starts hammering in AZ as early as February on frogs. Poppers worked slowly, in baby bass pattern, do well for me in early spring. I don’t throw top water in winter because I’m too focused on drop shot, Ned, or finesse jigs during that time. Summer - Fall in AZ, I can’t put down the walking baits though. In weeds, it’s all about the weedless bluegill frog-like lures, like the Livetarget Sunfish types. Sorry to go off course, just covering all bases for these AZ small ponds you mentioned. Here’s my secret top water for early spring. Cali 420 Zoom Ultravibe Speed Worm worked like a buzz bait. It’s killer!

2.75” SK Bitsy Bug Tube. Color doesn’t matter, but tubes just get them every time in my local waters

1) 5” Yamamoto Senko in GP w/ Black Flake 2) 5” Yamamoto Senko “Christmas Tree” 3) 5” Berkley Maxscent The General in GP/Watermelon 4) 7” Berkley Powerworm in Pumpkinseed 5) 7.5” Culprit Ribbontail in Watermelon Red 6th Man Award- Zoom Trick Worm in Candy Bug

Very good response! That Major Craft Crostege series looks incredible! Ultralight fishing is a ton of fun. I ended up picking up a TFO Trout-Panfish Rod, 6’6” UL rod with XF action. It is rated for 1/32 -3/16oz. The moment I picked it up, it was love at first sight. Just need to pair it with a very light reel. Can’t wait to fish it man!

Amazing detail! Congratulations!

Stocked trout hurdle in large groups for the first week or so after getting initially stocked. You want to be very mobile until you find the pack. They herd together because they come from hatcheries.....so once you find one, there will be plenty more close by. Best case scenario, they will be breaching the surface, revealing their location. If you know where the game and fish stock them, try that area first if you don’t see them surface. In my experience, they don’t swim too far from where they get planted. In my experience, it’s usually by a boat ramp or a man-made dam. Sometimes, they favor being close to shore near concrete structures because it’s reminds them of the hatchery tanks, which also give them comfort. So, that’s location, now let’s talk baits-lures. Two rods I take with me: 1) Bait rod. Medium-Light Rod with 6# test Fluoro on my mainline. Carolina rig with a light mojo weight and 12”-18” leader of 4# test fluoro. Small Gama mosquito hook with a Berkley Alive Floating Trout Worm. Pink and Chartreuse are my go-to colors. 2)Lure Rod. Medium-Light Rod with 6# test Fluoro line. I’ll start off my throwing small spoons, like Kastmasters. Just a confidence lure. If that doesn’t work, small in-line spinners like a Panther Martin. This year, I’ve been experimenting with crappie jigs and they been very productive! I just cast and reel them back subsurface slowly while twitching my rod tip. A black body with chartreuse skirted crappie tube has been a secret of mine. Last strong recommendation is a pistol pete fly with a casting bubble. If I bring my fly rod, long casts with either a green or black wooly bugger stripped back with brief pauses. A lot to digest, but hope this all helps! I’m in the market for a new rod that can casts small 1/16 oz jigs, like a Trout Magnet or tiny tubes for anyone who has any recommendations

Albino with red eyes. Wonder what the difference is between the two?

Finally caught the elusive albino rainbow trout.... on a crappie tube. Get to cross that off my list!

Beautiful specimen

I’ll be the dissident on this topic, but I personally love the baitball series squarebills. Top three most productive hardbaits in my arsenal. I’m absolutely content if anglers refuse to use it - more fish for me ? In all seriousness, it’s one of the few hardbaits that I’ve thrown in highly pressured urban ponds where bass chase it all the way to my feet sometimes when fishing from the banks I realize this is specifically about the ball bait spinner, but I’m a fan of LiveTarget, so I think it’s definitely worth an investment. Just offering another perspective

Fly fishing at Silver Creek, AZ. Leech patterns and woolly buggers landed footballs all weekend long!

Gitzit, SK Bitsy Tubes, and Sk Coffee Tubes.

This ^

I wake 3” white grubs a lot at night in early spring and late fall while bank fishing since threadfin shad is the main forage in our urban ponds. 1/8 oz jig heads with the rod tip pointed towards 10:00. Very finessey technique that I don’t hear a lot of anglers talk about..... If that doesn’t work, I’ll impart the same wake-like retrieval technique but with a micro chatterbait with a split tail trailer.