Night fishing is also popular. Shad are the primary forage for stripers in Lake Pleasant, and these baitfish typically school in protected shallows overnight. Try spoons and swimbaits in 20 to 30 feet at night, and then move out to 30 or 40 feet at first light.
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What’s biting at Lake Pleasant?
What is this? Live shad, bluegill and small carp are the best baits for flatheads. Many Lake Pleasant catfish anglers catch their bait during the day, and then bait their hooks for catfish at night.
How is the fishing at Lake Pleasant?

Where is the best fishing in Lake Pleasant?
Upstream drainages, including Castle Creek, Humbug Creek and Cole’s Wash as well as Jackass and Honeymoon coves on the east side of the lake have become anglers’ favorite fishing sites. The fish, which include some sixteen species, ranging from Florida-strain largemouth bass to crappie, have proliferated and grown.
Is fishing good at Lake Pleasant AZ?
Lake Pleasant offers anglers the opportunity to catch numbers of largemouth bass, striped bass, and white bass at only a stone’s throw from Scottsdale or North Phoenix. The crystal clear waters and abundance of forage in Lake Pleasant make for a perfect environment for exciting surface action through most of the year.
What is the best bait to catch largemouth bass?
What is the best bait for largemouth bass? In terms of live bait, fish (like shiners, minnows, or shad) and crawfish work very well since these are what bass usually eat. Because largemouth bass are carnivorous, the best artificial baits tend to be those that mimic their prey in some way.
What is the biggest fish in Lake Pleasant?
Noel Arnold of Wittmann was fishing at Lake Pleasant and decided to try a waterdog in the early hours of Aug. 8. Consequently, he enticed and boated a new inland state-record striped bass weighing 27 pounds, 4.48 ounces and measuring 42.25 inches long.
What is the best bait for bass in a lake?
Shad, minnows, or shiners are some of the best live baits for bass, hands down. Baitfish come in different sizes and can be used in all types of bass waters, but they are incredibly productive in deeper water to target huge bass.
What is the deepest point of Lake Pleasant?
Lake Pleasant is a power boater’s dream. You’re in for a blast. Its pristine waters cover over 10,000 acres of water surface with 116 miles of shoreline. The average depth is 70- feet and the deepest point of 260 feet is at the dam. The best part.
Is Lake Pleasant stocked?
Fisheries Management: Lake Pleasant is annually stocked with brown trout and lake trout. Stocking helps to maintain the fishery and give anglers a better chance of catching the big one!
Can you eat fish out of Lake Pleasant?
You can still eat these fish, but the state is advising a weekly cap on how muchโ- 2.4 ounces or less per week for adults. That goes for largemouth bass in Apache Lake, striped bass in Lake Pleasant and flathead catfish in Bartlett Lake.
Where can I catch crappie in Lake Pleasant?
Some of the best crappie habitat can be found in the Humbug Creek Arm and the Agua Fria Arm of Lake Pleasant, both of which have deep river channels with a steep drop-off adjacent to submerged timber and brush.
How do you catch fish in Lake Pleasant AZ?
Some of the effective baits for this area include: topwater baits, soft plastic swimbaits, umbrella rigs, lipless crankbaits, large flutter spoons, and underspin jigs work great in this spot. Most effective way to fish this spot: Boat, kayak, float tube. Shore fishing is also really good.
How do you rig a drop shot for fishing?

What pound test should I use for bass fishing?
For bass fishing, use 8 to 12 pound test monofilament or fluorocarbon line with finesse presentations using spinning gear. Bump it up to 15 or 20 pound test in heavy cover. When casting big swimbaits, crankbaits, jigs and topwater tackle, a braided main line in the 30-50 pound test range is incredibly versatile.
What are the best months for bass fishing?
When it comes to catching bass, every season has its opportunities and challenges. Fishing can come alive in the dead of winter on a mild afternoon, but spring and fall usually present the best action. Generally, I try to avoid extremes of heat and cold and times when the water temperature falls rapidly.
What attracts bass the most?
- Stick Bait. The legendary Stick Bait is the most popular and fundamental Bass lure ever.
- Curl Tail Grub.
- Spinnerbait.
- Square Bill Crankbait.
- Skirted Bass Jig.
- Lipless Crankbait.
- Finesse Worm.
- Tube Bait.
Where are the biggest trout in Arizona?
Sunrise Lake โ A 900-acre reservoir in the White Mountains, Sunrise Lake is home to brown and rainbow trout, as well as brook trout, for which it holds the state record.
What was the biggest fish ever caught in Arizona?
Angler’s 76.52-pound flathead is an Arizona record and the heaviest fish ever caught in the state. An angler and guide nicknamed “Flathead Ed” lived up to his moniker and then some Friday by catching a 76.52-pound flathead catfish, which is an Arizona record and the heaviest fish of any species ever landed in the state …
Will Lake Pleasant dry up?
While the lake is full now, parts of it will become dry land come summertime. According to CAP, the lake will lose about 30-40 feet from May to August.
What fills up Lake Pleasant?
Water stored in Lake Pleasant comes from two main sources: the Colorado River via the CAP canal and runoff from the Agua Fria River. CAP pumps Colorado River water into Lake Pleasant during the fall and winter months and releases water during the spring and summer to meet higher demands.
How do they fill Lake Pleasant?
The lake was filled by the Agua Fria River, and was about a quarter of the size it is today. In 1935, the dam underwent a retrofit and in 1964 was renamed the Waddell Dam. In 1973, Central Arizona Project built an aqueduct to divert Colorado River water to the lake and converted Lake Pleasant into a reservoir.
What lure catches the most fish?
The Lure Love Podcast has crunched the numbers in its database and determined that jigs, by far, have caught the most record fish of any lure type among the nearly 20,000 records it has on file.
What color lures do bass like?
The most fundamental rule is to fish brightly colored baits in dingy or muddy water and light, subtle colors in clear water. The logic here is that a bass’ visibility is hampered by silt, and colors like chartreuse, yellow and orange are easier to see than bone, pumpkinseed and smoke.
What colors can bass see?
Bass apparently do see color. Their vision is strongest in the areas of medium-red to green. It fails rapidly moving into the blues and purples, as it does towards the far reds. If our picture of bass color vision is accurate, then color is meaningful to bass in some cases but not others.