Arizona may be hot and dry, but where there’s water, there are fish. In this article I want to focus on Arizona trout fishing and the many community ponds and lakes in the Tempe, Mesa, and Phoenix area. Every winter these ponds are stocked with rainbow trout which can be a blast to catch! Here are a few lesser known tips and tricks to help you out fish everyone else out there.
I enjoy all types of fishing from lures, to bait, to flies. I like to take what I learn from these different methods and combine them into the best system possible.
I’ll start out with what baits to use, then I’ll go over some of the most popular community fishing lakes in the area. Then keep reading if you want to learn about the fishing gear and techniques that will help you catch some Arizona trout!
Trout Bait
At FishingWithBait.com we are focused on helping you get into bait fishing. That being said, lures can also be extremely effective at catching trout. I’ll start off with bait, but then go into a couple of my favorite alternatives.
Stocked Trout VS. Wild Trout
In the wild, trout eat mainly insects, smaller fish, and worms. So if you are fishing for wild trout, those baits would work better than Power Bait, and bread.
If you are fishing the community ponds in Arizona, then they will be freshly stocked trout. These ponds become too hot in the summer and trout are unable to survive year-round. That means that the trout you catch in these ponds are fairly fresh from the hatchery.
In the hatcheries where trout are born and raised, they are fed fish pellets. These are small dark green or brown pellets that float on the surface. They are fed regularly, and when they hear the splash of a hand full of pellets hitting the water, they come running. (I’ll sometimes throw in a few handfuls of little pebbles to mimic this feeding sound. I don’t know if this actually works…)
So as you see, stocked trout are looking for things that remind them of these little pellets. That’s why Power Bait can be so productive. It gives off a similar smell to fish pellets, and the bright colors attract their attention.
However, even hatchery raised trout will have natural instincts and characteristics. This is why you can still catch stocked trout on lures, and flies.
Bread
Bread is actually one of my favorite trout baits. I’ll microwave a slice for 10 seconds to make it tougher, then smash it flat. When I’m ready to fish, I’ll punch out a little pellet of it with a straw. (Use Wonder Bread or a similarly moist bread.)
These bread pellets mimic very closely, the feed pellets the trout were raised on.
Bread works especially well in ponds where people often go to feed ducks.
The downside to bread is that it is small and not as noticeable to the fish. You’ll need to place it near fish, or right in their path. It also becomes very soft as it absorbs water. You’ll need to re-bait your hook almost every cast.
I have caught many trout on bread pellets, as well as bluegill, carp and even catfish. Give it a try!
Power Bait
As I mentioned above, Power Bait does a good job at mimicking the smell of fish pellets. The shape and color may be a little off, but that is designed to get the attention of the trout so they come over to investigate. Once they are close enough to get a whiff of the familiar scent, they’ll gulp it down.
The trick is to find the general area in which fish are feeding. Trout will usually cruse around a lake or pond looking for food. You may see fish jumping or swimming near the surface, If you cast near those fish you’ll probably spook them, but it’s likely others will swim through the same path.
Since Power Bait floats, it’s best to use it with a sliding sinker rig. I go more into this below.
Worms
Worms are a classic. They will always be one of the best fishing baits, not only for trout but for all kinds of fish.
The reason they aren’t my favorite bait, is that they can be expensive to buy, and messy to use. But they are a bigger bait and the wiggling action can really grab the attention of the trout.
Try to use worms that are only around 4 inches long. If you only have big worms, then you can cut them up. However, a cut up worm won’t be as wiggly as a whole worm. The reason for using a small worm is that trout can swallow them in one bite. This means that you’ll miss fewer fish.
What happens is that trout will sometimes investigate the bait before eating the whole thing. They may only take little bites of the wiggly tail and spit it back out just to get a taste. They want to figure out if it’s food, and if it’s safe to eat.
These little taste tests will register to your bobber as little vibrations, or your bobber may even go under water and pop right back up instantly. This isn’t the time to set the hook. Doing so would confirm to the fish that this is not a safe meal.
Instead, wait for the bobber to go down and stay down for about two seconds or so. This would indicate that the trout has taken the worm in it’s mouth and is holding it there. Quickly reel in any slack, and set the hook. If you are too slow, the fish will feel something pulling on the worm, and will spit it out.
Salmon Eggs
Salmon eggs work well, but they are pretty small and may not stand out to the trout as well in murky pond waters. I’d save these for fishing in rivers like the lower salt river.
Many fish spawn in rivers and some of their eggs get washed downstream where they become a tasty treat for trout and others. Salmon eggs work well for both stocked and wild trout.
There are two basic ways to fish a salmon egg for trout. One would be under a bobber, and the other would be drifting through a river with splitshot.
When using a bobber in a river, you’ll want to add enough splitshot to help the egg sink. Pinch these splitshot onto your line about 8-12 inches above the egg. If the splitshot are too close to the egg, it may spook the trout. The reason for the splitshot is that the currents of the river can act in ways that keep the bait from sinking, and often times in rivers, trout are feeding near the bottom.
This is why drifting salmon eggs with splitshot and no bobber can be very effective. Ideally, you want the salmon egg to be tumbling along the bottom of the river, just like the real thing. My favorite way to do this is with a dropshot rig.
For the dropshot rig just tie your hook to the end of the line, then tie another 8 inch length of line onto the hook. pinch your splitshot onto the end of that 8 inch length. That splitshot will then be in contact with the bottom while hook and egg are just a couple inches up.
Lures
Like I said at the beginning, we need to touch on lures. Even though these trout were raised on fish pellets, lures can still be one of the most effective methods used to catch them.
Lures are great for finding fish. You can cover a lot of water in a short amount of time. When I can’t seem to figure out where the fish are, I’ll walk along the bank, casting and retrieving a lure every 20 feet or so. If I catch a fish, then great! If I get some bites, but don’t hook up, then I’ll know there are fish there and I can cast out with bait.
Sometimes when lure fishing, trout will hit the lure more out of curiosity, or defending their territory. If so, you’ll notice fish following the lure, or even take little bites at it, but will fail to get hooked up. That’s a good sign that fish are there, and you can present a bait that a trout may be less cautious about.
My favorite trout lure is by far the Rooster Tail. I’ve tried a lot of different trout lures, and none of them catch me more trout that the Rooster Tail. I like black, brown, or white.
The Rooster Tail isn’t perfect, you’ll want to check the hooks to make sure they are sharp. I have come across some pretty bad hooks right out of the package. if you have a hook sharpener, you can fix it.
They can also get bent, especially after catching a few fish. Sometimes a bent lure won’t spin right and will end up putting a lot of twist in your line. This will cause nasty tangles when you cast.
Trout Magnet
The Trout Magnet jig is another “go-to” outside of bait. I like that I can give it movement like a lure, but also let it sit still like bait.
I always fish the trout magnet under a small bobber. I’ll cast it out and let it sit for around 30 seconds. Then I’ll either give the bobber a quick pop, or I’ll reel in about 5 feet and let it sit again.
When you reel in and drag it through the water, the Trout Magnet will raise up near the surface, and when you stop, it will slowly swing down to where it’s sitting right under your bobber again. For some reason, trout love this falling action. A lot of your bites will happen during this fall.
Community Trout Fishing Waters In Arizona
Now that you have your bait figured out, let’s go fishing!
You can find the stocking schedule at the Arizona Game and Fish website here.
As of today, there are almost 50 lakes and ponds included in the Community Fishing Waters Program across Arizona that get stocked with trout. 19 of these are in the Phoenix/Maricopa area.
I went to just 7 of these lakes while writing this article, but I hope I can grow this to cover more lakes throughout the season.
Trout Fishing Papago Park, Phoenix, Arizona
This is a beautiful park with plenty of picnic areas and charcoal grills. From the same parking lot, you can do a short hike up to Hole in The Rock.
I’d say this is a good park if you just want to take the family out, throw in some lines and have a picnic.
I spent a couple hours walking all around the lakes fishing for trout and didn’t see any sign of trout anywhere. According to the Arizona trout stocking schedule, it’s been stocked, so maybe I just suck at fishing…
The south side of the pond seems to be the deepest, and would be a good area to catch some catfish if the trout aren’t biting. If you’d like to learn how to catch catfish, check out this page!
There are three ponds at Papago Park. The upper pond is the smallest, and looks like a good carp or catfish pond. However, I don’t know if they stock this one with trout.
Trout Fishing Encanto Park, Phoenix, Arizona
This is a big park with a nice little lake. Lots of ducks and geese. One side of the lake is a golf course, and the other side is the public park and picnic area.
Papago Park seems to have more picnic areas right on the water, but Encanto Lake is a bit cleaner.
I also spent a couple hours fishing this lake for trout and didn’t see any sign of them. Maybe the stocking schedules are off? I didn’t make it all the way around the lake so I should give it another shot.
Trout Fishing Riverview Lake, Mesa, Arizona
Riverview park is right across from Bass Pro Shops. It’s surrounded by a wide concrete walking path, so it’s not as pretty as other ponds in my opinion. But it is an excellent place for anyone who just wants a nice flat spot to set up and fish.
This lake is full of bluegill, so if you missed the trout stocking, you still have a great chance of catching something. Here’s an article on how to catch tons of bluegill.
You can also catch catfish and carp here. There is a nice big playground, but it’s separated from the pond so you won’t be able to fish and keep an eye on your kids at the same time.
I have seen a few trout jump around the south east corner of the lake. The water is very murky so I’d go with Power Bait and have some patience.
I didn’t spend as much time trout fishing here as I should have. I’ll be back though!
Trout Fishing Red Mountain Lake, Mesa, Arizona
This is a good sized community lake. The water was by far the cleanest of the community lakes I’ve seen. There are lot’s of spots to fish around the lake, but bring your own chairs.
Red Mountain Lake is also a great catfish and carp lake. And it’s packed with bluegill. Since you are allowed two rods per angler, I like to cast one out with catfish or carp bait and fish trout with the other one. That way if the trout aren’t biting, I still have a good chance of catching a big catfish or carp.
Just as the sun goes down, a lot of bluegill will gather right along the bank. You can catch a bunch of them with bread and small hooks.
I spent a couple hours fishing this lake. I worked all around it with a Rooster Tail lure, and finally located some trout around the Southeast corner of the lake.
Interestingly, of the three lakes where I saw trout, they were all in the Southeast corner of the lakes. I don’t know if it’s coincidence or what?
The day I fished Red Mountain was the first rainy day of the season. The temperature had dropped about 20 degrees from the day before. I don’t know if this had a negative effect on the trout, but I could hardly get a bite. I had a couple of trout follow my lure, then I switched to bread pellets and had a couple very light bites, but no real eats.
Since the water is very clear, and these trout had been stocked a week ago, I’m guessing they saw me and were being weary. They must have had a lot of anglers chasing them over the past week.
When the water is clear, you want to stay low and don’t make any sudden movements. Use a small foam bobber that won’t make a big splash. Then cast out and be patient.
Trout Fishing Chaparral Lake, Scottsdale, Arizona
Chaparral lake is one of the bigger community fishing waters. The water is blue and somewhat clear. I started out fishing the northern end of the lake, and after about an hour I hadn’t seen a fish.
I decided to walk around and see the rest of the lake. When I got to the south end I actually saw quite a few trout swimming around. Usually they were in schools of around 4 fish, and swimming just 6 feet or so away from the bank.
I was able to catch two fish within about 30 minutes of fishing the south end of the lake. There is a boat ramp and parking lot at this end so I’m sure that must be where the fish are dumped in every other week.
Trout Fishing Evelyn Hallman Pond, Tempe, Arizona
This park is about a 10 to 15 minute walk from Papago Park, or you can drive to it. It’s a cool looking pond, with an island and lots of bushes hanging over the water to create good cover.
I didn’t see any sign of trout the few times I have been there, but it is a great carp lake. check out this article if you’d like to learn how to catch carp!
Trout Fishing Kiwanis Lake, Tempe, Arizona
Kiwanis Lake is one of the bigger Arizona community trout fishing waters. You are even allowed to bring your own boat if you buy a permit. Fishing from a boat isn’t necessary though. There is bank access all the way around.
They dump the trout in at the boat ramp on the north side of the lake, so that’s a good area to start fishing. This is another good catfish and carp lake.
While I was fishing here I saw a few trout caught along the northern half of the lake. The anglers catching fish were using green Power Bait.
Everywhere Else
Obviously I have only covered a very small fraction of the trout fishing spots in Arizona. I can’t hit every spot, but I did write an article about how to find trout fishing spots near you. Check it out if you want to find some new spots. And remember to check the Arizona Trout Stocking Schedule.
Trout Fishing Gear
Rod
I recommend a 7′ ultralight spinning rod. But you can have fun with a number of different rods. If you don’t already have a rod, you can get cheap rod and reel combos at Walmart for around $25. But before you head to the store, I suggest you read my article on choosing a trout rod.
Reel
If you didn’t buy a rod and reel combo, then you’ll need to buy a reel separately. For trout, I like small spinning reels. I usually get a cheap $20-30 reel, but recently I bought the Pflueger President reel and it’s been great! It’s super smooth and well built.
Cheaper reels usually last me about 5 years, and I put them through a ton of use. So don’t feel like you have to spend more than $30 for your first reel.
Fishing Line
For trout I like to use 4 pound test Fluorocarbon line. I really like the Berkley Vanish line. It’s not the cheapest line on the shelf, but it is practically invisible to the trout.
If you want to learn more about trout fishing line, and why it is such a critical choice, check out this article.
Bobbers
Choosing the right bobber is way more important than most people realize. We all grew up with the hard plastic red and white bobber, and sure we caught fish. But there are much more effective bobbers out there.
The cheapest way to go is with these small foam bobbers. You can see that mine have taken quite a bit of abuse, and still work perfectly fine.
But durability isn’t the only reason to use these bobbers. The main reason is their sensitivity. The cigar shaped floats in particular are very sensitive.
Sensitivity is important because it takes very little effort for a trout to pull it under. It’s much less noticeable to the trout when they are pulling on the bait. If they take the bait into their mouth, but feel the pull of a big bobber, they will often times spit it out before you get a chance to hook them.
Sinkers
There are two main ways of presenting your bait to trout. You can suspend it from a bobber, or pin it to the bottom with a sinker.
An important thing to know about trout is that they prefer to not eat their food off the bottom. They will do it sometimes, but I’ve always had better luck using a floating bait like Power Bait when I’m fishing with a sinker on the bottom.
I’ll almost always use a sliding sinker rig when fishing the bottom. You can use an egg sinker, or any sinker with a hole or loop for the line to go through. 1/2 oz. is a good size.
Hooks
Your hook is probably the most important thing to get right. If a fish takes a bite at your bait, a quality hook can be the difference between catching the fish or not.
I like to use hooks from the fly fishing section. They are sharper, stronger, and come in more shapes and sizes. I really like a size 12 emerger hook for trout.
If you don’t have fly fishing hooks in your store, then I like the Gamakatsu Bait Holder hooks in size 12. Bait holder hooks are especially good for worms.
Thinner hooks are better. They don’t make a hook in the US market that is too thin for your average stocked trout. Thinner hooks will be sharper and have much better penetration. Imagine stabbing a sewing pin into a raw potato vs stabbing a pencil into it. The pin will go in much easier.
I wrote a whole article on trout fishing hooks. Check it out!
Techniques
Like I mentioned above, there are two main techniques to trout fishing. Those would be bobber fishing and bottom fishing.
Bobber Fishing
Bobber fishing is my favorite technique for catching trout. There’s something about watching that bobber twitch then get pulled under. It’s exciting. However it also requires a lot of focus.
It may be difficult to pay attention to your bobber, if you are busy chasing kids around, or want to read a book etc…
Stocked trout in particular, are used to eating the floating fish pellets that they were raised on. So they are usually swimming near the surface looking for food. That’s why bobber fishing can be so effective.
Bottom Fishing
Bottom fishing is good when trout fishing in lakes. The reason is that lakes hold trout year round. For a trout to survive this long, they need to follow their instinct to stay away from the surface of the water where birds can swoop down and grab them.
Since these trout were raised in a safe environment, some of them don’t seem to understand ariel predators. Those are the fish that get eaten first. The ones that know to stay deep will live longer, and if you want to target them, then bottom fishing may be the way to do it.
Use the sliding sinker rig is very simple to set up. In fact the bead is optional. If you don’t have any beads, then don’t bother buying any. Just slide an egg sinker onto your main line, then tie a swivel on. Make sure the swivel is big enough that the sinker can’t slide past it.
Then tie your leader to the other end of the swivel and your hook to the end of that. The length of the leader can be anywhere from about 1 to 4 feet long. Just remember, the length of your leader is how high off the bottom your floating bait will sit.
For bait I use Power Bait. I like for it to float off the bottom. Trout generally don’t like picking food off the bottom. Power Bait dough floats very well, but the marshmallow style is extremely buoyant. Sometimes I’ll add a worm along with a marshmallow, It should be able to hold the worm up.
Just cast out, reel in the slack, and watch for that rod tip to start bouncing.
Learn More
This website is all about helping people catch more fish. You can scroll to the top menu to see lots of topics on gear, techniques, and how to catch different species.
If you are reading this page about trout fishing in Arizona, then I assume you are from Arizona. And if that’s true, then you might be interested in pages like: How to Catch Grass Carp, or How to Catch Catfish. Thanks for reading!
