Denise Jones
Gila Outdoor
348-0710

Roosevelt — Anglers are catching large numbers of bass. Top water action is good when shad are boiling. Fishing off points in 10-25 feet of water has been effective as well as in areas of stickups and brush. Live shad or minnows are also good baits either with bobbers or free-lined.

Crappie fishing has slowed during the day but is good at night under submersible lights. Try the Windy Hill area and also the shore south of Cholla ramp. Minnows under slip bobbers and 1/32-ounce jigs cast into the brush will be the trick. Fishing for smallmouth bass can be good, especially on windy days. Try areas where waves are stirring up the rocky shoreline. Use in-line spinners and crayfish imitations, especially off rocky points and cliff walls, and live night crawlers.

Bluegills are spawning: This is a great time to take the kids out. Try the backs of coves, especially around structure. Nice bluegills have been caught recently around Windy Hill and Salome.

Anglers are reminded of the slot bass size limit in effect at Roosevelt. Bass between 13 to 16 inches must be released immediately. Bass below 13 inches and above 16 inches that are kept can only be gutted with the head and tail attached so the legal length can be determined. All other fish such as crappie, catfish and bluegill harvested from the lake must have a piece of skin attached to the fillets so species can be determined.

Another angler reported the fish were very shallow, 1-3 feet, in the early morning and late evening. They went deeper during the day, around 15 to 20 feet deep, using drop-shot and Texas-rigged worms.

Flathead catfish anglers are out in force, with some hauling in big monsters, but most are keeping the action pretty quiet. Try where the Salt River enters the lake.

We are not hearing much about the smallmouth action, but try the rocky areas near the dam using crayfish-like baits when the wind picks up.

The action is also pretty good for bluegills and yellow bass. Try using mealworms under bobbers in the backs of coves or along those rocky secondary points inside the coves.

Channel catfish and carp are abundant – you can probably load up with lots of bottom feeders along any piece of shoreline, and you don’t need a boat. Although daylight fishing is viable for these bottom feeders, this is the time when they can also be pretty active at night.

Apache — The lake is 95-percent full at 1,909 feet. Fishing has been good for yellow bass. Yellow bass are hitting jigs and spoons. Fish for them around balls of shad in 20-60 feet of water. Cut bait also works well for them. Largemouth bass fishing is slow. There is a certified scale at the marina boathouse.

Game and Fish biologists sampled Apache Lake this spring and caught some nice largemouth bass, a whole lot of bluegills and a fair amount of catfish. We electro-fished and set nets, and every time we e-fished near reeds, we would get some nice largemouth. The rocky sites were not as fruitful, although we did catch quite a few smallmouth bass in those areas.

The smallmouth we stocked in 2007 are now in the slot and doing realyl well. We caught quite a few green sunfish, and every one of them looked like they just had a seven-course dinner. A couple of hot spots for bass and sunfish are the Crabtree area, plus we caught a slew of catfish at Pine Cove. Another hot spot was the area around Burnt Corral. We picked up a few of the small 3-4-inch trout recently stocked as a house cleaning effort for one of the hatcheries.

San Carlos — A recent bass tournament produced another hefty five-fish stringer. The winner boated 34 pounds on jigs and Carolina rigs. Crappies are biting well under light near the dam.

Luna Lake— Fishing is fair. As water temperatures rise, fish at first and last light for the best success, or try fishing at night.

Anglers have been catching trout on night crawlers and Power Bait. Try worms, salmon eggs, Power Bait, lures such as Panther Martin, Rooster Tail, and Mepps spinners, small spoons like KastMasters and Super Dupers, and flies such as wooly worms and wooly buggers, peacock ladies, Zug bugs, Prince Nymphs and brown Montana stones.

Big Lake — Fishing is good for rainbow trout but is fair to good for cutthroats and just fair for brook trout. Some anglers are catching limits; others are catching-and-releasing impressive numbers of trout while using float tubes, kayaks or boats.

There are Apache trout in Big Lake but no recent reports of anglers catching them. Rainbow trout should either be staging for the spawn or exhibiting spawning behavior.

Try worms, Power Bait, corn, and salmon eggs, lures such as spinners (Mepps, Rooster Tail, Panther Martin), Super Dupers, Z-Rays, and Rapalas, and flies such as wooly worms, wooly buggers, peacock ladies, and nymphs in black, brown or green.