Arizona Fly Fishing: Christmas Tree Lake

Christmas Tree Lake
Christmas Tree Lake

On a recent trip home from Pyramid Lake, the conversation in the truck turned to fishing in Arizona. We started scheming and pretty soon we had made a makeshift plan to fish Christmas Tree Lake. Christmas Tree Lake on the White Mountain Apache Reservation is arguably the prettiest lake in Arizona, and the Apache Trout that live in it’s waters are always fun to catch.

We rolled into our camp spot at Hawley Lake in the afternoon and made short work of setting up camp and prepping our pontoons for the next day. Aside from the resident Hawley Lake cows making several appearances in the middle of the night, we had an uneventful evening and woke early to break camp. We were the first ones on Christmas Tree Lake and aside from a flock of turkeys, we had the whole place to ourselves for several hours before the first truck showed up.

Fishing was sporadic and the heavy gusty winds made spotting fish a bit tough, but we managed to all take multiple fish throughout the day.  Ants and hoppers did well as did chironomids and leeches underneath the water’s surface. We left the lake satisfied, happy, and scheming about the next trip.

Campfire
Camp Life
Apache Trout
Apache Trout
Cataract Oars
Cataract Oars
Apache Trout
Apache Trout
Alex Landeen
Landeen wrangling a fish to the net
Christmas Tree Lake, AZ
A view up the lake
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4 Responses to “Arizona Fly Fishing: Christmas Tree Lake”

  1. 33AD

    Is that a shot of the new rod in the foreground?

    Just hit up Goldwater lake for some shore-fishing with my eldest (5yo) today. Great day with the entire family.

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      I’ve had it for a while. It’s a Fenwick glass rod. Very fun stick to fish with.

      Ben

      Reply
  2. Pete

    Beautiful! I still need to make my maiden voyage there. Digging that vintage setup as well. What model is the Fenwick?

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      Thanks Pete. It’s well worth the trip. The Fenwick is a FF806. It’s a fun rod to fish.

      Ben

      Reply

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