Arizona Fly Fishing: The Mogollon Rim

Mogollon Rim
Mogollon Rim

Saturday morning started early as I drove to meet up with a new friend (and now, good buddy) to fish some new water on the Rim. Antonio is a Arizona native and has a great knowledge and even bigger passion for fly fishing in Arizona. We made short work of the hike while bushwacking to the water and after a couple of pools started connecting with some beautiful wild rainbows with the occasional brown sprinkled in.

Rainbow and Brown Mini
Everyone loves the mini-hopper

The water was a tad off color which made sneaking close to pools pretty simple. I kept things pretty basic with a mini-hopper and an ice-dubbed pheasant tail. Fishing the good looking pocket water, produced fish after fish and pretty soon it was tough to keep track.

Antonio and Rainbow
Antonio and Rainbow

Antonio showed his experience by bringing many fish to hand with his “secret streamer.” Truth be told, I really only got one look at it is the early morning when the lighting was not that good, so I could not tell you what it looks like. I think that’s the way he would want it. (Just kidding Antonio.) It really was a great time fishing and getting to know a fisherman who has the same kind of passion for putting miles on the boots and getting back into some beautiful country.

Brown Trout
Arizona Brown Trout

Only a few browns came out to play which was surprising. Considering the color of the water and the fact that streamers were being thrown, we were hoping for a shot at the big boys, but it never happened.

Antonio showing off the slingshot cast...

Much of the creek was tight quarter fishing which called for adaptation and patience.

Injured Rainbow
Injured Rainbow

This guy has probably seen better days. As I was playing him to release, the bright red caught my eye. The wound looked fairly fresh and I hope the little guy makes it.

Rainbow Trout

The day started off fairly overcast and it was a coin flip whether the sun was going to break through the clouds at all.  By midday the clouds were gone and the canyon started to heat up. There were some huge mayflies in the air and a few steady hatches taking place on the water.  The stream meandered and eventually we ended up in some pretty rugged country.

End of the Road
End of the Road

We were ultimately forced to turn back as the way forward was passable, but extremely gnarly and rugged. It definitely put a fire in both our fishermen souls to head back with the proper gear to go farther in to this beautiful country. Arizona never ceases to amaze me with all its diverse landscape.

Rainbow
Rim Stream Rainbow

There truly is no better way than to truly get to know someone than by fishing with them. After a phenomenal meal of Mexican food topped off with a well deserved Dairy Queen, we moved quickly through the changing desert landscape back to Phoenix. Shaking hands as we parted ways, it will not be long till we are headed back up to fish some of this wild water.

22 Responses to “Arizona Fly Fishing: The Mogollon Rim”

  1. azwanderings

    Thanks guys. Every day on the water is a good day, but catching fish with a gorgeous backdrop is tough to beat. Thanks again.

    Ben

    Reply
  2. Nelson

    Hit tonto at bear flat with my grandpa on saturday.
    Only got two rainbows about a half mile up. Took a tan stimi rightup next to the shore.
    Saw some really big black mayflies come off at about 11:30-12:00. I don’t know what they are.
    Looks like a great day on a great creek.

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      Sounds like a fun day. Appreciate those days with your loved ones as those will be the memories that you really hang on to. Glad you were able to get up there to the Rim. It really is a fantastic area to fish. There were some really big bugs coming off where I was at too. It is a really rich environment full of all kinds of bugs. Thanks for the good info.

      Ben

      Reply
  3. Antonio

    Thanks for a wonderful day on the stream. I was very impressed with your fly fishing skills. It is obvious that it is not how long someone has been fly fishing, but how much time they have spent on the water that makes them good! You are definitely are a great fly fisherman, as well as a good person! I can’t wait for the next trip.

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      Thank you for the kind words Antonio. Looking forward to the next outing. I’ll be honest. My legs are just now recovering from the first big hike of the season. Can’t wait for the next one.

      Ben

      Reply
  4. David G

    Wow.Looks like my kind of place! I am extremely envious! Utopia sir! So, off topic… What is with DQ? Why is it like the fisherman’s watering hole after a good day? I’m guilty of the chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard. Looks as though you had a pretty amazing trip!

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      You’re right David. I hadn’t gone there in a while and when it got brought up, I jumped at the chance. How can you say no to a chocolate cone dipped in chocolate? Answer, you can’t. It was a good way to end a great trip. Thanks for the kind words.

      Ben

      Reply
  5. Royal Wulff aka Mike

    luv those white tipped fins! Agree that’s a fantastic backdrop to a wonderful day. RE: DQ, my Dad would always treat me and my bro’s to ice cream when we were done with a trip, I have made it my mission to pass that tradition on down the line. Ice cream’s on me!

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      Thanks man. Yeah, DQ is a classy tradition to have. It’s on my list now for sure.

      Ben

      Reply
  6. Stephanie

    The end of road pic is stellar. I can’t wait until you go back and do more exploring of that area – it certainly is beautiful.

    Poor little bow with that big gash – wonder what happened? I hope he’s still swimming.

    Great trip report as always.

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      Thanks Stephanie. There are some pretty phenomenal sites here in AZ. We have some serious birds here (ospreys, eagles…). I imagine one of them got after the little guy. Thanks for the kind words.

      Ben

      Reply
  7. Ty

    I think I fished that place three weeks ago. If I’m correct we fished up a little further then we just ended up having to hike out because we didn’t want to back track. Thanks for sharing I always enjoy reading about your trips.

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      Very cool Ty. I know now that there is a way out farther up but it was a coin-flip when we were looking at it. Still a little chilly to start swimming. Thanks for the kind words. Glad Arizonians out there are liking what they see. How was the fishing when you were there?

      Reply
      • Ty

        I had to double check my pics when Got home to make sure that was the same place. Just above you we pulled a few out of there as well. I was hoping to do some good on streamers in the deep wholes but I had no luck. We did well all the fish we caught were 6″-10″. It is just beautiful down there though. I don’t know how far you have been up past this hole but there are some cool areas and falls that we ran into above this whole. Keep up the good work.

        Reply
        • azwanderings

          Nice. I was in the same boat. I pulled streamers through those deeper pools hoping for a lurker and nothing. Most of my fish came on a mini-hopper/dropper. It was a beautiful area and I look forward to getting back in there again. Agreed on the beauty of the place. It’s amazing the power of water and how it cuts out these canyons. Thanks again for the kind words.

          Ben

          Reply
  8. Fontinalis Rising

    Ben- It’s nice as always to check out your site. My buddy out there called to let me know he’s camping in the White Mts. next weekend to fish some lake. I love that Rim country in this post. Keep up the good work.

    Reply
    • azwanderings

      Very cool. Those lakes up there are starting to turn on from what I hear and there are some big fish cruising. Best of luck to him. Thank you for the kind words. The Rim country is where it is at for me. A short 2 and a half hour drive puts me into all kinds of trout water. Thanks again.

      Ben

      Reply

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