I could tell spring had arrived when I opted not to wear waders. Wet wading in early April is one of the perks of living in Arizona. After a long winter of very poor and sporadic small stream fishing, I picked up a fly tying buddy and pointed the truck north. We opted to head to a creek that I love to fish that had just recently had its steep road opened, since the mud and snow were gone.
The creek was flowing a little cloudy and slightly higher than normal which is to be expected for April runoff, but was completely fishable. I had brought my TFO Finesse 3 weight coupled with a gorgeous little Battenkill reel and tied on a mini-hopper with a zebra midge dropper. I watched the mini-hopper dip beneath the surface time as small wild brown trout ate the midge and came out to play.
At first I was surprised by the number of other cars and fisherman on the creek, as normally I rarely see anyone and have the creek to myself. I am fairly sure everyone else was keeping there ears to the ground as I was, waiting to hear the grand news that the gates were open.
The creek was full of bug life. A steady midge hatch was coming off as we arrived and mayflies also could be seen spreading their wings. The rocks and slow spots on the stream were full of caddis pupa getting ready for epic hatches in the future. This stream is one of my favorites to fish in the summer because of the range of different insects that can be found in the water and on the banks.
Fish came consistently throughout the morning and the cloudy water helped to keep the fishing steady even though the sun climbed higher and hotter over the canyon. The forecasted 5-10 mile an hour winds perked up and started gusting and casting with a light fly rod started to become not as fun.
The creek banks were green and the mint that grows heavily along this creek could already be seen and smelled. I was happy to see the changes of the seasons and very glad that we found some fish although nothing much bigger than 12 inches and most fish in the 8 inch range. With the wind gusts growing stronger and a hunger in our stomachs, we opted to head back to the truck for some lunch and head to a different stream with a little more shade and cooler temps.
RE: gated forest roads, ya know a mountain bike could get you up that road well before most everyone else. Fishing the early season backcountry before the guys at the fly shop? Awesome. See always thinking! 😉 mike
I’m about convinced. A mountain bike might be on my birthday wish list this summer. You’re always one step ahead of me Mike. Thanks for the sage words of advice.
Ben
Looks like a great day Ben! What you’re experiencing weather wise seems like it’s a long way off from where I’m sitting. Nice post!
Thanks Bill, I hear what your saying. My mom lives up in the Adirondacks and said they were supposed to get eight inches of snow while we broke triple digits here in AZ. We have it made now but mid July, I’ll be miserable…
Ben
Strong work as always. It seems like the rivers are shaping up nicely.
Thanks Ryan. I couldn’t have been happier with how the streams looked. This first one we fished was a little bit off color, but sometimes that works to your advantage. The second smaller stream was crystal clear and gorgeous. Really gets me excited for the rest of this summer and fall. Thanks again for the kind words.
Ben
Watch out for Bigfoot over there! Looks like a fantastic river and a fun trip. How was the AZ snow pack this year?
Ha. Thanks David. They originally were saying that our snowpack was a little weak, but we had several good storms since then which dropped some good snow in the high country. Hopefully it will be enough to keep these streams flowing nice through the summer. Thanks for the kind words.
Ben
Hi
I am new to the area and am used to fishing bigger water in Wyoming and Colorado. I love your website and enjoy the pictures and stories of your local trips. I live in north Phoenix. Could you give me any advice on some Arizona streams that I can fish? I noticed that you conveniently left out the names of the streams on the rim, but would appreciate it if you could steer me in the right direction.
Thanks,
Chad
Sure things Chad. Email sent. Thanks for the kind words.
Ben