Excellent Catch Rates Continuing
at Tempe Town Lake
18 Feb 2004
A creel study of anglers by the Arizona Game and Fish Department
shows that excellent catch rates for trout are continuing at Tempe
Town Lake, making it the consistent fishing hot spot in the state
during January.
Jim Warnecke, a Game and Fish Department fisheries
biologist, says that although the Tempe Town Lake catch rates
for trout — 0.62 fish per hour — dipped slightly in
January compared to December, they are still in the excellent
range compared to other trout waters in the state. For instance,
the lower Salt River averages 0.4 to 0.5 fish per hour.
The creel study shows that Tempe Town Lake anglers
targeted trout 77 percent of the time and that 59 percent of the
anglers caught fish. Berkley Power Bait led the successful bait
category — used 44 percent of the time — followed by
corn and night crawlers (16 percent each), with live minnows (10
percent) rounding out the top. The most unusual trout bait used
was pork rinds (1 percent).
There were 6,600 trout stocked in January, compared
to 12,400 fish in December. “We’ll continue to monitor
angler catch rates in February. If rates drop more than a few
tenths, a supplemental trout stocking will be recommended before
the end of the month,” Warnecke says.
Water temperatures will typically stay viable for
trout at Tempe Town Lake until April, but most trout will be harvested
before then.
Tempe Town Lake has also developed a reputation
as a bass lake: anglers routinely catch 1- to 3-pound bass there.
It also has a decent population of yellow bass, which are often
referred to as “stripies.”
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