Fly Fishing in Arizona

A regional note specific to this state: the trout water here is dominated by a single high-quality tailwater that runs through a high-desert canyon, and the state agency manages that tailwater as a wild trout fishery, which is why the average fish size is large and the regulations are strict. Arizona trout fishing is a desert fishery built on the contrast between 110-degree valley heat and 50-degree tailwater water. The state has no native trout in the lower-elevation rivers, and the entire popular trout fishery is built on tailwater releases from cold-water reservoirs. The most famous of these tailwaters is the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam at Lees Ferry, a 15-mile stretch of crystal-clear water that produces wild rainbows and browns averaging 18 inches and reaching 24. The second tailwater, the Salt River below Roosevelt Dam, is a smaller, wilder stream that runs through the Tonto National Forest and holds both rainbow and brown trout. The third tailwater, the Black River below Black River Dam, is a small, little-known stream that gets very little pressure. The state also has high-country trout water in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona, where the Little Colorado River runs through Greer and produces a put-and-take rainbow fishery. The state's trout program is administered through the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and the agency stocks the Little Colorado and other high-country lakes while managing the tailwaters as wild fisheries. A regular Arizona fishing license is required, and the cost for non-residents is significantly higher than for residents — a one-day non-resident license is $37, and an annual non-resident license is $160.