Thread: Arizona Crappie help?

Hello,
Planning on visiting the wonderful state of Arizona with family and a few friends in mid March. From the tundra (Wisconsin and Minnesota) and we are avid fishermen. We are thinking of trying our luck in Arizona possibly lake Roosevelt in pursue of the BIG Crappies there! Any thoughts or Ideas would be appreciated. Possibly the use of a guide? We have a boat available in Sun Lakes we could also tow, any one interested in sharing a few hot spots? What size crappies can a guy expect? Again any comments would be appreciated!

Steve

If you were coming to SC you would definitely get some advice and help.

evets195,

Depending on which side of Phoenix you'll be on would be the lake that you fish at. I live the same distance from Roosevelt as I do Alamo. I have more confidence at Alamo in MArch. Unfortunately I have not had great numbers at Rosevelt. The ARE in there I just can't seem to ever find them. Another option would be to go to San Carlos. I did really well there last March. The bad thing about San Carlos is there is a 25 fish limit and you have to pay the reservation to fish it. As for the Crappie they are 1-3 lbs average with some dinks mixed in every once in a while. If you need more specific info just let me know. I am not in AZ right now since I am deployed but I'll be back in the end of Jan and will be fishing by the begining of Feb.

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I don't fish Roosevelt much but I fish San Carlos Lake a lot. At Roosevelt, we usually launch at schoolhouse and troll the boowie (l know my spelling is off) line in about 30 to 40 feet of water running our jigs at about 10 to 15 feet deep. In Arizona it seems like most crappie fishermen use Black/Blue/Chart. Triple Threat Kalin Grubs or John Deere Green. I am a big fan of using Bobby Garland Baby Shad in Licorice/Chart. on a 1/16 oz. jig super slow trolling with the jig 12 feet deep. Since our crappie are big I use #2 sickle hooks in chrome red. I order them from TCI Fishing Lures off of ebay (Tommy Crenshaw is also a member of crappie.com). I have also had a lot of success at Roosevelt launching at Grapevine and immediately turn left and fish the main lake points or the belly of the big coves. I hope this helps some.