Southwest
Fly fishing in Arizona
Short answer
Arizona fly fishing is a desert tailwater at Lees Ferry and native trout streams in the White Mountains, holding rainbow, brown and brook trout plus the native Apache and Gila trout. Lees Ferry, the Black River and Silver Creek are the headline waters. A licence is required from age 10, and Lees Ferry fishes all year.
What makes Arizona different
Arizona has the most improbable trout river in the country. Below Glen Canyon Dam the Colorado runs out at around forty-eight degrees, clear and cold, through red sandstone at the top of the Grand Canyon, and the fifteen miles down to Lees Ferry hold a dense population of rainbow trout in a landscape with saguaro an hour away. Most of it is fished by running a boat upstream from the ferry and wading the gravel bars, because there is no road along the bank. The state's other distinction is quieter and more important. The Apache trout, Arizona's state fish, was listed as endangered in 1967, and in September 2024 it became the first sport fish and the first trout in the United States ever removed from the endangered species list because it had recovered. You can fish for it, in the White Mountain streams it came from.
What trout are in Arizona?
- Rainbow trout
- Lees Ferry holds them in numbers, and the high country is stocked with them.
- Apache trout
- The state fish, native to the White Mountains. Delisted in 2024 after fifty years of recovery work.
- Gila trout
- Native to a handful of southeastern streams, and fishable only where it is specifically allowed.
- Brown trout
- The Black River and some of the larger high-country streams.
- Brook trout
- Small, cold White Mountain creeks and lakes.
Where to fly fish in Arizona
- Lees Ferry
- Fifteen miles of Colorado River tailwater below Glen Canyon Dam. Boat up, wade the bars, fish all year.
- Black River
- White Mountains. Wild browns and Apache trout in genuinely remote canyon water.
- Silver Creek
- A small spring-fed creek near Show Low, managed for Apache trout and fished hard in winter.
- West Fork Little Colorado
- Apache trout water on Mount Baldy, above 9,000 feet.
- Oak Creek
- Through Sedona. Scenic, accessible, busy, and better early in the day.
- Big Lake
- High-country stillwater at 9,000 feet. Cool all summer when the desert is unbearable.
When to fly fish in Arizona
| When | What is happening |
|---|---|
| January – March | Lees Ferry at its best — cold air, warm water, midges, and very few boats. |
| April – May | The high country is still under snow. Lees Ferry and the lower creeks carry the season. |
| June | Hot and dry. Fish Lees Ferry early, or get to 9,000 feet in the White Mountains. |
| July – September | Monsoon. Afternoon storms blow out the small streams in an hour, but they also cool everything down. |
| October – December | The best weeks in the high country before it closes in, and Lees Ferry settling into winter form. |
Do you need a license to fly fish in Arizona?
Yes. Licenses are issued by Arizona Game and Fish Department.
| License | Price |
|---|---|
| Resident, annual | $37 |
| Non-resident, annual | $55 |
Figures are the general fishing licence rates published in Arizona's own fishing regulations. The licence runs one year from the date you buy it rather than to a fixed date. Prices change — check with the agency before you buy.
Rules worth knowing before you go
- A fishing licence is required from age 10 on any publicly accessible water in the state. A licence is valid one year from the date of purchase.
- Lees Ferry has its own tackle and harvest rules, and the walk-in area at the ferry fishes differently from the water upstream.
- Apache trout waters are managed under a cooperative plan between the state, the White Mountain Apache Tribe and federal agencies. Some are open, some are not.
- Much of the best White Mountain water is on the Fort Apache Reservation, which issues its own permits. An Arizona licence does not cover it.
- Rules are set water by water in the annual fishing regulations.
Regulations change every year and vary water by water. The Arizona Game and Fish Department rule book is the only authority — this page is a starting point, not a legal reference.
Flies that matter in Arizona
Each of these is a card in the deck, and each has a full page in Our Fly-brary.
Keep reading
- Do I need a fishing license? — how licensing works across states
- How to read water — where trout hold, anywhere
- Best time of day to fly fish — the seasonal logic behind the table above
- Our Fly-brary — every fly in the deck, explained
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The deck
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