gary ogrady

This is true. not totally a bad thing but, these fish are put in these lakes illegally, and aren't supposed to be in these lakes, but, I don't really care, I'm a bass fisherman!

We saw several toads, largemouth even. saw alot of smallies as well. that was early 2019. just went back one last time on 9/25/2020 with bass boat and electronics, didn't hardly mark anything. AZ game and fish are removing bass from rim lakes. ther is a program already slated for 2019 to 2029. bummer!

We have noticed this as well as my brother/fishing partner would drag our bass boat up to willow and fish for smallies. we've been up there 4 or 5 times since early summer 2019 and recently 9/25/2020 and caught one about a lb,little smaller maybe. didn't hardly mark anything on electronics. az game and fish is removing bass from the rim lakes to make room for trout. 2019 through 2029 has program in place to continue removal of bass. WHAT A SHAME! It was going to be a nice bass fishery. My question is what did they do with the 10,123 bass already removed?

I think we need more smallies in all our lakes. it's friggen hard enough to catch bass in az as it is without great fisheries being ruined

this is true! have you heard there is a lake called horse thief basin up in the Bradshaw mountains they put tiger muskie in. You know it's to kill off all of the fish in the lake, then they'll probably drain it for cleaning out. It's true that az game and fish shock willow springs for smallie removal and the lakes around show low for pike and smallie removal. this is a shame, what do they do with these fish? It looks like 2019 to 2029 is slated for these programs to continue for fish that don't really benefit from these waters without feed and fertilizer, it's reported that fish sampled lost weight and didn't grow as expected. we're really done with the rim lakes. gonna give lake Mary a try for some northerns before they're gone.

hello fellow bass anglers!! just joining in on the discussion about the smallmouth as well as largemouth bass being removed from willow springs lake. my brother and I fished willow several times in the past 2 years, and he caught a nice smallie weighing 5.6 lbs, it was an awesome battle on very light line. wish I had photo, but follow Larry OGrady on facebook for photo, plus all our other photo's. This was shocking to find out that az game and fish is actually removing smallies from these waters, for trout. Trout are stocked a couple times a year and don't fair well, and goes as far as the trout go, they lose weight and barely grow . and the waters aren't really beneficial to trout without feed and fertilizers. it could be a great smallmouth fishery, as well as largemouth. I saw something about this project is slated from 2019 to 2029. i guesss it worked for them a few years ago. what a shame. What i also would like to know what did they do with the 10,123 smallies removed last round? we have been up there 4 times since early summer 2019 when my brother caught his 5,6lber. plus lost one that appeared bigger. I saw both these fish. since then it has been a struggle to catch 1 or 2 very small ones. removal must be a factor. at any point, we're done with willow springs lake. THANKS AZ game and fish! FYI my opinion is small, but to me you've ruined an excellent fishery