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Big Lake (White Mountains) Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Big Lake: a 450-acre White Mountains trout lake in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, with a 10-horsepower motor limit.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~47 F est.
Air / High
50 / 51 F
Wind
S 20 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Big Lake (White Mountains) fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 20 mph, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 51. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 8:56 AM-10:56 AM and 9:24 PM-11:24 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 46 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Arizona requires a fishing licence from age 10, from $37.00 for residents. What a Arizona licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with AZGFD before you keep anything. The season dates for Arizona, read off the agency, are on the Arizona seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp50 F
High / Low51 / 39 F
WindS 20-33 mph
Pressure1010.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain8% cloud, 11%
Sunrise / Sunset06:29 / 17:34
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Big Lake (White Mountains) this week

The best day on Big Lake (White Mountains) this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
8:56 AM-10:56 AM and 9:24 PM-11:24 PM
Minor period
3:19 AM-4:19 AM
Sun
06:29 to 17:34
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 20 mph
Rain chance
11%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Big Lake (White Mountains): seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

When to come: the Big Lake (White Mountains) calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Big Lake (White Mountains) today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 55 F, wind to 22 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 61 F, wind to 21 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 56 F, wind to 13 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Arizona requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Arizona license. Statewide trout limits apply; Big Lake has no special bag rule in Commission Order 40, only the 10 hp motor limit (AZGFD regulations on eRegulations, updated April 8, 2025; confirm the current edition with AZGFD).

Access

Big Lake Recreation Area (Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests): South Cove and Railroad Cove boating sites, Rainbow and other campgrounds, store with boat rentals.

About this water

A 450-acre lake at about 9,000 feet in the White Mountains, Apache County, Arizona.

Fishing Big Lake (White Mountains): the full guide

High-country trout water

The Forest Service's Recreation.gov listing describes Big Lake as 450 acres and one of Arizona's top fishing lakes, with rainbow, cutthroat, brook and Apache trout the most sought-after species. Campgrounds in the Big Lake Recreation Area sit at about 9,000 feet, and the Forest Service advises visitors to expect cool nights and summer thunderstorms.

Camping and services

Rainbow Campground, the largest in the recreation area, has 165 sites in six loops, and a small store nearby sells gas, food and firewood and rents boats. Springerville is the closest town, and the recreation area has a visitor center with educational programs.

Boating

AZGFD's Commission Order 40 lists Big Lake among the waters limited to motors of 10 horsepower or less. The Forest Service lists South Cove and Railroad Cove boating sites on the lake.

Common questions

What trout live in Big Lake?

The Forest Service names rainbow, cutthroat, brook and Apache trout as the most sought-after species.

Is there a motor limit on Big Lake?

Yes: AZGFD limits Big Lake to motors of 10 horsepower or less.

Is fishing good at Big Lake (White Mountains) right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Black River9 miShow Low Lake40 miFool Hollow Lake46 miSan Carlos Lake79 miWoods Canyon Lake92 miRoosevelt Lake99 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 33.8801, -109.4202 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.