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Roosevelt Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Salt River's desert bass factory: saguaro shorelines and spring topwater to remember.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Flow
0 cfs
Air / High
97 / 98 F
Wind
W 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09498503, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Roosevelt Lake serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The river is running 0 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 98. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Fair

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassSlow

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassSlow

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 99 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from SOUTH FORK PARKER CREEK NEAR ROOSEVELT, AZ.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09498503.

-0000 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp97 F
High / Low98 / 78 F
WindW 9-13 mph
Pressure1010.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain20% cloud, 14%
Sunrise / Sunset06:00 / 18:46
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 98/78 F, wind 13 mph, rain 14%

Fair or better. A 13 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Roosevelt Lake 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
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 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 Roosevelt Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 97 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 97 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 14 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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

Bass 6/day standard AZ: check AZGFD. Crappie liberal: night fishing legal and popular.

Access

Windy Hill, Cholla, Schoolhouse Point ramps (Tonto Pass required).

About this water

21,500 acres on the Salt River, Gila County, AZ. Roosevelt Dam (1911): the desert original.

Fishing Roosevelt Lake: the full guide

Arizona's bass anchor

Roosevelt is the Grand Canyon state's premier bass lake: 21,000 acres (levels permitting) of flooded desert where largemouth boom follows water year, crappie stack the timbered arms, and the spring reaction bite: cool mornings, warming banks: is as fun as bass fishing gets. Watch the level trend: rising desert lakes catch fire.

Desert bass rhythms

Roosevelt's largemouth follow the lake's boom-bust water cycles: high years flood the salt cedar and produce legendary spawns; low years concentrate fish on rockpiles and the Salt River channel. February-April is prime: reaction baits on windy banks, finesse when the desert sun locks it calm.

Crappie under the lights

Winter nights, submersible lights over the Tonto arm's brush draw shad clouds and the crappie follow: 12-15 ft, small jigs, coolers filled by midnight. It is central Arizona's coldest-month tradition: desert stars above, slabs below.

Common questions

How do water levels change Roosevelt?

Everything: 30-ft swings redraw the shoreline. High water floods brush (shallow bite explodes); low water shrinks it to channel structure. Review current elevation before every trip: our gauge panel tracks it.

The 80-percent rule

Roosevelt anglers watch the lake-level percentage like a stock ticker: above 80 percent, flooded salt cedar turns the Tonto and Salt arms into flipping heaven; below 40, the fishery compresses to channel edges and rockpiles where electronics rule. Every report here starts with elevation: read it, and the lake tells you which of its two games is on.

What license covers Roosevelt Lake?

An Arizona license plus the Tonto daily or annual pass for parking/launching: buy both online. No special permits beyond that: the lake is open water year-round.

Is fishing good at Roosevelt Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

Apache Lake13 miCanyon Lake (AZ)20 miSaguaro Lake25 miSalt River27 miLower Salt River30 miBartlett Lake32 mi
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