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Roosevelt Lake Fishing Report

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

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

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
0 cfs
Air / High
64 / 79 F
Wind
WNW 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09498503, 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.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Roosevelt Lake offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The nearest gauge is running 0 cfs, falling. Today brings clear skies, wind WNW around 5 mph, falling pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 79. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:03 AM-11:03 AM and 9:31 PM-11:31 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassExcellent

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Excellent

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieGood

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassGood

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Similar at 76 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 largemouth bass 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 from SOUTH FORK PARKER CREEK NEAR ROOSEVELT, AZ.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09498503.

1120 cfs10/0310/1010/1710/23

Today’s flow against 39 years of October 23

At 0 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 09498503 (SOUTH FORK PARKER CREEK NEAR ROOSEVELT, AZ) is above the highest daily mean on record for the date: much above normal. In half of the 39 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 0 cfs; the highest was 0 cfs and the lowest 0 cfs.

p10 0median 0p90 0

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 09498503; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp64 F
High / Low79 / 59 F
WindWNW 5-7 mph
Pressure1012.9 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:35 / 17:41
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Roosevelt Lake this week

The best day on Roosevelt Lake this week looks like Tuesday Oct 27, at 5 out of 5, against 4 today.

Best day this week: Tuesday, Oct 27 β€” excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:03 AM-11:03 AM and 9:31 PM-11:31 PM
Minor period
3:26 AM-4:26 AM
Sun
06:35 to 17:41
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 8 mph
Rain chance
1%

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

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: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

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 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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, Oct 22

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 89 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 88 F, wind to 8 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

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: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Apache Lake13 miCanyon Lake (AZ)20 miSaguaro Lake25 miSalt River28 miBartlett Lake32 miWoods Canyon Lake46 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 09498503 β€” SOUTH FORK PARKER CREEK NEAR ROOSEVELT, AZ
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 15:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 33.6846, -111.1218 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.
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 guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be 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.