• Catfish enjoy the warm waters of Arizona's lakes and rivers.catfish image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
  
  Fishing in Arizona's lakes, reservoirs and rivers can be done all year long. Catfish fishing is popular among anglers because the fish can be plentiful and have a light, sweet flavor. Catfish in Arizona eat just about anything, dead or alive, and the channel catfish that were introduced in 1903 eat more voraciously than other species of catfish, which is a factor in how easy they may be to catch.
  
  

Where to Find Catfish

• Channel catfish prefer the warmer temperatures of the reservoirs in the deserts of Arizona. The Salt River Project lakes, including Lake Roosevelt, Canyon Lake, Bartlett Lake and Saguaro Lake, are also popular spots for catfish fishing. Because these were formed from damming up canyons, fishing from shore for catfish is possible since there are steep drop offs just a few feet from shore in many places.
  
  Fishing from a boat will also turn up good places to find catfish. They like quiet coves and when they are found in deeper rivers, they tend to swim to the bottom of the river where the water is quieter.
  
  Catfish inhabit the Salt River east of Phoenix, the Colorado River in the northwestern part of the state, and the Verde River near Cottonwood, north of Phoenix.
  
  

Bait , Hook, Line and Sinkers

• Catfish will bite on stink bait, hot dogs, minnows, worms, blood bait, liver and waterdogs. Waterdogs are the larvae of tiger salamanders and live in the water until they mature.
  
  A treble hook is the hook of choice, and the line should be heavy. Catfish can grow quite large in the warm water lakes in Arizona and an 80-pound test line will be sufficient to reel them in. The line should have enough sinkers on it to weigh it down enough to drift near the surface at the bottom, where catfish graze for food.
  
  

Best Times to Catch Catfish

• Catfish reproduce in the late spring and early summer. They find rocks or coves to lay their eggs, and often the male will protect the egg nest. Because of this, he is closer to the surface and shore of the lake, making the nesting season a good time to catch catfish.
  
  Catfish are also largely nocturnal, and anglers who can fish between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. are likely to have more luck catching these fish. People who are challenged by staying up all night to fish have some luck just after sunset and just before sunrise.