Continuing My Exploration of Northern Arizona!

Part of my mountain getaway was spent at Willow Springs Lake. If you haven't been following my other posts, I love the outdoors and I love to fish. My parents and I have been to Willow Springs several times but this would be my first time going in the last 10 years or so, and it would be the first time going with my new family.

Willow Springs Lake

Willow Springs Lake is located at the top of the Mogollon Rim about 20 miles east of Payson, Arizona. It is a cold water lake and collectively, with a couple others, they make up a group that is known as the "Rim Lakes". They are called this because of their proximity to the Mogollon Rim. The lake is immediately upstream of Chevelon Canyon Lake, which offers some of the best wildlife viewing of any place in the State. Willow Springs is primarily fed by snow-melt as there is no other inlet flowing into the lake. 

Brief History

The lake was created by The Arizona Game and Fish Department in 1967 in order to provide recreational water activities for the public. The lake averages just over 60 feet deep and has a surface area of almost 160 acres, not a large lake by most standards, but it is the second largest among all the Rim Lakes. According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, "Willow Springs Lake is one of the most visited lakes in the region because of it's proximity to the Phoenix area and it's cool temperatures."

Fish Species

Willow Springs is home to an assortment of fish, more so than most of the surrounding lakes. The lake is home to a large number of the follow:

• Rainbow Trout (which it is stocked with every spring and summer)
• Largemouth Bass
• Smallmouth Bass
• Brown Trout
• Sunfish
• Crayfish

Rainbow trout are the only fish that are stocked regularly, the rest are self sustaining. Ice fishing is even popular in the winter months with anglers pulling out some monster Brown Trout from time to time.

Our Trip

We usually like to fish from the dam as that is where the deepest water is and where we have had the best luck fishing in the past. There is a large spillway located at the south end of the lake where the overflow water spills out onto the spillway. This is right next to the dam and where we usually catch the most fish. The large rock dam blocks off the lake from Willow Springs Canyon on the other side, which leads down to Chevelon Lake. Here is a shot from the top of the dam looking down towards the canyon:

A walk down that canyon provides some of the most scenic views in the area and a chance to see some of the greatest diversity of wildlife in the state. There are regularly bears, mountain lions, bobcats, elk, deer, and many others spotted in this canyon as it winds for the next 5 miles.

My stepson and I hiked down this canyon for a mile or two and luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it), we didn't run into any bears or mountain lions... However, I did manage to catch this little guy:

It's a garter snake. I used to have one has a pet when I was growing up so I knew exactly what it was I was catching when I spotted him. It was the first snake my stepson has ever held so he thought that was pretty neat. Overall, it was pretty cold up there so I was a little surprised he was still out. Must have been trying to catch a last minute meal before he settles in for the winter.

Unfortunately we didn't have much luck fishing this time... in fact we had no luck. We fished for a couple hours and didn't even manage to get one bite. Such is the life of a fisherman I guess. The scenery, the company, and the weather made it all worth it though even if we weren't catching any fish. If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend getting up there to see the views. The spring time offers the best fishing but also the most crowds!

Live well my friends!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_Springs_Lake

All images used in this post are my own, feel free to use them.

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