When do Woods and Willow slow?
 

I'm curious when the two most popular rim lakes slow down fishing wise? Or does it stay good through the winter as long as there isn't ice over? Latest I've fished is mid November.

I had a ridiculous day on Saturday, nothing all morning till I switched to the right fly at lunch. From then untill we left at 3:30 we landed 16 fish and had 50+ takes (wife and I were sharing a fly rod, her spinner gear was useless).

What fly was the winner ???????

I am blessed by living in Payson and fishing the Rim fairly often.

The latest I've floated both lakes would be Dec 28 with skim ice being pushed away from my tube. It gets a little chilly after sitting in the tube for 6+ hours, but the gains in catching is remarkable.

I do not ice fish, so I cannot attest whether or not the action slows down to the point of fish lethargy.

To answer your question regarding when does the fishing slow down, in my experience it's usually in August to early September, when the waters are really warm, which in turn makes the trout somewhat sluggish.

Usually in mid-September when cooler overnight temps arrive on the Rim, the trout perk up and start devouring everything they see. I like this time of year we are in, as the elk are bugling, eagles and osprey's are actively feeding, shorelines / parking lots are vacant, the pine scent is heavy in the air and the trout are lazer focused on building up body mass before ice over begins in earnest.

Parachute hopper. By the time we left it didn't even resemble anything. Insanity, I tried so many other dries.

Sorry the forum has been on and off broken for me.

Thanks, I'll have to push the dates this year, cold doesn't bother me. I just lose dexterity in my hands pretty bad and can't do anything. My fishing partners seem to juat about die when it gets below 30

Forgetful - the link below deals with fall fishing on the Rim, specifically Woods Canyon and Willow Springs for Tigers. Enjoy the article from Jim.

https://www.paysonroundup.com/news/l...6a185ae86.html

How late into November lets say will the gates on the roads into Woods or Willow stay open?

It all depends on the snow load as to when A-S closes the gates to the Rim lakes. I've fished up to New Years during several years, when there was no snow on the ground or ice on the lake.

With the current weather pattern, the Rim is slated to get anywhere from 9" - 13" of the white moss by Friday morning. If the road is clear, then the gates will remain open. If the roads become snow packed, then gates might be closed.

But then again, the day use area of Willow Springs remains open and one may need four wheel drive to access the southern portion of those waters.

Is the gate at FR300 CLOSED?

Yes, FR 300 is closed per Black Mesa Ranger District. The article link is below.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/asnf/...d=FSEPRD681357