If someone were to ask you what there is to do in Tucson, the last thing one might expect to hear about this desert is that there is actually some good fishing.  For those of you who would like to get into fishing, there are several places you can go.  The spots our Sahuaro students go to catch fish in Tucson are Lakeside Park, Silverbell Lake, Kennedy Lake, and there is a lake up on Mount Lemon called Rose Canyon.

So what can you expect to catch?  The fish that you can catch from these various lakes are bass, trout, carp, cat fish, and bluegill. Senior, Richard Padilla has personally been fishing at Lakeside for the past ten years, but recently he went to Rose Canyon and had a lucky day; he caught 40 trout! The bait Richard recommends are as follows: for bass, a soft plastic bait; for trout and carp use corn; for catfish use hotdogs; and for bluegill use worms. The first fish Richard ever caught was a bluegill when he was two years old.

Seniors Brandon Seiler and Brandon Pelton said that instead of

going to more common places for fishing, like the ones listed previously, they have a spot in Vail that is a natural spring, not a man-made lake, and they like that place better because unlike Lakeside, barely anyone fishes there. Pelton joked, “I haven’t been to Lakeside to fish, but I have gone to look for dead bodies.” He then added, “I like fishing mostly just to be outdoors and active.” They don’t use any special bait, just store bought plastic bait for bass.

“Patience.  It’s a lot of patience because sometimes you go out there and you won’t catch any fish.  That’s the worst thing ever,” Brandon stated.  If you feel like trying out fishing, it’s not too expensive to buy a kit and go to a lake near you. A valid Arizona license is required for taking wildlife (including fish) in Arizona.