Fishing in Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff sits at 7,000 feet on the Colorado Plateau, and the fishing around it reflects that elevation — cool water, short summers, and a landscape that looks nothing like the rest of Arizona. The bulk of the action here is lake and tank fishing. Lake Mary is the anchor, with the Lake Mary Recreation Corridor and the Lake Mary Narrows Boat Launch giving anglers multiple access points along the same water. Marshall Lake, Walnut Canyon Lakes, and Atherton Lake round out the more established stillwater options, while smaller tanks like Large Whiskers Tank, Big Anderson Tank, and Eugene Gordy Tank offer quieter spots that see less pressure. The Flagstaff City Reservoirs and Reservoir Number One are worth knowing about, though access rules there can differ from forest-managed waters. Dairy Springs is the one outlier in the list — surf fishing at elevation in a ponderosa pine forest is not something you see everywhere. Most of these waters are stocked by Arizona Game and Fish, so timing your visit around stocking schedules pays off. The season runs roughly spring through fall, with ice occasionally limiting access to higher tanks in winter. This is not technical fly-fishing country in the way that tailwaters are, but it is accessible, scenic, and genuinely productive for anglers of any experience level.