See every public fishing venue in Arizona on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Ellison Creek is a public river in Gila County and Coconino County, Arizona, managed by Arizona Game and Fish Department. You can fish it on an Arizona fishing licence — the separate trout stamp was abolished in 2013. Arizona has very few streams legally determined navigable, so on a reach crossing private land access is by permission, at bridges and road crossings, or on the public land it flows through — and most of Arizona’s trout water is on the Tonto, Coconino or Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Native Apache and Gila trout streams are usually catch-and-release; tribal waters need a tribal permit. Public access confirmed via AZGFD Fishing Waters listing.
A warm Arizona desert river (the Verde, the Gila, the lower Salt, the Colorado divisions along the California line) — flathead and channel catfish, largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow bass, common carp and sucker; the lower Salt is tubed and floated hard in summer.
It runs roughly 2 miles through the Mesa Region region. Anglers here mostly fish for flathead catfish, channel catfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass; yellow bass, common carp, sucker are also on record. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Dude Creek and Horton Creek.
Species from AZGFD’s Fishing Waters layer (per-water species flags), PiscaMaps water-type profiles and hand research.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Arizona; the Community Fishing Program ponds and some park waters set their own hours, and a few trout waters close seasonally — check the current Arizona Fishing Regulations for the specific water.
Boats: Most Arizona streams are wade access; the big reservoirs take trailered boats via a park or marina ramp. Every boat needs the watercraft AIS decal, and craft off the quagga-positive Colorado River lakes, Pleasant or Roosevelt must be clean, drained and dry before launching elsewhere.
Bank & bivvy camping: Most Arizona trout water is on the Tonto, Coconino and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests -- dispersed camping is allowed on most of that ground (a permit is needed on parts of the Tonto), plus Forest Service and state-park campgrounds on nearly every Rim lake. Tribal land needs a tribal permit.
Tackle: The general trout limit is 4 (some waters 2, some catch-and-release), the general bass limit is 6, and there are many exceptions — striped bass on the Colorado River have no limit, native Apache and Gila trout are usually catch-and-release, Lees Ferry and several Rim streams are artificial-only, and the Community Fishing waters have their own combined bag limits. Check the current Arizona Fishing Regulations.
Anyone 10 or older needs an Arizona fishing licence — the resident annual is about $37, the non-resident annual about $160 (one of the highest in the country), with a 1-day licence (~$15, resident or non-resident) and a low-cost resident Community licence (~$24) that covers only the Community Fishing Program waters. There is no separate trout stamp — Arizona folded it into the general licence in 2013. Youth under 10 fish free. Buy from Arizona Game and Fish at azgfd.com. An Arizona fishing licence covers this water — it is on AZGFD's Fishing Waters list. (Community Fishing Program ponds are also covered by the low-cost resident Community licence. Tribal waters need a tribal permit.)
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
Open the Arizona map Start your free trial