There are facilities at the lake, hilly but with some nice areas to fish from shore. This lake is well worth the trip if you live in Phoenix or Flagstaff. The Jojoba Boating Site provides a paved launching ramp, except during low water levels. The ma
Any size motor <br>Bartlett Lake Marina rents pontoon boats for half- or full days, hourly, overnight or for the whole weekend. Each boat is roughly 20 feet long and comes equipped with a covered awning and upholstered seats
Camping:
Upper Bartlett Lake, Rattlesnake and South Cove recreation sites provide areas for camping with trailers. Trailers longer than 16 feet are not recomme
41 miles from downtown Phoenix, 17 miles northeast of Carefree
Distance
from Flagstaff
Directions:Bartlett Lake is northeast of Phoenix about 48 miles from downtown <br>
17 miles northeast of Carefree
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From Central Phoenix
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51 north to Bell Road<br>
Right on Bell to Tatum Boulevard<br>
Left on Tatum (North) untill you reach Pinnacle Peak Road<br>
Right on Pinnacle Peak to Pima Road<br>
Left on Pima to Cave Creek Road<br>
Right on Cave Creek 5 miles to Bartlett Dam Road<br>
Right on Bartlett Dam 20 minutes to Bartlett Lake
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From the West Valley
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Take I-17 north to Carefree Highway. <br>
Right on the Carefree Highway <br>
Then left on Cave Creek Road. <br>
Go through Cave Creek & Carefree about 8 miles to Bartlett Dam Road. <br>
Right on Bartlett Dam and in 20 minutes you will arrive at Bartlett Lake. <br>
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From the East Valley <br><br>
Take 101 north to Pima Road. <br>
Then Pima to Cave Creek Road. <br>
Right on Cave Creek and about 5 miles to Bartlett Dam Road. <br>
Turn right on Bartlett Dam and drive 20 minutes
Bartlett Lake Wed. Aug 16, 2006 Rating: 5 out
of 10
Wed. Aug 16, 2006
Went out to the lake for the first time. This is a beautiful lake. It is great to fish early in the morning, caught really good size catfish. recommend rattlesnake cove. Go early before the boaters, swimmers and jet skiers go out there.
Catching bass is getting very much harder than in Spring of 05. There is heavy fishing pressure in the up river part of the lake. Not respectable room between boats, some times less than 20 yards. There is still no law enforcement patrol boats visible to me. ( I fish there twice a week)The "No wake" zone is now a joke with speeders and drunks in abundance. I think I will stop fishing for awhile at Bartlet Lake. The increase in fees of 66% doesn't help either.
Another amazing story this year is the filling of Horseshoe and Bartlett lakes on the Verde River: multiple times. The Verde River didn't just rival the flows of the mighty Colorado River, it surpassed them many times this year.
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Bartlett actually experienced a decent influx of water last year, and the past three years has had good bass reproduction. Last fall, anglers at Bartlett were routinely catching 1- to 2-pound bass. That strong age-class of bass should now be 2 to 3 pounds. This year, Bartlett may be the best lake in Arizona to offer high catch rates of line-stripping, medium-sized bass.
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Although both reservoirs are full, Horseshoe will be gradually drained into Bartlett to keep it full as water is drawn out for irrigation and other purposes. Bartlett should still be full going into the fall-winter season. Horseshoe will likely be down to just a small pool or be drained by the end of the summer. It will, however, act as a shad, crappie and bass nursery for Bartlett.
Lake level is at 1,799 feet (99-percent full). The lake is murky from recent runoff and full of debris. Fishing is decent for bass. Some are being caught with crawdad imitations and dark plastics. Drop shotting is the best method to pick up largemouth bass right now. This week could be much better than recent weeks if the predicted warm, dry weather pattern holds. Crappies should start looking for places to spawn. Try newly submerged vegetation along the shoreline and in coves. They will hit minnows and jigs. A live minnow rigged under a slip-bobber can be deadly. Try varying depths from 6-15 feet. Once fish are located continue to fish at that depth. Catfishing has really slowed. Some channel and large flatheads may still be caught near the dam. Use live bait such as bluegill or small carp for the flatheads and shrimp, hotdogs or stink bait for the channels. Remember the live bait most come from the lake itself not transported from another body of water!
Lake is near total capacity, river below the dam is completely blown out and unfishable, plus it's the anuall closure for bald eagle nesting. Horseshoe is holding quite a bit of water, but the road is bad and the campground is closed. Went out to apache last weekend, nothing bite over the entire weekend except for a little 3oz catfish. Beautiful weather though, worth the trip.
Lake level was at 1,776 feet (70-percent full). Crappie fishing remains excellent in the nighttime hours using lights. Bass fishing is good, but remains slow during the heat of the day. Reports are indicating an abundance of bass in the 1-2 pound range. Bass are being caught with crawdad imitations and dark plastics. Most reports say shad imitation crankbaits fished near rock piles along the main lake are working best. Drop-shotting “Robo Worms” is working well in 10-25 feet of water. Soft plastics, jigs and Westy Worms are the best nighttime baits. Also keep a look out for bass chasing shad boils; try throwing jerk baits into the boil. Catfishing is really good at night. Recent reports of channel and large flatheads caught at night near the dam. Use live bait such as bluegill or small carp for the flatheads. Remember that live bait must come from the lake itself and not transported from another body of water.
We had an amzing time. All of the fish that we caught, were on topwater.We had a lot of small fish, like one pounders, but I caught a 3-pounder. It was a great trip.
Lake level was at 1,774 feet (68-percent full) and rising as Horseshoe Lake is drained. Crappie fishing has been good at night, but there is now a waxing moon: expect the action to slow down and pick up again during the waning moon. Night fishing under lights has been good around the Rattlesnake Cove recreation area. Don’t’ overlook the habitat buoys as fish concentrate around these structures. Bass fishing is good, but has slowed recently. Bass aren’t huge (1-2 pound range) but plentiful; anglers often catch between 10 and 20 bass a day here. Bass are being caught with crawdad imitations and dark plastics. Most reports say shad imitation crankbaits fished near rock piles along the main lake are working best. Drop-shotting “Robo Worms” is working well. Black Power Worms and lizard imitations have been catching fish. Soft plastics, jigs and Westys are the best nighttime baits. Also keep a look out for bass chasing shad boils, try throwing jerk baits into the boil. Catfishing is really good at night. Recent reports of channel and large flatheads caught at night near the dam. Use live bait such as bluegill or small carp for the flatheads. Remember the live bait most come from the lake itself not transported from another body of water!
Lake level was at 1,765 feet (56-percent full). Bass fishing is red hot. An angler reports catching 20 bass drop-shotting and Carolina-rigging the main lake along rock piles and around the island reefs. He also caught 10 catfish at night using bluegills as bait. Bass aren’t huge (1-2 pound range) but plentiful; anglers often catch between 10 and 20 bass a day here. Bass are being caught with crawdad imitations and dark plastics. Most reports say shad imitation crankbaits fished near rock piles along the main lake are working best. Drop-shotting “Robo Worms” is working well. Black Power Worms and lizard imitations have been catching fish. Soft plastics, jigs and Westys are the best nighttime baits. Also keep a look out for bass chasing shad boils, try throwing jerk baits into the boil. Crappie fishing is good at night. Some are being caught now with minnows near the Yellow Cliffs area and in coves around structure. Also try the Alder Cove area. Night fishing under lights has been good around the Rattlesnake Cove Recreation Area. Don’t’ overlook the habitat buoys as fish will start to concentrate around these structures. Catfishing is really good at night. Recent reports of channel and large flatheads caught at night near the dam.
Lake level was at 1,765 feet (58-percent full). Crappie fishing is good. Some are being caught now with minnows near the Yellow Cliffs area and in coves around structure. Try the Alder Cove area also. Night fishing under lights has been good around the Rattlesnake Cove Recreation Area. Don’t’ overlook the habitat buoys as fish will start to concentrate around these structures. Bass fishing is red hot. Bass aren’t huge (1-2 pound range) but plentiful; anglers often catch between 10 and 20 bass a day here. Bass are being caught with crawdad imitations and dark plastics. Most reports say shad imitation crankbaits fished near rock piles along the main lake are working best. Drop-shotting “Robo Worms” is working well. Black Power Worms and lizard imitations have been catching fish. Soft plastics, jigs and Westys are the best nighttime baits. Also keep a look out for bass chasing shad boils, try throwing jerk baits into the boil. Catfishing is improving. One angler did well using split shot rigs to catch 14 largemouth bass, but the highlight of the trip was when a Gila monster crossed the road while they were traveling to the lake.
Lake level was at 1,765 feet (58-percent full). A group of anglers fishing during the weekend report catching-and-releasing 20 to 30 fish in a morning on everything from spinners and topwater to drop shots. Bass aren’t huge (1-2 pound range) but plentiful; anglers often catch between 10 and 20 bass a day here. Bass are being caught with crawdad imitations and dark plastics. Most reports say shad imitation crankbaits fished near rock piles along the main lake are working best. Drop-shotting “Robo Worms” is working well. Black Power Worms and lizard imitations have been catching fish. Soft plastics, jigs and Westys are the best nighttime baits. Also keep a look out for bass chasing shad boils, try throwing jerk baits into the boil. Crappie fishing is good. Some are being caught with minnows near the Yellow Cliffs area and in coves around structure. Try the Alder Cove area also. Night fishing under lights has been good around the Rattlesnake Cove Recreation Area. Don’t’ overlook the habitat buoys as fish will start to concentrate around these structures. Bass fishing is red hot. Catfishing is improving. One angler reports catching and releasing 24 channel catfish fishing at night using beef liver on Bartlett Flats before the moon rose in the sky.
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