Fishing at Rose Canyon Lake

If you are going to Rose Canyon you do not pay when entering the National Park on Catalina Highway, but rather you pay when you enter the area. Usually, you just fill out an envelope, put money in it, and place it in the box. Because of this method, it is good to have exact changes for putting in here. For one vehicle with up to 4 passengers, it is $6. The lake is not accessible in winter.

You can camp and picnic here, but the main draw is the fishing. They call the water the Rose Canyon Lake, however, it really is not much more than a large pond. It is stocked with trout regularly(check this post about best fishing kayak guide). You do need an Arizona fishing license with trout stamp, though, for those over 13 years old and can see (i.e. blind residents do not have to have a fishing license). We picked up our fishing licenses at a Sports Authority in Tucson before leaving town. You can take home up to 6 fish per licensed fishing person. For those who can fish without a license and do not have one, the limit is 3 fish.

The fishing experience can be quite enjoyable with the cooler temperatures than being down in Tucson. The path along one edge is entirely handicap accessible with its nice sidewalk. There are paved areas to fish from in a wheelchair, lawn chair, or even if you just want to stand. The path can at times become kind of full of people. There is also the other side of no path along the lake that you can fish from if the sidewalk is too crowded or you just want to feel more in nature.

On the June day, I visited here my dad and I caught six good sized rainbow trout during the three hours we fished. Other wildlife we saw besides the fish were ducks and other birds. There were also many dragonflies. Some of them were blue darners, but my favorite were the orange colored Mexican Amberwings. The orange ones mostly flew around and rarely landed making it quite a challenge to photograph, but shortly before we left one landed in the grass near where we were fishing and I was able to photograph it.

Out of all the lakes, I have fished at in Arizona, Rose Canyon has become my favorite. In part, it is because it is one of the closest to where I live. It is also because of its location in the mountains that makes its location it enjoyable during the summer unlike many other lakes in Arizona. Lastly, I enjoy the peaceful setting with the dragonflies and the lack of boats.

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