Learn About Popular Panfish Fishing Options In Arizona

All about fishing for panfish in AZ lakes and ponds.

Throughout the state of Arizona you can find waters with populations of sunfish, including bluegill, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, redear sunfish, rock bass, tilapia, white bass, yellow bass and yellow perch.

Panfish & Perch Lakes

Arizona lakes offering a variety of panfish include Alamo Lake, Apache Lake, Bartlett Lake, Canyon Lake, Lake Havasu, Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, Lake Pleasant, Lake Powell, Lees Ferry, Lynx Lake, Martinez Lake, Rainbow Lake, Roosevelt Lake, Saguaro Lake Show Low Lake, San Carlos Lake and Watson Lake.

Top Producing Panfish Lures & Bait

Check out the top producing lures and bait for bluegill, redear sunfish, rock bass and warmouth, as well as other smaller sunfish. Click here for the best lures for white bass, yellow bass, white perch and yellow perch.

Click the images and links above for species details.

The state record bluegill was caught out of Goldwater Lake.

The state record green sunfish was caught out of Parker Canyon Lake.

Patagonia Lake was home to the state record hybrid sunfish.

Goldwater Lake delivered the state record redear sunfish.

The state record rock bass came from the Upper Verde River.

The state record tilapia was taken out of Saguaro Lake.

Lake Pleasant was home to the state record white bass.

Canyon Lake yielded the state record yellow bass.

Stoneman Lake is where the state record yellow perch was caught.

One or more species of sunfish populate virtually all warm water streams, ponds and lakes throughout Arizona, and around the world for that matter. They can survive in waters that provide their natural food source of minnows, insects, crustaceans and worms. Their competitive nature amongst themselves, for food, makes them relatively easy to catch.

Bluegill Fishing Basics Video

The core principles shown in this video will work for most sunfish, perch and other panfish.

Panfish are prolific spawners and repopulate the waters as fast as they are harvested. A common problem with panfish fishing is that the waters are under-fished causing panfish to overpopulate. As a result they tend to stay small in size due to lack of food source.

The term "panfish" comprises many species, each called by a variety of names. The bluegill tops the list and is the most common.

Sunfish information in other states.