That sets the stage for this year: Normal runoff will result in lots of vegetation being inundated, again.

Above-normal runoff? It boggles a bass-fisher's mind to think about the possibilities.

"Rosey," as anglers affectionately call the reservoir, put big smiles on anglers' faces last year. Expect those smiles to get even bigger this year. In fact, Rosey is only going to get better in the next several years, barring severe drought. Even then, a drought can only delay the inevitable, but can't stop it.

Roosevelt will likely provide the best largemouth bass catch rates in the state again, especially for fat football-shaped yearling bass that once hooked, routinely put on tail-dance shows.

That's not all.

Last year, the local game warden, Jimmy Simmons, was also seeing something else: lots of lunkers. And he had plenty of opportunity to witness the fishing success. When Jimmy isn't on duty, he's fishing Rosey in his bass boat. He has his fingers on the pulse of this dynamic lake.

So don't be bashful. Go get acquainted, if you aren't already. Once you do, it won't be long before you'll be singing love songs to Rosey just like the rest of us bassin' addicts.

By the way, don't forget that Rosey has a 13- to 16-inch slot limit. Those slot fish are the prime breeders for the bright future at Rosey.

SAY 'HALO' TO BARTLETT
Bartlett has had a water halo hanging over it for about half a decade.

Unlike most other major bass reservoirs in the state, Bartlett has benefited from good spring flows during four years of the past five. That means Bartlett has some strong age-classes of shad and bass stacked up and waiting like cordwood.

A unique attribute for this productive bass fishery on the Verde River is its sister lake, Horseshoe, which the Salt River Project uses for flood retention. But this sister lake gives us anglers something else: a great bass and shad nursery to feed Bartlett.

Bartlett is deeper and holds a larger volume of water. But Horseshoe has more surface acreage. Since Horseshoe is a large, shallow bowl, it provides superb spawning grounds.

During 2005, Horseshoe filled up -- several times. Each time it filled, its water was slowly released into Bartlett. During the prime spawning period, however, Horseshoe was lowered only gradually. This nursery produced a magnificent spawn.

This dynamic duo has resulted in providing anglers with some of the state's best catch rates for 1- and 2-pound bass during the past five years, and enough 3-pounders to keep life interesting. But don't expect a big parade of lunkers. For some reason, Bartlett just doesn't produce the hawgs often found at the other lakes.

However, it is one of the state's best early-season lakes, at least in those years when raging floods aren't roaring down the Verde watershed.

In spring, Bartlett is the best lake around for spinnerbaits. Be sure to put on a trailer and slow-roll your spinnerbait along primary and secondary points. Sometimes the bass are inches from the shore, but don't limit yourself just to casting straight into the shoreline. Also try using a diagonal approach, or even casting perpendicular across an extended point.

PLEASANT SUPER-CHARGED
Two years ago, Pleasant was super-charged with nutrients and is still off to the races. Anglers this year can once again expect some big bass surprises -- that is, whenever they get baits past voracious 2-year-old striped bass.