Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Forget the Ouija board and tarot cards, and stop looking back to the angling past as a predictor of the future. Spring trout fishing in Arizona this year comes with no-guarantees optimism and promise of some surprises in the forecast.

Of course, it's still winter, and winter in the Southwest still means that anglers may need ice augers at White Mountain lakes such as Hawley and Sunrise. These watering holes could stay frozen for weeks. The date when the ice starts to thaw each year varies from lake to lake; so fickle is the timing of this event that even The Old Farmer's Almanac refuses a prediction.

While that occurrence keeps anglers humming a familiar song from the '60s -- "Anticipation -- anticipation is making me wait" -- the snow will eventually melt and the ice will break up when it's meant to happen. When it does, that first spring trip to Rim Country and northern Arizona mountain streams, rivers and lakes will prove worthwhile.

Arizona anglers bask in warm sunshine while the rest of the nation continues to bundle up. "Our mild winters translate to excellent year-round fishing opportunities close to home," says Rory Aikens, an Arizona Game and Fish Department information officer. "Catching winter fish in shirt-sleeve weather is something most people across the nation can only dream about."

Hatchery trucks have made their last stops at southern Arizona waterways till next fall, and central and mountain watering holes are now the rainbow recipients.

With ice-out under way, many high country lakes have reopened or are in the process of doing so, as angling action intensifies. A review of Arizona Game and Fish "Big Fish" records shows that late March and early April are when most trophy-sized fish get caught.

Most high-elevation roads are muddy but open, and high-altitude fish are hungry. Feeder streams to many lakes are running high, so spillways are seeing a lot of action. The extremely cold water has turned on brown trout, which compete with rainbow, cutthroat, brookies and Apache trout at many of these lakes.

Regular stockings of rainbow and Apache trout generally resume about this time at White Mountain and Mogollon Rim lakes, although fisheries manager Jim Novy in Pinetop issues the same caution every year: "Some areas may experience high snowpack run-off, spillage over reservoir dams or turbid water, resulting in delayed stockings until later this spring. But, not to worry, lots of catchable trout are available from state hatcheries.

"We produced and delivered over 3 million trout of various species and sizes last year, and despite drought conditions, inventory production in 2005 should be at a similar level," says Arizona Fish Hatchery program manager Roger Sorensen. He adds a caveat: "Final production is all dependent on weather conditions."

Should any Arizona anglers get lucky enough to have to contend with a springtime river running high and deep with walnut-colored water (well, it could happen), they might consider backing away from the river's main current and work the side appendages -- ditches, channels and calmer branch waters. Trout swim into these places to avoid fighting the main river current; it's easier for them to feed while expending less energy.

Fisheries biologist Jim Warnecke has seen both good and bad seasons in his nearly 30 years with Game and Fish. Despite another year of drought, he looks forward to some fun times in Rim Country streams. "My neck of the woods looks promising once stocking gets under way, usually in early April. One of our strategies in 2005 is to stock fewer -- but larger -- fish. Average transplant numbers will drop by 20 percent to 5 percent, but average size will go from 9 to 10 inches up to about 12 inches."

Warnecke suggests the East Verde River north of Payson will be a good early producer until water flow drops in late May. "Most Rim streams don't have holdover stocked rainbows from previous years," he says, "but some, like Tonto Creek, have resident populations of brown trout that can get to be large, in the 2-pound category."