Trout stocking season is October to May in Green Valley Lakes--Panfish are there all year.   Occasionally--Gila Trout are Stocked

Payson anglers will welcome back trout to beautiful Green Valley Park not later than Oct. 15.  Colorado-grown rainbow trout will be delivered to kick off the trout stocking season that features 11- to 14-inch rainbow trout delivered every two weeks. Some 2- to 3-pound lunkers will be included too.

Club members regularly fish the lake at least twice a month, sometimes weekly.  Jim Strogen, AZGFD Educator of the Year in 2020 fishes almost every day and reports in our newsletter and  often in the Payson Roundup. Other members are active there too. 

A Wooly Bugger with a Green Weenie as the bottom fly seems to work best.  You need the upper fly to be a bead head so it will take your leader down assuming you have floating line.  The bigger fish seem to be right along the cattails on the West side. 

Fishing and relaxing along the grassy shorelines is what makes Green Valley Lake, located just a mile west of Highway 87 on Main Street, a favorite of many urban anglers. The fish stocking program at Green Valley is different from all other Urban Fishing Program waters. Rainbow trout are the only species stocked by the Department during an eight-month season that starts in mid October and continues through early May. No other fish species are stocked at Green Valley, however good populations of bass, crappie, sunfish and even catfish can be found in this highly productive lake system.

Trout can be caught on small spinners and spoons, by fly fishermen using nymphs or wet flies, and by baits such as scented dough baits, worms or salmon eggs. Remember to use lighter line in the 2- to 6-pound range, smaller hooks and a minimal amount of weight.

Fun to catch Blue Gill from Green Valley.  Notice the Green Weenie fly. Caught April 18th along with half a dozen of his/her buddies.  Good practice for stripping and for retrieving with the left hand. 

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