By Dillon Luera · Updated
Arizona's Community Fishing Program is the reason a family in Mesa, Tucson, or Yuma can catch a stocked trout or catfish without leaving town. Run by the Arizona Game and Fish Department in partnership with cities and towns, the program stocks lakes and ponds inside public parks on a published schedule and manages them under their own bag limits. Its motto sums up the idea: “If people can’t get to the fish, we’ll bring fish to the people.” This guide covers how the program works, where the waters are, which rules are different, and how to pick a good one.
The Community Fishing Program is a partnership between AZGFD and local governments. Cities and towns provide the parks and the water; AZGFD supplies the fish, the stocking schedule, and the regulations. AZGFD estimates that more than 4 million Arizona residents live within a 20-minute drive of a stocked community water, and says every participating park offers parking and other amenities.
Each water is marked with distinctive Community Fishing Program signs at key spots. According to AZGFD, the signs identify the water as part of the program and spell out the license requirements and bag limits that apply there, which makes them a quick way to confirm the rules when you arrive.
AZGFD's Community Fishing page describes more than 50 city park lakes in 23 communities, while the 2025–26 regulations booklet says more than 53 lakes and ponds in 25 cities; the counts shift as waters are added. AZGFD's breakdown by area lists 29 waters around Phoenix, five around Yuma, four around Tucson, two around Prescott Valley, and one around Casa Grande, plus waters in Payson, Ash Fork, St. Johns, Show Low, and the Safford area.
In the Phoenix area, AZGFD lists program waters in Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Scottsdale, Glendale, Peoria, Avondale, Surprise, Queen Creek, and Maricopa, and the regulations booklet also includes Sundance Park Lake in Buckeye. In Tucson, the City of Tucson says fishing is permitted at Kennedy, Lakeside, and Silverbell lakes, which it manages jointly with AZGFD under the program.
The program rotates species with the seasons. AZGFD says ready-to-catch fish are stocked during the fall, winter, and spring, and lists channel catfish of 13 to 18 inches as a spring and fall stocking. Trout fill the cooler months, and AZGFD has also stocked bluegill into community waters in the Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma areas, among others. In 2024 the department planned to stock 210,000 to 220,000 pounds of channel catfish across the program.
Two scheduling details matter. First, community waters are stocked randomly Monday through Saturday during the listed week, so a schedule date marks a week, not a specific day. Second, AZGFD pauses all community stockings from June 25 through September 15 because of extreme summer heat. The program's bag limits also cover bass, sunfish, and white amur (grass carp), not just the stocked trout and catfish.
Every program water is officially designated either a Lake or a Pond, and the name tells you the limit. AZGFD describes community lakes as larger waters, generally over 3 acres, with higher bag limits; ponds get limits half as large to avoid overcrowding and overfishing. Under the 2025–26 regulations, the daily bag limits are as follows.
Lakes: 4 catfish, 4 trout, 2 bass (13-inch minimum), 10 sunfish, and 1 white amur (30-inch minimum). Ponds: 2 catfish, 2 trout, 1 bass (13-inch minimum), 5 sunfish, and 1 white amur (30-inch minimum).
Once you reach the daily limit for a species, you must stop fishing for it. A few waters have their own rules; Water Ranch Lake in Gilbert, for example, has 2-trout and 2-catfish limits, catch-and-release only for bass and sunfish, and single-pointed barbless hooks only. Statewide rules still apply, including the rule that fish you give away count toward your daily bag. Confirm current limits in AZGFD's regulations or on the signs at the water.
AZGFD requires anglers 10 years of age or older to be licensed at all Community Fishing Program waters. The regulations list valid options as the General Fishing license, the Youth Combination Hunt and Fish license (ages 10 to 17), the Combination Hunt and Fish license (18 and over), and Pioneer, Blind, Disabled Veteran, short-term (one-day), and youth group licenses. Buy yours online or from a license dealer before you head to the park.
Children under 10 do not need a license. Under the statewide rules, unlicensed children under 10 may take their own separate daily bag limit and may use two poles. Every Arizona fishing license allows fishing with two poles or lines at once, but never more than two. Arizona also has a free fishing day each year, usually the first Saturday of National Fishing and Boating Week, when fishing public waters does not require a license.
Community waters sit inside busy public parks, and each park adds its own rules on top of fishing regulations. AZGFD's lake pages commonly list bans on swimming, wading, glass containers, and littering, and many parks require permits for alcohol. Boating varies: Tempe requires an annual city boating permit at Kiwanis Lake and Tempe Town Lake, AZGFD's pages for Tucson's Kennedy and Lakeside lakes allow small licensed and permitted boats and canoes but prohibit gasoline motors, and several Phoenix and Mesa waters do not allow boating at all. Those same Tucson pages also prohibit feeding ducks and geese.
Good etiquette goes beyond the posted rules. Give other anglers room, especially during stocking weeks when the banks fill up. Cast away from walking paths and playgrounds, stay with your lines (state rules require them to be constantly attended), and pack out old fishing line, hooks, and bait containers, which can hurt birds and people. If you are releasing fish, wet your hands before handling them and get them back in the water quickly.
Start with distance and hours. Park hours vary a lot: AZGFD lists Kiwanis Lake in Tempe as open until midnight, Tucson's three lakes until 10:30 p.m., and Papago Ponds in Phoenix only until 7 p.m., which matters if you want to fish the evening catfish bite. Then look at size and designation. Larger lakes spread out fishing pressure and carry higher limits, while small ponds can fish well right after a stocking but get picked over quickly.
Next, match the water to your group. Families with young kids often care most about shade, restrooms, and playgrounds; AZGFD's page for Desert Breeze Lake in Chandler, for example, highlights large shade trees and a splash park. Anglers chasing catfish on warm days may prefer deeper water, such as Red Mountain Lake in Mesa (17 feet maximum) or Lakeside Lake in Tucson (35 feet maximum at full capacity). Finally, check the stocking schedule for the current week and keep a second water nearby as a backup.
Yes, if you are 10 or older. AZGFD requires a valid license for anglers 10 and older at all Community Fishing Program waters. Children under 10 can fish without one and keep their own separate daily bag limit.
AZGFD designates each water as one or the other. Lakes are generally over 3 acres and allow 4 catfish and 4 trout per day; ponds have limits half as large, including 2 catfish and 2 trout.
AZGFD’s website describes more than 50 waters in 23 communities, and its 2025–26 regulations booklet cites more than 53 in 25 cities. Most are in the Phoenix area, with others around Tucson, Yuma, Prescott Valley, Payson, Show Low, St. Johns, and Safford.
AZGFD’s regulations state that trout produced by the department and channel catfish stocked into Community Fishing Program waters have been tested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for mercury and found safe to eat. Check AZGFD and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality for any site-specific advisories.
Dates are AZGFD stocking weeks, not guaranteed plant days. How this data is sourced