Cortez Lake at Cortez Park in north-central Phoenix is a longtime community fishing favorite. It is stocked with catfish and trout.
Cortez Lake is a stocked Arizona fishing water near Phoenix, Maricopa County. Cortez Lake is part of Arizona's Community Fishing Program, and anglers typically look here for rainbow trout and catfish. Official dates usually mark the Monday of a stocking week rather than a guaranteed same-day plant. Recent official weeks appear in the table below when AZGFD has published them.
Cortez Lake at Cortez Park in north-central Phoenix is a longtime community fishing favorite. It is stocked with catfish and trout. Anglers usually treat Cortez Lake as a Phoenix, Maricopa County destination for rainbow trout and catfish. The Phoenix metropolitan area offers year-round community fishing lakes stocked with catfish in summer and trout in winter. With dozens of urban ponds across the Valley of the Sun, anglers of all ages can find a stocked lake within minutes of home.
Lake: Cortez Lake
City: Phoenix
Region: Phoenix Metro
County: Maricopa
Community Fishing: Yes
Species: Rainbow Trout, Catfish
No recent official weeks are listed for Cortez Lake right now. AZGFD may still add this water in a later schedule.
No stocking activity found for this period.
Cortez Lake is a community fishing water, so most visits are short shore-fishing trips close to parking and neighborhood parks. Confirm park hours and any local bait or license rules before you go. Map coordinates on this page point to about 33.5334, -112.1165 near Phoenix, Maricopa County. Treat every date as a stocking week unless AZGFD publishes a more specific plant.
Cortez Lake is built for convenient shore fishing. After a plant, fish the first few mornings and evenings from obvious bank access before weekend pressure picks up.
For trout at Cortez Lake, start with PowerBait, a worm under a bobber, or a small inline spinner. Urban ponds warm fast, so the first light after a winter or spring week is usually the cleanest bite.
Catfish weeks at Cortez Lake favor cut bait, shrimp, nightcrawlers, or prepared stink bait fished on the bottom near the most obvious shore access. Warm, still evenings are typically better than windy afternoons.
These notes are local planning context for Cortez Lake, not official AZGFD advice. Conditions, crowds, and the exact plant day can change during the scheduled week.
Cortez Lake follows the AZGFD schedule. When a week is published, this page shows it as a scheduled week rather than a guaranteed single-day stocking event. No recent weeks are listed right now — check back after the next official update.
Cortez Lake is tracked for rainbow trout and catfish. Community waters near Phoenix, Maricopa County often see trout in cooler months and catfish when the water is warmer. Species can still vary by hatchery plan.
Yes. Cortez Lake is part of the Arizona Community Fishing Program near Phoenix, Maricopa County, which is intended for convenient shore fishing.
Anglers comparing Cortez Lake often also check Kiwanis Lake, Red Mountain Lake, Riverview Lake in the same Phoenix Metro.
Dates are AZGFD stocking weeks, not guaranteed plant days. How this data is sourced