At about 13 acres with a maximum depth of just 7 feet, Silverbell Lake is the shallowest of Tucson’s three city fishing lakes. It sits in Danny Lopez Park along Silverbell Road. Water this thin reacts quickly to the weather, which makes the cold months the most dependable time for stocked trout and puts a premium on early and late hours once the desert heat arrives.
Longtime anglers may know the park by an older name. It began as Silverbell Park, was renamed Christopher Columbus Park in 1990 ahead of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the Americas, and in February 2025 the Mayor and Council renamed it Danny Lopez Park. Lopez was a Tohono O’odham educator and elder who devoted his life to preserving the Tohono O’odham language and culture. Some AZGFD pages and the 2025-26 regulations booklet still use the Columbus name.
Silverbell now carries a state fish consumption advisory. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) advises against eating largemouth bass of any size from the lake because fish tissue testing found elevated PFOS, a PFAS chemical. The advisory names largemouth bass specifically. The lake’s stocked channel catfish and rainbow trout, delivered on the same Community Fishing Program rotation as Kennedy and Lakeside, remain the main draw.
Lake notes updated October 6, 2026No recent official weeks are listed for Silverbell Lake right now. AZGFD may still add this water in a later schedule.
No stocking activity found for this period.
Silverbell Lake is at 4600 N. Silverbell Rd. Danny Lopez Park also contains Archer Lake, a separate pond reserved for radio-controlled model boats where fishing and full-size boating are not allowed, so confirm you are on the right water before setting up. Park features include ramadas, picnic tables, grills, restrooms, drinking fountains, a playground, a dog park, a Little League field, bike racks and radio-control model airfields, and AZGFD points out the park’s large shade trees.
Small boats, canoes, kayaks and paddleboards are allowed under the same city rules that apply at Kennedy and Lakeside: no gas motors, boats 14 feet or shorter, canoes up to 17 feet, daylight boating only, and life jackets on children 12 and younger. On a lake that never gets deeper than 7 feet, a paddle craft is more useful for reaching quieter water than deeper water. Swimming, wading and glass containers are prohibited.
The best time for trout. AZGFD notes that trout thrive below about 68°F and tend to cruise shorelines looking for food, a habit that suits Silverbell’s shallow, walkable banks.
Catfish stocking resumes after September 15. Shallow water responds quickly to longer, cooler nights, so fishing usually improves as the season moves toward the switch to trout.
The rotation returns to catfish. Trout fishing tapers off as the shallow lake warms past the range trout prefer.
AZGFD stocks nothing between June 25 and September 15. In 7 feet of water, the cooler hours around sunrise are the most reliable time to find active catfish.
The 2025-26 AZGFD regulations list Silverbell under its former name, Silverbell Park Lake at Christopher Columbus Park, with community Lake limits of 4 catfish, 4 trout, 2 bass (13-inch minimum) and 10 sunfish. AZGFD has proposed amending bass limits at Silverbell, Kennedy, Lakeside and Sahuarita lakes in its 2027-28 regulations package, so verify the current limit on azgfd.gov, and remember that ADEQ advises against eating Silverbell largemouth regardless of what is legal to keep. Anglers 10 and older need a valid Arizona fishing license. Live baitfish are prohibited.
ADEQ and the City of Tucson advise not eating largemouth bass from Silverbell Lake because testing found elevated PFOS. The advisory names largemouth bass; check azdeq.gov/fca for the latest guidance on any species before keeping fish.
Yes. The park was renamed Danny Lopez Park in February 2025. It was originally Silverbell Park and was called Christopher Columbus Park from 1990 until the renaming.
No. Archer Lake is reserved for radio-controlled model boats. Silverbell Lake is the park’s fishing lake.
About 7 feet at its deepest across roughly 13 acres, according to the City of Tucson. That makes it the shallowest of Tucson’s three city fishing lakes.
Dates are AZGFD stocking weeks, not guaranteed plant days. How this data is sourced