Tucson anglers work a compact, close-to-home set of park lakes. AZGFD lists four Tucson-area Community Fishing Program waters: Kennedy, Lakeside and Silverbell lakes, which the City of Tucson manages jointly with the department, and Sahuarita Lake, run by the Town of Sahuarita south of the city. All four are on the desert floor in Pima County, which shapes both the season and the rules.
As lower-elevation metro waters, they follow the desert pattern: rainbow trout during winter, channel catfish through spring into May and again in fall, and no community stocking from June 25 to September 15 while water temperatures peak. Pima County also bans live baitfish on all of its waters, with no exceptions.
Region notes updated October 6, 2026Size is similar, depth is not. Kennedy Lake in John F. Kennedy Park on South La Cholla Boulevard covers 10 acres with a maximum depth of 12 feet. Silverbell Lake on North Silverbell Road is larger at 13 acres but only 7 feet deep at most; AZGFD lists it at Christopher Columbus Park, while the city now lists it at Danny Lopez Park, and neighboring Archer Lake is reserved for model boats and closed to fishing. Lakeside Lake at Chuck Ford Lakeside Park on East Stella Road reaches 14 acres at full capacity and is by far the deepest, at 35 feet. Sahuarita Lake is a 10-acre, 12-foot-deep man-made lake that the town keeps filled by groundwater pumping and supports with aeration and circulation equipment.
The three city lakes are open 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Sahuarita Lake Park is open sunrise to sunset, and boating there is limited to daylight. Kennedy, Lakeside and Sahuarita lakes all allow small boats but prohibit gasoline motors, swimming and wading. All four are designated community lakes, so the daily limit is four catfish, four trout, two bass of at least 13 inches and ten sunfish.
Lakeside Lake, at up to 35 feet. Silverbell is the shallowest at 7 feet. The Town of Sahuarita notes that shallow lakes like its own warm and cool more quickly than deeper ones.
No. AZGFD regulations prohibit using or possessing live baitfish on any water in Pima County, and the posted rules at Kennedy and Lakeside lakes repeat that ban.
Boating is listed as an amenity at all four lakes. At Kennedy, Lakeside and Sahuarita, gas motors are prohibited and proper flotation is required, and at Kennedy and Lakeside, canoes up to 17 feet and boats 14 feet and under must be properly registered and permitted.
Dates are AZGFD stocking weeks, not guaranteed plant days. How this data is sourced