Horsethief Lake in Yavapai County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  In Arizona, Horsethief Lake belongs to Yavapai County. The bank gives way to pine and hardwood. Surface area runs to about 4 acres — small enough to read in one session. On size it sits at the modest end of our Yavapai County list. The nearest place of any size is Black Canyon City, 11 miles away. Deer Valley sits 34 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Horsethief Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. Nearby survey and observation records mention redear sunfish, channel catfish and largemouth bass. Check the state or provincial list before planning around one species. Fish Horsethief Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 76°F and January reads 44°F. Winter here means light layers, not lost months. The first and last hours carry the summer; the middle is slow. Spring and autumn carry the year; summer squeezes it into the ends of the day. Horsethief Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. There is somewhere to leave the car, 130 yards off. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Lake Pleasant, 19 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing on Horsethief Lake should be assumed from this page alone.