Fishing at Rucker Lake, Cochise County, Arizona

• Overview

  Rucker Lake sits in Cochise County, out in Arizona. The surface lies 6,093 feet up. This is a pocket water of some 5 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Some 33 miles away sits Pirtleville, the nearest settlement. Tucson is the closest city, 99 miles away. This is the only water of any size in the immediate country. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Rucker Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. Points where the flooded channel swings in are the reliable ones. Species logged nearby in open biodiversity records include rainbow trout, brook trout, longfin dace, Mexican stoneroller and fathead minnow. Reporting is uneven, so absence from the list means little. The shape of Rucker Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 67°F at the top of summer and 38°F at the bottom of winter. Heat sets the pattern from late spring onward. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer squeezes it into the edges of the day. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. That is the shape of the year on Rucker Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. Parking sits half a mile out, which makes for a walk with tackle. You can camp half a mile off, which suits an early start. Mapping records toilets within half a mile. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Signs at Rucker Lake carry more weight than any list.