Southwest Fishing Report: November 2026 to February 2027
This page always shows the current edition. A new one publishes four times a year, on the last Thursday before the months it covers begin. Permanent link to this edition. For the region's species, its key waters and a month-by-month calendar, see the Southwest fishing guide.
No single day stands out in these 14 days
Our engine puts the best day on 11 different dates across the 23 waters we grade in this region, and the most popular one, November 10, 2026, takes only 4 of them. That is worth knowing in itself: when one day wins almost everywhere it is a weather pattern crossing the whole region, and these 14 days have no such pattern. So pick the day for the water you are actually fishing, named on its own state page below, rather than one date for the whole region.
This is a forecast, so it is the first thing on this page to go out of date. Generated November 3, 2026.
The Southwest fishes open desert water while its high country freezes
Winter in the Southwest is a season of two elevations. The desert reservoirs on the Colorado and around Phoenix stay open and clear, carried by striped bass, stocked trout and slow winter bass, while the high lakes of northern New Mexico, the Nevada high desert and the Arizona plateaus freeze in a cold year. The tailwaters below Glen Canyon and Navajo dams fish every day of the winter, and at Pyramid Lake the cold months are the heart of the Lahontan cutthroat season.
Much of the region's big water crosses a state or a reservation line. Lake Mead, Lake Mohave and the Colorado River are fished on either Arizona's or Nevada's license under the two states' agreements, Lake Powell on Arizona's or Utah's, and Navajo Lake on the license of the state whose side you fish, while Pyramid Lake takes a permit from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe rather than a state license. The second table below sets out whose license covers what.
Each state's rules are below under the same headings as every region, written for someone fishing it for the first time: the license, bait and gear, the inland limits, and ice.
Arizona's rules turn over on January 1, a day after New Mexico's kokanee season closes
Arizona's current fishing regulations run through December 31 and the 2027-28 regulations take effect on January 1; the proposals the department published in June touched only named waters, but read the new booklet before a trip after New Year. New Mexico's kokanee snagging season ends on December 31, its Winter Trout Waters are stocked from November 1 to March 31, and its licenses run to March 31. Arizona and Nevada licenses last a year from the day they are bought.
Dates that change what you may keep
3 of these 4 change a season, a bag limit or a legal method. Every day of the week below was checked against a calendar.
| When | What changes | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sun November 1 | New Mexico's Winter Trout Waters, lakes and river stretches too warm for trout in summer, start to be stocked with rainbow trout, through March 31. | NM |
| Wed November 11 | Kokanee may be snagged at Heron Lake and Willow Creek in New Mexico, 12 a day, to December 31; both are closed to kokanee through November 10. | NM |
| Thu December 31 | Last day of kokanee snagging in New Mexico. Arizona's current fishing regulations end at midnight. | NM, AZ |
| Fri January 1 | Arizona's 2027-28 fishing regulations take effect. | AZ |
Rods, lines and ice, state by state
How many lines a license allows differs across the three states, and only Nevada writes a statewide rule for the ice.
| State | Rods and lines | Through the ice |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Two lines at once on any license, each attended; a line carries up to two hooks, one lure, or up to two flies or lures | No statewide ice rules found |
| New Mexico | One rod, or two with the Second Rod Validation ($10), never three | No statewide ice rules; some waters bar ice fishing outright, Bonito, Monastery and Springer lakes among them |
| Nevada | Two rods at most, each closely attended, with up to three baited hooks, three flies or two lures on each | Holes no more than 10 inches across |
Pyramid Lake runs on the Tribe's rules, not Nevada's, and the Colorado River lakes add hook limits of their own.
Whose license covers what
Much of the region's best water crosses a state or reservation line, and each crossing has its own answer.
| Water | Shared by | Whose license |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Mead and Lake Mohave | Nevada and Arizona | An Arizona license covers both from shore or boat, and Nevada shares them under reciprocal agreements and sells nonresidents an annual license for its shared waters; striped bass are unlimited and catfish 25 on both sides |
| The Colorado River and Lake Havasu | Arizona, California and Nevada | An Arizona license covers the river and its lakes on the California and Nevada borders, from shore or boat |
| Lake Powell | Arizona and Utah | An Arizona license needs no Utah stamp, and Utah lets either state's license cover both parts, with one daily limit |
| Navajo Lake | New Mexico and Colorado | Each side is fished on its own state's license and rules; anglers crossing from Colorado's side need a New Mexico license |
| Lake Tahoe and Topaz Lake | Nevada and California | Shared under reciprocal agreements Nevada law allows; check the terms before fishing either on the other state's license |
| Pyramid Lake | The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe | A Tribal fishing permit at 12 and older, not a Nevada license; the trout season runs October 1 to June 30 |
State by state
Season dates, local reports, stocking and the engine outlook for each state, with its sub-regions. Everything above this point is what crosses state lines.
Arizona
10 sub-regionsAn Arizona license lasts a year from the day it is bought and covers two lines, trout and the Colorado River lakes on the California and Nevada borders. The current regulations run through December 31, and the 2027-28 regulations take effect on January 1. Bald eagle nesting closes parts of several waters through the winter, last year stretches of the Verde and Salt rivers, the Tonto Creek inlet to Roosevelt Lake and an arm of Lake Pleasant; Game and Fish announces the list each December.
Read the Arizona report
New Mexico
8 sub-regionsA New Mexico license runs to March 31, so this year's covers the winter. The Winter Trout Waters are stocked from November 1 to March 31, and kokanee may be snagged on the Rio Chama below El Vado, the Pine River, El Vado Lake, Navajo Lake and Eagle Nest Lake until December 31, and at Heron Lake and Willow Creek only from November 11. A few waters bar ice fishing outright, and the state park opens and closes the ice on Eagle Nest Lake.
Read the New Mexico report
Nevada
5 sub-regionsA Nevada license lasts a year from the day it is bought. The general waters are open all year under the two-year regulation in force since January 1, 2026, with limits set by county. Pyramid Lake is fished on a Tribal permit, not a Nevada license, and its trout season runs from October 1 to June 30, so the winter is the heart of it. On Lake Mead and Lake Mohave striped bass are unlimited.
Read the Nevada report
The weather and the water from November to February, most years
This part does not change from year to year, which is why it is worth reading before the forecast rather than after it.
- The weather
- Winter in the Southwest runs from mild to hard freeze within a day's drive. The low deserts along the Colorado and around Phoenix and Las Vegas get bright, mild days and cold nights, with the occasional Pacific storm bringing rain and wind, while the high plateaus and mountains of northern Arizona, northern New Mexico and the Great Basin are cold and snowy, with nights well below freezing. Wind is the steadiest hazard on the big desert reservoirs.
- The water
- The desert reservoirs never freeze: they turn over, cool through the winter and run clear, and the big lakes on the Colorado reach their coldest by late winter. The tailwaters below Glen Canyon, Navajo and Hoover dams run cold and steady all year. The high lakes freeze in a cold winter, thick in northern New Mexico and the Nevada high desert, thin and uncertain on the Arizona plateaus, and some waters bar ice fishing altogether.
- How the quarter breaks
- It opens with stripers chasing shad on the Colorado River lakes and the first stocked trout going into the warm-water lakes, ponds and rivers of the low country. December to February is the heart of the Lahontan cutthroat season at Pyramid Lake, midge fishing on the tailwaters and ice on the high lakes when it forms, while the desert bass slow in the cold. It closes with the first warm spells starting bass toward the shallows in the low deserts and the ice going soft in the mountains.
The moon from November to February
| Month | New moon | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Mon, Nov 9Nov 8 for Nevada | Tue, Nov 24 |
| December 2026 | Tue, Dec 8 | Wed, Dec 23 |
| January 2027 | Thu, Jan 7 | Fri, Jan 22 |
| February 2027 | Sat, Feb 6 | Sat, Feb 20 |
The U.S. Naval Observatory's dates, on local time.
What our engine expects on the desert lakes, the tailwaters and the high country
Everything above this point either happened or happens every winter. This part is a forecast for the two weeks from the date stamped below, scored by the same engine that runs the rest of this site: water temperature, wind, river flow, rain, pressure, cloud, air temperature, UV, humidity and solunar, weighted by species and by season.
A two-week stretch of Southwest winter runs from open desert water on the Colorado and around Phoenix to ice in the northern mountains, with Pacific storms and long dry spells between them. The water temperature column identifies the source at each anchor: a thermometer reading, satellite analysis, or a labeled model. We withhold waters when the available reading does not represent them. Good hours counts the hours at or above a B-plus, which says how long a day holds.
This is a weather forecast, so it covers two weeks and not the season, and the further out a date sits the less it is worth. No forecast can say whether the ice will hold you, and none of these states measures it for anglers. We publish a grade, not a promise.
Engine outlook generated November 3, 2026, covering 23 waters.
What this report does not cover
- This is a seasonal guide, not a continuously updated field report. Its engine outlook covers only the dated two-week window. For current conditions use the reporters named in each state's section.
- Ice is not in this edition: on the high lakes it comes and goes with the weather, and some waters bar ice fishing altogether.
- Water-by-water rules are not printed; each state section gives the statewide rules, and Pyramid Lake's rules are the Tribe's.
- License prices are printed as read on October 20, and Arizona's rules change with the 2027-28 booklet.
Waters we are not grading in this outlook
Some waters that would otherwise appear in the outlook are left out of it, because the nearest water-temperature station sits on a different water. The ones held back are listed below, each with the station it was reading instead.
- Oak Creek at Slide Rock (AZ): nearest station is VERDE RIVER ABOVE CAMP VERDE, AZ