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Home › Waters › Arizona › Horseshoe Reservoir
Reservoir · Maricopa County, the upper Verde River reservoir behind Horseshoe Dam in the Tonto National Forest, north of Bartlett Lake and east of Carefree · Arizona

Horseshoe Reservoir Fishing Guides

The upper Verde River reservoir in the Tonto National Forest, a fluctuating desert lake fished for bass and flathead catfish when it holds water.

Desert country running down to open water in the Southwest
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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About the Horseshoe Reservoir

Horseshoe Reservoir sits on the Verde River in the Tonto National Forest, upstream of Bartlett Lake and about an hour north of Phoenix by way of Carefree and a long stretch of dirt road. It is the least predictable of the Salt River Project reservoirs and the most lightly fished, because it is operated primarily for water storage and delivery rather than recreation and its level swings further and faster than any other lake in the system. In wet years it fills and backs up the Verde for miles; in dry ones it draws down to little more than the river channel running through mudflats.

That volatility shapes the fishery and the experience both. When the lake holds water it fishes very well indeed, with largemouth bass on the flooded mesquite and tamarisk, flathead and channel catfish in the old river channel, and crappie and bluegill in the standing brush. Smallmouth bass drop in from the Verde above and hold on the rocky upper end. When it is low the fishing concentrates into the river channel and the remaining pools, which can be excellent if you can reach the water at all. There is no marina and no paved ramp, so a boat that launches off dirt is close to essential.

The gauge at Horseshoe Dam reports reservoir storage and stage, and on this lake those are not background numbers but the first thing to check. The difference between a full Horseshoe and an empty one is the difference between a destination and a long drive to a mudflat, and the swing can happen within a single season. Read the storage figure before committing, and treat a filling lake as the best condition of all: rising water pushing into the mesquite puts bass shallow in fresh cover and produces the strongest fishing this reservoir ever offers. Access roads are rough and best driven in a high-clearance vehicle.

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Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

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Pool right now

  • Storage81,610 acre-ft

Reading taken 34 min ago at USGS 09509501, HORSESHOE RESERVOIR AT HORSESHOE DAM, AZ. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.

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Never published. We use it only if we need to ask about the photo.

Posting to Horseshoe Reservoir.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Access

Horseshoe Dam - the structure at the lower end, and the reference for storage and level.
Tonto National Forest - the national forest surrounding the lake, with dispersed camping and access roads.
Carefree - the nearest town, with services and the start of the road in.
Cave Creek - the town southwest, with tackle, lodging and guides.
Bartlett Lake - the larger reservoir downstream, with a marina and paved ramps.
Verde River - the river above the lake, with float and wade fishing when flows allow.
Phoenix - the metropolitan area to the south, and the nearest full services and airport.

Seasons

Spring: the best season when the lake is filling, with bass shallow in flooded brush and catfish active in the channel.
Summer: hot and often drawing down, with catfish the dependable fishery and early mornings the only comfortable window.
Fall: cooling water improves the bass fishing, though levels are usually at their lowest of the year.
Winter: quiet and cold, fished slowly in the old river channel, with access the main limiting factor.

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Questions

What species can you catch on the Horseshoe Reservoir?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Carp, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Green Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass on the Horseshoe Reservoir in Arizona.

Where can you access the Horseshoe Reservoir?

Horseshoe Dam - the structure at the lower end, and the reference for storage and level. Tonto National Forest - the national forest surrounding the lake, with dispersed camping and access roads. Carefree - the nearest town, with services and the start of the road in. Cave Creek - the town southwest, with tackle, lodging and guides. Bartlett Lake - the larger reservoir downstream, with a marina and paved ramps. Verde River - the river above the lake, with float and wade fishing when flows allow. Phoenix - the metropolitan area to the south, and the nearest full services and airport.

When is the best time to fish the Horseshoe Reservoir?

Spring: the best season when the lake is filling, with bass shallow in flooded brush and catfish active in the channel. Summer: hot and often drawing down, with catfish the dependable fishery and early mornings the only comfortable window. Fall: cooling water improves the bass fishing, though levels are usually at their lowest of the year. Winter: quiet and cold, fished slowly in the old river channel, with access the main limiting factor.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Horseshoe Reservoir?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Arizona agency site: https://www.azgfd.com/fishing/regulations/