I haven’t even gotten a nibble," laments Bill Castro, who is spending his morning angling for trout at Papago Ponds, just outside the Phoenix Zoo.

"I could be sitting in front of a television," reasons the Mesa winter resident, "but I’d much rather be here."

What Castro doesn’t realize is that if he had waited a couple of hours before hauling his fishing gear and Thermos of coffee, his luck might have been much better.

Later that day, the Arizona Game and Fish Department would deliver its biweekly supply of ‘‘incentive stock’’ — 2- to 4-pound rainbow trout — to Papago and the other seven East Valley waters that are part of the state’s Urban Fishing Program.

At Gilbert’s Water Ranch Lake, Bob Chapman and his son, Ryan, are playing hooky. The stock days remain secret, but the Chapmans have lucked out: They get to witness a stocking.

As the fish dart around their new home, the Chapmans watch wistfully.
"Ooooh," Ryan points, "look at that one."

"There’s a nice one," Bob says, pointing in the opposite direction.
While the Chapmans catalog potential meals, Gene Zale of Mesa is hunting for bass at Red Mountain Lake in Mesa.

Zale, who fishes the small lake often enough to know the ‘‘regulars,’’ says bass put up more of a fight than trout and are hardier and more interesting to catch.

In the past two years, Zale says he has caught bass weighing more than 2 pounds. Zale releases what he catches to give the fish a chance to grow.

"I’ve seen them get up to 15 pounds," Zale says while casting a green rubber worm 40 feet across the lake. "One person caught a 5-pound bass with a trout — fins still wiggling — stuck down its throat. That looked pretty neat."

Twenty yards away, Ben Ulrich and his 4-year-old grandson, Luke Steinke, gently jerk their fishing poles in the hopes of snagging a bluegill. Using mealy worms as bait, Ben guides Luke in the art of making the fish think the worm is dinner.

Like Zale, the duo practice catch-and- release.

"It takes the pressure off the state to maintain a good fishing program," Ben explains. "We’ve already caught one bluegill today and fed the ducks. It’s been a good day."

Fish stockings

• Arizona Game and Fish stocks urban lakes and ponds with rainbow trout (one big fish out of every 20) from November through March.

• Channel catfish are stocked March through July and September through November.

• Sunfish are stocked three times a year.

• Bass, crappie, bluegill, white amur, talapia and carp also roam the urban waters.

• Most lakes get stocked twice a month from Sept. 20 to July 10 on arbitrary days.

Fishing licenses

• Anglers 14 years and older need to purchase an Urban Fishing license (Class U) for $16 which is for the calendar year). A one-day license (Class D) is available for $8.50.

• Anglers 70 years and older are eligible for a free Pioneer license (Class P) if they have been an Arizona resident for at least 25 years.

• Licenses are available at all Game and Fish offices, most sporting goods stores and online at www.sci-nevada.com/webazlic/ AZMAINF2.ASP.

Urban fishing lakes in the East Valley

Desert Breeze Lake
Where: Southwest of Ray Road and McClintock Drive on Desert Breeze Boulevard in Chandler
When: 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Fish: Channel catfish, rainbow trout, bluegill, redear sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, carp and white amur

Water Ranch Lake
Where: Southeast corner of Greenfield and Guadalupe roads in Gilbert
When: 6 to 10 p.m.
Fish: Channel catfish, rainbow trout, bluegill, redear sunfish, hybrid sunfish, crappie, largemouth bass, tilapia and carp

Red Mountain Lake
Where: Southeast corner of Brown Road and Sunvalley Boulevard, three-quarters of a mile east of Power Road in Mesa
When: Sunrise to 10 p.m.
Fish: Channel catfish, rainbow trout, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, carp, largemouth bass and white amur

Riverview Lake
Where: Northwest corner of Dobson Road and Eighth Street in Mesa
When: Sunrise to 10 p.m.
Fish: Channel catfish, rainbow trout, bluegill, redear sunfish, hybrid sunfish, talapia, largemouth bass and carp

Canal Pond
Where: Southwest corner of College Avenue and McKellips Road in Tempe
When: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Fish: Channel catfish, rainbow trout, bluegill, redear sunfish, hybrid sunfish, talapia, largemouth bass, carp and white amur

Kiwanis Lake
Where: Mill Avenue south of Baseline Road, Tempe
When: 6 a.m. to midnight
Fish: Channel catfish, rainbow trout, bluegill, redear sunfish, hybrid sunfish, tilapia, largemouth bass, flathead catfish, carp and white amur

Papago Ponds
Where: Galvin Parkway between McDowell Road and Van Buren Street, Phoenix
When: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Fish: Channel catfish, rainbow trout, largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, hybrid sunfish, crappie, tilapia, carp and white amur

Chaparral Lake
Where: Northeast corner of Hayden and Chaparral roads in Scottsdale
When: Closed until April
Fish: Channel catfish, flathead catfish, rainbow trout, bluegill, redear sunfish, hybrid sunfish, crappie, largemouth bass, tilapia and carp

(Note: Rainbow trout only stocked during winter months)