Freestone · Sandstone · Arizona

Oak Creek (Sedona)

Oak Creek runs down through one of the prettiest canyons in the Southwest — red-rock walls, sycamores, and clear water tumbling toward Sedona — and it carries a trout fishery the whole way.

Species

Slow going — pick your moments

Low and clear — careful approach country. Cover and shadow are doing the work today.

80% confidence in this read
Water temperature for rainbow trout
Warm — slow
19°C est.ideal 10–18°C
0°14°28°
Why this score · for rainbow trout
  • Temperature8128% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity8518% weight
  • Feeding Time5013% weight
  • Pressure757% weight
  • Insect activity6112% weight
Conditions
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
18.6°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
33°C
Wind
SW 14 km/h
Gentle breeze
Pressure
1008 hPa
Rain · 24h
0.0 mm
No rain
Rain · ahead
0.0 mm
No meaningful rain · next 48h

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

How to fish it · for rainbow trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
⚠️ Water at 18.6°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots. Otherwise poor — water clarity is in the right range.
Local fly shopsLees Ferry Anglers
Through the year
0–3 scale · June highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Open all year; Arizona licence required (AZGFD)
  • The West Fork is catch-and-release, and a single-point-barbless catch-and-release section is associated with native Gila trout restoration — VERIFY exact reaches and rules against AZGFD before fishing
  • MONSOON: flash-flood risk in the canyon — check upstream weather
  • Busy water near Sedona.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
About this water

Oak Creek runs down through one of the prettiest canyons in the Southwest — red-rock walls, sycamores, and clear water tumbling toward Sedona — and it carries a trout fishery the whole way. It's a mix: wild browns and rainbows hold in the cooler upper canyon and the side reaches, while Arizona Game and Fish stock rainbows lower down through the season, and there's restoration work for native Gila trout in the West Fork that deserves real restraint and a careful read of the rules. The fishing is small-stream canyon work — short casts to pocket water, a dry-dropper threaded between the boulders, careful approaches to clear-water fish that see plenty of hikers. Two cautions matter: it gets busy, this being Sedona, and the monsoon can fire a flash flood down the canyon with little warning, so watch the weather upstream. Spring and autumn are the sweet spots; the cool upper water fishes through summer mornings.

  • Sandstone
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January → 31 December
Water here around 19°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.