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Imagine yourself lying on your deathbed thinking, “Oh, I'm so glad I spent my whole life working and never wasted a single moment by ditching work to go fishing on a beautiful Arizona autumn day!”
And then you croak. Finis.
Now imagine the Verde River getting a stocking of rainbow trout this week. You call the boss to tell him you're sick, tell your wife you're going to work, and you sneak off to Tuzigoot with your sack lunch and the tackle you stashed in your vehicle last night. Imagine a wonderful, cool, sunny day on the river, undisturbed by other anglers who are themselves wasting the day at work. The fish are biting and you've got the place to yourself - nirvana! You've taken the sting out of inevitable death! You've feted fate! How you explain the stringer of fish to your wife when you get home is your problem – hey, I can't think of everything for you.
The Verde River really is on the schedule for its first stocking of the season this week, and the weatherman predicts 70 degree weather for the Verde Valley over the next week or so. If you just can't prioritize life over work, then Bignotti is a good weekend choice to take the family for a fishing picnic. The access is easy, the fishing is easy, there are picnic tables and lots of room for the kids to run around and screech, tear their clothes on catclaw, fall on cactus and throw rocks at each other. When they push each other into the river, well, it's shallow and they aren't going to drown. It'll be great and you won't have to miss any work.
To get to Bignotti, leave Cottonwood on SR 260, headed toward Camp Verde. Turn left at Thousand Trails (watch for the sign) and then take FR 147 to the left, which winds down to the river.
Arizona Game Fish also stocks rainbow trout at four other locations on the Verde River. Here are directions straight from the AZG&F website:
Tuzigoot: From Cottonwood, travel north on 89A towards Clarkdale. Turn northeast at Tuzigoot National Monument. Go across bridge and immediately turn right on dirt road. Turn right again towards river.
5th Street: From Cottonwood travel north on 89A towards Clarkdale. Follow signs to Deadhorse State Park. Access to this location is through Deadhorse State Park or River Front City Park. The 5th Street site is closed to the public and is only used for stocking.
The Jacks: From Cottonwood travel north on 89A towards Clarkdale. Follow signs to Deadhorse State Park. Once inside park, take first right and follow to end.
White Bridge: Travel south on 260 to Camp Verde, go through town and take last road to the left before the White Bridge.
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