Bartlett Lake is at an elevation of 1,600 feet in the Tonto National Forest, 48 miles outside Phoenix.

The lake has 2,815 surface acres, 33 miles of easily accessible shoreline, a maximum depth of 188 feet and is fed by the Verde River.

The United States Forest Service maintains the area. Bartlett Dam was orignally constructed in 1936 - 1939 and then was modified in 1994-1996 to it's present state.

Largemouth and smallmouth bass are available to the angler. Other species found in the lake are crappie, sunfish, channel and flathead catfish and carp.

Bartlett Lake is the closest lake to the Phoenix area on the Verde River. It is 22 miles east of Carefree. To get to Bartlett Lake from Carefree, Arizona, take State road 223 east 22 miles.

Climate temperature range from lows in near 25 degrees in December to high hitting 115 degrees from July through September. Travelers are rewarded with stunning views of distant mountains and desert foliage. Mule deer javelinas, coyotes, bald eagles make residence in a land that features indigenous desert plants such as blooming ocotillo and mesquite trees as well as saguaro.

For more information, call (602) 225- 5200.

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Recent Reports

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Name: Vince Borrego	Date: 2009-10-31
Location: Scottsdale, AZ	E-Mail: vince@theblankslate.com
Water Teamp: 76	Water Clarity: 2
Report: Fished from 10:30am till 3:30pm trying out some new gear on Bartlett. Only had 3 keepers on jigs before 1:30pm fishing main lake structure. Worked my way back up the river chasing shad and caught ~15 fish 13" and smaller on 1/4oz Yamamoto grubs & spinning rod realizing that they didn't want anything to do with my jig. I figured with the cold storm that downsizing would do the trick and it paid off catching a fish every 3rd or 4th cast while they were busting shad. Fun but not the size I was looking for. Started to work my way back out from the back of the cove and ran into a big flathead catfish on the grub with 8lb test on a secondary point. After a little experimenting I decided to scale down the profile of my jig and caught 2 more keepers close to 14" before heading in for the day.
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