Thunderbird Park Reservoir

Thunderbird Park Reservoir is a reservoir in Maricopa County, Arizona and covers about 2.4 acres, reaches about 11.7 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 39.8 acre-feet.

Thunderbird Park Reservoir is small water, so a careful lap around the bank can show most of the useful cover. With little deep water in Thunderbird Park Reservoir, weeds, wind, and water color can matter more than depth alone.

Fish and Baits

Fish listed for Thunderbird Park Reservoir include Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Green Sunfish, and Largemouth Bass.

To begin with bluegill on Thunderbird Park Reservoir, use a small jig, worm, or tiny plastic around green weeds and protected pockets.

While looking for largemouth bass on Thunderbird Park Reservoir, work a soft plastic, jig, or spinnerbait around weeds and protected cover.

While looking for channel catfish on Thunderbird Park Reservoir, fish cut bait or a nightcrawler on the bottom along a channel edge or warm flat.

How to Read the Water

One way to read Thunderbird Park Reservoir is this: start where two things meet: weeds and open water, rock and mud, a point and a drop, or clear water and dirty water; fish that edge at more than one depth before leaving it.

Season by Season

For a short trip to Thunderbird Park Reservoir, shallow water is worth a careful look in spring and again during fall; bright summer days favor shade, weeds, or deeper breaks; under ice, a small depth change can be more useful than a long move.

A Simple Tackle Plan

For a first pass on Thunderbird Park Reservoir, a medium spinning rod, 8-pound line, a small box of jigs, a few crankbaits, and a simple bottom rig cover most situations; change depth or speed before changing every piece of tackle.

The plan for Thunderbird Park Reservoir starts here: record the wind, water color, productive depth, and cover after a bite; those four notes are more useful on the next trip than a long list of spots that did not produce.