Arizona · freestone
Hatch-chart nymphs, dries, and streamers for this river. Not a crowdsourced catch report.
Open the Ellison Creek fly list →2 listed points. Map is Vellum land and Teal water — a desk chart, not a satellite.
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Tonto National Forest day-use area on FR 199. Hike upstream along the East Verde to Ellison Creek.
Tonto National Forest picnic area on FR 199, the closest parking to the trail toward Ellison Creek.
Arizona fishing license required for anglers 10 and older. Rules cite Arizona Game and Fish Commission Order 40 (2025-26 regulations). Unless a special regulation applies, the statewide limit is four trout per day in any combination, and roundtail chub are catch and release only. Statewide trout limits apply on Ellison Creek.
Verify with Verify with the local fish and wildlife agency. Retrieved 2026-08-31. Seasons and gear rules change.
Ellison Creek is a short, cold tributary of the East Verde River on the Tonto National Forest north of Payson. Its lower end is the well-known swimming hole above Water Wheel, and the water is cold enough to take your breath away even in July.
Arizona Game and Fish lists a self-sustaining rainbow trout population that gets little fishing pressure, alongside native longfin dace and speckled dace. The creek is also critical habitat for the Chiricahua leopard frog, so step carefully in the headwaters. Statewide trout limits apply.
From Payson, take Houston Mesa Road (FR 199) to the Water Wheel and Second Crossing day-use areas, then hike upstream along the East Verde to the mouth of Ellison Creek. The rock is very slippery when wet. The better trout are in the higher pools, past where the swimmers stop.
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Rainbow Trout
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Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
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Roundtail Chub · Desert Sucker · Sonora Sucker
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Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Roundtail Chub
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Rainbow Trout · Gila Trout
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Rainbow Trout · Roundtail Chub
If something here is thin or wrong, add what you know. It goes to review before it publishes.
Contribute to this riverNo USGS site is linked to Ellison Creek. We do not invent a site id or guess a flow.