Arizona · freestone
Hatch-chart nymphs, dries, and streamers for this river. Not a crowdsourced catch report.
Open the Pine Creek (upper) fly list →2 listed points. Map is Vellum land and Teal water — a desk chart, not a satellite.
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Large Tonto National Forest trailhead 0.6 mile south of Pine off SR 87, with a vault toilet. Pine Canyon Trail No. 26 starts here and climbs toward the Rim along Pine Creek.
Coconino National Forest trailhead on FR 6038 off SR 87. Pine Canyon Trail No. 147 drops off the Mogollon Rim and becomes Trail No. 26 down Pine Canyon. Reclose the gate.
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 Pine Creek.
Verify with Verify with the local fish and wildlife agency. Retrieved 2026-08-31. Seasons and gear rules change.
Upper Pine Creek, above the town of Pine, is a remote wild rainbow trout stream below the Mogollon Rim in Gila County. Recent AZGFD fish surveys found good numbers of trout, even in low water. The fish see few anglers and come up readily for dry flies.
Large foam hoppers and cicadas are fun here, and small attractor dries work through the warm months. Statewide trout limits apply. Treat this as fragile wild-fish water and release what you catch with care.
Getting in takes planning. AZGFD recommends contacting a regional fish biologist about access to this wilderness fishery before you go. Expect to hike, fish in the morning before the water warms, and practice leave-no-trace.
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Freestone
Rainbow Trout
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Freestone
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
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Freestone
Roundtail Chub · Desert Sucker · Sonora Sucker
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Freestone
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Roundtail Chub
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Freestone
Rainbow Trout · Gila Trout
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Freestone
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 Pine Creek (upper). We do not invent a site id or guess a flow.