By Jon Johnson
CLUFF POND #3 – Rainbow Trout were last stocked in Cluff Pond #3 by the Arizona Game & Fish Department on Jan. 6, and on Friday, Jan. 17, they were biting and hitting quickly.
A youth group from Pima 5th Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held a fishing activity at the pond on Friday. Various youths went home with multiple fish.
Nine youth cast rods into the pond – some for the first time – and more than half scored a fish.
It’s catch and release only on all fish species at Cluff Ranch Pond #3, excluding rainbow trout, through May 31, 2026. Thereafter, the statewide bag limit would apply for all species except channel catfish, with a four-fish daily bag limit. Bass is set to be stocked in the spring.
Fishing is available from the floating dock, but there are numerous areas to fish from the shoreline as well, all around the pond.
What initially began as a temporary suspension of Rainbow trout stocking in November 2020 to take advantage of low water levels and replace a dam valve led to the drainage and closure of the pond for years. The refurbished Cluff Pond #3 fully reopened to the public on Monday, June 17, and has been stocked with Rainbow trout multiple times.

The pond has undergone extensive renovation and habitat creation for fish and other animals. In April, a youth service project involving more than 300 local area youths and several leaders spearheaded by the Pima Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cleaned up the area and rehabbed a trail that winds around the pond.
How to get there: Take Main Street south from Highway 70 from Pima. The road turns into 1200 South as it curves at Ferrin’s Corner and heads westward. From 1200 South, turn south on Cluff Ranch Road. After a few miles, the pavement gives way to a graded dirt road for the final few miles.
There is no cost for day use.
Recent history of Cluff Pond #3
Arizona Game & Fish has been working in the area since the Frye Fire burned the Ash Creek drainage in the summer of 2017. Subsequent floods damaged the water delivery system. While the drainage was repaired over the next few years, a temporary diversion in Ash Creek lower down the creek was utilized, but the water volume was less than previously.

Then, the 2020 drought stopped Ash Creek’s water flow and caused Pond #3 to drop very low. According to Pelto, the decision was to drain the pond and replace the valve. Unfortunately, when the draining began, workers found sediment had accumulated to the point where it buried the valve. Dredging was proposed as the solution, forcing an additional round of environmental assessments.
The dredging work was completed in the spring of 2022, and additional earthen structures were created to improve the aquatic habitat, according to Game & Fish. A large dirt pad was also made northwest of the pond to become future campsites.

A replacement valve first arrived in July 2022, but it was found to be missing a piece that needed to be custom-made. It took an additional 20 weeks to create and arrive.
While waiting for the valve, workers installed new aquatic habitat structures in the pond and completed an extensive cleanup. Additionally, 760 feet of the pipeline that delivers water to Pond #3 from Ash Creek were replaced, and the temporary diversion was rebuilt, making Pond #3’s water delivery system functional again.