By GEORGE MORSE
Sports And Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post
For several years the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has periodically produced season-long stocks of larger than average rainbow trout in many of the state’s trout lakes and ponds.
Averaging between 15-20 inches in length, these larger fish are a welcome addition for anglers accustomed to catching 9-12 inch catchable size rainbow trout
In reviewing last year’s (2023) stocking reports, very few if any stocks of these larger trout were produced. Areas where bigger trout can be caught like the San Juan River, Navajo Lake, Chama River, Eagle Nest Lake and the Rio Grande have produced some lunker trout, but reports of big trout from other areas have been notable- attention went down.
Anglers fishing Abiquiu Lake this year should start catching small largemouth bass. Bass are stocked as fingerling in 2022 and should be catchable in size. Please release these fish and give them a chance to grow. There is a 14-inch size limit on largemouth bass.
There is already an established smallmouth bass fishery in Abiquiu. The size limit on smallmouth bass is 12 inches. Anglers need to recognize the difference between the two types.
Drainage canals in the Albuquerque area are now stocked with rainbow trout. The Albuquerque, Albuquerque South, Belen Riverside, Bernalillo, Corrales and Peralta drains were stocked last week.
Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is now stocked with rainbow trout. It was stocked on February 6 with 1,823 rainbow trout.
Fenton Lake State Park is now open for ice fishing. Beware. It was stocked on January 3 with 833 rainbow trout. For more information and current lake conditions call 575.829.3630. The ice is checked daily.
The Rio Cebolla, which flows through and below Fenton Lake, was stocked on October 26 with 501 rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout.
The flow of the Jemez River on Monday was 17.7 cubic-feet-per-second. It was a little lower than last week and below normal. The Jemez River was stocked on January 23 with 830 rainbow trout.
The upper tributaries of the Jemez River are freezing over and fishing will be difficult.
Seven Springs Brood Pond, also known as Kid’s Pond, is open. It is located at the Seven Springs Fish Hatchery. Fishing is for anglers 11 years of age or younger. It was stocked on October 26 with 661 rainbow trout. It also has some wild brown trout and some Rio Grande cutthroat trout from an earlier stocking. The limit is three trout-per-day. This Pond is probably frozen over.
The Bureau of Land Management manages the Santa Cruz Lake Recreation Area near Chimayo. It closed for the season and will reopen on March 1.
For updated conditions, see the Bureau of Land Management website or call 505.351.1438.
The Bureau also manages the Orilla Verde Recreation Area along the Rio Grande in Pilar. Camping is on a first-come basis. No reservation. The flow of the Rio Grande is 382 cubic-feet-per-second at the Taos Junction Bridge. It was higher than last week and below normal. The Rio Grande in Pilar was stocked on January 23 with 2,184 rainbow trout.
From the Colorado state line downstream to the Taos Junction Bridge, the limit is two-trout-per-day on the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande Gorge above Pilar was stocked on January 23 with 267 catchable-size rainbow trout. It was stored on Nov. 27 of 43,846 fingerling Rio Grande cutthroat trout.
Eagle Nest Lake is now open for ice fishing. Foot traffic is only allowed on the ice surface. Fishing should be good for rainbow trout, yellow perch northern pike and an occasioal kokanee salmon.
Remember, if you catch a pike in the Eagle Nest, you can’t put it back in the lake. You have to kill it. For more information and current conditions, call 575.377.1594.
Cimarron River flow was not measured below Eagle Nest Dam or near the town of Cimarron. It was stocked on October 11 with 2,426 rainbow trout. Check the Carson National Forest website to see if campgrounds are open.
Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes are open at Maverick Campground. They are starting to freeze.
Lake Maloya and Lake Alice are open at Sugarite State Park near Raton. Lake Maloya was stocked on December 8 with 2,979 catchable-size rainbow trout. Lake Alice is closed to fishing due to unsafe ice conditions. Lake Maloya is open for ice fishing Call 575.445.5607 for current conditions.
Heron Lake State Park is now open. There is open water for bank fishing, which has been fair for rainbow trout. It was stocked on January 18 with 93,370 sub-catchable rainbow trout. The Kokanee salmon snagging season begins Nov. 11 and is reported to be very slow. It is now closed. No ice fishing.
Call 575.588.7470 for conditions on both Heron Lake and El Vado Lake.
El Vado Lake State Park is closed. Try fishing the north end of the lake where the Chama River enters.
Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas is open. It was stocked on October 3 with 4,008 rainbow trout.
Streamflow at Pecos Canyon State Park was not measured due to ice. Fishing has been fair-to-good for rainbow trout and wild brown trout. Pecos Canyon was stocked on October 25 with 1,498 rainbow trout. The Pecos River in Villanueva was stocked on February 5 with 448 rainbow trout.
Monastery Lake near Pecos is closed due to unsafe ice conditions. Ice fishing is prohibited here.
At Four Corners, Navajo Lake State Park is open. Camping is by reservation only. Trolling minnow-imitating lures like Rapalas can produce trophy brown trout. It was stocked six times last week with fish from three different hatcheries for a total of 94,519 sub-catchable rainbow trout. q for northern pike has been fair-to-good. Bass fishing has been slow. The Kokanee salmon snagging season began on October 1. Early reports described snagging as slow. Fishing has improved somewhat and has been fair. It is now closed December 31. Boating conditions are good. Navajo Lake is not frozen. Call (505).632.2278 for conditions.
Bluewater Lake State Park was stocked on January 22 with 4,800 rainbow trout. Fishing will be good until most of these trout are caught or eaten by tiger muskies. Musky fishing can be slow. Thin ice may be forming on the lake.
Other lakes in the Four Corners area are now stocked. Lake Farmington was stocked on February 5 with 1,969 rainbow trout. Aztec Pond Number 1 was stocked on February 1 with 821 rainbow trout. Tiger Park Pond in Aztec was stocked on February 1 with 1,688 rainbow trout.
Popular fishing locations in the Carson National Forest include Canjilon Lakes, the Trout Lakes near Cebolla and Hopewell Lake between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla. They are about to freeze over and become inaccessible due to snow.
Hopewell can be reached by snowmobile. Ice fishing is reported to be very good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brook trout.
The Rio de los Pinos is near the Colorado border north of Tres Piedras. II was stocked on October 3 with 1,799 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout. The ice is over.
The best river in the state and known throughout the angling world is the San Juan River below Navajo Dam. The streamflow in the San Juan is 338 cubic-feet-per-second. That was the same as last week. San Juan offers world-class fishing for big trout.
Fishing has been good on a variety of fly patterns in the four miles of Quality Water below the Dam. Fishing here is catch-and-release with flies and lures that have a single barbless hook. It is full of small rainbow trout that grow quickly in the rich water. It was stocked three times four weeks ago with over 110,000 fingerling rainbow trout. It was replenished on October 30 with another 11,618 fingerling rainbow trout. There are big, wild brown trout in Quality Water. Some of these fish would probably break the state record if they were kept and weighed.
Fishing in the Bait Water of San Juan below Quality Water has been fair-to-good on flies, baits and lures. A regular daily limit of five trout can be kept here. There are some big brown trout here too. It was stocked twice last week with a total of 3,228 rainbow trout.
Abiquiu Lake is open, including the boat ramp and picnic areas. The boat ramp may be closed periodically. Camping is open. It is managed by the Corps of Engineers. Reservations can be made at www.recreation.gov. Fishing has been slow for walleye, catfish and smallmouth bass. There are some good sized trout in Abiquiu. Call 505.685.4371 for more information.
The Chama River below Abiquiu Dam is flowing at 56 cubic-feet-per-second. It was slightly higher than last week and below normal. The water is cloudy. Fishing is likely fair for stocked and holdover rainbow trout. There are some big, wild brown trout here. It was stocked on January 24 with 415 rainbow trout. The limit here is two-fish-per-day.
Flow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam is 98.8 cubic-feet-per-second. It was about the same as last week and below normal. It has wild brown trout. It was stocked on October 25 with 36,990 one-inch Rio Grande cutthroat trout.
Above El Vado Lake, streamflow in the Chama River at La Puente was unmeasurable due to ice. Above the town of Chama streamflow is not measured.
Rio Pueblo near Penasco streamflow was not measured due to ice. It has wild brown trout.
The Red River below the Fish Hatchery is flowing at 43.7 cubic-feet-per-second. It was higher than last week and above normal. It was stocked on February 6 with 562 rainbow trout.
The Red River Hatchery Pond is probably frozen over. Fishing is for anglers 11 years of age or younger and 65 years of age or older. Five fish-per-day is the limit. It was stocked on October 16 with 400 catchable-size rainbow trout. It’s probably frozen.
Eagle Rock Lake near Questa is open. It was stocked on Nov. 8 of 500 rainbow trout. Maybe it’s freezing. Be careful because ice can be unsafe.
Shuree Ponds in Valle Vidal is closed until July 1.
Cabresto Lake, a small, high-elevation lake accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles near Questa, has excellent ice fishing for wild brook trout and wild cutthroat trout. It is frozen.
