Breaking News
Home / Government / Fishing Report by The Department of Game and Fish

Fishing Report by The Department of Game and Fish

This fishing report, provided by Bill Dunn and the Department of Game and Fish, has been generated from the best information available from area officers and anglers. Conditions encountered after the report is compiled may differ, as stream, lake and weather conditions alter fish and angler activities.

Check out the latest stocking report.

Navajo Lake brown

Catches of the week

  • Eagle Nest Lake: Greg Myga, with the help of his friends Jim Sanchez and Robert Gallegos, all of Albuquerque, landed a 45-inch, 25-pound northern pike. He was using a spinner. They also landed two smaller pike and six rainbow trout in the 18- to 20-inch range. The trout were caught on PowerBait.
  • Navajo Lake: Timothy Shaull of Farmington caught a 26-inch brown trout Oct. 27. He was trolling a yellow and gold Panther Martin.
  • Rio Grande: Joshua Medina of Questa caught a 23-inch, 5-pound brown trout Oct. 23. He was fishing the river north of Questa and using a Panther Martin.
The following reports came in late but deserve a mention:
  • Pecos River: Santiago Archuleta of Santa Fe caught a 5-pound brown trout Oct. 20. He was fishing in the Terrero area and using a white fly.
  • San Juan River: Stephen Martin of Austin, Texas, caught and released a 26.5-inch brown trout Oct. 4. He was fishing the Texas Hole and using a size 22 chocolate emerger.
If you have a catch of the week story or just want to tell us about your latest New Mexico fishing experience, send it to us at fishforfun2@hotmail.com. We may include your story in our next report.
For catches of the week, include name, age, hometown, date, and location, type of fish, length and weight if possible and bait, lure or fly used.
San Juan brown

Oct. 31

Northeast

Charette Lakes: Closed for the season.
Clayton Lake:  Closed for the season.
Cimarron River: Stream flow near Cimarron on Monday was 1.48 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Conchas Lake: Fishing was slow to fair using jig and minnow combinations, spoons and blade baits for walleye and white bass. We had no other reports.
Costilla Creek: Stream flow on Monday below Costilla Dam was 1.23 cfs. Check this one out next spring.
Cowles Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Coyote Creek: Fishing was slow to fair using Fire Balls for trout.
Eagle Rock Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Eagle Nest Lake: Fishing was fair to good using PowerBait for rainbow trout. Fishing was good using worms for perch. Fishing was good using spinners, streamers and spoons for northern pike. Kokanee snagging was slow with just a few taken by anglers working the south end of the lake.
Gallinas River: Fishing was slow to fair using salmon eggs and worms for trout.
Hopewell Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Lake Alice: Fishing was good using PowerBait, salmon eggs and Pistol Petes under a bubble for trout.
Lake Maloya: Trout fishing was very good using PowerBait, Fire Balls and marshmallow Fire Ball combinations for trout.
Los Pinos River: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Maxwell Lake 13: Closed for the season.
Monastery Lake: Fishing was very good using PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.
Morphy Lake:  Closed for the season.
Pecos River: Streamflow near Pecos on Monday was 68.8 cfs. Fishing was fair to good using copper John Barrs, prince nymphs, San Juan worms, PowerBait, salmon eggs and worms for brown and rainbow trout.
Red River: Stream flow below the hatchery on Monday was 62.1 cfs. Fishing was fair using PowerBait, worms, salmon eggs and copper John Barrs for trout. Red River City Ponds: Large pond closed to fishing.
Rio Grande: Stream flow on Monday at the Taos Junction Bridge was 344 cfs. Fishing was very good using prince nymphs, crane flies, wooly buggers, small mayfly nymphs, Panther Martins, Kastmasters and salmon eggs for brown and rainbow trout. We had no reports on other species.
Rio Hondo: Stream flow near Valdez on Monday was 19.3 cfsWe had no reports from anglers.
Rio Mora: As of Monday, stream flow near Terrero was 20.8 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Rio Pueblo: Stream flow near Penasco on Monday was 22.5 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Santa Cruz Reservoir: Fishing was slow for all species. Fishing pressure was light.
Shuree Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Springer Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Storrie Lake: Fishing was fair using PowerBait, worms and salmon eggs for trout. We had no other reports.
Stubblefield Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Ute Lake: Fishing for walleye was good for anglers using blade baits and spoons at 35 to 45 feet. A few were also caught by anglers using minnows. Fishing for white bass was good and they appear to be schooling up at 30 to 35 feet. Best lures were spoons and blade baits. We had no other reports. We had no other reports. The surface water temp was in the low 60s.

Northwest

Abiquiu Lake: Fishing was slow to fair using Pink Magic blade baits and Leprechaun Lures jigging spoons at 15 to 25 feet for walleye. A few perch were caught by anglers using blade baits and worms. Fishing for smallmouth bass was slow to fair for anglers using tubes and shakey head jigs in 14-to 20 feet of water. We had no other reports.
Animas River: Water flow below Aztec on Monday morning was 233 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Albuquerque Area Drains: Fishing on the Corrales Drain was good using senkos, plastic worms and Ned rigs for largemouth bass. Mathew Dalzell of Albuquerque caught and released a 3.25-pound largemouth on Oct. 27. He was using a Ned rig. Fishing on the Albuquerque Drain was fair using worms for catfish. We had no other reports.
Bluewater Lake: Fishing was slow to fair using swim baits, large streamers, chatter baits and crank baits for tiger muskies. We had no other reports.
Brazos River: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Canjilon Lakes: Closed by the U.S. Forest Service until further notice.
Chama River: Monday morning water flows below El Vado and Abiquiu were 403 cfs and 430 cfs respectively. Fishing below El Vado was fair using bead-head wooly buggers, Panther Martin spinners, night crawlers and Fire Balls for brown and rainbow trout. The water was off color. We had no reports from below Abiquiu. The river from the USGS gauging station to the confluence of the Rio Nutrias is now catch and release only using single barbless hook artificial flies and lures. The kokanee snagging season opened Oct. 1 from El Vado Lake to the west boundary of the Rio Chama Wildlife and Fishing Area.
Cochiti Lake: Our only report this week came from Chris Johnson of Albuquerque. He caught two smallmouth bass off the dam and one across from the Tetilla Peak ramp. All were caught in 5 to 7 feet of water and the big one which was a solid 2 pounds was caught on a 6-inch green pumpkin worm. The other two were taken on a brown crawdad crank bait. The surface water temp was 58 to 60 degrees and the visibility was about 8 to 10 inches.
El Vado Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Fenton Lake: Fishing was slow to fair using worms and salmon eggs for trout.
Heron Lake: Fishing was good using Fire Balls and PowerBait from the bank for rainbow trout up to 19 inches. We had no other reports. The lake and Willow Creek are closed to kokanee snagging Oct. 1-Nov. 9 and no kokanee may be in possession while fishing during this period.
Jackson Lake: Fishing was fair using PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout. We had no other reports.
Jemez Waters: Stream flow on the Jemez River near Jemez Springs on Monday morning was 22.5 cfs. Fishing on the Jemez was fair using salmon eggs and worms for trout. Fishing on the Rio Las Vacas was slow and the water was quite low and clear. Fishing on the Cebolla was slow to fair using worms and salmon eggs for trout. We had no other reports.
Laguna del Campo: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Lagunitas Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Lake Farmington: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Manzano Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Navajo Lake: Fishing was fair using tubes, grubs, creature baits, jigs, 4-inch worms and senkos for smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. Fishing was fair to good using swim baits, jerk baits, chatter baits and crank baits for northern pike. Fishing was fair using worms and grubs for perch. Fishing for trout was slow but a few were caught by anglers using PowerBait and by trolling spinners. Kokanee snagging was slow. We had no other reports. The surface water temp ranged from the high 50s to the low 60s.
San Gregorio Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
San Juan River: Stream flow on Monday morning was 529 cfs and the water was clear. Fly fishing action through the Quality waters was good for anglers using red Krystal flash emergers, chocolate foam wing emergers, larva, small zebra midges, comparaduns, parachute adams and small bead-head pheasant tail nymphs. There were a few good baetis and midge hatches this past week. Trout fishing through the bait waters was good using PowerBait, Fire Balls, copper John Barrs, bead-head pheasant tail nymphs and jerk baits.
Seven Springs Brood Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Tingley Beach: Fishing at the Youth and Central ponds was very good using PowerBait, salmon eggs, worms, Pistol Petes and bead-head nymphs for trout. Lalo Lopez of Albuquerque reported excellent trout fishing this past week at the Central Pond. He was using rainbow PowerBait, white power worms and white jigs. We had no other reports.
Trout Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Southwest

Alumni Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Bear Canyon Lake: Fishing was slow for all species.
Bill Evans Lake: Fishing was good using Pistol Petes under a bubble, PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout. We had no other reports.
Caballo Lake: Fishing was slow for all species. Fishing pressure was light.
Elephant Butte Lake: Fishing was good using jigging spoons, blade baits, crank baits and live bait for white bass. Fishing was slow for anglers using live bait, jigs, senkos, tubes and creature baits for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. Fishing was very good using liver, homemade dough baits and night crawlers for catfish. We had no other reports.
Escondida Lake: Fishing was slow for all species.
Gila River: Stream flow on Monday morning was 45.5 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Glenwood Pond: Fishing was good using PowerBait and Fire Balls for trout.
Lake Roberts: Fishing was fair to good using Pistol Petes under a bubble, PowerBait, worms and salmon eggs for trout. We had no other reports.
Percha Dam: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Quemado Lake: Fishing was fair using PowerBait and Fire Balls for trout. We had no other reports.
Rancho Grande Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Rio Grande: Stream flow below Elephant Butte Monday morning was 0.00 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Snow Lake: Fishing was good using PowerBait and salmon eggs under a bobber for trout.
Young Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Southeast

Alto Lake: Fishing was good using PowerBait and Fire Balls for trout. We had no other reports.
Bataan Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Black River: Stream flow at Malaga on Monday was 41.7 cfs. We had no reports from anglers.
Blue Hole Park Pond: Fishing was fair to good using PowerBait and Fire Balls for trout. We had no other reports.
Bonito Lake: Closed until further notice by the city of Alamogordo due to fire damage.
Bosque Redondo Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Bottomless Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Brantley Lake: Anglers are required to catch and release all fish here as high levels of pesticides have been found in some fish. Fishing was fair using blade baits and slab spoons for white bass. Fishing was fair using jigs, senkos and Ned rigs for largemouth bass. We had no other reports.
Carlsbad Municipal Lake: Fishing was slow for all species.
Chaparral Park Lake: Fishing was slow for all species.
El Rito Creek: Fishing was good using prince nymphs, Fire Balls and PowerBait for trout. We had no other reports.
Eunice Lake: Fishing was slow for all species.
Green Meadow Lake: Fishing was slow for all species.
Greene Acres Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Grindstone Reservoir: Fishing was very good using Fire Balls, worms and PowerBait for rainbow trout. Fishing was slow to fair using homemade dough bait, liver and worms for catfish.
Jal Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Lake Van: Fishing was slow for all species. Fishing pressure was very light.
Oasis Park Lake: Fishing was slow. Fishing pressure has been very light. The Oasis State Park and the Friends of Oasis will hold the 25th Annual Kids Fishin’ Clinic Nov. 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information and pre-registration call (575) 356-5331.
Pecos River: Stream flow below Sumner Lake on Monday was 99.7 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Perch Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Ruidoso River: Stream flow at Hollywood was 8.25 cfs. Trout fishing was slow.
Santa Rosa Lake: Fishing continued to be slow for all species. The surface water temp was in the low 60s and the water was murky.
Sumner Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Check Also

Udall, Heinrich Secure Strong Funding for NM Priorities in Defense Appropriations Bill

By Tom Udall Press Office U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined the full Senate …