NM Fishing Report

By New Mexico Game and Fish

Catches of the week
Grindstone Reservoir: Lilly Villescas, 9, of Alamogordo, caught her limit of trout Dec. 31. She was using Gulp trout dough.
The following report came in late but deserves a mention:
Ute Lake: Layle Sanchez of Portales caught an 18-inch, 3.3-pound, smallmouth bass Dec. 29. She was using a minnow.
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.

Jan. 9
Northeast
Charette Lakes: Closed for the season.
Clayton Lake: Closed for the season.
Cimarron River: Stream flow below Eagle Nest on Monday was 1.01 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Conchas Lake: Fishing was slow to fair using spoons, blade baits and jig and leech imitations and jig and grub combinations for a mixed bag of walleye and white bass. Most of the fish were at depths of 30 to 38 feet. We had no other reports. The surface water temp was in the low to mid 40s.
Costilla Creek: Check this one out next spring.
Cowles Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Coyote Creek: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Eagle Nest Lake: The lake completely froze over this past Thursday, but is currently unsafe for fishing. For updated ice conditions, contact the state park office at (575) 377-1594.
Gallinas River: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Hopewell Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Put this one on your list for spring fishing.
Lake Alice: As of Sunday, the ice was about 8 inches thick and ice fishing was very good using corn and ice jigs tipped with earth worms and meal worms for trout up to 16 inches. Ray Madrid, Kevin Callahan and Matthew Medina of Albuquerque had a great trip here Jan. 3. They were using ice jigs tipped with worms at about 5 to 6 feet.
Lake Maloya: Trout fishing in the boat ramp area was very good for anglers using corn. As of this past Sunday, there was still open water for bank fishing. For updates on ice conditions, call the state park office at (575) 445-5607.
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 garlic PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout. The lake could ice over any day with the cold temperatures. It is closed to ice fishing.
Morphy Lake: Closed for the season.
Pecos River: Streamflow near Pecos on Monday was 22.9 cfs. Fishing downstream from the village of Pecos to Villanueva was good using salmon eggs for trout.
Red River: Stream flow below the hatchery on Monday was 47.3 cfs. Fishing near the hatchery was fair for anglers using egg patterns, PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.
Red River City Ponds: Closed for the season.
Rio Grande: Stream flow on Monday at the Taos Junction Bridge was 477 cfs. Fishing in the Taos area was slow to fair using wooly buggers, San Juan worms, small streamers, poundmeisters and salmon eggs for trout. Fishing through the Algodones and Albuquerque areas was slow to fair using liver, night crawlers and homemade dough baits for catfish. We had no other reports.
Rio Hondo: Stream flow near Valdez on Monday was 9.6 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Rio Mora: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Rio Pueblo: Stream flow near Penasco on Monday was 9.27 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Santa Cruz Reservoir: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Shuree Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Springer Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Storrie Lake: Fishing was slow with just a few trout caught by anglers using PowerBait. As of this past Sunday, there was still plenty of open water for bank fishing. For updated ice conditions, call the state park office at (505) 425-7278.
Stubblefield Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Ute Lake: Fishing for walleye was slow for anglers using blade baits and spoons at about 40 feet. We had no other reports. Fishing pressure was very light. The surface water temp was in the low 40s.
Northwest
Abiquiu Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Animas River: Water flow below Aztec on Monday morning was 243 cfs. Fishing was fair to good using worms, PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.
Albuquerque Area Drains: Fishing in the Albuquerque, Albuquerque South, Belen and Corrales drains was very good using meal worms, PowerBait, corn, Berkley trout worms, San Juan worms and salmon eggs for trout. We had no reports on other species.
Bluewater Lake: As of this past Sunday, about 50 percent of the lake was covered with ice. The west boat ramp remained open, but the main boat ramp was closed. Fishing was slow for all species. Fishing pressure was very light. For updated ice conditions, call the state park office at (505) 876-2391.
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 125 cfs and 102 cfs respectively. Fishing below El Vado was fair using wooly buggers, bead-head hares’ ears, San Juan worms and night crawlers for brown and rainbow trout. Fishing below Abiquiu was excellent using wooly worms, crane fly larva, egg patterns, small midge patterns, olive wooly buggers, small bead-head pheasant tail nymphs, salmon eggs and PowerBait.
Cochiti Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
El Vado Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Fenton Lake: Warm weather melted the ice and the lake reopened to fishing. Trout fishing from the bank was very good using worms, salmon eggs and PowerBait. For updated conditions, contact the state park office at (575) 829-3630.
Heron Lake: Fishing from the bank was slow to fair using corn and Fire Balls for rainbow trout. Fishing pressure was light. We had no other reports.
Jackson Lake: Fishing was fair using PowerBait, Fire Balls and worms for trout. We had no other reports.
Jemez Waters: Stream flow on the Jemez River near Jemez Springs on Monday morning was 21.8 cfs. Trout fishing on the Jemez was slow to fair using wax worms and salmon eggs. We had no reports on other streams.
Laguna del Campo: Closed for the season.
Lagunitas Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Lake Farmington: Fishing was good using salmon eggs, and PowerBait for trout. We had no reports on other species.
Manzano Lake: Fishing was fair to good using PowerBait and salmon egg corn combinations for trout. We had no other reports.
Navajo Lake: Fishing was fair using swim baits and deep running crank baits for northern pike. A few smallmouth bass were caught by anglers using jigs and swim baits. We had no other reports. Fishing pressure was light.
San Gregorio Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
San Juan River: Stream flow on Monday morning was 382 cfs and visibility was about one foot. Fly fishing action through the Quality waters was fair using red larva, OJs, desert storms, egg patterns, olive and black wooly buggers, bunny leeches and San Juan worms. Trout fishing through the bait waters was fair using night crawlers, PowerBait and small spoons. A river enhancement project has begun and the area between the Simon Point Day-Use Area downriver to the Crusher Hole Day-Use Area is closed to boat and foot traffic until March 1, 2018. Temporary closures of multiple day-use areas are expected until April 2018. For more information, visit nmparks.com or contact Navajo Lake State Park, (505) 632-2278. Water visibility above the construction area is about a foot.
Seven Springs Brood Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Tingley Beach: Trout fishing at the Youth and Central ponds was good using PowerBait, salmon eggs, wax worms and Pistol Petes. Fishing at the Bob Gerding Catch and Release Pond was good using San Juan worms, small chamois leech patterns, small streamers and custom tied nymphs for trout. We had no other reports.
Trout Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Southwest
Alumni Pond: Fishing was slow to fair using PowerBait for rainbow trout. We had no other reports.
Bear Canyon Lake: Fishing was very good using salmon eggs, corn, night crawlers and PowerBait for trout. Garry Klassen of Silver City had two great outings here the past two weekends. He caught limits of trout on both visits in two hours. He was using corn with garlic, night crawlers and salmon eggs. We had no other reports.
Bill Evans Lake: Fishing was fair to good using PowerBait, Fire Balls, Kastmasters and Pistol Petes for trout. Fishing was slow to fair using homemade dough bait and worms for catfish. We had no other reports.
Caballo Lake: Fishing for walleye was slow to fair using jig and minnow combinations, jig and grub combinations, spoons and blade baits. We had no other reports.
Elephant Butte Lake: Fishing was fair using curly tail grubs, small swim baits, jigging spoons and Super Dupers for walleye. Fishing was fair to good using blade baits, spoons and deep diving crank baits for white bass. We had no other reports. The surface water temp ranged from the mid 40s to 50 degrees.
Escondida Lake: Fishing was very good using PowerBait, Gulp eggs, Zeke’s trout bait and Fire Balls for trout. We had no other reports.
Gila River: Stream flow on Monday morning was 58.6 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Glenwood Pond: Fishing was very good using PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.
Lake Roberts: Fishing was good using PowerBait, salmon eggs, worms and small spoons for trout. We had no other reports.
Percha Dam: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Quemado Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Rancho Grande Ponds: Fishing was good using PowerBait for trout. We had no other reports.
Rio Grande: Stream flow below Elephant Butte Monday morning was 0.00 cfs. Fishing was slow to fair using PowerBait and Fire Balls for trout. We had no other reports.
Snow Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Young Pond: Trout fishing was slow, but a few were caught by anglers using assorted PowerBait and salmon eggs. We had no reports on other species.
Southeast
Alto Lake: Trout fishing was good during the week but slowed over the weekend. Anglers did best using PowerBait and salmon eggs. We had no other reports.
Bataan Lake: Trout fishing was good using garlic PowerBait, worms, salmon egg corn combinations and salmon eggs. We had no other reports.
Black River: Stream flow at Malaga on Monday was 6.74 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Blue Hole Park Pond: Trout fishing was very good for anglers using garlic PowerBait and salmon eggs. We had no reports on other species.
Bonito Lake: Closed until further notice by the city of Alamogordo due to fire damage.
Bosque Redondo Lake: Fishing was good using meal worms and PowerBait for trout. We had no other reports.
Bottomless Lakes: Fishing at Devil’s Inkwell was good using PowerBait for trout. We had no other reports.
Brantley Lake: Anglers are required to catch and release all fish here as high levels of pesticides have been found in some fish. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Carlsbad Municipal Lake: Fishing was fair to good using spinners, small spoons, PowerBait and worms for trout.
Chaparral Park Lake: Fishing was slow for all species.
El Rito Creek: Fishing was good using PowerBait, meal worms, salmon eggs and copper John Barrs under a bubble for trout. We had no other reports.
Eunice Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Green Meadow Lake: Fishing was slow for all species with just a few trout caught by anglers using PowerBait.
Greene Acres Lake: Fishing was fair to good using PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.
Grindstone Reservoir: Fishing was very good using PowerBait, Gulp trout dough and Kastmasters for trout. We had no other reports.
Jal Lake: Fishing was slow to fair using PowerBait for trout.
Lake Van: Fishing was good using PowerBait, Zeke’s trout bait, salmon eggs and worms for trout. We had no other reports.
Oasis Park Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Pecos River: Stream flow below Sumner Lake on Monday was 25.1 cfs. Fishing was slow with just a few trout caught by anglers using PowerBait, worms and Fire Balls. We had no other reports.
Perch Lake: Fishing was very good using PowerBait for trout.
Ruidoso River: Stream flow at Hollywood was 4.22 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Santa Rosa Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Sumner Lake: Fishing for walleye picked up this past week as several anglers did well using jigs tipped with minnows, blade baits and jigging spoons. We had no other reports. Fishing pressure was light.