Fishing Report

Bluewater Lake: Ryatt Turner, age 6, of Bluewater Village caught a 16-inch rainbow trout using green glitter PowerBait Oct. 18.

Eagle Nest Lake: Thomas Lujan, of Santa Fe, caught a 40-inch northern pike using a red Mepps pike spinner Oct. 23. Chris Serrano, of Albuquerque, caught an 18-inch rainbow trout using a Johnson Minnow spoon Oct. 23. Olivia Rae Cogburn, age 9, and Freddy Cogburn, age 5, both of Albuquerque, caught a 19 and 18-inch rainbow trout respectively using orange PowerBait Oct. 18. Gabe Martinez, also of Albuquerque, caught a 26-inch northern pike using a perch-colored jointed Rapala Shad Rap lure Oct. 17.

Elephant Butte Lake: Kate Smith, age 9, of Santa Fe caught a 13-pound blue catfish using fresh cut carp bait Oct. 18.

Grindstone Reservoir: Joe Giron caught a 15-inch rainbow trout using salmon eggs Oct. 19.

Navajo Lake: Hunter Keelin, age 11, of Albuquerque snagged his first kokanee salmon using a weighted snagging hook Oct. 23.

Trees Lake: Robert Ramirez, of Deming, caught a 12-pound catfish using a bluegill Oct. 21.

The following reports came in late, but we thought they were definitely worth mentioning.

Eagle Nest Lake: Hunter Pritchett Armijo and his grandfather Val Armijo, of Albuquerque, caught a 35-inch northern pike and several 15- to 20-inch rainbow trout using PowerBait Oct. 12.

Laguna del Campo: Milton Gallardo, age 7, of Tierra Amarilla caught a 21-inch rainbow trout using a Trout Magnet Oct. 4.

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 funfishingnm@gmail.com. We may include your story in our next report.

For catches of the week, include name, age, hometown, date, location, type of fish, length, and weight if possible, and bait, lure or fly used.

Northeast Fishing Report

Cabresto Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Charette Lakes: Fishing for trout was good using worms and PowerBait.

Cimarron River: Stream flow near Cimarron Monday morning was 9.07 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using worms and bead head hare’s ear nymphs.

Clayton Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good using PowerBait and nightcrawlers. Fishing for catfish was fair to good using chicken liver and homemade baits.

Conchas Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Costilla Creek: The Department has implemented the final phase of a project to expand Rio Grande cutthroat trout in 120 miles of the Costilla watershed in northern New Mexico. The final phase involved removal of fish within a designated area (Rio Costilla from Costilla Dam downstream to the Valle Vidal Boundary including all tributaries and Comanche Creek from the road culvert crossing on FR 1950 downstream to its confluence with Rio Costilla and all tributaries) with a tentative restocking of Rio Grande cutthroat in spring of 2022. Places to fish nearby include Costilla Creek below the fish barrier, Upper Comanche Creek, Shuree Ponds, Middle Ponil Creek, Upper Powderhouse Creek, Little Costilla Creek, Vidal Creek and McCrystal Creek. The Department anticipates completion of this final phase in the fall of 2021. Please check the Department website for additional information on the project and to identify alternative angling opportunities in the interim.

Cowles Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Coyote Creek: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Eagle Nest Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good using orange PowerBait, Woolly Bugger flies, chartreuse garlic glitter PowerBait and Johnson Minnow spoons. Fishing for pike was fair to good using large red Mepps spinners.

Eagle Rock Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good using PowerBait and spinners.

Fawn Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Gallinas River: Fishing for trout was fair using worms.

Hopewell Lake: Fishing for trout was good using green garlic PowerBait and Pistol Pete’s spinners.

Lake Alice: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Maloya: Fishing for trout was fair using worms, salmon eggs and PowerBait.

Los Pinos River: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Maxwell Lake 13: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Monastery Lake: Closed due to Covid-19 health concerns. Check the Open Gate webpage for future updates.

Morphy Lake: Closed for a renovation project on the dam and no firm opening date has been set.

Pecos River: Stream flow near the town of Pecos Monday morning was 20.5 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using nightcrawlers, hare’s ear nymphs and bead head nymph flies.

Red River: Stream flow below the hatchery Monday morning was 30.6 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using stimulator dry flies with small nymph dropper flies and worms. Fishing at the hatchery was good using brown Woolly Bugger flies.

Rio Grande: Stream flow at the Taos Junction Bridge Monday morning was 212 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using mayfly dry dropper flies and various spinners.

Rio Hondo: Stream flow Monday morning near Valdez was 35.2 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair using small attractor dry flies.

Rio Mora: Stream flow Monday morning was 5.63 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

Rio Pueblo: Stream flow near Penasco Monday morning was 4.06 cfs. Anglers reported that the water level was very low and not good for fishing.

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: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Stubblefield Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Ute Lake: Fishing for walleye was fair to good using blade baits and slab jigs in 30- to 35-feet of water. Fishing for all other species was slow. The surface water temperature was in the low-60s and the main lake was clear.

Northwest Fishing Report

Abiquiu Lake: Angling activity has been very light. Due to low water levels, anglers are advised to use four-wheel drive vehicles to launch boats and watch for obstructions on the water.

Animas River: Water flow below Aztec Monday morning was 209 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

Albuquerque Area Drains: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Bluewater Lake: Fishing for tiger muskie was good using Rapala lures, large spinners and swimbaits. Fishing for trout was fair using green glitter PowerBait. Fishing for catfish was good using chicken liver and hot dogs.

Brazos River: Fishing for trout was fair to good using worms and small nymph flies.

Canjilon Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Chama River: Monday morning flows below El Vado and Abiquiu were 86.3 cfs and 70.4 cfs, respectively. Fishing for trout below El Vado Lake was good using nightcrawlers, bead head nymph flies, small jerk bait lures and orange PowerBait. Fishing for trout below Abiquiu Lake was good using mop flies, egg pattern flies, dark colored bead head Woolly Bugger flies, leech pattern flies and large bead head nymph flies.

Cochiti Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

El Vado Lake: The lake is open for salmon snagging season. Park hours are 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Kokanee salmon snagging was reported as slow. Fishing for smallmouth bass was fair to good using plastic worms and small crankbaits.

Fenton Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good using worms.

Heron Lake: Salmon snagging season opens Nov. 13. Please note Nov. 13 is the correct opening date for snagging season at Heron Lake and any other reported opening dates are incorrect. Fishing was reported as slow.

Jemez Waters: Stream flow on the Jemez River near the town of Jemez Monday morning was 14.5 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using worms and salmon eggs.

Laguna del Campo: Fishing for trout was fair to good using yellow and green garlic-scented PowerBait and worms.

Lagunitas Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Farmington: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Manzano Lake: Closed until further notice.

McGaffey Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Navajo Lake: Fishing for kokanee salmon using snagging hooks was good near the dam. Please note that the buoyed no-wake areas and shoreline within the no-wake areas at the Pine River Boat Ramp and Simms Boat Ramp at Navajo Lake are currently closed for salmon snagging and will open on Nov. 13.

San Gregorio Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

San Juan River: In response to increasing tributary flows, the Bureau of Reclamation has scheduled a decrease in the release from Navajo Dam from 600 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 500 cfs on Tuesday, October 27, starting at 4:00 a.m. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was good using black, crème and red midge pupa pattern flies and San Juan worms, small baetis nymph flies and RS2s.

Seven Springs Brood Pond: Closed due to Covid-19 health concerns. Check the Department’s Alerts page for future updates.

Tingley Beach: Fishing for trout was good using yellow PowerBait and PowerBait worms.

Trout Lakes: Fishing for trout was fair using spinners.

Southwest Fishing Report

Alumni Pond: Fishing for catfish was slow using worms, stink bait and hotdogs.

Bear Canyon Lake: Fishing for catfish was good using nightcrawlers. Fishing for crappie was good using flies.

Bill Evans Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Caballo Lake: Fishing for white bass was fair to good using live bait and crankbaits. Fishing for catfish was very good using nightcrawlers, chicken liver, shrimp, cut bait and gizzard shad.

Elephant Butte Lake: Fishing for white bass was fair to good using yellow worms, curly tail grubs, crankbaits and small tubes. Fishing for small and largemouth bass was fair using smokey melon tubes. Fishing for catfish was good using cut carp bait and beef liver.

Escondida Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Gila River: Stream flow Monday morning was 38.2 cfs. Fishing for catfish in Grant County was good using carp cut bait.

Glenwood Pond: Fishing for trout was good using dry flies and PowerBait.

Lake Roberts: Fishing for catfish was good using cut carp bait. Fishing for trout was fair to good using dry flies.

Percha Dam: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Quemado Lake: Fishing for trout was slow.

Rancho Grande Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Rio Grande: Stream flow below Elephant Butte Monday morning was 0.52 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

Snow Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Trees Lake: Fishing for trout was good using marshmallows and green, pink and yellow PowerBait. Fishing for catfish was slow to fair using chicken liver.

Young Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Southeast Fishing Report

Alto Lake: Fishing for trout was good using yellow glitter PowerBait. Fishing for catfish was slow.

Bataan Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Black River: Stream flow at Malaga Monday morning was 4.80 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

Blue Hole Park Pond: Fishing for trout was fair to good using orange and purple PowerBait.

Bonito Lake: Closed until further notice by the city of Alamogordo due to fire damage. It appears now that the lake will be out of commission until 2022.

Bosque Redondo Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Bottomless Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Brantley Lake: Fishing for bass was good using top water popper frog baits.

Carlsbad Municipal Lake: Fishing for catfish was good using nightcrawlers and homemade dough bait.

Chaparral Park Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Corona Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Eunice Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Green Meadow Lake: Fishing for catfish was fair using chicken and beef liver. Fishing for bass was fair using worms.

Greene Acres Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Grindstone Reservoir: Fishing for trout was good using salmon eggs and spinners.

Jal Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Van: Fishing for catfish was fair using chicken liver and worms.

Oasis Park Lake We had no reports from anglers this week.

Pecos River: Stream flow below Sumner Lake Monday morning was 72.2 cfs. Fishing for white bass south of Carlsbad was good using white worms. Fishing for catfish was fair to good using worms.

Perch Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Ruidoso River: Stream flow Monday morning at Hollywood was 5.03 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 and catfish was good using dark-colored plastic worms and live worms.

Tips and Tricks

Katherine Schafer and family shared their delish hickory-smoked trout recipe.

1. Remove entrails and clean.
2. Stuff trout with lemon slices, pats of salted butter and dill.
3. Place on grill over smoldering chunks of hickory wood.
4. Put a couple more slices of butter on top of trout.
5. Close grill lid and smoke trout for an hour.

Sounds delicious and easy! Anyone who tries this recipe please lets us know what you think at funfishingnm@gmail.com.