Weekly fishing report

Cochiti Lake: Olav Roos of Albuquerque caught a 23-inch catfish using a gold and silver crankbait Nov. 15.

Eagle Nest Lake: Val Armijo of Albuquerque caught his limit of rainbow trout up to 24 inches long using peach PowerBait Nov. 13.

Elephant Butte Lake: Lawrence Lucero of Las Cruces caught and released a 2.5-pound smallmouth bass using a wacky rigged worm Nov. 13.

Fenton Lake: Zachary Serna of Gallup caught an 18.5-inch rainbow trout using green PowerBait Nov. 14. Patrick Chavez of Albuquerque caught a 19-inch rainbow trout using salmon eggs Nov. 8. Mike Lovato of Albuquerque caught a 20-inch rainbow trout using an olive Woolly Bugger fly Nov. 7.

Pecos River: Damian Baltazar and Tomas Alvarado of Lovington caught 5.85-pound and 3.30-pound largemouth bass using black and gold Rat-L-Trap lures Nov. 13.

San Juan River: Rex Howard of Durango, Colo. caught a 30-inch brown trout using a size 22 chocolate foamback emerger fly Nov. 12. Martin Nieto of Albuquerque caught a 20-inch brown trout using worms Nov. 8. David Zamora of Albuquerque caught a 32-inch, 10-pound, 8-ounce brown trout near Cottonwood Campground using earthworms Nov. 7.

Tingley Beach: Preston and Parker Lawson, ages 10 and 11, of Albuquerque caught six rainbow trout up to 17 inches long and one 14-inch largemouth bass using Woolly Bugger flies and PowerBait Nov. 14.

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.

Cabresto Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using small dry flies.

Charette Lakes: Closed for the season. The lake will reopen in March 2022.

Cimarron River: Streamflow near Cimarron Monday morning was 4.86 cubic feet per second (cfs).

Clayton Lake: Closed for the season. The lake will reopen in March 2022.

Conchas Lake: New winter season hours – open for day-use access only Thursday-Sunday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Please contact State Parks at 1-888-667-2757with any questions.

Costilla Creek: Fishing for trout was good when using caddis dry flies. 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 1950downstream to its confluence with Rio Costilla and all tributaries) with a tentative restocking of Rio Grande cutthroat in spring 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. 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: New winter season hours – open for day-use access only Thursday-Sundayfrom 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The Moreno and Six Mile free access areas for New Mexico licensed anglers and hunters at Eagle Nest will remain open for day-use daily. Please contact State Parks at 1-888-667-2757 with any questions. Fishing for trout was good when using peach PowerBait. Fishing for pike was fair to good when using streamer flies and swimbaits. Fishing for perch was good when using worms.

Eagle Rock Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using pink PowerBait.

Gallinas River: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Hopewell Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using olive Pistol Pete spinner flies.

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

Lake Maloya: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using pink PowerBait and homemade dough bait.

Los Pinos River: Fishing for trout was good when using small beadhead nymph flies.

Maxwell Lake 13: Closed for the season. The lake will reopen in March 2022.

Monastery Lake: Fishing for trout was fair when using PowerBait.

Morphy Lake: Closed for the season. The lake will reopen in March 2022.

Pecos River: Streamflow near the town of Pecos Monday morning was 28.8 cfs. Fishing for trout was good when using worms, salmon eggs and pheasant tail beadhead nymph flies.

Red River: Streamflow below the hatchery Monday morning was 42.4 cfs. Fishing for trout was good when using salmon eggs and gold beadhead nymph flies.

Rio Grande: Streamflow at the Taos Junction Bridge Monday morning was 417 cfs. Fishing for trout near Pilar was fair to good when using streamer flies, PowerBait and worms.

Rio Hondo: Streamflow Monday morning near Valdez was 9.25 cfs. Fishing for trout was good when using attractor dry flies.

Rio Mora: Streamflow Monday morning near Tererro was 11.4 cfs. Fishing for trout was good when using earthworms.

Rio Pueblo: Streamflow near Peñasco Monday morning was 7.01 cfs. Fishing for trout was good when using beadhead nymph flies beneath a stimulator dry fly.

Santa Cruz Reservoir: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using small silver spinners and Rapala lures.

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 white bass was fair when using vertical jigging slab spoons and blade baits in 25 to 30 feet of water. Fishing for walleye was slow to fair when using vertical jigging slab spoons and blade baits in 25 to 30 feet of water. The water surface temperature was in the mid 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

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

Animas River: Waterflow below Aztec Monday morning was 255 cfs.

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

Bluewater Lake: Fishing for tiger muskie was fair to good when using streamer flies and green and orange jerkbaits.

Brazos River: Fishing for trout was good when using beadhead nymph flies.

Canjilon Lakes: Fishing for trout was fair when using worms and PowerBait.

Chama River: Monday-morningflows below El Vado and Abiquiu were 100 cfs and 58.4 cfs, respectively. Fishing for trout below El Vado Lake was good when using black streamer flies and nightcrawler worms. Fishing for trout below Abiquiu Lake was good when using Woolly Bugger and leech pattern flies. Please remember, from the river-crossing bridge on U.S. Highway 84 at Abiquiu upstream 7 miles to the base of Abiquiu Dam is special trout waters with a bag limit of two trout only.

Cochiti Lake: Fishing for catfish was fair to good when using gold and silver crankbaits.

El Vado Lake: Kokanee salmon snagging season is from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31.

Fenton Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon eggs, Woolly Bugger flies and green PowerBait. Please remember, only two cutthroat trout are allowed to be harvested per day within the regular five-fish limit.

Heron Lake: Willow, Sierra Vista and La Laja boat launches are closed. The primitive boat launch is open. Shoreline fishing is available between Sierra Vista and the spillway or in Rincon.  Kokanee salmon snagging season is ongoing through Dec. 31. The Quality Waters of the Rio Chama can be accessed at the Rio Chama Trailhead. The stairs are closed so use the road to the spillway. Non-quality waters can be accessed at the North El Vado Day Use Area located on State Road 95, 13 miles west of U.S. Highway 84. Fishing for kokanee salmon was slow when using snagging hooks.

Jemez Waters: Streamflow on the Jemez near the town of Jemez Monday morning was 13.0 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair to good when fishing the streams near Fenton Lake using beadhead nymph flies.

Laguna del Campo: Closed for the season. The lake will reopen in May 2022.

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

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

McGaffey Lake: Due to extremely low water levels and unstable ground conditions, stocking efforts have been suspended. Lake conditions will be monitored and stockings will resume once conditions improve.

Navajo Lake: Fishing for kokanee salmon was very good when using snagging hooks near the dam.

Rio Grande: Fishing for catfish was fair when using nightcrawler worms north of Albuquerque.

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

San Juan River: Streamflow Monday morning was 306 cfs. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was good when using size 22 chocolate foamback midge emerger flies and size 26 black crystal flash midge flies. Fishing for trout in the bait waters was good when using worms, salmon eggs and brown and yellow streamer flies.

Seven Springs Brood Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using garlic dough bait, green PowerBait and worms.

Tingley Beach: Fishing for trout was good when using Woolly Bugger flies, salmon eggs and garlic PowerBait.

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

Alumni Pond: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using rainbow, orange and green PowerBait.

Bear Canyon Lake: Fishing for all species was slow.

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

Caballo Lake: Fishing for catfish was good when using live minnows.

Elephant Butte Lake: Fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass was fair to good when using wacky rigged worms. Fishing for catfish was good when using cut carp bait and shad.

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

Gila River: Streamflow Monday morning was 56.1 cfs.

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

Lake Roberts: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using dry flies and live worms.

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

Quemado Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using pink and salmon peach PowerBait.

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

Rio Grande: Streamflow below Elephant Butte Monday morning was 0.59 cfs. Fishing for catfish south of Hatch was fair when using live worms.

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

Trees Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using PowerBait and quill pattern dry flies.

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

Alto Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using purple and pink PowerBait. Fishing for largemouth bass was good when using worms.

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

Berrendo Creek: Please visit the Open Gate webpage for more information on this property. Fishing for bass was fair to good when using wacky rigged watermelon Senko worms.

Black River: Streamflow at Malaga Monday morning was 6.49 cfs.

Blue Hole Park Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Bonito Lake: Closed until further notice by the city of Alamogordo due to fire damage. It appears 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 fair when using shad pattern crankbaits and wacky rigged Senko worms.

Carlsbad Municipal Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

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

Eunice Lake: Fishing for all species was slow.

Green Meadow Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

Grindstone Reservoir: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon peach PowerBait and natural-colored Trout Magnets.

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

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

Oasis Park Lake: Fishing for catfish was fair when using cut bait and worms.

Pecos River: Streamflow below Sumner Lake Monday morning was 16.3 cfs. Fishing for largemouth bass south of Brantley Lake was good when using black and gold Rat-L-Trap lures.

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

Ruidoso River: Streamflow Monday morning at Hollywood was 4.09 cfs.

Santa Rosa Lake: Due to low lake levels, Santa Rosa Lake State Park will operate as a no-wake lake until conditions improve.

Sumner Lake: Fishing for walleye was fair to good when using 3-inch transparent swimbaits. Fishing for catfish was fair to good when using beef liver and chicken liver.

Gael Lujan is six years old. He recently took up learning how to fish and made the journey from Albuquerque to Seven Springs Brood Pond in the Jemez Mountains.

Gael and his mom made the trip this past Saturday, Nov. 13, as a part of a Royal Rangers program that teaches kids outdoor skills. Gael had been working on making his own dough baits and tying his own flies. He needed to catch and clean his own fish, and he would earn a fishing badge.

Gael was overjoyed when he managed to catch his limit of rainbow trout ranging in size from 10 to 12 inches! He removed the hook and cleaned the trout in preparation for eating.

Learning to complete the entire fishing process was truly a great experience for Gael and he did well.

Everyone involved was thankful for the opportunity created by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Seven Springs Brood Pond is a kids’ fishing pond where fishing is free for kids up to 11 years of age! Kids also have good success fishing at Seven Springs Brood Pond using baits such as worms, PowerBait and salmon eggs.

Take the time to enjoy the New Mexico outdoors and teach a kid to fish!

Let us know how your fishing trip goes! Share your tips and tricks with your fellow anglers by emailing us at funfishingnm@gmail.com and let’s help the next generation of anglers find success.

Thanks for reading and supporting our angling community!