SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By NM Game and Fish
Catches of the week
Albuquerque Area Drains: Ariana Herrera, age 3, of Albuquerque caught her limit of rainbow trout using garlic PowerBait near Rio Bravo Dec. 27. Alumni Pond: Twin brothers Luca and Elliot Stuve, ages 13, of Las Cruces caught their limits of rainbow trout using salmon eggs Dec. 19. Grindstone Reservoir: Joziah Herrera, age 6, of Albuquerque caught a 20-inch rainbow trout using PowerBait Dec. 15. Pecos River: Keith Freeman of Carlsbad caught a 14-inch white bass and a 1-pound largemouth bass using a bright pink lure near Carlsbad Dec. 29. San Juan River: Patrick Iverson of Santa Fe caught a 20-inch rainbow trout using a chamois worm fly Dec. 30. Tingley Beach: Aiden LaSeck, age 5, of Albuquerque caught his first limit of rainbow trout using PowerBait Dec. 29. 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: Ice fishing for brook trout was good when using small glow tungsten ice jigs with glow plastics. The roads were snow packed and slippery.
Charette Lakes: Closed for the season. The lakes will reopen in March 2022.
Cimarron River: Streamflow near Cimarron Monday morning was 32.2 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-Sundayfrom 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For updated lake conditions visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at (575) 868-2270.
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 1950 downstream 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: The State Parks Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department has temporarily closed Eagle Nest Lake to boating and ice-fishing due to recent winter weather conditions that created unsafe lake surface conditions. The lake is currently closed to all watercraft, including canoes, kayaks, inflatables and all types of motorboats. Park staff will continue to monitor ice conditions for ice fishing. While boat ramp access is closed, the park is open for day-use access. Hiking trails remain open at the park. For updated lake conditions visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at (575) 377-1594.
Eagle Rock Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon eggs, pink PowerBait and small silver spoons.
Gallinas River: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Hopewell Lake: Anglers reported the lake was frozen and the entrance gates are locked until spring.
Lake Alice: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Lake Maloya: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Los Pinos River: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Maxwell Lake 13: Closed for the season. The lake will reopen in March 2022.
Monastery Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using salmon peach 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 not measured due to ice.
Red River: Streamflow below the hatchery Monday morning was 28.4 cfs. Fishing for trout downstream from the hatchery was fair to good when using dry flies in combination with dropper nymph flies.
Rio Grande: Streamflow at the Taos Junction Bridge Monday morning was 322 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair to good when using small silver spinners, brown Panther Martin spinners, small beadhead nymph flies and midge larvae flies.
Rio Hondo: Streamflow Monday morning near Valdez was not measured due to ice.
Rio Mora: Streamflow Monday morning near Tererro was not measured due to ice.
Rio Pueblo: Streamflow near Peñasco Monday morning was not measured due to ice.
Santa Cruz Reservoir: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Shuree Ponds: Closed for the season. The ponds will reopen July 2022.
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 all species was slow. The water surface temperature was in the upper 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Northwest Fishing Report
Abiquiu Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Animas River: Waterflow below Aztec Monday morning was 184 cfs. Albuquerque Area Drains:Fishing for trout was good when using garlic PowerBait, worms and marshmallows. Bluewater Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Brazos River: We had no reports from anglers this week. Canjilon Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week. Chama River: Monday-morningflows below El Vado and Abiquiu were 94.3 cfs and 23.1 cfs, respectively. We had no reports this week from below El Vado Lake. Fishing for trout below Abiquiu Lake was good when using olive 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: We had no reports from anglers this week. El Vado Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Fenton Lake: There was no fishing due to thin ice covering the lake. Please remember, only two cutthroat trout are allowed to be harvested per day within the regular five-fish limit. Heron Lake: All boat ramps are currently closed. Jemez Waters: Streamflow on the Jemez near the town of Jemez Monday morning was 13.3 cfs. 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: We had no reports from anglers this week. Rio Grande: We had no reports from anglers this week. San Gregorio Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. San Juan River: Streamflow Monday morning was 259 cfs. In response to decreasing flows in the critical habitat reach, the Bureau of Reclamation has scheduled an increase in the release from Navajo Dam from 300 cfs to 350 cfs for Tuesday, Jan. 4, at 4 a.m.. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was good when using chamois worm flies, leech pattern flies, midge cluster flies and size 22-26 black, grey and olive midge pattern flies. Fishing for trout in the bait waters was good when using lime green PowerBait. Seven Springs Brood Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week. Tingley Beach: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon eggs, garlic PowerBait and worms. Trout Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week. |
Southwest Fishing Report
Alumni Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon eggs, salmon peach PowerBait and marshmallows. Bear Canyon Lake: Fishing for crappie was fair when using live worms. Bill Evans Lake: Fishing for trout was fair when using nightcrawler worms and red PowerBait. Caballo Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Elephant Butte Lake: 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 94.7 cfs. Glenwood Pond: Fishing for trout was very good when using salmon peach PowerBait, spoons and spinners. Lake Roberts: Fishing for all species was slow. Percha Dam: We had no reports from anglers this week. Quemado Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Rancho Grande Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week. Rio Grande: Streamflow below Elephant Butte Monday morning was 0.00 cfs. Snow Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Trees Lake: Fishing for trout was very good when using garlic PowerBait and shrimp. Young Pond: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using garlic-scented lime green PowerBait. |
Southeast Fishing Report
Alto Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Bataan Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Berrendo Creek: Please visit the Open Gate webpage for more information on this property. Black River: Streamflow at Malaga Monday morning was 12.6 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 later this year. Bosque Redondo Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Bottomless Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week. Brantley Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Carlsbad Municipal Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using yellow PowerBait. 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: 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 fair to good when using garlic PowerBait. Jal Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Lake Van: Fishing for trout was good when using green PowerBait and cheese baits. Oasis Park Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Pecos River: Streamflow below Sumner Lake Monday morning was 15.9 cfs. Fishing for white bass and largemouth bass was fair to good when using bright pink lures and swimbaits near Carlsbad. Fishing for trout was good when using yellow PowerBait. Perch Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Ruidoso River: Streamflow Monday morning at Hollywood was 5.55 cfs. Santa Rosa Lake: The lake is open to boating, but due to low lake levels, Santa Rosa Lake State Park will operate as a no-wake lake until conditions improve. Fishing for all species was slow. Sumner Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. |
Tips and Tricks – Marcus McCoy’s Trout Salad
With so many people catching beautiful winter trout, now is a good time to try a new trout recipe!
Shred trout and mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Eat trout salad on crackers or by itself. Marcus McCoy and his family enjoy fishing and often go to the Jemez Mountains or other places in New Mexico with small trout streams. 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! |
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