SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By NM Game and Fish
Catches of the week
Bear Canyon Lake: Joseph Uresti of Silver City caught a 14.5-inch rainbow trout using salmon peach PowerBait Jan. 20. Cochiti Lake: Luke and Destiny Groasetete of Albuquerque caught and released 31 channel catfish ranging in size from 3 to 12 pounds using cut bait Jan. 22. Eagle Nest Lake: Mark Wainio of Albuquerque caught a 24-inch, 5.5-pound rainbow trout using a wax worm and salmon eggs Jan. 21. Elephant Butte Lake: David DiBartolomeo of Socorro caught a 2-pound white bass using live bait Jan. 22. Green Meadow Lake: Kevin Ortiz of Las Cruces caught his limit of rainbow trout using salmon peach PowerBait Jan. 22. Pecos River: Jaylynn Enjady, age 9, of Albuquerque caught and released a 16-inch rainbow trout using Pautzke salmon eggs Jan. 17. San Juan River: Alex Rodriguez of Farmington caught an 18-inch rainbow trout using a red fly Jan. 13. 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. Cimarron River: Streamflow near Cimarron Monday morning was 19.8 cubic feet per second (cfs). Clayton Lake: Closed for the season. The lake will reopen in March. 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 this spring. 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: Ice fishing for trout was fair when using Swedish Pimple lures tipped with worm and pink Trout Magnet lures. Ice fishing for perch was very good when using Swedish Pimple lures tipped with worm, PowerBait and Trout Magnet lures. For updated lake conditions visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at (575) 377-1594. Eagle Rock Lake: Anglers reported inconsistent ice conditions. 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. Ice fishing for trout was very good when using orange PowerBait and nightcrawler worms. Lake Alice: Temporarily closed due to recent weather conditions and ice forming on the lake. State Park officials have deemed the lake unsafe at this time. For updated lake conditions visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at (575) 445-5607. Lake Maloya: Open for ice fishing at your own risk. Ice measurements as of Jan. 22 ranged from 9 to 14 inches thick, but ice can be inconsistent, so please use caution when venturing out onto the ice. For updated lake conditions visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at (575) 445-5607. Los Pinos River: We had no reports from anglers this week. Maxwell Lake 13: Closed for the season. The lake will reopen in March. Monastery Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Morphy Lake: Closed for the season. The lake will reopen in March. Pecos River: Streamflow near the town of Pecos Monday morning was not measured due to ice. Fishing for trout was fair to good when using salmon eggs and black Woolly Bugger flies. Red River: Streamflow below the hatchery Monday morning was 31.7 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair when using zebra midge flies and RS2 flies. Rio Grande: Streamflow at the Taos Junction Bridge Monday morning was 399 cfs. Fishing for trout was good when using brown Joe’s Fly spinners, small beadhead nymph flies, midge flies and gold Panther Martin spinners. 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. Fishing for trout was slow to fair when using dark colored spinners. 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 in July. 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. |
Northwest Fishing Report
Abiquiu Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Animas River: Waterflow below Aztec Monday morning was 201 cfs. Albuquerque Area Drains:Fishing for trout was fair to good when using black and yellow flies. 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-morning flows below El Vado and Abiquiu were 97.3 cfs and 61.9 cfs, respectively. Fishing for trout below El Vado Lake was fair when using nightcrawler worms. Fishing for trout below Abiquiu Lake was slow when using beadhead nymph flies and worms. 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 good when using cut bait. El Vado Lake: Closed to ice fishing due to thin ice covering the 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: Open to ice fishing, anglers are advised to use caution due to inconsistent ice conditions. We had no reports from anglers this week. Jemez Waters: Streamflow on the Jemez near the town of Jemez Monday morning was 14.7 cfs. Laguna del Campo: Closed for the season. The lake will reopen in May. 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 397 cfs. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was fair to good when using red annelid flies, San Juan worm flies, leech pattern flies and black midge pattern flies. Fishing for trout in the bait waters was fair when using Kastmaster lures. Seven Springs Brood Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week. Tingley Beach: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using white PowerBait and homemade dough bait. Trout Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week. |
Southwest Fishing Report
Alumni Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using marshmallows, dry flies and salmon peach PowerBait. Bear Canyon Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using PowerBait and salmon eggs. Bill Evans Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using PowerBait, red Rooster Tail spinners and gold Panther Martin spinners. Caballo Lake: Fishing for bass was fair when using lipless crankbaits. Elephant Butte Lake: Fishing for catfish was fair to good when using cut gizzard shad bait and live bait. Fishing for white bass was slow to fair when using live bait. Fishing for drum was slow to fair when using live bait. Fishing for largemouth bass was fair when using white plastic baits. Escondida Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Gila River: Streamflow Monday morning was 70.9 cfs. Glenwood Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week. Lake Roberts: Fishing for all species was slow. Anglers reported that the trails around the lake had ice on them and were slippery. Percha Dam: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using yellow and orange PowerBait. 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 0.25 cfs. Snow Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Trees Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using pink and chartreuse garlic PowerBait. Young Pond: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using corn, nymph scented PowerBait and dry flies. |
Southeast Fishing Report
Alto Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using salmon eggs and red PowerBait. 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. Fishing for catfish was fair when using cut bait. 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 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: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon peach PowerBait. Greene Acres Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Grindstone Reservoir: Fishing for trout was good when using marshmallows, and yellow, white and chartreuse PowerBait. Jal Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Lake Van: Fishing for trout was good when using yellow PowerBait and homemade dough bait. Oasis Park Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Pecos River: Streamflow below Sumner Lake Monday morning was 15.5 cfs. Perch Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using prince nymph flies and rainbow PowerBait. Ruidoso River: Streamflow Monday morning at Hollywood was 3.28 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 – Eagle Nest Lake Ice Fishing Tournament Jan. 29
Two of the hot baits people are using right now to catch perch and trout while ice fishing at Eagle Nest Lake are Swedish Pimple lures tipped with wax worms, salmon eggs, PowerBait, as well as pink Trout Magnet lures. Anglers have reported having success while jigging right off the bottom of the lake in 30 to 40 feet of water. There will be a fishing tournament at Eagle Nest Lake this coming Saturday.
Tournament Information
Four Categories: 1. Trout/Salmon 2. Perch 3. Pike 4. Creel (Points for total fish caught, within daily bag limits, in this category based on entry into one more of the species categories.)
$10 fee for each category entered. No refunds.
To enter the Creel category, at least one of the species categories must also be entered. Anglers are reminded that daily bag limits and all other regulations still apply during the tournament. The current Fishing Rules and Information Booklet can be downloaded here.
REGISTRATION: 6 a.m. – 11 a.m.
WHERE: Eagle Nest Lake State Park Visitor Center
END OF TOURNAMENT: You must be in line with your fish to be measured by 2 p.m.Contestants may begin fishing for tournament-eligible fish any time after registering. New Mexico Game and Fish and State Park regulations will be enforced.
Prizes will be awarded for “Biggest Fish” in categories 1, 2 and 3. Each contestant will be limited to entering one fish in each of the categories. The total length of the fish will be measured. In case of a tie in length, the girth will be measured to determine the winner. If a tie still exists, the prize will be shared by the winners. Creel winner is based on points for total fish caught in registered species categories. Cash Prizes will consist of 75% of the registration fees collected for each category: First Place – 40% of the cash prize; Second Place – 30% of the cash prize; Third Place – 20% of the cash prize; Fourth Place – 10% of the cash prize.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish; New Mexico State Parks Division; Eagle Nest Lake State Park; Friends of Eagle Nest Lake and Cimarron Canyon State Parks.
For more information on the tournament, please visit Friends of Eagle Nest Lake and Cimarron Canyon State Parks.
For more information on ice fishing in New Mexico, including locations and tactics, check out this episode of the New Mexico Wildlife Podcast.
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!
