Fishing Report

Bear Canyon Lake: Aria Silva, age 7, of Phoenix caught her limit of rainbow trout using chartreuse PowerBait on Jan. 14.

Elephant Butte Lake: Robert Farley of Las Cruces caught a 21-pound blue catfish using cut bait Jan. 19.

Fenton Lake: Noah Montoya, age 11, of Albuquerque caught an 18-inch rainbow trout using a wax worm Jan. 22. Amy Lujan, age 28, of Albuquerque caught three rainbow trout using nightcrawler worms Jan. 22. Cipriano Chavez of Albuquerque caught an 18-inch rainbow trout using a Ratfinkee green, fluorescent jig tipped with a mealworm Jan. 19. Gavyn Miller, age 8, and Luka Miller, age 4, of Albuquerque caught five trout while ice fishing using PowerBait on Jan. 14. Melody Lucero, age 9, of Albuquerque caught a 15-inch rainbow trout using a glow jig tipped with a fresh wax worm Jan. 14.

Lake Maloya: Daxon Ferguson, age 4, of Albuquerque caught an 18-inch rainbow trout using a treble-hook jig tipped with a wax worm Jan. 16.

Pecos River: Robert Sena of Pecos caught and released a 17-inch brown trout using a large minnow imitation streamer fly Jan. 14.

Quemado Lake: Andy Infante of Tucson, Arizona, caught his limit of rainbow trout using yellow salmon eggs and salmon-egg-flavored PowerBait on Jan. 15.

Rio Grande: William Padavich of Española caught a 15.25-inch brown trout using a zebra-midge-pattern fly Jan. 14.

Tiger Park Reservoir: Zachary Brewer, age 18, of Bloomfield caught a 20.5-inch rainbow trout using salmon-egg-flavored PowerBait on Jan. 16.

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. Fish weights and measurements are provided by the angler and printed here as received.

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

Charette Lakes: Closed to boating and fishing until March.

Cimarron River: Streamflow near Cimarron Monday morning was not measured due to ice.

Clayton Lake: Closed to boating and fishing until March.

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

Costilla Creek: The Valle Vidal is closed to fishing until July.

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 good when using glow ice-fishing jigs, tungsten ice-fishing jigs tipped with mealworms and pink Trout Magnet lures. Ice fishing for perch was good when using jigs tipped with worms. Fishing for pike was fair when using glow ice-fishing jigs 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: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Gallinas River: National Forest closures have been in place restricting fishing access.Visit the Santa Fe National Forest webpage or call the Santa Fe National Forest office at 505-438-5300 for the latest closure information.

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

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

Lake Maloya: Ice fishing for trout and perch was good when using treble-hook jigs tipped with mealworms and wax worms.

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

Maxwell Lake 13: Closed to boating and fishing until March.

Monastery Lake: Closed to fishing due to unsafe ice conditions.

Morphy Lake: Closed to boating and fishing until March.

Pecos River: Streamflow near Pecos Monday morning was not measured due to ice. Fishing for trout was fair to good when using large minnow imitation streamer flies, egg-pattern flies and Copper John nymph flies near Tererro.

Red River: Streamflow below the Red River Hatchery on Monday morning was 50 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair when using salmon eggs.

Rio Grande: Streamflow below the Taos Junction Bridge on Monday morning was 484 cfs. Fishing for trout was slow to fair when using spinners, Rapala lures and PowerBait.

Rio Hondo: Streamflow near Valdez Monday morning was not measured due to ice.

Rio Mora: Streamflow near Terrero Monday morning was not measured due to ice.

Rio Pueblo: Streamflow near Peñasco Monday morning was not measured due to ice.

Santa Cruz Reservoir: Closed to fishing due to unsafe ice conditions.

Shuree Ponds: Closed to fishing until 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 walleye and white bass was fair when using vibrating blade baits and large jigging spoons in 40-50 feet of water. The main lake water surface temperature was in the low 40 F range and the water was clear.

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

Animas River: Streamflow below Aztec Monday morning was 190 cfs.

Albuquerque Area Drains:Fishing for trout was fair to good when using Squirmy Wormies.

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.

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

El Vado Lake: Closed due to unsafe ice conditions. For more information, visit El Vado Lake State Park’s webpage or call 575-588-7247.

Fenton Lake: Ice fishing for trout was good when using garlic PowerBait, nightcrawler worms and glow jigs tipped with wax worms.

Grants Riverwalk Pond: The city is in the final stages of repairs; stocking will resume soon.

Heron Lake: Closed due to unsafe ice conditions.

Jemez Waters: Streamflow near Jemez Monday morning was 25 cfs.

Laguna del Campo: Closed to fishing until March.

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

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

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

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

Rio Chama: Streamflow below El Vado Lake and below Abiquiu Lake Monday morning was 100 cfs and 106 cfs, respectively. Fishing for trout below Abiquiu Lake was was slow to fair when using spinners, flies and PowerBait. 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.

Rio Grande: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Riverside Park Pond (Aztec Pond #1): Fishing for trout was fair to good when using streamer flies.

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

San Juan River: Streamflow near Archuleta Monday morning was 280 cfs. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was fair to good when using black size-26 midge pattern flies. Fishing for trout in the bait waters was good when using Roostertail spinners, salmon eggs, San Juan worm flies and egg-pattern flies.

Seven Springs Brood Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Tiger Park Reservoir: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon-egg-flavored PowerBait.

Tingley Beach: Fishing for trout was good when using tan PowerBait, salmon-peach PowerBait and corn. Fishing for trout in the catch-and-release pond was good when using scud flies.

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

Alumni Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using corn-flavored PowerBait, light green garlic PowerBait, salmon-peach PowerBait, chartreuse PowerBait, canned corn and salmon eggs.

Bear Canyon Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using chartreuse PowerBait.

Bill Evans Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using spinners, lures and a variety of PowerBaits.

Caballo Lake: Fishing for catfish was fair to good when using cut shad bait.

Elephant Butte Lake: Fishing for catfish was good when using cut bait.

Escondida Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using PowerBait.

Gila River: Streamflow near Gila Monday morning was 350 cfs.

Glenwood Pond: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using chartreuse PowerBait.

Lake Roberts: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using chartreuse PowerBait and flies.

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

Quemado Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using yellow salmon eggs and salmon-egg-flavored PowerBait.

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

Rio Grande: Streamflow below Elephant Butte Dam on Monday morning was 0 cfs.

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

Trees Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using salmon-peach PowerBait.

Young Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon-peach PowerBait, chartreuse PowerBait, canned corn and salmon eggs.

Alto Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon-peach PowerBait and worms.

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

Berrendo Creek: Fishing for bass was fair when using plastic worms. Please visit the Open Gate webpage for more information on this property.

Black River: Streamflow at Malaga Monday morning was 11 cfs. Fishing for trout was good when using worms and Panther Martin spinners.

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.

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 good when using orange PowerBait.

Chaparral Park Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using sweet corn.

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 fair to good when using worms fished with a bobber.

Greene Acres Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using worms fished with a bobber.

Grindstone Reservoir: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using countdown Rapala lures.

Lake Van: Fishing for trout was good when using small PowerBait worms and chartreuse PowerBait.

Oasis Park Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using PowerBait.

Pecos River: Streamflow below Sumner Lake Monday morning was 14 cfs.

Perch Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using orange, garlic PowerBait.

Rio Bonito: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Rio Ruidoso: Streamflow at Hollywood Monday morning was 8 cfs.

Rock Lake Hatchery Kids’ Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using white and orange PowerBait Mice Tails.

Santa Rosa Lake: Fishing for bass was fair when using Panther Martin spinners.

Sumner Lake: Fishing for white bass was good when using curly-tail, shad-pattern jigs. Fishing for catfish was fair when using shad and crawdads. Fishing for walleye was slow when using shad-pattern jigs.

Timberon Ponds: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using worms.

By Tom Chrobocinski

Another thing I do to make life easier on the water, and — I think — catch more fish, is instead of tying my leader directly onto my lure, I tie a loop at the end of my leader. I then slide this loop through the eye of the lure and loop it on by placing the lure through the loop. This way, if I want to change lures, I don’t have to cut it off and retie all the time. I just back the line out, take that lure off and put another one on. Many people like to use swivels at the end of the leader, which I used to do. But if fish are skittish, the more bling you have on the end of your line, the less likely they are to want to take that lure.

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!