Fishing Report

Rio Chama: Val Armijo of Albuquerque caught a 20-inch brown trout using a Panther Martin spinner below Abiquiu Lake on March 23.

Cochiti Lake: Ensley Aguilar of Kewa Pueblo caught a 31-inch pike using an 8-inch swimbait March 21. Nathaniel Sierra of Albuquerque caught and released eight catfish up to 30 inches long using cut carp bait March 19.

Elephant Butte Lake: Brandon Hawkins of Las Cruces caught a 4-pound smallmouth bass using a shad-pattern jerkbait March 25.

Estancia Park Lake: Nikolai LaVolpa, age 6, of Albuquerque caught his limit of rainbow trout using PowerBait on March 21.

Grindstone Reservoir: Ricky Torres, age 7, of Santa Teresa caught his first fish and a total of four rainbow trout using garlic PowerBait on March 19.

Morphy Lake: Vincenzo Padilla of Albuquerque caught a 15-inch rainbow trout using pink lemonade PowerBait on March 24.

Pecos River: Trevor Stevenson of Lubbock, Texas, caught a 27-inch rainbow trout using a worm March 18.

Rio Grande: Mario Martinez of Taos caught a 24-inch pike using a brown trout-pattern lure March 24.

Tingley Beach: Antonio Lente, age 8, of Los Lunas caught a 14-inch and 17-inch rainbow trout using rainbow PowerBait in the kids’ pond March 19.

Ute Lake: Korey Beckner won the Hereford Bass Club Tournament with a total weight of 11.64 pounds using a spring craw-pattern Berkley Frittside Crankbait on March 26.

Young Pond: Frank Rittel and Brian Rittel of El Paso, Texas, caught their limits of trout using corn March 24.

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: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Cimarron River: Streamflow near Cimarron Monday morningwas 4 cubic feet per second (cfs).

Clayton Lake: Fishing for trout good when using worms and PowerBait. Fishing for walleye was fair when using curly-tail grubs and crankbaits.

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: The lake surface is closed to all activities due to deteriorating ice conditions. 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: Closed due to unsafe ice conditions.

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

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

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

Monastery Lake: The lake has been freshly stocked with trout and reopened for fishing. The Benedictine Monastery Lake is part of the Department’s Open Gate Program. Please visit our website for more information about this property.

Morphy Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using pink lemonade PowerBait and Thomas spoons.

Pecos River: Streamflow near Pecos Monday morning was 40 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair when using perdigon flies and worms.

Red River: Streamflow below the Red River Hatchery on Monday morning was 42 cfs.

Rio Grande: Streamflow below the Taos Junction Bridge on Monday morning was 536 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair when using Panther Martin spinners and nightcrawler worms. Fishing for pike was slow to fair when using brown trout pattern lures and Woolly Bugger flies south of Pilar.

Rio Hondo: Streamflow near Valdez Monday morning was 14 cfs.

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. Fishing for trout was good when using pink and purple nymph flies.

Santa Cruz Reservoir: Fishing for trout was very good when using bright-yellow PowerBait.

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 was good when using jigs with live minnows or Berkley Gulp minnows and bottom bouncers with live minnows. Fishing for white bass was fair to good when swimbaits and deep-diving crankbaits. Fishing for smallmouth and largemouth bass was good when using spring craw-pattern Berkley Frittside crankbaits. Fishing for crappie was fair to good when using live minnows in 15-20 feet of water. The main lake water surface temperature was in the low 50 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 310 cfs.

Albuquerque Area Drains:Fishing for trout was fair to good when using white egg pattern flies and orange PowerBait.

Bluewater Lake: Fishing for all species was slow.

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

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

Cochiti Lake: Fishing for pike was good when using 8-inch swimbaits. Fishing for smallmouth bass was fair when using chartreuse and orange swimbaits. Fishing for catfish was good when using cut carp bait.

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

Fenton Lake: Due to deteriorating and dangerous ice conditions, Fenton Lake is now closed for ice fishing. Going onto the ice or throwing objects onto the ice is strictly prohibited. The park will remain open for day use and camping. For updated lake conditions, visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at 575-829-3630.

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

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

Jemez Waters: Streamflow near Jemez Monday morning was 70 cfs. Fishing for trout above Fenton Lake was fair when using pink Trout Magnet lures. Due to the rising popularity of fishing in Valles Caldera National Preserve, the National Park Service will begin charging a fee for its fishing permits starting April 1, 2023 to support the management of its fishing program. The new fee schedule will be $20 for an annual pass ($10 for youth 12-17) and $5 for a 7-day pass ($3 for youth 12-17). A State of New Mexico fishing license is also required to fish within Valles Caldera. For more information visit www.nps.gov/vall.

Laguna del Campo: We had no reports from anglers this week.

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: Fishing for pike was fair when using large streamer flies and jerkbaits.

Rio Chama: Streamflow below El Vado Lake Monday morning was 213 cfs; streamflow below Abiquiu Lake Monday morning was 247 cfs. Anglers reported the water clarity below El Vado Lake was murky. Fishing for trout below Abiquiu Lake was good when using Panther Martin spinners. 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): We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

San Juan River: Streamflow near Archuleta Monday morning was 289 cfs. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was slow to fair when using San Juan worm flies and red annelid flies.

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

Tiger Park Reservoir: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Tingley Beach: Fishing for trout was good when using rainbow PowerBait. Fishing for trout in the catch-and-release pond was good when using midge pattern flies.

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

Alumni Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using double-hackle Pistol Pete spinner flies. Fishing for bass was fair to good when using largemouth bass pattern streamer flies, and large gold, gray and green streamer flies.

Bear Canyon Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Bill Evans Lake: The department is conducting a boater and angler improvement project at Bill Evans Lake from February to April. Improvements include the installation of a new concrete boat ramp and dock; improvements to the existing boat ramp; the installation of rock, fishing jetties; road improvements; and re-grading the north camping access area. Anglers should expect road and lake closures during construction. For current conditions, contact the department’s Fisheries Management Division at 505-476-8055. Anglers are encouraged to visit surrounding lakes such as Bear Canyon Lake, Lake Roberts and Trees Lake for alternate fishing locations.

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

Elephant Butte Lake: Fishing for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass was good when using shad-pattern jerkbaits, square-billed crankbaits and silver-and-blue Rapala lures. Fishing for white bass was fair to good when using small, chartreuse jig heads with soft plastic baits. Fishing for crappie was good when using small, dark-colored jigs and live minnows. Fishing for catfish was good when using live minnows and cut bait.

Escondida Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon-peach PowerBait.

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

Gila River: Streamflow near Gila Monday morning was 539 cfs.

Glenwood Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon eggs and orange PowerBait.

Lake Roberts: Fishing for trout was good when using rainbow-pattern spoons, yellow-and-black Panther Martin spinners, crawdad-pattern lures and nymph flies from a boat. Fishing for trout was fair to good when using cheese PowerBait from the shore.

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

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

Rancho Grande Ponds: Fishing for all species was slow.

Rio Grande: Streamflow below Elephant Butte Dam on Monday morning was 0 cfs. Fishing for walleye was fair to good when using cut bait near Elephant Butte Lake.

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

Trees Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using PowerBait and worms.

Young Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon eggs, corn, cheese PowerBait and garlic PowerBait.

Alto Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using 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 3 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.

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

Bottomless Lakes: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using green PowerBait.

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

Carlsbad Municipal Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using lime-green PowerBait.

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 trout was fair to good when using corn-flavored PowerBait.

Green Meadow Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using worms fished beneath a bobber.

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

Grindstone Reservoir: Fishing for trout was good when using garlic PowerBait and salmon-peach PowerBait.

Harry McAdams Park Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using homemade dough bait. Fishing for bass was fair to good when using purple, plastic worms and creature baits.

Lake Van: Fishing for trout was good when using PowerBait.

Ned Houk Ponds: Fishing for trout was good when using salmon-peach PowerBait.

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

Pecos River: Streamflow below Sumner Lake Monday morning was 55 cfs.

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

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

Rio Ruidoso: Streamflow at Hollywood Monday morning was 33 cfs.

Rock Lake Hatchery Kids’ Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Santa Rosa Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

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

By Len Presto

The time to try a plastic lizard starts in the spring, or when you see lizards running around. Smallmouth and largemouth bass can be particularly fond of plastic lizard baits. Make sure you find the pattern that best resembles what kind of lizard is  present in the water you are fishing. I find that a smoky, melon-seeded  5.5-inch lizard resembles a common New Mexico lizard. Lizard baits work well along the lakeshore, as well as submerged in deeper water near structures. Eagle Claw TroKar size 1/0 worm hooks and Gamakatsu size 1/0 offset shank hooks work well with average lizard bait sizes. A bullet weight is a great way to achieve depth while fishing a lizard bait.

I have had great success with these lizard baits at Brantley Lake, Bear Canyon Lake, Clayton Lake, Escondida Lake, Elephant Butte Lake, Lake Roberts and Ute Lake.

I have also caught the occasional catfish and walleye, as well as bass, using lizard baits.

Find out the depth of water you plan to fish. The deeper the water, the heavier the hook or bullet weight you need to use.

Lizards like to hunt the water’s edge in search of insects. This makes them vulnerable to larger predatory fish that hope that they make a fatal misstep. Fishing lizard baits can be a great way to trick those big, aggressive 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!