Fishing Report

Berrendo Creek: Valerie Wyatt of Roswell caught a 19-inch largemouth bass using a Senko worm on April 22.

Caballo Lake: Jonathan Lawell, age 13, of Las Cruces caught a 22-inch walleye using a Rat-L-Trap crankbait on April 22. Julissa Lawell, age 16, of Las Cruces caught an 18-inch walleye using a curly-tail grub on a jig head on April 22.

Charette Lakes: Richard Jaramillo of Albuquerque caught a 20-inch rainbow trout using a nightcrawler worm on April 15.

Clayton Lake: Carlos Martinez of Los Lunas caught a 21-inch, 4-pound rainbow trout using yellow, garlic PowerBait on April 17.

Conchas Lake: Daniel Sandoval of Albuquerque caught and released a 21-inch, 4-pound 10-ounce smallmouth bass using a plastic worm on April 16.

Eagle Rock Lake: Chris Ballejos and Julian Ballejos of Albuquerque and Los Lunas, respectively, both caught 16-inch rainbow trout using white PowerBait eggs tipped with a worm on April 17.

Elephant Butte Lake: Dmitri Hewitt, age 7, of Las Cruces caught many 14-inch catfish using raw shrimp at the marina on April 21.

Grants Riverwalk Pond: Austyn Riley, age 11, of Laguna Pueblo caught a 14-inch rainbow trout using a Pistol Pete spinner fly on April 22.

Lake Maloya: Saul Ontiveros of Raton caught a 22-inch rainbow trout using a black-and-gold Panther Martin spinner on April 18.

Lake Van: Isiah and Elijah Galaviz of Gallup both caught 12-inch rainbow trout using Velveeta cheese on April 17.

McGaffey Lake: Dion Riley of Laguna Pueblo caught his limit of rainbow trout using PowerBait on April 20.

Santa Cruz Reservoir: Robert Kitchens of Albuquerque caught and released a 27-inch brown trout using a size-16, black midge fly on April 23.

Seven Springs Brood Pond: Adeline Gabaldon, age 5, of Albuquerque caught her limit of rainbow trout using worms and PowerBait on April 22.

Tingley Beach: Sam Stewart of Albuquerque caught a 4.12-pound largemouth bass using a curly-tail grub on April 23.

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: Fishing for trout was good when using zebra-midge flies, Euro-nymph flies and spider-imitation flies.

Charette Lakes: Fishing for trout was fair when using nightcrawler worms.

Cimarron River: Streamflow near Cimarron Monday morningwas 38 cubic feet per second (cfs). Fishing for trout was fair to good when using beadhead nymph flies, worms, salmon eggs and yellow garlic PowerBait.

Clayton Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using yellow, garlic PowerBait and worms. Fishing for catfish was fair when using chicken liver and nightcrawler worms.

Conchas Lake: Fishing for smallmouth bass was good when using jerkbaits and soft-plastic worms.

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: 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 white PowerBait eggs, Panther Martin spinners and worms.

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: Fishing for trout was good when using black-and-gold Panther Martin spinners.

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

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

Monastery Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using Pistol Pete spinner flies and PowerBait. 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 Panther Martin spinners.

Pecos River: Streamflow near Pecos Monday morning was 355 cfs. Fishing for trout was slow to fair when using worms. Anglers reported high water levels and murky water clarity due to spring runoff.

Red River: Streamflow below the Red River Hatchery on Monday morning was 100 cfs.

Rio Grande: Streamflow below the Taos Junction Bridge on Monday morning was 1,030 cfs.

Rio Hondo: Streamflow near Valdez Monday morning was 35 cfs.

Rio Mora: Streamflow near Terrero Monday morning was 131 cfs.

Rio Pueblo: Streamflow near Peñasco Monday morning was 196 cfs.

Santa Cruz Reservoir: Fishing for trout was good when using size-16, black midge flies and Pistol Pete spinner flies.

Shuree Ponds: Closed to fishing until July.

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

Storrie Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using worms.

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

Ute Lake: Fishing for walleye was good when using live minnows and 4-inch Berkley Gulp minnows. Fishing for white bass was fair when using Bandit 300 crankbaits and Bomber 7A crankbaits. Fishing for smallmouth and largemouth bass was good when using wacky-rigged Senko worms and crawdad-pattern baits in 5-12 feet of water. Fishing for catfish was fair when using punch bait. The main lake water surface temperature was in the low 60 F range, and the water was clear.

Abiquiu Lake: Fishing for walleye was slow when using nightcrawler worms and crankbaits.

Animas River: Streamflow below Aztec Monday morning was 2,280 cfs.

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

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: Fishing for pike was fair to good when using gizzard shad-pattern swimbaits, lipless crankbaits, 8-inch swimbaits, jerkbaits and hot dogs. Fishing for walleye was fair to good when using Kastmaster lures. Fishing for smallmouth and largemouth bass was fair to good when using jerkbaits and swimbaits. Fishing for catfish was good when using nightcrawler worms and 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: Fishing for trout was good when using sherbet PowerBait. For updated lake conditions, visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at 575-829-3630.

Grants Riverwalk Pond: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using Pistol Pete spinner flies.

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

Jemez Waters: Streamflow near Jemez Monday morning was 364 cfs. 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: Fishing for trout was good when using dough bait.

McGaffey Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using PowerBait. The lake is full and was recently stocked with rainbow trout.

Navajo Lake: Fishing for trout was fair when using crankbaits.

Rio Chama: Streamflow below El Vado Lake Monday morning was 1,300 cfs; streamflow below Abiquiu Lake Monday morning was 1,590 cfs. Fishing below Abiquiu Lake was slow due to high water levels. 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 497 cfs. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was slow to fair when using midge-pattern flies, leech-pattern flies and red-annelid flies. Fishing for trout in the bait waters was fair when using PowerBait.

Seven Springs Brood Pond: Fishing for trout was good when using worms, flies and PowerBait.

Tiger Park Reservoir: Fishing for trout was good when using beadhead nymph flies.

Tingley Beach: Fishing for bass was fair to good when using curly tail grubs.

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

Alumni Pond: Fishing for all species was slow.

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 at505-476-8055. 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 white bass was fair when using curly-tail grubs and small crankbaits. Fishing for walleye was good when using Rat-L-Trap crankbaits and curly tail grubs.

Elephant Butte Lake: Fishing for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass was fair to good when using shad-pattern jerkbaits, square-billed crankbaits, live minnows and swimbaits. Fishing for white bass was fair to good when using crankbaits. Fishing for walleye was fair when using liver shiners. Fishing for crappie was fair to good when using live minnows. Fishing for catfish was very good when using raw shrimp at the marina.

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

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

Gila River: Streamflow near Gila Monday morning was 277 cfs.

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

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

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

Quemado Lake: Fishing for trout was slow to fair when using white-glitter and pink-glitter PowerBait.

Rancho Grande Ponds: Fishing for trout was good when using PowerBait.

Rio Grande: Streamflow below Elephant Butte Dam on Monday morning was 7 cfs.

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

Trees Lake: Fishing for bass was fair to good when using spinners and small crankbaits.

Young Pond: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using salmon-peach PowerBait, salmon eggs, marshmallows and Velveeta cheese.

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

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

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

Black River: Streamflow at Malaga Monday morning was 13 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. The lake is full, but needs time for aquatic habitat to develop in order to sustain a healthy fish population. The city hopes to reopen the lake for recreational purposes in June 2024.

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 catfish was fair when using hot dogs.

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 good when using garlic PowerBait and salmon-peach PowerBait.

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

Lake Van: Fishing for trout was good when using Velveeta cheese.

Ned Houk Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

Pecos River: Streamflow below Sumner Lake Monday morning was 135 cfs. Fishing for catfish was fair when using hot dogs south of Carlsbad.

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 29 cfs.

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

Santa Rosa Lake: Fishing for walleye was fair when using 5-inch, curly-tail grubs.

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

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

Your typical spinner, such as a Panther Martin or a Mepps, is equipped with a treble hook. You can remove the treble hook using a pair of wire cutters. Be sure to only cut the loop of the treble hook and not the wire loop attached to the spinner. Next, attach a small split ring to the loop of the spinner. Split rings are used to attach hooks to many different types of lures. If you don’t want to go out and buy a pack of split rings, you can take them off a lure that you already own. This is a useful way to recycle parts of an old lure that you no longer use.

Attach a fly to the split ring on your spinner. With so many different patterns of spinners and flies, the combinations you can create are endless. Some of my favorite flies that I like to attach to spinners are Woolly Bugger, common black fly, stimulator, and leech-pattern flies. These customizable creations can be extremely productive.

As a bonus, following these steps, you have now created a single-hook spinner. With a quick crimping down of the barbed hook, your spinner is now legally fishable on special trout waters requiring the use of single, barbless hooks.

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

Thanks for reading and supporting our angling community!