Weekly fishing report

Chama River: Aaron Ankeny of Albuquerque caught a 20-inch brown trout below El Vado Lake using a Panther Martin spinner Nov. 21.

Rio Grande: Albert Chavez of Albuquerque caught a 31-inch northern pike north of Cochiti Lake using a trout spinner Nov. 23.

Riverwalk Pond: Porter McCray, age 19, of Albuquerque caught his limit of rainbow trout using Mepps and Blue Fox spinners Nov. 26.

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.

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

Charette Lakes: Closed for the season.

Cimarron River: Stream flow near Cimarron Monday morning was 11.3 cfs. Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Clayton Lake: Closed for the season.

Conchas Lake: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Costilla Creek: 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 the 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 trout 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. The Department anticipates the completion of this final phase in the fall of 2021. 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: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Eagle Nest Lake: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Eagle Rock Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

Gallinas River: Fishing for trout was good using worms.

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

Lake Alice: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Lake Maloya: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

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

Maxwell Lake 13: Closed for the season.

Monastery Lake: Closed due to Covid-19 health concerns. Check the Open Gate webpage for future updates.

Morphy Lake: Closed for a renovation project on the dam and no firm opening date has been set.

Pecos River: Stream flow near the town of Pecos Monday morning was 14.5 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair to good using salmon eggs and worms.

Red River: Stream flow below the hatchery Monday morning was 31.7 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair to good using beadhead nymph flies.

Rio Grande: Stream flow at the Taos Junction Bridge Monday morning was 393 cfs. Fishing for trout was slow and the watercolor was reported as slightly muddy.

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

Rio Mora: Stream flow Monday morning was 4.99 cfs. Anglers reported icing over, resulting in poor fishability.

Rio Pueblo: Stream flow near Penasco Monday morning was not recorded due to ice.

Santa Cruz Reservoir: We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

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

Storrie Lake: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Stubblefield Lake: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Ute Lake: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Abiquiu Lake: The boat ramp is closed.

Animas River: Water flow below Aztec Monday morning was 182 cfs.

Albuquerque Area Drains: Fishing for trout was good using San Juan worm flies and Panther Martin spinners.

Bluewater Lake: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

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 both 102 cfs. Fishing for trout below El Vado Lake was fair to good using nightcrawlers and Panther Martin spinners. Fishing for trout below Abiquiu Lake was good using small beadhead nymph flies.

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

El Vado Lake: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Fenton Lake: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Heron Lake: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Jemez Waters: Stream flow on the Jemez near the town of Jemez Monday morning was 11.1 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair using worms.

Laguna del Campo: Closed for the season.

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

Lake Farmington: Fishing for trout was good using white PowerBait.

Manzano Lake: Closed until further notice.

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

Navajo Lake: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

San Gregorio Lake: Anglers reported that the lake is frozen.

San Juan River: Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, NM State Parks will temporarily shut down for two weeks through Nov. 30, in accordance with the Public Health Order.

Seven Springs Brood Pond: Closed due to Covid-19 health concerns. Check the Department’s Alerts page for future updates.

Tingley Beach: Currently closed in accordance with the Public Health Order.

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

Spiff up your favorite spinner or spoon with a fly and create your own fish-catching combination. Sometimes a small fly attached to your spinner/spoon works good and other times, a larger fly such as a Woolly Bugger is what adds the extra enticement that it takes to get the fish to bite.

For this example, I am using a Kastmaster spoon and adding a black Woolly Bugger fly. This will create a 3 to 4-inch lure that I am using to target trout and pike. You can troll or cast this lure.

1. Remove the treble hook from the O-ring of the spoon and leave the O-ring attached to the spoon.
2. Thread the eye of the Woolly Bugger hook onto the O-ring of the spoon.

It is that simple! There are tons of different spoon, spinner and fly combinations you can create. I have had success using brown and black flies in combination with my spinners and spoons.

This is also an easy way to turn a spinner and spoon, with a treble hook, into a single hook that can be de-barbed and fished in quality waters where such fishing restrictions exist.

Next time you are out, try this trick and let us know how you do by emailing funfishingnm@gmail.com.