New Mexico Fishing and Stocking Reports for Feb. 20
OutdoorHub 02.20.13
Catches of the week:
- Tingley Beach: Feb. 15, Milo Chavez of Albuquerque caught and released a rainbow trout that appeared to be at least 30-inches in length. He had no ruler with him as he stopped to fish after work. He was using a size 16 barbless nymph.
- Heron Lake: Feb. 17, Leah Pelletier of Albuquerque caught and released a 35.5-inch lake trout. The fish had a 24.5-inch girth and took 2 hours and 15 minutes to land. She was using a 2½-inch tube tipped with a small piece of sucker and fishing with 6-pound test line on a 2-foot Ladyfish rod.
- The following came in too late for last week’s report but we felt they were definitely worth mentioning:
- Elephant Butte Lake: Feb. 9, JoJo Garcia of El Paso caught a 35.9-pound striped bass. He was using a shiner at 15 feet.
- Chama River: Feb. 11, Joseph Lord of Santa Fe caught and released a 23-inch brown trout. He was fishing below El Vado Lake and using a worm.
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 fishforfun2@hotmail.com. We may include your story in our next report. For catches of the week, include name, date, and location, type of fish, length and weight if possible and bait, lure or fly used.
Northeast
Cabresto Lake: The lake and campground closed May 14 and will stay closed while the dam is being rebuilt.
Charette Lakes: Closed for the season.
Clayton Lake: Closed for the season.
Conchas Lake: Fishing pressure was light this past week but a few local anglers are catching a few walleye. They are fishing deep, reporting a very light bite and using slab spoons and jigs. We had no reports on other species. Anglers who wish to do so can still launch boats from the Cannon Cove area but should use extreme caution.
Coyote Creek: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Eagle Nest Lake: Ice thickness over the weekend was reported at 20 to 24 inches. Fishing was good using ice jigs tipped with worms for perch. Trout fishing was fair using Power Bait, ice jigs tipped with worms and homemade dough bait. A few northern pike were caught by anglers using the ice jigs tipped with worms.
Lake Maloya: Ice thickness over the weekend was about 12 inches. Trout fishing was good using sherbet Power Bait, homemade dough bait and salmon eggs for trout. Anglers fishing for trout also reported catching a few small perch.
Los Pinos: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Manzano Lake: Trout fishing was fair using salmon eggs, Power Bait, salmon egg/corn combinations and homemade dough bait.
Maxwell Lake 13: Closed for the season.
Monastery Lake: The lake is iced over and unsafe. It is off limits to fishing until there is open water accessible from the bank
Morphy Lake: Closed for the season.
Pecos River: Trout fishing was fair using small spinners, salmon eggs and Power Bait. The best action was reported by anglers fishing in the Villanueva area.
Red River: Water flow below the hatchery was 19 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.
Red River City Ponds: Closed for the season.
Rio Grande: Water flow Monday at the Taos Junction Bridge was 399 cfs. Trout fishing was fair using small spoons, bead head nymphs, streamers, worms and Power Bait. One smallmouth bass was caught by an angler using a small spoon. We had no reports on other species.
Rio Hondo: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Rio Mora: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Santa Barbara: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Springer Lake: We had no reports from anglers.
Storrie Lake: There has been a thin layer of ice forming on the lake overnight but most of it is gone by mid morning. Trout fishing has been good using corn and salmon eggs. We had no reports on other species. For updated ice conditions contact the Storrie Lake State Park office at 505-425-7278.
Stubblefield Lake: The lake has reopened with a new agreement reached with the Vermejo Conservancy District. However, with the current low water conditions, fishing is discouraged at this time.
Ute Lake: Fishing pressure was light and fishing was slow for all species. There were a few white bass caught by anglers using suspending jerk baits. We had no reports on other species. The surface water temp was in the low 40s.
Northwest
Abiquiu Lake: As of Monday there was still some ice along the shoreline. We had no reports from anglers.
Animas River: Monday morning water flow at Aztec was 212cfs. Trout fishing was fair using salmon eggs, red and orange egg patterns and streamers.
Albuquerque Area Drains: Trout fishing on the drains was good for using egg patterns, salmon eggs, Power Bait, parachute adams, copper John Barrs and Griffith’s gnats. Best reports were from the Albuquerque, Corrales, Belen and Bernalillo Drains.
Bluewater Lake: We received a report on Monday that the ice is getting soft. Anglers are reminded that if there is standing water on the ice, ice fishing is not allowed. For updated ice conditions contact the Bluewater State Park office at 505-876-2391.
Canjilon Lakes: We had no reports from anglers.
Chama River: Monday morning water flows below El Vado and Abiquiu were 151cfs and 57cfs respectively. Trout fishing below Abiquiu was very good using copper John Barrs, small spinners and Power Bait. Rick Lopez of Espanola caught and released over a dozen trout including three browns. He was using a Fisher-Chick spinner. Fishing below El Vado was slow with just a few trout taken on worms and wooly buggers.
Cochiti Lake: Most of the ice was blown off the lake. Fishing was slow for all species.
El Vado Lake: There is a thin layer of ice on the entire lake and it is unsafe for fishing. For updated information, contact the State Park office at 575-588-7247.
Fenton Lake: The lake is off limits to fishing at this time. As of Monday there was no open water.
Heron Lake: Ice thickness over the weekend was reported at about 12 inches in the Willow Creek and La Laja areas. Fishing in the La Laja area was good using small tubes and HD ice jigs tipped with pieces of sucker for lake trout ranging in size from 16 to 35.5 inches. Anglers did best fishing about 18 inches off the bottom. For updated ice conditions contact the State Park office at 575-588-7470.
Jackson Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Jemez Waters: Water flow on the Jemez River as of Monday morning was 24cfs. Trout fishing was fair to good using small white streamers copper John Barrs and salmon eggs. On the Cebolla, fishing was good using worms and white nymphs.
Laguna del Campo: Closed for the season.
Lake Farmington: Trout fishing was fair using salmon eggs and Power Bait. We had no reports on other species.
Navajo Lake: Fishing was slow to fair using jerk bait, swim baits and deep diving crank baits for northern pike. Fishing was slow to fair using Power Bait and salmon eggs for rainbow trout. We had no reports on other species. Fishing pressure was very light.
Ramah Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
San Juan: Water flow below Navajo Lake as of Monday morning was 350cfs. Fishing in the Quality Water section was very good using orange, yellow and chartreuse egg patterns, olive and black streamers, red larva and olive and brown leeches. A few good size trout were also caught on parachute adams and Griffith’s gnats. Anglers reported success using egg patterns from size 10 to size 20. Fishing through the bait waters was fair to good using salmon eggs, worms, copper John Barrs, spinners and small spoons.
Santa Cruz Lake: The lake has totally iced over and is closed to fishing at this time.
Tingley Beach: Trout fishing at the Children’s Pond and the Central Pond was good using corn, salmon eggs, homemade dough baits, garlic cheese, Pistol Petes and small spinners. Fishing at the Catch and Release Pond was slow to fair using small bead head nymphs, egg patterns, small streamers and Pistol Petes. Anglers are reminded that the latter pond is single barbless hook only.
Southwest
Bear Canyon: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Bill Evans Lake: Trout fishing was good for some and very good for others. Best baits were night crawlers, Power Bait and salmon eggs with a few trout taken on spinners. Jim McDonald of El Paso was here on February 16 and caught a limit of trout and a 2-pound catfish. He was using night crawlers, Power Bait and salmon eggs with a few of his trout caught on a night crawler harness trolled behind a christmas tree. The catfish was caught while still-fishing from the boat.
Caballo Lake: The west-side main boat ramp has reopened and is expected to remain open as the water level is rising. The east-side ramp remains closed. Fishing pressure was light and fishing was slow for all species.
Elephant Butte: Fishing was reported as slow for all species with just a few crappie taken on shiners fished at 43 feet. The surface water temp was in the low to mid 40s.The Rock Canyon boat ramp is now open. The Monticello and Dam Site ramps remain closed due to low water conditions.
Escondida Lake: Trout fishing was good using salmon eggs, Pistol Petes, corn and homemade dough bait.
Gila River: Water flow on the Gila as of this past Monday was 88cfs. Trout fishing on the Forks was slow to fair using small bead head nymphs and worms.
Glenwood Pond: Fishing was good using Power Bait and salmon eggs for trout.
Lake Roberts: Trout fishing was fair to good using salmon peach and lime twist Power Bait, salmon eggs, garlic cheese, homemade dough baits and spinners. We had no reports on other species.
Percha Dam: The water was low and fishing was slow for all species.
Quemado Lake: Trout fishing was slow to fair using Power Bait and salmon eggs. Anglers doing best were fishing the open water right along the edge of the ice. We had no reports on other species.
Rio Grande: Water flow below Elephant Butte as of Monday was 8.1cfs. Trout fishing was good using spinners, small spoons, copper John Barrs and salmon eggs. We had no reports on other species.
Snow Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Southeast
Bataan Lake: Trout fishing was good using worms, Power Bait and salmon eggs. We had no reports on other species.
Black River: As of Monday stream flow above Malaga was 5.7cfs. Trout fishing was fair using small bead head nymphs and salmon eggs.
Blue Hole Park Pond: Trout fishing was very good using salmon eggs, Power Bait and homemade dough bait.
Bonito Lake: Closed.
Bosque Redondo: We had no reports from anglers this week
Bottomless Lakes: Trout fishing was good using Power Bait and salmon eggs.
Brantley Lake: Anglers are to practice catch-and-release for all fish here as high levels of DDT were found in several fish.
Carlsbad Municipal Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
El Rito Creek: Trout fishing was good using salmon eggs, copper John Barrs and egg patterns.
Greene Acres Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Green Meadow Lake: Trout fishing was very good using worms, salmon eggs, Power Bait, homemade dough bait, spinners and Pistol Petes. We had no reports on other species.
Grindstone Reservoir: Trout fishing was very good using salmon eggs, corn, salmon peach Power Bait, salmon egg corn combinations and homemade dough baits. One group of seven anglers caught limits of trout on Saturday, February 16. Their best bait was salmon eggs but they also used assorted colors of Power Bait. Thomas Armendariz reported that he and his son did great on Sunday using salmon eggs. His son also did well using purple Power Bait.
Jal Lake: Trout fishing was good using Power Bait, corn, homemade dough bait and salmon eggs.
Lake Van: We had no reports from anglers this week.
Oasis Park Lake: Trout fishing was fair to good using Pistol Petes, salmon eggs and salmon peach Power Bait.
Pecos River: Water flow on Monday below Sumner Lake was 20cfs. Trout fishing was slow to fair using Power Bait, salmon eggs and homemade dough bait. We had no reports on other species.
Perch Lake: Trout fishing was fair using salmon eggs, Power Bait and Pistol Petes.
Ruidoso River: Water flow at Hollywood on Monday was 4.8cfs. Trout fishing was very good using salmon eggs.
Santa Rosa Lake: Walleye fishing from the bank was good again this past week. Anglers did well using green, chartreuse and white curly tail grubs on ¼ ounce jig heads. Anglers fishing for walleye also picked up a few crappie. Best reports came from anglers fishing in the boat dock area. We had no reports on other species. The lake is closed to boating at this time.
Sumner Lake: Fishing action picked up a bit this past week. Anglers using jig and curly tail grub combinations caught a few walleye and one white bass. We had no reports on other species. The Violation Canyon boat ramp remains open at this time and will remain open as long as lake levels permit.
