New Mexico fishing and stocking reports for October 13

10/13/2020

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This fishing report, provided by Dustin Berg of Go Unlimited (supporting disabled anglers) and the Department of Game and Fish, has been generated from the best information available from area officers and anglers. Conditions encountered after the report is compiled may differ, as stream, lake and weather conditions alter fish and angler activities.

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(Valid April 1 to March 31; 2020-2021 licenses are on sale)

A MESSAGE FROM THE DEPARTMENT:

As COVID-19 continues to force all of us to make changes to our daily schedule, the Department would like to remind you that together we can make a difference. To help minimize the spread of the virus:

Practice social distancing
Wash your hands regularly
Avoid non-essential travel
Wear a face covering
Avoid interacting with large groups

Click the flyer to the right. Please share it with your friends and family.

Take the Bass Challenge!

To promote bass fishing opportunities in New Mexico and encourage anglers to branch out and discover new fishing waters and bass species, anglers can now participate in the New Mexico Bass Challenge. Catch the four bass species listed below that are found in and inhabit lakes within New Mexico (spotted bass, white bass, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass) to receive your certificate and a challenge coin.

The Department is continuing to adapt our ways of working to conserve wildlife for all New Mexicans. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Department biologists and conservation officers continue to conduct wildlife surveys, contact anglers and OHV recreationists and stock fish in open waters throughout the state.

Our teams are wearing personal protective equipment for everyone’s safety while working in small groups for maximum social distancing. We ask for your help to keep everyone safe and healthy by following the NMDOH public health emergency order by wearing PPE while staying at least six feet away from staff and equipment.

Catches of the week

Bluewater Lake: Joshua Garcia, of Grants, caught and released a 32-inch, 17-pound, 5-ounce catfish using hotdogs Oct. 10. Jusiah Estrada, age 11, of Las Vegas caught and released a 40-inch tiger muskie using a jointed gold Rapala lure Oct. 10. Wayne E. Brown, of Albuquerque, caught and released a 39-inch, 15.5-pound tiger muskie while kayak fishing using a Rapala XR-12 Oct. 7. Dante Rossetti, of Albuquerque, caught and released a 42-inch tiger muskie using an orange jerk bait Oct. 6.

Eagle Nest Lake: Thomas Tapia, of Santa Fe, caught a 27.5-inch rainbow trout using worms Oct. 9. Eliza Torres, age 12, of Albuquerque caught an 18-inch rainbow trout using fluorescent yellow PowerBait Oct. 9. Chris and Alicia Eccleston, of Tijeras, snagged six and caught two kokanee salmon using yellow PowerBait Oct. 8. Mark Parker, of Albuquerque, caught his limit of rainbow trout including two measuring 20-inches using chartreuse garlic glitter PowerBait Oct. 7.

Gila River: Cameron Beck, of Silver City, caught a 23-pound flathead catfish using cut bait Oct. 4.

Hopewell Lake: Sean Rey-Vaughn, age 13, of Rio Rancho caught a 20-inch rainbow trout using green PowerBait eggs Oct. 3.

Laguna del Campo: Davina Gomez, age 5, caught an 18-inch rainbow trout using yellow PowerBait with a worm Oct. 12.

San Juan River: Estevan Martinez, of Albuquerque, caught a 20-inch rainbow trout fishing the Upper Flats Quality Waters using a size 24 black midge Oct. 7. Matt Stimac, of Albuquerque, caught a 26-inch brown trout using a black Woolly Bugger Oct. 6.

The following reports came in late, but we thought they were definitely worth mentioning.

Bluewater Lake: Kaden Martinez, age 15, of Rio Rancho caught a 37-inch tiger muskie using a water dog, and his sister Maleah Brashear, age 10, of Rio Rancho caught a 35-inch tiger muskie using a paddle tail swim bait Oct. 4.

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.

Northeast Fishing Report

Cabresto Lake: Fishing for brook trout was fair to good using dry flies.

Charette Lakes: Fishing for trout was good using worms and PowerBait.

Cimarron River: Stream flow near Cimarron Monday morning was 10.9 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using worms and bead head hare’s ear nymphs.

Clayton Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good using PowerBait and nightcrawlers. Fishing for catfish was fair to good using chicken liver and homemade baits.

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

Costilla Creek: Stream flow near Costilla Monday morning was 6.14 cfs. 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 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 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 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: Fishing for trout was fair to good using corn and worms.

Coyote Creek: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Eagle Nest Lake: Fishing for trout was good using chartreuse garlic glitter PowerBait, fluorescent yellow PowerBait and worms. Snagging kokanee salmon was fair and a couple were also caught using yellow PowerBait. Fishing for pike was fair to good using large spinners and spoons.

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 fair using worms.

Hopewell Lake: Fishing for trout was good using green PowerBait eggs and Pistol Pete’s spinners.

Lake Alice: Fishing for trout was slow.

Lake Maloya: Fishing for trout was good using elk hair caddis flies and fair using PowerBait.

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

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

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 18.2 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair to good using baetis nymph flies, nightcrawlers, hare’s ear nymphs and bead head nymph flies.

Red River: Stream flow below the hatchery Monday morning was 34.0 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using stimulator dry flies with small nymph dropper flies and worms.

Rio Grande: Stream flow at the Taos Junction Bridge Monday morning was 159 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using Panther Martin spinners and small baetis bead head nymphs.

Rio Hondo: Stream flow Monday morning near Valdez was 21.7 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair using small attractor dry flies.

Rio Mora: Stream flow Monday morning was 11.4 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

Rio Pueblo: Stream flow near Penasco Monday morning was 3.36 cfs. Anglers reported that the water level was very low and not good for fishing.

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: We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

Ute Lake: Fishing for white bass was slow. Fishing for walleye was fair using blade baits and slab jigs in 30-feet of water on main lake points. Fishing for catfish was good using punch bait and nightcrawlers. The surface water temperature was in the upper 60s and the main lake was clear.

Northwest Fishing Report

Abiquiu Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week. Due to low water levels, anglers are advised to use four-wheel drive vehicles to launch boats and watch for obstructions on the water.

Animas River: Water flow below Aztec Monday morning was 27.4 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

Albuquerque Area Drains: Fishing for carp was fair to good using red annelid nymph flies.

Bluewater Lake: Fishing for tiger muskie was good using 8-inch streamer flies, jointed Rapala lures, swimbaits, spinner baits, spoons and water dogs. Fishing for trout was slow to fair using PowerBait. Fishing for catfish was good using chicken liver, hot dogs and water dogs.

Brazos River: Fishing for trout was fair to good using bead head nymph baetis flies.

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

Chama River: Monday morning flows below El Vado and Abiquiu were 99.5 cfs and 98.9 cfs, respectively. Fishing for trout below El Vado Lake was good using silver Panther Martin spinners, brown and white Rooster Tail spinners, nightcrawlers and PowerBait. Fishing for trout below Abiquiu Lake was fair using black Woolly Buggers, eggs and San Juan worms.

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

El Vado Lake: Is open for salmon snagging season. Park hours are 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Kokanee salmon snagging was reported as slow.

Fenton Lake: Fishing for trout was good using black Woolly Buggers, size 20 crystal flash midge flies, PowerBait and worms.

Heron Lake: Salmon snagging season starts Nov. 9. Fishing was reported as slow.

Jemez Waters: Stream flow on the Jemez near the town of Jemez Monday morning was 7.0 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair using worms and small spinners.

Laguna del Campo: Fishing for trout was fair to good using yellow and green garlic scented PowerBait and worms.

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

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

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

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

Navajo Lake: Fishing for bass was fair to good on the northern portion of the San Juan arm using curly tail jigs and jerk baits. Fishing for kokanee salmon using snagging hooks was good near the dam.

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

San Juan River: Stream flow Monday morning was 713 cfs. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was good using black, crème, red, and olive midge pupa pattern flies, black Woolly Buggers, small baetis nymph flies and RS2s.

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

Tingley Beach: Fishing for trout was good using garlic PowerBait and white PowerBait eggs.

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

Southwest Fishing Report

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

Bear Canyon Lake: Fishing for catfish was good using nightcrawlers.

Bill Evans Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

Elephant Butte Lake: Fishing for white bass was good trolling white crankbaits and casting Sassy Shad. Fishing for walleye was fair trolling crankbaits close to the lake bottom. Fishing for catfish at night was good using cut carp and liver.

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

Gila River: Stream flow Monday morning was 29.0 cfs. Fishing for catfish in Grant County was good using cut bait.

Glenwood Pond: Fishing for trout was good using dry flies and PowerBait.

Lake Roberts: Fishing for catfish was good using beef liver and worms. Fishing for trout was good using pink and orange PowerBait, flavored salmon eggs and gray/black flies.

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

Quemado Lake: Fishing for trout was slow.

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

Rio Grande: Stream flow below Elephant Butte Monday morning was 0.0 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

Trees Lake: Fishing for catfish was fair using liver and worms. Trout were just stocked and fishing for them is anticipated to get better.

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

Southeast Fishing Report

Alto Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good using green and yellow PowerBait. Fishing for catfish was fair using Fireballs.

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

Black River: Stream flow at Malaga Monday morning was 4.37 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

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. It appears now that the lake will be out of commission until 2022.

Bosque Redondo Lake: Fishing for catfish was fair to good using hotdogs.

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

Brantley Lake: Fishing for bass was good using watermelon and pumpkin colored plastic worms.

Carlsbad Municipal Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

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: Fishing for catfish was fair using chicken and beef liver. Fishing for bass was fair using worms.

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

Grindstone Reservoir: Fishing for trout was fair to good using spinners and pink and peach PowerBait.

Jal Lake: Fishing for catfish was fair to good using worms, cut bait and homemade dough bait.

Lake Van: Fishing for catfish was fair to good using chicken liver and worms.

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

Pecos River: Stream flow below Sumner Lake Monday morning was 92.3 cfs. Fishing for catfish was good using hotdogs and worms.

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

Ruidoso River: Stream flow Monday morning at Hollywood was 3.28 cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

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

Sumner Lake: Fishing for walleye, bass and catfish was good using dark plastic worms and live worms.

Tips and Tricks

A new angling group in Southwest NM shares their tips for getting started fly fishing

Eric Ockerhausen, a Weekly Fishing Report contributor, enjoys sharing his fishing reports with his fellow New Mexico anglers and has recently gone a step further to help introduce new anglers to the sport/art/hobby he enjoys so much. He is a part of the adult education program at Western New Mexico University in Silver City. They call themselves the Reel Fishing Enthusiasts Group. Formed out of necessity to support the growing number of people interested in fishing, who had not fished since they were young, new to the area or not sure about where and how to fish. They are a network of anglers interested in all types of fishing. Eric, alongside Darren McBride, recently held a socially distanced basic fly-fishing demonstration for some members of the Western Institute of Lifelong Learning Fishing Enthusiasts (WILL). Here are some tips they’d like to share with other anglers thinking about giving fly fishing a try:

A person does not have to be the greatest at casting a fly rod to catch fish. Most fish are caught 15 to 40 feet out.
Accuracy is more important than distance when you are starting out.
A hook in the water catches more fish than a hook in the air. Let your fly work in the water even if it was not the exact cast you wanted.

Darren also shared his knowledge about the different types of flies to use.

Aside from “matching the hatch” as a rule of thumb, in clear water use a bright-colored sparkly fly; in darker, murkier water, use a darker colored fly. If in doubt, a black body fly with some red on it should give you decent results either way.

Darren taught the group three basic knots needed for getting started. He likes to use a website called Animated Knots for a visual reference.

Perfection loop knot used for tying loop to loop connection between fly line and leader (if fly line and leader do not come with prepared loops)
Surgeon’s loop knot used for tying loop to loop leader to tippet or tippet to fly hook
Clinch knot used for tying tippet to fly hook

If you are unable to attend a fly-fishing class or you just want to DIY, Darren suggests that you watch YouTube videos. Some of his favorites you can find by searching Orvis Basics of Fly Fishing with Pete Kutzer. These five-minute videos on YouTube will teach you how to make a basic cast, break down and store your fly rod, hook a fish and land a fish. He also covers some more advanced fly-fishing techniques as well.

If you want to see someone fly fishing putting technique to action, then Darren suggests you search for Orvis Basics of Fly Fishing with Tom Rosenbauer. Tom Rosenbauer will help you learn how to read the waters of a river, how to fish lakes, how to understand what type of flies to use and when to use them.

It is important to emphasize that you do not need the most expensive equipment; keeping it simple while having fun is the best way to start.

Darren says that reading the New Mexico fishing and stocking reports helps identify where the fishing is good. From there, it is all up to you to go out and put a line in the water. If you are fishing and not having any luck, then change what you are doing. Put on a different fly, move to a new location, fish deeper or on the surface or retrieve your line faster or slower. Change what you are doing until you find out what works for you.

If you are a beginner, watch a few of these videos, make some practice casts in the yard and get a few flies; you should then be able to go out and catch some fish and have a great time doing it.

Closure Information:

The Department reminds anglers it is their responsibility to be aware of closures and contact land managers for properties of interest when restrictions are lifted.

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
New Mexico State Lands
New Mexico State Parks
New Mexico Open Gate Properties
New Mexico Wildlife Management Areas
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Consult local government websites for information regarding specific city and town fishing access.

New Mexico fishing and stocking reports for October 13, 2020

Check out the latest stocking report Get your New Mexico fishing license

(Valid April 1 to March 31; 2020-2021 licenses are on sale)

Closure Information:

Check out the latest stocking report

Get your New Mexico fishing license