By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

New Mexico’s snowpack remains below normal. The measure of snow water equivalent, which is the amount of water you will have once the snow is melted, is below 30-percent of normal in the Upper Rio Grande, Jemez River and Pecos River basins. The Chama River Basin is now 40-percent of normal.

The upper tributaries of the Jemez River are becoming accessible, as very little snowpack remains.

The snowpack in Southern Colorado, including the headwaters of the Rio Grande, is also below normal. Snow water equivalent in the Rio Grande headwaters and the San Juan Basin are now 62-percent and 64-percent, respectively.

Snow depth at the Hopewell measuring station was 26 inches. Snow depth at Cumbres Trestle was 43 inches. Both are in Rio Arriba County. The snow depth at Wolf Creek Summit in Colorado was 69 inches.

Clayton Lake State Park was stocked Feb. 20 with 4,001 rainbow trout. It also has largemouth bass and walleye. The state-record walleye was caught here.  Check out the dinosaur tracks at Clayton.

The Charette Lakes between Wagon Mound and Springer are open. Fishing should be good for stocked and holdover trout. It was stocked March 19 with 2,500 rainbow trout. Charette Lake also has yellow perch.

Maxwell Lake 13 dried up in 2020 and there have been no reports of it being restocked since then.

Fenton Lake State Park is open. Camping is reservation only. It was stocked Aug. 28 with 270 Rio Grande cutthroat trout averaging 14.5 inches in length. Fenton Lake was stocked March 19 with 776 rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. Only two cutthroat trout may be kept as part of a five trout daily bag limit. There is now open water for bank fishing, which has been very good.

Call 575.829.3630 for current conditions.

The Rio Cebolla flows into and out of Fenton Lake. It was stocked March 26 with 400 rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout and Rio Grande cutthroat trout above Fenton Lake. It was stocked Oct. 24 with 5,668 small Rio Grande cutthroat trout.

The Seven Springs Brood Pond, also known as the Kid’s Pond, is open to anglers 11 years of age and younger. There are also some wild brown trout and a few Rio Grande cutthroats. It is north of Fenton Lake. It is open water. It was stocked March 26 with 449 rainbow trout.

The Jemez River streamflow was 44.5 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much higher than last week. It was stocked March 26 with 1,398 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.

The Rio Las Vacas, a tributary of the Jemez River, was stocked March 26 with 499 rainbow trout.

Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It is now closed until Feb. 15. The state-record rainbow trout was caught here. Since the lake reopened fishing has been very good. It was stocked twice last week with a total of 2,491 rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. It is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Monday. Call 505.351.1438 or visit blm.gov/visit/santa-cruz-lake-recreation-area.

The Bureau also manages the Orilla Verde Recreation Area on the Rio Grande at Pilar. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked March 24 with 2,001 rainbow trout. It was stocked March 27 with 9,304 fingerling rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout, northern pike and smallmouth bass.

From the Colorado border to the Taos Junction Bridge the limit is two trout per day on the Rio Grande.  Streamflow was 577 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is a little higher than last week. The Rio Grande Gorge above Pilar was stocked March 24 with 250 rainbow trout. It was stocked March 27 with 9,304 fingerling rainbow trout.

The Rio Pueblo near Penasco is free of ice and the streamflow is 40.2 cubic-feet -per-second. It is stocked with rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.

The streamflow on the Red River was 46.3 cubic-feet-per-second below Questa. This is higher than last week. It was stocked March 25 with 699 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.

The Red River above Questa streamflow is 23.0 cubic-feet-per-second.

The Red River Hatchery Pond is open again. It was stocked March 19 with 399 rainbow trout. Fishing is for anglers 11 years old or younger and 65 years old or older.

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa was stocked March 25 with 500 rainbow trout. It has open water.

The Shuree Ponds are likely frozen and are now closed.

Cabresto Lake is a high-elevation lake accessible by four-wheel drive. It has good fishing for wild brook trout and wild cutthroat trout. It is likely frozen. Use caution if attempting to ice fish.

Abiquiu Lake is managed by the Corps of Engineers. The fishing has been slow for smallmouth bass walleye, crappie and catfish. Anglers are starting to catch some small largemouth bass. Most are under legal size. There are some good-sized trout in Abiquiu. Camping by reservation. Call 505.685.4371 for more information. Portions of the lake will freeze but it seldom completely freezes.

The streamflow in the Chama River below Abiquiu Dam was 21.9 cubic-feet-per-second. This is below normal and even lower than last week-very low. It was stocked March 18 with 498 rainbow trout averaging 14. 4 inches in size. It was stocked Feb. 20 with 17,962 fingerling rainbow trout. There are some big, wild brown trout here. The limit here is two-trout-per day.

The Canjilon Lakes will be difficult to reach due to snowfall.

The Trout Lakes near Cebolla were stocked Oct. 8 with 455 rainbow trout. Access to these lakes will be difficult due to snowfall and they are likely still frozen.

Laguna del Campo, a small lake near Los Ojos is now closed. It will reopen May 1.

Heron Lake State Park is open. Fishing for rainbow trout has been fair. It was stocked Nov. 19 with 3,188 sub-catchable rainbow trout. Kokanee salmon snagging season is now closed. El Vado Lake State Park is closed for construction. Call 575.588.7470 for information.

The streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 194 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and below average.  It was stocked Oct. 31 with 20,104 small Rio Grande cutthroat trout. It has wild brown trout. It was stocked Feb. 12 with 24,998 sub-catchable rainbow trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here.

The Chama River above El Vado Lake is free of ice. The streamflow was 279 cubic-feet-per-second at La Puente. This is much higher than last week. It was stocked Nov. 19 with 4,910 sub catchable rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.

The streamflow in the Chama River above the town of Chama is no longer being reported and is iced over.

The streamflow in the Rio Brazos is not being measured. It is may be free of ice.

Over in the Four Corners the fishing has been fair at Navajo Lake State Park. Trolling minnow imitating lures like Rapalas could produce a trophy brown trout. The road to Navajo Dam is closed and the snagging for kokanee salmon season is closed. The fishing for northern pike has been fair-to-good. Bass fishing has been fair. It was stocked March 19 with 23,562 sub-catchable rainbow trout. Camping by reservation only. Boating conditions are good. Call 505.632-2278 for more information.

The San Juan River below Navajo Dam is the best river in New Mexico and well-known in the angling world.  The streamflow was 429 cubic-feet-per-second. This a little higher than last week and below normal. It has world-class fly-fishing for big trout.

The first four miles of river below the dam is known as the Quality Water. Angling is strictly Catch-and-Release using artificial flies and lures with a single barbless hook. The Quality Water is stocked with small rainbow trout that grow quickly. It was stocked March 20 with 28,798 fingerling rainbow trout.

There are also big, wild brown trout. Some of these brown trout would shatter the state record if they could be kept and weighed.

The Bait Water below the Quality Water has good fishing and a five-fish limit may be kept here. There are big brown trout here, too. It was stocked March 19 with 2,345 catchable-size rainbow trout. It was stocked March 26 with 20,820 fingerling rainbow trout.

Several lakes in Aztec are being stocked. Aztec Pond # 1 was stocked March 19 with 100 rainbow trout. Tiger Park Pond was stocked March 17 with 1,165 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 150 rainbow trout averaging 15.5 inches in size.

The Animas River in Aztec was stocked March 19 with 250 rainbow trout.

Hopewell Lake is a small, high elevation lake between Tierra Amarilla and Tres Piedras. It has stocked rainbow trout and wild brook trout. Expect snow on the ground. Ice fishing has started here and has been good. The ice may be deteriorating. Use caution, especially near the inlet.

The Rio de los Pinos north of Tres Piedras near th)e Colorado border is heavily stocked with rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout. There are brook trout in the headwaters. It is iced over.

Eagle Nest Lake State Park has been good for rainbow trout. This is a big fertile lake that can produce large trout. It was stocked March 19 with 9,985 rainbow trout. Eagle Nest was opened for ice fishing Jan. 27. The ice has deteriorated, and it is now closed to ice fishing. There is good fishing for rainbow trout in the areas of open water.

There are also northern pike, yellow perch and an occasional kokanee salmon. The state-record kokanee was caught here. If you catch a pike at Eagle Nest you must kill it. You cannot release it back into the lake. 575.377.1594 for more information.

The Cimarron River at Cimarron Canyon State Park is stocked with rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. The streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam was 0.58 cubic-feet-per-second. The Cimarron River near Cimarron is free of ice and very low. Streamflow is just 7.65 cubic-feet-per-second.

The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground were stocked Oct. 8 with 429 rainbow trout. They are possibly open now but have not been stocked.

Lake Maloya in Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton was stocked March 25 with 1, 501 rainbow trout. Lake Alice, a smaller lake at the park, was stocked March 25 with 251 rainbow trout. Call 575.445.1507 for more information. The ice is now unsafe. There is some open water for bank fishing.

Morphy Lake State Park is open. It was stocked March 4 with 2,701 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 300 rainbow trout averaging 15.7 inches in size.

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas was stocked March 11 with 4,496 rainbow trout. There are also catfish here.

The Pecos River in Pecos Canyon State Park was last stocked Oct. 9 with 1,502 rainbow trout. Fishing has been fair for rainbows and wild brown trout. There’s some shore ice but the river is very fishable.

The streamflow in the Pecos was 80 cubic-feet-per-second and is much higher than last week. The Pecos River near Villanueva was stocked March 18 with 500 rainbow trout. It was stocked between Villanueva and Interstate 40 March 18 with 199 rainbow trout.

Monastery Lake near Pecos is now open. Ice fishing is not allowed here. It was stocked March 25 with 250 rainbow trout.

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is now being stocked with rainbow trout. It was stocked twice last week with a total of 2,278 catchable-size rainbow trout.

The drainage canals in the Albuquerque area are now being stocked with rainbow trout. The Albuquerque, Albuquerque South, Belen Riverside, Corrales and Peralta drains were stocked last week.

Bluewater Lake near Grants has fair fishing for tiger musky and there are some catfish here. It was stocked March 10 with 6,000 rainbow trout, so trout fishing should pick up. There is open water where the trout fishing has been fair-to-good. Call 505.876.2391 for information.

McGaffey Lake near Grants was stocked Oct. 16 with 4,780 rainbow trout. It may have some ice but should have open water soon.