I’m always telling anglers to check on the streamflows below El Vado Dam and Abiquiu Dam on the Chama River.

 

The flow below El Vado Dam Monday was 198 cubic feet per second. This is a great time to fish in this location with the flows being much lower than before. Already a couple of 20 – inchers have been caught here. Be sure to check the flows daily on the United State Geological Survey (USGS) website if you plan a trip there. If the streamflows remain low I plan a trip there this week.

 

During the summer, the flows below El Vado Dam are increased on the weekends to provide favorable conditions for the rafting trips and kayakers that like to float the Chama River. Although the streamflows below Abiquiu Dam have been lowered, they are still too high for good fishing conditions.

 

The San Juan River below Navajo Dam near Farmington is one of the premier fishing destinations in the state and is known throughout the country for its fine fishing for big trout. Currently, the flow below Navajo Dam is a very heavy 4,770 cubic-feet- per second. These heavy releases are done to simulate the effects of spring runoff and to flush silt from the river. These heavy releases make the river hard to fish and dangerous to wade. The fishing now is best from boats floating the river. The releases from below Navajo Dam will likely be lowered later this summer. Be sure to check when this happens and fishing conditions improve.

 

There’s some bad news to report. Just a week ago, I wrote about fishing Laguna del Campo near Los Ojos. Because the dam there has been deemed unsafe and too costly to repair, the State Game and Fish Department voted to drain Laguna del Campo and not to refill it. This was a pretty little lake that offered some good fishing opportunities and had some big fish in it. Losing it is a sad thing. Be sure and check to see if the regulations change concerning the harvest of fish from it.

 

The State Department of Game and Fish continues to stock bigger-than- average rainbow trout in selected lakes throughout Northern New Mexico. Last week, the Department stocked the Cimarron River Gravel pits, Manzano Lake, Monastery Lake, Morphy Reservoir and the Red River Hatchery Pond with big fish.

 

 

The fishing for smallmouth bass and walleye at Abiquiu Lake has been fair-to- good. Anglers are also catching some rainbow trout, including a 24-incher. A few perch are being caught. The water level in this lake has risen dramatically and shoreline that I was fishing from earlier this spring is now under many feet of water. Green vegetation is being flooded and bank fishing can be difficult.

 

The fishing for rainbow trout from the bank at Heron Lake has been fair-to- good. A lake trout was reportedly caught on a night crawler last week.

 

There was a report from Hopewell Lake and it was not good. The one time I fished Hopewell this spring, I had no trouble catching a limit of brook trout. Hopewell has not been stocked yet, so the fishing is for brook trout and holdover rainbows. The baits used for hatchery rainbow trout like Power Bait and

salmon eggs is not as effective for brook trout and holdover rainbows. Try worms during the day and switch to flies if the fish start rising in the evening.

 

The fishing from the bank and anchored boats with Power Bait has been good at Eagle Nest Lake for rainbow trout. Perch are biting on worms. The fishing at Fenton Lake has been good using practically everything from flies to lures to bait.

 

Lake Alice and Lake Maloya near Raton continue to offer good fishing, particularly with flies when the fish start to rise in the evenings.

 

Streamflows on the streams in the Jemez Mountains continue to drop and in some cases are now below normal. The fishing on all these streams has been rated good. With the lower water levels, fly fishing should be prime on these waters.

 

Morphy Lake near Las Vegas and Monastery Lake near Pecos have been good all spring. They are well-stocked with trout.

 

Fishing on the Pecos River should just get better for fly fishers as the water level continues to drop.

 

The Cimarron River below Eagle Nest Dam was stocked with more than 2,400 rainbow trout last week and the fishing is good. The Gravel Pit Lakes have been very good and were stocked with bigger-than- average trout last week.