By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post 

Winter made a return visit last week to New Mexico. Friday and Saturday saw winter-like temperatures below freezing. The big winner in terms of snowfall was the east facing slopes of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Areas near Mora picked up 16 inches of snow. 

The temperatures will rise dramatically this coming week, with forecasts calling for 80 degrees by Saturday. 

Streamflows should increase this week due to melting snow. The warm temperatures will bring an end to the State Game and Fish Department’s winter trout stocking program in Southern New Mexico. Water temperatures here become too warm for trout to survive. 

Despite the recent snow, 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 still below 30-percent of normal in the Pecos River basin. The Upper Rio Grande  is at 33-percent and the Jemez River Basin is at 30-percent. The  Chama River Basin is now 43-percent of normal. 

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

Snow depth at the Hopewell measuring station was 32 inches. Snow depth at Cumbres Trestle was 47 inches. Both are in the Chama River Basin. The snow depth at Wolf Creek Summit in Colorado was 80 inches. 

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 87.3in length. Fenton Lake was stocked April 1 with 2,201 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 25.5 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower 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. The San Antonio River, another Jemez tributary, was stocked April 1 with 500 rainbow trout 

Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The state-record rainbow trout was caught here. Since the lake reopened fishing has been very good. It was stocked twice last week with 3,392 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 300 rainbow trout averaging 15.8 inches. 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 387 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is lower 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 30.7 cubic-feet -per-second. It is stocked with rainbow trout and has wild brown trout. 

The streamflow on the Red River was 28.4 cubic-feet-per-second below Questa. This is lower than last week. It was stocked April 1 with 700 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout. 

The Red River above Questa streamflow is 14.0 cubic-feet-per-second. 

The Red River Hatchery Pond is open again. It was stocked April 1 with 401 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. 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 143 cubic-feet-per-second. This is below normal and higher than last week. It was stocked April 1 with 1,060 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 are open. 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. 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 153 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower 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 April 1 with 848 rainbow trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here. 

The Chama River above El Vado Lake is free of ice. The streamflow was 105 cubic-feet-per-second at La Puente. This is much higher than last week. It was stocked April 1 with1,055 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.  

The streamflow in the Rio Brazos is not being measured yet. It is may be free of ice. It was stocked April 1 with 636 rainbow trout. 

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. 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 is the same as 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 April 2 with 2,475 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 April 2 with 398 catchable-size  rainbow trout and with 36 rainbow trout averaging 15.8 inches. Tiger Park Pond was stocked April 2 with 1,095 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 150  rainbow trout averaging 15.8 inches. 

The Animas River in Aztec was stocked April 2 with 299 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 been good. The ice may be deteriorating. Use caution, especially near the inlet. 

The Rio de los Pinos north of Tres Piedras near the Colorado border is heavily-stocked with rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout. There are brook trout in the headwaters. It is likely starting to open up and losing its ice cover. 

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. 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 have to 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 3.75 cubic-feet-per-second. 

The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground were stocked Oct. 8 with 429 rainbow trout. They are  probably 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. 

Clayton Lske State Park was stocked March 31 with 3,601 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 400 rainbow trout averaging 15.8 inches. There are also walleye, largemouth bass and catfish here. The state-record walleye was caught here. Be sure to check out the dinosaur tracks at Clayton. 

The Charette Lakes between Wagon Moun and Springer were stocked March 19 with 2,500 rainbow trout. There are also yellow perch and some good-sized holdover trout. 

Maxwell Lake 13 on the Maxwell Lakes National Wildlife Refuge was stocked April 1 with 2,000 rainbow trout. It had dried up in 2020 and this is the first stocking since then. 

Morphy Lake State Park is open. It was stocked April 3 with 3,000 catchable-size rainbow trout. 

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas was stocked April 2 with 4,050 catchable-size rainbow trout and stocked April 3 with 450 rainbow trout averaging 15.8 inches. There are also catfish here.  

The Pecos River in Pecos Canyon State Park was last stocked twice last week with a total of 3,000 rainbow trout. Fishing has been fair for rainbows and wild brown trout. The river is very fishable. 

The streamflow in the Pecos was 43.5 cubic-feet-per-second and is lower than last week. The Pecos River near Villanueva was stocked April  2 with 1,000 rainbow trout. It was stocked between Villanueva and Interstate 40 April 3 with 200 rainbow trout. 

The Mora Fork of the Pecos River was stocked April 1 with 400 rainbow trout. 

Monastery Lake near Pecos is now open. It was stocked April 2 with 250 rainbow trout Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is no longer being stocked with rainbow trout.  

The drainage canals in the Albuquerque area are no longer being stocked with rainbow trout.  

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 last stocked Oct. 16 with 4,780 rainbow trout. It may have some ice but should have open water soon.