Weekly Fishing Report: Dec. 2, 2020

By George Morse
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

New Mexico State Parks have been closed for two weeks and will remain closed pending any announcements from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The closure is due to an increase in COVID-19 cases throughout the state.

Updated statewide health orders are expected to be announced today concerning the reopening of the state parks. For more information, visit the state parks website at: emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/SPD.

Eagle Nest Lake State Park is planning on reopening today pending any new health orders. The lake is starting to freeze over, but the ice is unsafe for fishing. Boating is now closed. Anglers can fish from the bank if they can find areas of open water. Fishing for rainbow trout should be good in areas of open water. For current conditions, call (575) 377-1594.

Fenton Lake State Park remains closed pending new health orders. It is suggested that anglers interested in fishing at Fenton call Thursday (Dec. 3) to check on its status. The lake is completely frozen over. For current conditions, call (575) 829-3630.

Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton remains closed awaiting new health orders. Lake Alice and Lake Maloya at the Park may be starting to freeze over.  For more information on conditions, call (575) 445-5607.

Navajo Lake State Park is currently closed and awaiting new health orders from the state before reopening. Navajo Lake   normally does not freeze over. The kokanee salmon snagging at Navajo Lake was fair-to-good before the closure. Call (505) 632-2278 for more information.

Clayton Lake, the Charette Lakes and Laguna del Campo are closed for the winter. Monastery Lake near Pecos remains closed. Cochiti Lake is closed.

Heron Lake State Park is currently closed and waiting to reopen. During the brief time the kokanee salmon snagging season was open before the closure it was slow, but some fish were being caught. El Vado Lake State Park is closed for the season. Call (575) 588-7470 for more information.

Most high elevation lakes in Northern New Mexico are now frozen over. The smaller streams are icing up, making fishing difficult. The larger rivers are open and provide some of the better fishing for this time of year.

The upper Pecos River above the town of Pecos is icing up. The streamflow was not measured due to ice. The Pecos River is stocked with rainbow trout at Villanueva State Park below Interstate 25 during the winter. The Park is currently closed and awaiting to reopen pending new heath orders from the state.

The Rio Grande had been good for rainbow trout and brown trout, but the water has recently grown murky and the fishing has slowed down. The streamflow at Taos Junction Bridge was 365 cubic-feet-per-second.

The Chama River below Abiquiu Dam is open and the road from the dam is open. The streamflow was 50.1 cubic-feet-per second. Parking is not allowed in the picnic area below the dam. The fishing has been good. The limit here is two-fish-per-day.

Abiquiu Lake is open to walk-in fishing. The fishing has been slow. Call (505) 685-4371 for current conditions.

The Chama River below El Vado Dam has been good for rainbow trout and brown trout. The streamflow is 105 cubic-feet-per-second.

The Red River below the Red River Fish Hatchery has been good. The streamflow is 32.8 cubic-feet-per-second. The Red River above Questa is icing over. There were no reports from Eagle Rock Lake near Questa. It may be icing over.

The Jemez River was stocked Nov. 24 with 1,500 rainbow trout. The streamflow was 11.1 cubic-feet-per-second.

Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is open Thursday-Sunday 7 a.m.-7 p.m. The water level is low. The fishing has been fair-to-good for trout. This lower-elevation lake seldom freezes over, but ice can form along the shore making fishing difficult before it melts off.

In the Four Corners area, Lake Farmington has been good for stocked rainbow trout. This Lake is administered by the City of Farmington. Jackson Lake in the Four Corners area has also been stocked. Tiger Park Pond in Aztec has been stocked and should be good. Lake Farmington was stocked Nov. 23 with 2,015 rainbow trout. Jackson Lake was stocked with 1,235 rainbow trout.

The San Juan River below Navajo Dam is flowing at 367 cubic-feet-per-second, which is well-below normal for this time of year. Portions of the San Juan are located in Navajo Lake State Park, which is closed. The Quality Water has been good with a variety of fly patterns. The Bait Water has been good with flies, bait and lures.

Bluewater Lake State Park is closed. Below-zero temperatures are forecast for this area and this lake could ice over.

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is closed.

The drainage canals in Albuquerque are being stocked with rainbow trout. The Albuquerque, Albuquerque South, Belen Riverside, Corrales Riverside and Peralta drains were stocked last week. The fishing has been fair–to-good.

Elephant Butte Lake State Park is closed. It is waiting on new health orders from New Mexico Governor Michele Lujan Grisham to reopen. The best fishing will likely be for white bass and catfish. For more information, call (575) 744-5923.

The streamflow on the Rio Grande below Elephant Butte Dam is 1.13 cubic-feet-per-second. The fishing has been good for catfish and it has been stocked with trout.

Much of the stocking of rainbow trout now takes place in Southern New Mexico. In the Carlsbad area, two lakes were stocked Nov. 24 with rainbow trout. Carlsbad Municipal Lake was stocked with 1,499 rainbow trout. Lake Van was stocked with 1,500 rainbow trout.

In the Ruidoso area, the fishing has been good at Alto Lake and at Grindstone Reservoir for trout. These lakes are administered by the City of Ruidoso and are open to residents and property owners of Lincoln County, as well as residents of Mescalero.

The Ruidoso River is flowing at 4.08 cubic-feet-per-second at Hollywood. It has been good for stocked rainbow trout, but they get fished out quickly.

In the Silver City area, Lake Roberts has been fair for trout and catfish. This is a trophy-bass lake where the limit is two-bass-per-day.

Bill Evans Lake was stocked Nov. 23 with 1,632 rainbow trout. This is a trophy bass lake where the limit is two-bass-per-day.

Bear Canyon Lake has been good for stocked rainbow trout. There are also catfish and crappie here.

The fishing has been good for catfish in the Gila River. The streamflow was 58.6 cubic-feet-per-second.

Quemado Lake has been fair for trout. Ice can sometimes form on this lake despite its southern location.

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