By GEORGE MORSE
Sports And Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

Happy New Year. This will be the last Fishing Report for 2021.

Looking back, anglers in New Mexico faced several challenges, there was a record-breaking hot spell to begin the summer after a dry spring that saw much of the state suffering from exceptional drought.

Monsoon rains were good this year and helped see us through the summer. They did little to fill our reservoirs. Fall was warm and dry with above average temperatures in October and November.

The year is ending with an encouraging change in the weather pattern that is bringing colder  temperatures and more precipitation to New Mexico. With statewide reservoir storage levels at less than 20-percent, the hope is for a good snowpack here and in Southern Colorado to help raise the lake levels.

The State Game and Fish Department is still stocking thousands of rainbow trout every week. Most of the stocking is taking place in Southern New Mexico. Lakes are starting to freeze over in Northern New Mexico but none as of yet have ice safe enough for ice fishing.

Fenton Lake State Park in the Jemez Mountains is open. Camping is allowed by reservation only. It was stocked Dec. 21 with 391 catchable-size rainbow trout. Fenton also has wild brown trout and Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Only two cutthroat trout may be kept per-day as part of the five-trout-per-day bag limit. The lake is completely frozen but unsafe for fishing. Call 575.829.3630 for current conditions at Fenton.

The Seven Springs Brood Pond at Seven Springs Fish Hatchery is open. It is also known as the Kid’s Pond. It is well-stocked with rainbow trout. There are a few big brown trout in this pond. The fishing is for anglers under 12 years old.

The trout fishing has been fair in the Jemez River. The streamflow is now 20.1 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week. The fish are concentrated in deeper pools. It was stocked Dec. 21 with 750 rainbow trout.

Eagle Nest Lake State Park is open. The Lake View campground is now closed and the docks have been taken out of the water. The Main Area and Visitors Center are now open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Six-Mile and the Marina are open daily. The lake was frozen over with ice. Wind breaks up the ice during the day and it is unsafe for fishing. The lake is closed to all boating and ice fishing. For more information and current conditions, call 575.377.1594. 

Heron Lake State Park is open. The boat ramps are closed. Bank fishing could be fair for rainbow trout. You may catch a lake trout this time of year. The lake level is still low. Kokanee salmon snagging has been slow. The fish are scattered. The best areas were near the dam and at the Sierra Vista boat-launching area. Snagging season ends Friday. The banks are very muddy due to the low water level.

Call 575.588.7470 for conditions at both Heron Lake and El Vado Lake.

El Vado Lake has rainbow trout, brown trout, perch and small smallmouth bass. Boating is closed. Water level is low. The North Day Use Area has had fair-to-good fishing for trout. Kokanee salmon snagging season ends Friday. It is reported to be fair at the North End Day Use area where the Chama River enters the lake, but may be slowing down.

Abiquiu Lake is open, including the boat ramp and picnic areas. The campground is open. Camping is by reservation only. It is managed by the Corps of Engineers. Reservations may be made at www.reservation.gov. 

The water level is low at Abiquiu. A four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended for launching boats. The fishing has been slow for walleye and smallmouth bass. Trout fishing should pick up. There are some good-sized trout in Abiquiu. Call 505.685.4371 for more information.

The Chama River below Abiquiu Dam is flowing at 95.7 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week. The water here is murky. The fishing is at least fair for stocked and holdover rainbow trout. There are some big, wild brown trout here. Fly Fishermen should use flies with a little flash to them. It was last stocked Oct. 18 with 761 rainbow trout. The limit here is two-fish-per-day. 

The Chama River below El Vado Dam is flowing at 94.3 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little lower than last week. The fishing has been fair-to-good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brown trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here.

The streamflow in the Chama River above El Vado Lake is higher than last week. The streamflow at La Puente is 45.1 cubic-feet-per-second. Try fishing below the outflow from Heron Dam. A big lake trout was recently caught below Heron Dam.

Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. The North Shore campground is closed. It was stocked Nov. 4 with 2,629 rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout. The boat ramp is open. Santa Cruz normally does not freeze over. For updated conditions, check the Bureau of Land Management website.

The Cimarron River in Cimarron Canyon State Park is open. Fishing had been good for stocked rainbow and wild brown trout. Streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam is 0.23 cubic-feet-per-second. This is really low and not beneficial for spawning brown trout. Streamflow is at 3.28 cubic-feet-per-second near the town of Cimarron.

Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton is open daily. Lake Alice and Lake Maloya are open for fishing.  Camping is available by reservation only. Lake Alice is a small lake and the fishing is primarily for recently-stocked rainbow trout.  Lake Maloya is bigger and is capable of producing larger, holdover trout.  It was stocked Dec. 13 with 1,314 catchable-size rainbow trout. Call 575.445.5607 for current conditions. These lakes should begin to ice over. Lake Alice is covered with thin ice and closed to fishing.. There is plenty of open water on Lake Maloya.

Cochiti Lake is open. The boat ramp is open. Reservations are no longer needed to enter the lake. Camping reservations can be made at www.recreation.gov. They are not sold at the lake. The Tetilla Peak Recreation Area is closed. This lake is managed by the Corps of Engineers.

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is now being stocked. Stockings here will continue through the winter. It was stocked Dec. 21 with a total of 1,802 catchable-size rainbow trout.

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

Over in the Four Corners Navajo Lake State Park is open. Camping is by reservation only. Navajo Lake does not freeze over. Kokanee salmon snagging is still open but slow. Snagging season ends Friday. The kokanee salmon are starting to die. The flesh of the salmon may be getting soft. Boating conditions are good. Call 505.632.2278 for conditions.

The best river in the state and well-known throughout the angling world is the San Juan River below Navajo Dam. The streamflow here is 268 cubic-feet-per-second. This is well-below normal. It offers world-class fly fishing for big trout.

The fishing has been good with a variety of fly patterns in the four miles of Quality Water below the Dam. The fishing here is catch-and-release with flies and lures having a single, barbless hook. The Quality Water is stocked with small rainbow trout that grow quickly in the fertile waters. There are big, wild brown trout in the Quality Water. Some of these fish would likely shatter the state record if they could be kept and weighed. 

The fishing in the Bait Water of the San Juan below the Quality Water has been fair-to-good with flies, bait and lures. A regular daily limit of five trout may be kept here. There are some big brown trout here, too. It was stocked Dec. 8 with 2,235 rainbow trout.

Tiger Park Pond and Aztec Pond #1 in Aztec are now being stocked. Tiger Park Pond was stocked Dec. 8 with 824 catchable-size rainbow trout. Aztec Pond was stocked Dec.1 with 183 catchable-size rainbow trout. There may be some bigger trout left over from earlier stockings.

Jackson Lake north of Farmington is now being stocked. It was stocked Nov. 23 with 770 rainbow trout.

Lake Farmington is being stocked again. It was stocked Nov. 9 with 1,397 rainbow trout.

Bluewater Lake State Park is open. Boating conditions are listed as good. Camping is allowed by reservation only. Lake water level is low. The trout fishing should pick up. It was stocked Nov. 15 with 2,076 rainbow trout. Tiger muskies are being caught and the fishing for them had been good using big crank baits and waterdogs. Expect traffic delays on westbound Interstate 40 at Laguna. Call 505.876.2391 for current conditions. 

The Rio Grande streamflow is 306 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is slightly higher than last week and below normal. The fishing had been good for rainbow and brown trout. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked Nov. 22 with 1,498 rainbow trout. The Rio Grande Gorge above Pilar was stocked with 188 rainbow trout.

From the Colorado state line downstream to the Taos Junction Bridge, the limit is two-trout-per-day in the Rio Grande.

The streamflow in the Rio Pueblo was not reported and the stream is icing over.

The Red River near the Red River Fish Hatchery is flowing at 26.3 cubic-feet-per-second. The fishing is normally fair-to-good here for stocked rainbow trout and some wild brown trout. It was stocked Dec. 7 with 524 rainbow trout. 

The Red River Hatchery Pond is open. It was stocked Oct. 20 with 298 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 80 rainbow trout averaging 15.5 inches in size. The fishing here is for anglers under 14 years-of-age and over 65 years old. The limit here is three fish per-day. It may be frozen over soon if not already.

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa is open. This little lake is right off the highway between Questa and Red River. Some icing over may be occurring on parts of this little lake and it may be frozen over. It was stocked Oct. 28 with 374 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 50 rainbow trout averaging 15.5 inches in size.

The Pecos River above the town of Pecos is icing over. The streamflow at Pecos was not reported due to ice. The fishing had been fair for stocked rainbow trout and wild brown trout. The deeper pools will hold the most trout. The stockings of trout in the winter move south to Villanueva State Park. It was stocked Dec. 20 with 375 rainbow trout. Stockings will also be made below Sumner Dam during the winter. It was stocked Dec. 21 with 187 rainbow trout.

Monastery Lake is open to fishing. It was stocked Dec. 20 with 189 catchable-size rainbow trout. Please pick up your trash here as this is private property and should be respected. Fishing here is possible through the State Game and Fish Department’s Open Gate Program. It may ice over. Ice fishing is not allowed at Monastery Lake.