By GEORGE MORSESports & Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post
There were several days recently with strong winds. This time of the year the wind can be a major factor when it comes to fishing lakes that have not frozen over. It pays to check on the weather if you are planning a fishing trip. It can be spring one day and winter the next.
More lakes will open to fishing March 1 in Northeast New Mexico. The Charette Lakes, Clayton Lake and Maxwell Lake 13 will open for fishing.
Morphy Lake State Park near Mora has been closed for months for repairs on the dam. When this lake reopens for fishing, it could be worth a try because the trout here have had no fishing pressure for a long time. It normally reopens March 1, so check the weekly fishing report to see when it will reopen.
Almost all the stocking of rainbow trout by the State Game and Fish Department this past week took place in the lakes and ponds in Southern New Mexico.
The one exception was the Chama River below Abiquiu Dam. This area was stocked Feb. 4 with 536 rainbow trout that averaged nearly a foot long. The fishing here has been fair-to-good. The limit on trout in this area is two-fish-per-day. The streamflow below Abiquiu Dam was 138 cubic-feet-per-second.
The fishing at Abiquiu Lake is slow. The lake level is very low and the launching of boats is extremely difficult. Expect the fishing at Abiquiu to pick up in March for walleye and trout.
There have been no reports from the fishing conditions on the Chama River below El Vado Dam for several weeks now.
The frigid, below-zero temperatures in the Chama area and difficulty of access due to snow on the ground may be limiting fishing pressure here. It has not been stocked in at least a month.
There were no reports from El Vado Lake and Heron Lake. El Vado has closed due to unsafe ice conditions. The ice thickness at Heron Lake is nine inches.
The ice fishing at Heron may be worth a try. Be sure to call ahead at (575).588.7470 for current ice conditions.
The ice fishing at Fenton Lake State Park remains very good and the ice thickness was 15 inches Monday. Call (575).829.3630 for current ice conditions.
The fishing has been good in the Jemez River and it was stocked two weeks ago. Most of the stocking takes place in the lower river this time of year.
Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is still iced over and closed to fishing. Remember, it was in March of 1999 that Peter Romero caught the state record rainbow trout from Santa Cruz. When the ice comes off Santa Cruz would be a good time to try your luck here.
The streamflow on the Rio Grande was 355 cubic-feet-per-second. This time of year with the warmer daytime temperatures the water can rise and turn murkier by mid-day. The fishing has been slow-to-fair for trout. No reports on northern pike.
The fishing on the Red River below the town of Questa has been good.
The ice fishing at Eagle Nest Lake has been good for perch and a group of four anglers recently caught 97 perch there.
Perch are very good eating when fileted. The fishing for rainbow trout has been slow-to-fair. Anglers have been hooking an occasional northern pike this winter.
The ice fishing has been good at Lake Alice and Lake Maloya in Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton. The ice thickness at Lake Alice is 11 inches and at Lake Maloya the ice is 16 inches thick.
The fishing at Storrie Lake State Pak near Raton has been fair-to-good.
The fishing on the Pecos River in the Villanueva area has been fair-to-good, but there were no recent reports from here.
This area is normally best after a recent stocking. There were none last week.
Monastery Lake near the town of Pecos is still closed to ice fishing, so no reports from here.
Over in the Four Corners area, some of the best winter trout fishing in the state is found on the San Juan River below Navajo Dam. The streamflow here was 284 cubic-feet-per-second. The fishing has been good here with a variety of fly patterns. The fishing in the Quality Water for four miles below the Dam is restricted to flies and lures with a single, barbless hook. The fishing is catch-and-release. The Bait Waters below the Quality Waters is open to all types of angling and the limit here is five-fish-per-day.
The fishing has been slow at Navajo Lake, although a 6-pound, 10-ounce brown trout was caught Jan. 29. There were no reports from last week. In years past anglers would catch some big brown trout and rainbow trout here trolling plugs like Rapalas during the winter.
No reports from Jackson Lake or Lake Farmington. These lakes were heavily-stocked two weeks ago and should be worth a try. It sounds like the fishing pressure has been extremely light so you should have some elbow room.
There were no reports from Cochiti Lake.
Tingley Beach in Albuquerque has been very good for stocked rainbow trout, although nostockings were made last week.
The drainage canals in the Albuquerque area were not stocked last week. The fishing still remains good for trout left over from earlier stockings.
The water is warming up at Elephant Butte Lake and the fishing for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass has been picking up. It has been good using crank baits, swim baits and jigs. The fishing has been fair-to-good for catfish.
The Rio Grande below Elephant Butte Dam has been good for stocked rainbow trout. This area was stocked Feb. 4 with 650 rainbow trout.
The fishing in the Carlsbad area at Bataan Lake, Carlsbad Municipal Lake and Lake Van remains good to very good for stocked rainbow trout.
The fishing at Alto Lake and Grindstone Reservoir near Ruidoso has been god to very good for stocked ranbow trut.
The fishing at Lake Roberts near Silver City has been good. The trout fishing at Bill Evans Lake near Silver City has been good. The largemouth bass fishing at Bill Evans Lake and Lake Roberts should pick up soon. Both have been designated as trophy bass waters. The state-record largemouth bass was caught at Bill Evans Lake.
