By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post
Several lakes in Northeast New Mexico will open for fishing Feb. 28. Morphy Lake State Park, Clayton Lake State Park, Charette Lakes and Maxwell Lake 13 will open after being closed for the winter. Clayton Lake was stocked Feb. 18 with 4,001 rainbow trout in preparation for the opener.
Be sure to call 575.377.1594 to check on ice conditions at Eagle Nest Lake. The weather forecast indicates a warming trend so ice conditions may deteriorate.
Fenton Lake is still not open for ice fishing. There is some open water.
Small streams at higher elevations are iced up. The Rio Pueblo, Santa Cruz River and Rio Costilla are already reporting icy conditions. The Pecos River north of Pecos just recently also reported icy conditions.
The best fishing will be found below big dams. The San Juan River below Navajo Dam is.a good winter trout fishery.
Santa Cruz Lake does not allow any ice-fishing. It is now closed but will reopen Feb. 15. If the lake freezes it will be closed. Remember, if the access road to Santa Cruz is icy and snow-packed it will be closed. The fishing here should be good if there is open water.
Monastery Lake is now closed due to unsafe ice conditions
Streamflow in the Rio Grande remained average near the Colorado border and stayed normal further downstream over the past week. At Taos Junction Bridge streamflow Sunday (2/22) was 447 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. The streamflow at Cerro near the Colorado border was 289 cubic-feet-per-second, which is normal. The streamflow at Embudo was 465 cubic-feet-per-second.
The Rio Grande seldom freezes completely and is one of the more reliable fishing locations during the winter season. It is well-stocked with rainbow trout, especially in the Pilar area.
Fenton Lake State Park is open. Camping is by reservation only. Fenton Lake was stocked Jan. 27 with 490 rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout and some Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Only two cutthroat trout may be kept as part of a five-trout daily bag limit. Call 575.829.3630 for current conditions. The ice is still not safe for fishing. It could open within the next two weeks if the weather stays cold or if the lake thaws completely.
The Rio Cebolla flows into and out of Fenton Lake. It has wild brown trout.
The Jemez River streamflow was 18.4 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week and below normal. It was stocked Feb. 18 with 1,072 rainbow trout and has wild brown
Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The state-record rainbow trout was caught here. There are also wild brown trout. Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Monday. It is now closed but will reopen Feb. 15. Call 505.351.1438 or visit blm.gov/visit/santa-cruz-lake-recreation.
The Bureau also manages the Orilla Verde Recreation Area on the Rio Grande at Pilar. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked Feb. 18 with 13,326 sub-catchable rainbow trout. It was stocked with 2,002 catchable-size rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout, northern pike and smallmouth bass. Some Rio Grande cutthroat trout are now being caught thanks to earlier stockings.
From the Colorado border to the Taos Junction Bridge, the limit is two trout per day on the Rio Grande. Streamflow was 447 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is lower than last week. The Rio Grande Gorge above Pilar was stocked Feb. 18 with 6,672 sub-catchale rainbow trout. It was stocked with 501 catchable-size rainbow trout.
The streamflow on the Red River below Questa was 30.6 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a lower than last week. It was stocked Feb.17 with 701 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.
Eagle Rock Lake near Questa is frozen. Ice fishing has been good for rainbow trout. Use caution.
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 frozen over. Use caution if attempting to ice fish.
Abiquiu Lake is managed by the Corps of Engineers. The fishing has been fair-to-good for walleye and smallmouth bass. There are some good-sized trout in Abiquiu and they are now being caught trolling. Camping by reservation. Call 505.685.4371 for more information.
The streamflow in the Chama River below Abiquiu Dam was 42.2 cubic-feet-per-second. This is the same as last week. It was stocked Feb. 17 with with 536 rainbow trout. There are some big, wild brown trout here. The limit here is two-trout-per -day.
Heron Lake State Park is open and bank fishing is fair. El Vado Lake State Park is now open for fishing Call 575-588-7470 for more information.
The streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 93.0 cubic-feet-per-second. It has wild brown trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here.
The Chama River above El Vado Lake streamflow was 91.5 cubic-feet-per-second at La Puente. This is higher than last week.
Over at 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 fishing for northern pike has been fair-to-good. Bass fishing has been slow. Camping by reservation only. Boating conditions are good. Call 505.632-2278 for more information. Navajo Lake does not freeze.
The San Juan River below Navajo Dam is the best river in New Mexico and well-known in the angling world. The streamflow was 323 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than 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 twice two weeks ago with a total of 35,773 sub-catchable 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 Feb. 16 with 2,257 catchable-size rainbow trout. It was stocked Jan. 29 with 79,289 fingerling rainbow trout.
Lakes in the Aztec area are now being stocked. Aztec Pond #1 was stocked Feb. 18 with 107 rainbow trout. Tiger Pàrk Pond was stocked Feb. 18 with 2,269 catchable-size rainbow trout
Lake Farmington was stocked Jan. 26 with 1,490 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. This lake is frozen and ice-fishing has been good. Be cautious if attempting to ice fish.
Eagle Nest Lake State Park is closed to ice-fishing. It had.been good for rainbow trout. If you catch a pike at Eagle Nest you must kill it. You cannot release it back into the lake. Call 575-377-1594 for more information. It is was open briefly for ice-fishing but is now closed for boating and fishing.
Lake Maloya and Lake Ailce are located inn Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton. Call 575.445.1507 for more information. Both lakes are frozen but unsafe for ice-fishing
Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas is open. It could freeze over.
The Pecos River in Pecos Fishing has been fair for rainbows and wild brown trout. The Pecos River near Villanueva was stocked Feb. 16 with 500 rainbow trout.
The streamflow in the Pecos River at Pecos was not measured due to ice. There may be areas of open water.
The drainage canals in the Albuquerque area are now being stocked with catchable-size rainbow trout. The Albuquerque, Albuquerque South, Belen Riverside, Bernalillo and Peralta drains were stocked last week.
Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is stocked with rainbow trout. It was stocked twice Feb. 19 with a total of 2,284 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 240 rainbow trout averaging 15.1 inches.
Bluewater Lake near Grants has fair fishing for tiger musky and there are some catfish here. They have been catching some nice holdover rainbow trout. It was stocked Feb. 16 with 5, 618 rainbow trout. Call 505.876.2391 for more information.