By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post 

Happy New Year! 

Rainbow trout were not stocked anywhere last week in Northern New Mexico. All the stocking activity took place in Southern New Mexico. Even Tingley Beach and the Albuquerque area drains were not stocked. 

The weather has been too warm and the ice-fishing season is off to a slow start. With  the exception of Hopewell Lake, no New Mexico lakes or state parks are open for ice fishing. Fenton Lake was starting to freeze, but what ice there was is melting and there is plenty of open water. Some much colder air is forecast for the coming weekend. Maybe this will jump start the ice-fishing. Be sure to call ahead if planning a trip. 

Small streams at higher elevations are starting to ice up. The Rio Pueblo, Santa Cruz River and Rio Costilla are already reporting icy conditions that prevent the measurement of streamflow. Lakes are starting to develop thin ice, but it will be a while before the ice is thick enough for safe ice fishing. 

The best fishing will be found below big dams. The San Juan River below Navajo Dam is a good winter trout fishery. 

This time of year is good time to plan a trip to Southern New Mexico. The weather is warmer and a lot more comfortable than dealing with the hot temperatures of summer. Many small lakes and ponds are being stocked with catchable- 

Santa Cruz Lake and Monastery Lake do not allow any ice-fishing. 

Streamflows on the Rio Grande stayed steady over the past week at Taos Junction Bridge.  Streamflow Sunday (12/28) was 642 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. The streamflow at Cerro near the Colorado border was 424 cubic-feet-per-second. The streamflow at Embudo was 612 cubic-feet-per-second. All of these measurements are above normal. 

Fenton Lake State Park is open. Camping is by reservation only. Fenton Lake was stocked Dec. 16 with 501 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. There is more open water for bank fishing.  

The Rio Cebolla flows into and out of Fenton Lake. It was stocked Oct. 15 with 206 rainbow trout. It was stocked Oct. 21 with 2,024 fingerling Rio Grande cutthroat trout. It also has wild brown 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. It is north of Fenton Lake. It was stocked on Aug. 20 with 200 rainbow trout that averaged 17.4 inches. It was stocked Oct. 23 with 692 catchable-size rainbow trout. The lake is starting to freeze, but there was some open water. 

The Jemez River streamflow was 24.3 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and normal. It was stocked Dec. 16 with 1,225 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout. 

The East Fork of the Jemez River was stocked Oct. 21 with 6,838 fingerling Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Peralta Creek in the Jemez drainage was stocked Nov. 20 with 501 fingerling Rio Grande cutthroat trout. All streams in the Jemez drainage have wild brown trout. The headwaters are icing up. 

San Gregorio Lake was stocked Oct. 20 with 10,000 fingerling Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Some good-sized holdover cutthroats have been caught here recently. This hike-in lake is likely frozen over.  

Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The state-record rainbow trout was caught here. It was stocked twice Dec. 3 with a total of 2,167 catchable-size rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Monday. Call 505.351.1438 or visit blm.gov/visit/santa-cruz-lake-recreation. 

The Santa Cruz River above the lake is icing up. 

The Bureau also manages the Orilla Verde Recreation Area on the Rio Grande at Pilar. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked Dec. 18 with 27,686 sub-catchable 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 642 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is lower than last week. The Rio Grande Gorge above Pilar was stocked Aug. 21 with 20,000 Rio Grande cutthroat trout. It was stocked  Nov. 18 with 15,017 fingerling rainbow trout. 

The Rio Pueblo near Penasco is icing up. Streamflow was not measured. It was last stocked Sept. 22 with 1,202 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout. 

The streamflow on the Red River below Questa is 48.9 cubic-feet-per-second below Questa. This is a a little higher than last week. It was stocked Dec.15 with 700 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout. 

The Red River Hatchery Pond is open. It was stocked Oct. 15 with 650 catchable-size rainbow trout. Fishing is for anglers 11 years old or younger and 65 years old or older.  

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa was stocked Oct. 16 with 650 catchable-size rainbow trout. It may be starting to freeze. 

The Shuree Ponds on the Valle Vidal are open. They were stocked Aug. 7 with 500 rainbow trout averaging 15.8 inches. They close Dec. 31 for the season. They are likely frozen. 

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 may be 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. Camping by reservation. Call 505.685.4371 for more information.  

The streamflow in the Chama River below Abiquiu Dam was 74.4 cubic-feet-per-second. This is the same as last week. It was stocked Dec. 15 with 1,500 rainbow trout. There are some big, wild brown trout here. The limit here is two-trout-per day. 

The Canjilon Lakes were last stocked Oct. 9 with 2,001 small Rio Grande cutthroat trout. These lakes are starting to freeze over and may be hard to reach 

The Trout Lakes near Cebolla are open. Access to these lakes can be difficult when it rains. They were stocked Oct. 9 with 530 rainbow trout. These lakes will soon freeze over and be inaccessible. 

Heron Lake State Park is open. Fishing for rainbow trout has been fair. Kokanee salmon snagging season ended Dec. 31. El Vado Lake State Park is now open for fishing. El Vado Lake was stocked Nov. 17 with 40,027 fingerling rainbow trout. Kokanee salmon snagging season began Oct. 1. Call 575.588.7470 for more information.  

The streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 103 cubic-feet-per-second. It has wild brown trout. It was stocked Oct. 1 with 436 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 5,012 fingerling rainbow trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here. 

The Chama River above El Vado Lake streamflow was 70.1 cubic-feet-per-second at La Puente. This is lower than last week. It was stocked Oct. 1 with 1,070 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout. 

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 fair. Navajo Lake has the best kokanee salmon fishing in the state. Kokanee salmon snagging season closed Dec 31. 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 280 cubic-feet-per-second. This is just a little higher than last week and below normal. It has world-class fly-fishing for big trout. Conditions for wading anglers have improved. 

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 Dec. 3 with 30,009 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 Dec. 15 with 1,804 catchable-size rainbow trout. 

 Lakes in the Aztec area are now being stocked. Aztec Pond #1 was stocked Dec. 15 with 94 rainbow trout. Tiger Park Pond was stocked Dec. 15 with 889 catchable-size 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. It was stocked Oct. 10 with 1,205 small Rio Grande cutthroat trout. It was stocked three weeks ago with a total of 2,409 catchable-size rainbow trout. This lake is frozen and ice-fishing has been good. Be cautious if attempting to ice fish. 

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 icing up. 

Eagle Nest Lake State Park is good for rainbow trout. This is a big fertile lake that can produce large trout. It was stocked Oct. 16 with 11,002 sub-catchable rainbow trout. There is also northern pike, yellow perch and an occasional kokanee salmon. The state-record kokanee was caught here.  Snagging season for kokanee salmon closed Dec. 31. 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. There is open water but it will soon freeze over. 

The Cimarron River at Cimarron Canyon State Park is stocked with rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. It was stocked Oct. 7 with 2,420 rainbow trout. The streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam was 2.00 cubic-feet-per-second. The Cimarron River near Cimarron is icing up. 

The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground were stocked Oct. 7 with 401 catchable-size rainbow trout. They may soon freeze over. 

Lake Maloya in Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton. Lake Maloya was stocked Oct. 14 with 5,163 rainbow trout. Lake Alice, a smaller lake at the park, was stocked Oct. 14 with 499 rainbow trout. Call 575.445.1507 for more information. It should soon be frozen over. 

Coyote Creek State Park is open and last stocked Sept. 9 with 800 rainbow trout. Coyote Creek Pond was stocked with 601 rainbow trout. 

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas was stocked Nov. 18 with 20,022 fingerling rainbow trout.  

The Pecos River in Pecos Canyon State Park was stocked Oct. 7 with 3,001 catchable-size rainbow trout. Fishing has been fair for rainbows and wild brown trout. The Pecos River near Villanueva was stocked Dec. 17 with 500 rainbow trout. 

The streamflow in the Pecos River at Pecos was 56.2 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and above normal. 

The Cowles Ponds are likely starting to freeze. 

Monastery Lake near Pecos is now open. It was stocked Dec. 23 with 900 rainbow trout. 

The drainage canals in the Albuquerque area are now being stocked with catchable-size rainbow trout. The Albuquerque, Albuquerque South, Belen Riverside, Bernalillo, Corrales Riverside and Peralta drains were stocked two weeks ago. 

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is stocked with rainbow trout. It was stocked Dec. 122 with a total of 2,400 rainbow trout. 

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 twice two weeks ago with a total of 5,751 rainbow trout. It was stocked Dec. 2 with 29,965 fingerling rainbow trout. Call 505.876.2391 for more information.