By GEORGE MORSE
Sports And Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

The heat will be on soon as New Mexico enters a dry and hot stretch of weather. Stream flows continue to fall and will soon be back to normal in several drainages

The water level at Abiquiu Reservoir has reached near record levels. Picnic shelters that once stood on dry land are now standing in water. Access to the main boat ramp is open, but much of the parking area is now under water. Fishing for now will be challenging as the fish will be scattered. Boaters need to keep an eye out for debris in the water. Lots of green trees are being flooded and rocks that used to be easily visible are now hard to see in the murky water.

This will be a year to remember for whitewater rafters and kayakers as the high water will make for thrilling rides through the rapids. Unfortunately, the high water has already claimed some lives.

Get out and enjoy these conditions while have them. You never know what next year will bring. Use caution and stay safe.

Fenton Lake State Park is open for camping. Lake is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Camping by reservation only. It is heavily-stocked with rainbow trout. It also has some wild brown trout and some Rio Grande cutthroat trout from earlier stockings. It was stocked June 13 with 1,830 rainbow trout. Only two cutthroat trout may be kept as part of the five fish daily limit at Fenton. For more information and current lake conditions call 575.829.3630.

The Rio Cebolla, which flows into and below Fenton Lake, was stocked June 7 with 400 rainbow trout.

The Jemez River streamflow Tuesday was 44.3 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much lower than last week and a little below normal. Streamflow has been dropping. The Jemez River was stocked June 7 with 210 rainbow trout.

The smaller tributaries of the Jemez River are running high but dropping. The Rio San Antonio was stocked June 7 with 750 rainbow trout.

The Seven Springs Brood Pond, also known as the Kid’s Pond, is open. The fishing is for anglers 11-years of age or younger. It was stocked June 7 with 450. It also has some wild brown trout and some Rio Grande cutthroat trout from an earlier stocking. The limit is three trout-per-day.

The Bureau of Land Management manages Santa Cruz Lake Recreation Area near Chimayo. It will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. The fishing should be good for stocked rainbow trout and some wild brown trout. For updated conditions, check the Bureau of Land Management website or call 505.351.1438.

The Bureau also manages the Orilla Verde Recreation Area along the Rio Grande at Pilar. Camping is on a first-come basis. No reservations. The Rio Grande streamflow was 2,250 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is lower than last week and above normal. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked June 2 with 1601 rainbow trout.

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

Eagle Nest Lake at Eagle Nest State Park has plenty of open water for bank fishing. Boating is open and docks are in.

Fishing should be good for rainbow trout, yellow perch, northern pike and an occasional kokanee salmon. been receiving heavy stockings of catchable-size and larger hatchery fish, which is unusual. Larger trout are being stocked in hopes of mitigating the losses to predation by northern pike. Remember, if you catch a pike at Eagle Nest, you cannot put it back in the lake. You have to kill it. For more information and current conditions, call 575.377.1594.

The Cimarron River streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam was 1.01 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week. The Cimarron River near the town of Cimarron streamflow was measured at 23.6 cubic-feet-per second. It was stocked June 5 with 2,424 rainbow trout. Check the Carson National Forest website to see if campgrounds are open.

The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground are open now. They were stocked June 5 with 356 rainbow trout.

Lake Maloya and Lake Alice at Sugarite State Park near Raton are open. Lake Maloya was stocked June 13 with 2,600 catchable-size rainbow trout. Lake Alice was stocked June 13 with 501 rainbow trout. Call 575.445.5607 for current conditions.

Clayton Lake reopened March 1. The state-record walleye was caught here and it is heavily-stocked with rainbow trout.

It was stocked June 7 with 3,680 rainbow trout. Call 575.374.8808 for conditions.

Heron Lake State Park is open now. There is open water for bank fishing. The boat ramps are closed. The lake level is still low.

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

El Vado Lake State Park is closed. Try fishing at the north end of the lake where the Chama River comes in.

Laguna del Campo, a popular, small lake near Los Ojos, opened for fishing. It was stocked June 15 with 825 rainbow trout. Fishing is for anglers 11 years of age or younger and 65 years old or older. Limit is three-fish-per-day.

Morphy Lake State Park near Mora has reopened. It was stocked several times two weeks ago with a total of 4,321 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 400 rainbow trout averaging 14.5 inches in length.

The Charette Lakes have good fishing for holdover rainbow trout. There are also yellow perch here. They were stocked June 15 with2,500 rainbow trout.

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas is open. It was stocked two weeks ago with a total of 7,327 rainbow trout. It also has some big catfish.

Pecos Canyon State Park is open. In the Canyon, the river has thawed and streamflow was measured 231 cubic-feet per second. This is a lower than last week and near normal. The fishing has been fair-to-good for rainbow trout and brown trout. Pecos Canyon was stocked twice last week with a total of 3,001 rainbow trout.

Monastery Lake near Pecos reopened March 9 after the ice melted. It was stocked June 13 with 899 rainbow trout.

Over in the Four Corners, Navajo Lake State Park is open. Camping is by reservation only. Trolling minnow-imitating lures like Rapalas could produce a trophy brown trout. Fishing for northern pike has been fair-to-good. Bass fishing has been fair. Boating conditions are good. Call 505.632.2278 for conditions.

Popular fishing locations on Carson National Forest include the Canjilon Lakes, the Trout Lakes near Cebolla and Hopewell Lake between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla.

The Forest Service roads to the Trout Lakes and Canjilon Lakes are now open. Canjilon was stocked June 12 with 1,503 rainbow trout and has small brook trout. The Trout Lakes were stocked May 30 with 436 rainbow trout.

The campground at Hopewell Lake is still closed. The fishing has been good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brook trout. It was stocked June 13 with 2,052 rainbow trout.

The Rio de los Pinos is near the border with Colorado. It is running high and hard to fish, but bigger-than-average trout can be caught now. It was stocked June 12 with 1,800 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.

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 3,210 cubic-feet-per-second, which is much lower than last week. This is still a heavy flow and anglers should wade with caution. The San Juan 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. It is heavily-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 May 3 with 1,808 rainbow

Abiquiu Lake is open, including the boat ramp and picnic areas. Camping is open. It is managed by the Corps of Engineers. Reservations may be made at www.recreation.gov. Water levels are much higher here than in previous years.

The fishing has been slow-to-fair for walleye, catfish and smallmouth bass. There are some good-sized trout in Abiquiu. They may have moved into shallow water. Call 505.685.4371 for more information.

The Chama River below Abiquiu Dam is flowing at 746 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week and below normal. The water is murky. The fishing is likely fair for stocked and holdover rainbow trout. There are a few big, wild brown trout here. The limit here is two-fish-per-day.

Streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 580 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a lower than last week and well-above normal. It was stocked June 15 with 275 rainbow trout.

Above El Vado Lake, the Chama River at La Puente has thawed and streamflow was 564 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week and almost normal. It was stocked June 2 with 1,090 rainbow trout.

The Brazos River was flowing at 227 cubic-feet-per-second. It was much lower than last week. It was stocked June 12 with 585 rainbow trout.

Cochiti Lake has reopened. The lake water level has risen 11 feet. The fishing has been fair-to-good for northern pike.

Fishing for catfish could be worthwhile. Tetilla Peak Recreation Area is open, but the campground is closed.

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is now being stocked with channel catfish. It was stocked May 25 with a total of 473 catfish averaging 18 inches in length.

The Rio Pueblo near Penasco is free of ice and streamflow was measured at 92.6 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week and above normal. It was stocked June 12 with 1,199 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.

The Sipapu Pond was stocked June 12 with 61 rainbow trout.

The Red River below the Fish Hatchery is flowing at 159 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week and below normal. It was stocked June 7 with 701 rainbow trout. The Red River above Questa was stocked June 14 with 981 rainbow trout.

The Red River Hatchery Pond is open. Fishing is for anglers 11 years of age or younger and 65 years old or older. The limit is now five-fish-per day. It was stocked June 15 with 400 catchable-size rainbow trout.

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa is open. It was stocked June 14 with 650 rainbow trout.

Cabresto Lake, a small, high-elevation lake accessible by four-wheel drive vehicle near Questa, has good fishing for wild brook trout and wild cutthroat trout.