Weekly Fishing Report: June 27, 2020

By GEORGE MORSE
Sports And Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

There have been no new openings of areas for camping and fishing this past week.

New Mexico State Parks remain open for day use only with some notable exceptions.

Fenton Lake State Park in the Jemez Mountains remains closed. Bluewater Lake State Park near Grants is closed. Overnight camping is still not allowed at any State Park.

Most developed campgrounds on Carson National Forest and Santa Fe National Forest lands have been opened. Most are operating under a first come, first served basis. Group campgrounds remain closed. The Forest Service has begun trash pickup and restrooms are now open.

Stage Two fire restrictions prohibiting campfires are in effect. Dispersed camping is allowed along Forest Service roads that are open. Please clean up your camping area and pick up your trash.

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Wildlife Management areas are open for day use only. No overnight camping allowed yet. Morphy Lake, Monastery Lake and Rio Costilla Open Gate properties are still closed. All Department Fish Hatcheries are closed to the public.

Bureau of Land Management campgrounds and some recreation sites are closed. Santa Cruz Lake Recreation Area near Chimayo is closed.

Cochiti Lake is closed as it is located on land belonging to Cochiti Pueblo.

Streamflows in Northern New Mexico are running well below normal and with spring runoff having passed its peak weeks ago, streamflows will likely continue to fall. The exceptions will be the portions of streams where flow is dependent on what amount of water is being released from upstream dams.

Reservoir storage in New Mexico is also below normal at just 28-percent of capacity. Santa Rosa Reservoir, Abiquiu Lake, Cochiti Lake and Brantley Lake are at 10-percent or less of capacity.

Later this summer, it may be wise to limit your trout fishing to early morning hours as trout could be suffering from stress due to low water levels and high water temperatures. Even catch-and-release fishing can prove fatal to trout under these conditions. In 2018 low streamflows and high water temperatures led nearby Colorado to close fishing or at least discourage it on several rivers to protect the trout. Several New Mexico streams suffered fish kills in 2018 due to the same conditions.

The Department of Game and Fish continues to make heavy stockings of rainbow trout at some of the most popular locations. In some cases these stockings will include bigger-than-average trout.

In the Jemez Mountains, the only stream currently being stocked is the Rio Cebolla. It was stocked June 17 with 816 rainbow trout. The fish are concentrated in deeper pools. Streamflow in all Jemez streams is low. All these streams also contain wild brown trout.

San Gregorio Lake still has fair fishing for stocked rainbow trout.

Abiquiu Lake is at low levels. The boat ramp is open but a four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended for the launching of boats. The fishing has been fair-to-good for walleye and smallmouth bass. Some crappie and trout are also being taken.

There is no overnight camping.

The Chama River below Abiquiu Dam is flowing at 1,020 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a heavy flow and fishing will be difficult. There are stocked rainbow trout and some big wild brown trout here. The road from Abiquiu Dam is open.

The Chama River below El Vado Dam is flowing at 598 cubic-feet-per-second. It was stocked June 15 with 560 rainbow trout. The fishing has been fair-to-good for rainbow trout and wild brown trout.

El Vado Lake State Park and Heron Lake state Park are open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fishing from the bank has been fair-to-good for smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, brown trout and perch at El Vado Lake. The fishing has been fair for rainbow trout at Heron Lake. No reports on the fishing for kokanee salmon and lake trout. Heron Lake was stocked June 16 with 50,000 fingerling rainbow trout.

The Chama River above El Vado Lake was stocked June 15 with 1008 rainbow trout. Fishing has been fair-to-good. The nearby Brazos River was stocked June 16 with 510 rainbow trout.

Laguna del Campo near Los Ojos was stocked June 16 with 510 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 90 rainbow trout averaging 15.1 inches in size. The fishing has been good. This lake is limited to anglers 14 years old and younger and anglers 65 years old or older. The limit is three fish per-day and the lake is open sunrise to sunset.

The fishing at the Canjilon Lakes has been fair-to-good for stocked rainbow trout with some brook trout in the upper lake.

The fishing has been fair at the Trout Lakes near Cebolla.

Hopewell Lake between Tierra Amarilla and Tres Piedras was stocked June 15 with 1734 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 185 rainbow trout averaging 15.1 inches in size. The fishing has been good for rainbow trout and wild brook trout.

The Lagunitas Lakes were stocked June 17 with 1,850 rainbow trout. The campground is open.

The Rio de los Pinos Wildlife Management Area is open. The fishing has been good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brown trout. It is open for day-use only.

Thr streamflow in the Rio Grande is very low at just 298 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. The fishing has been good for rainbow trout and brown trout. Fly-fishing has been good. Fishing with spinners and nightcrawlers has also been productive. Some smallmouth bass are also being caught.

The Rio Pueblo near Penasco is very low at just4.06 cubic-feet-per-second. The fish are concentrated in the deeper pools. The fishing has been fair-to-good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brown trout.

There is still a good flow in the Red River and it is being heavily-stocked. The Red River above Questa was stocked June 16 with 1300 rainbow trout. The Red River above Questa was stocked June 17 with 699 rainbow trout. The West Fork of the Red River and the East Fork of the Red River were stocked June 16 with 300 rainbow trout. Fishing has been good.

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa was stocked over a week ago. This small lake is right off the highway and receives heavy fishing pressure. The fishing is fair-to-good as long as the stockers last.

The Shuree Ponds on the Valle Vidal near Costilla were stocked June 18 with 500 rainbow trout averaging 15.2 inches in size. The Shuree Ponds open for fishing July 1 and the fishing is limited to artificial flies and lures having a single, barbless hook. The limit is two-fish-per-day 15 inches in size or longer.

Eagle Nest Lake State Park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The fishing has been good for rainbow trout. It was stocked June 15 with 9,376 fingerling rainbow trout and with 9,375 catchable-size rainbow trout. The fishing for northern pike has been fair-to-good and this heavy stocking may attract these toothy predators. The fishing for perch should be fair-to-good with worms.

Cimarron Canyon State Park is open daily from from 6 am. To 9 p.m. The Cimarron River was stocked June 15 with 2,424 rainbow trout. The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground were stocked June 15 with 353 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 45 rainbow trout averaging 15.3 inches in size.

The fishing should be fair-to-good at Stubblefield Lake for largemouth bass, walleye and catfish.

Trout fishing at Maxwell Lake 13 on the Maxwell Lakes National Wildlife Refuge may be slowing down as the weather gets warmer. The trout here are mostly good-sized holdovers and they may have moved to deeper water. There are also largemouth bass and catfish here.

Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The fishing for rainbow trout has been good at Lake Maloya and at Lake Alice.

Clayton Lake State Park is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The trout fishing here has been slow and it has not been stocked recently. There are also some big walleye, catfish and some largemouth bass here.

The Charette Lakes between Wagon Mound and Springer have been fair-to-good for stocked rainbow trout with some holdover trout. There are also yellow perch here.

Springer Lake has been slow-to-fair for northern pike and catfish.

Coyote Creek State Park near Guadalupita is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. It was recently stocked as was the Coyote Creek Pond. The fishing has been fair-to-good.

Storrie Lake State Park is open Thursday-Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It has not been stocked recently and the trout fishing is slow. There are also catfish here.

The Gallinas River near Las Vegas is running very low at just 2.04 cubic-feet-per-second. The trout are concentrated in the deeper pools. The fishing is fair. The Gallinas Ice Pond was stocked over a week ago.

Conchas Lake State Park is open Thursday-Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fishing has been fair-to-good for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white bass, bluegill and crappie.

Pecos River Canyon State Park is open Thursday-Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This area receives very heavy fishing pressure. The Pecos River between the towns of Pecos and Cowles was stocked twice last week with a total of 2,999 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 96 rainbow trout averaging 17.3 inches in size. There are also wild brown trout here.

The Mora Fork of the Pecos River was stocked June 18 with 399 rainbow trout. Holy Ghost Creek, a tributary to the Pecos River, was stocked June 18 with 399 rainbow trout.

The Mountain View Ponds at Cowles were stocked June 18 with 180 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 20 rainbow trout averaging 17.3 inches in size.

Santa Rosa Lake State Park is open Friday-Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The lake is very low. Fishing is fair for walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie and catfish.

Over in the Four Corners, Navajo Lake State Park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The fishing should be good for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and crappie. Trout fishing should be fair. This lake has the best kokanee salmon fishing in the state. They are usually caught by trolling at the proper depth. Fishing is usually best in deep water near the dam. Check with the marina to see if they have information as to what depth the kokanee are schooling at. Navajo Lake was stocked twice last week with a total of 42,139 fingerling rainbow trout.

The streamflow in the San Juan River is low for this time of year at 545 cubic-feet-per-second. The trout fishing has been good with a variety of fly patterns in the Quality Water. The fishing has been good in the Bait Water with flies, lures and bait. The Bait Water was stocked June 15 with 3,080 rainbow trout.

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is now open. Fishing is slow as it is no longer being stocked with rainbow trout and has yet to be stocked with channel catfish. A few holdover catfish and largemouth bass are being caught.

The drainage canals in the Albuquerque area are not being stocked with rainbow trout. Fishing for catfish, carpand a few largemouth bass has been fair. The Rio Grande in Albuquerque is running well below normal. Fishing has been fair for catfish and carp.

Elephant Butte Lake State Park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The fishing has been very good for white bass. The fishing for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and walleye has been fair. The fishing for catfish is good.

The Rio Grande below Elephant Butte Dam is flowing at 2,040 cubic-feet-per-second. The fishing has been fair for catfish and white bass.

Caballo Lake State Park is open Thursday-Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fishing has been fair for white bass and walleye.

In the Ruidoso area, the trout fishing is slowing down a bit at Alto Lake. There are also catfish and largemouth bass here.

The trout fishing is still holding up at Grindstone Reservoir. It was stocked June 15 with 2,998 rainbow trout. There are also smallmouth bass here and the fishing for bluegill has been good.

The Ruidoso River is running low. Fishing should be okay as it was stocked June 16 with 499 rainbow trout.

In the Silver City area, the trout fishing has been fair at Lake Roberts. This is a designated trophy-bass water with a daily limit of two largemouth bass 18 inches in size or longer. The fishing for catfish has been fair. The bluegill fishing has been good.

Bear Canyon Reservoir is open. The trout fishing is about over here. The best fishing is for catfish and crappie.

Bill Evans Lake is open. There may still be a few trout left here in deeper water. This is a designated trophy-bass water with a daily limit of two largemouth bass per-day 18 inches in size or longer. The state-record largemouth bass was caught at Bill Evans Lake.

There is a good streamflow in the Gila River. Some big flathead catfish have been caught in the lower Gila River. There are also channel catfish and smallmouth bass here. In the upper reaches and in the forks of the Gila River, the fishing is for rainbow trout, brown trout and some Gila trout.

The fishing at Quemado Lake has been very good for rainbow trout. It was stocked twice last week with a total of 3,300 rainbow trout.

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