By GEORGE MORSE 
Sports and Outdoors 
Los Alamos Daily Post 

The weather has been unseasonably warm in Northern New Mexico this past week. Winter is loosening its grip, and more fishing locations are opening. Bank fishing at lakes is normally good at this time of year. The streams have yet to be swollen from spring runoff and could also provide good fishing. 

The ice-fishing season was a real dud this year. The only spot open for most of the season was Hopewell Lake. Eagle Nest Lake was open for about a week, and Fenton Lake was never able to offer ice fishing. 

Several lakes in Northeast New Mexico opened for fishing. Morphy Lake State Park, Clayton Lake State Park, Charette Lakes and Maxwell Lake 13 opened after being closed for the winter. Clayton Lake was stocked Feb. 18 with 4,001 rainbow trout in preparation for the opener. There should be good fishing for holdover rainbow trout at Charette and Maxwell Lake 13. The fishing at Morphy Lake has been good. 

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

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 (March 15) was 590 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. The streamflow at Cerro near the Colorado border was 475 cubic-feet-per-second, which is normal. The streamflow at Embudo was 597 cubic-feet-per-second.  

The Rio Grande is one of the most 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 twice last week with a total of 1,892 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. There is plenty of open water for bank fishing. 

The Rio Cebolla flows into and out of Fenton Lake. It has wild brown trout. It was stocked March 10 with 249 rainbow trout. 

The Jemez River streamflow was 33.4 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and normal. It was stocked March 10 with 2,263 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout. 

The Seven Springs Brood Pond, also known as the Kid’s Pond, was stocked March 10 with 450 rainbow trout. It is a few miles north of Fenton Lake. Fishing is for anglers 11 years old or younger. 

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. It was stocked twice last week with a total of 2,731 rainbow 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 Bureau also manages the Orilla Verde Recreation Area on the Rio Grande at Pilar. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked March 6 with 2,000 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. The Rio Grande Gorge above Pilar was stocked March 6 with 251 rainbow trout.  

The streamflow on the Red River below Questa was 34.0 cubic-cubic-feer-per-second. This is a little higher than last week. It was stocked March 12 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. There is now some open water. 

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 45.1 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little lower than last week. It was stocked March 4 with 460 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 87.8 cubic-feet-per-second. The same as last week. It has wild brown trout and stocked rainbow trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here. 

The Chama River above El Vado Lake streamflow was 236 cubic-feet-per-second at La Puente. This is much higher than last week. This is likely due to the melting snow. 

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. Crappie fishing has been good. Bass fishing has been slow. 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 299 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little 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. Quality Water is stocked with small rainbow trout that grow quickly. It was stocked March 2 with 17,721 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 March 3 with 2,554 rainbow trout. 

Lakes in the Aztec area are now being stocked. Aztec Pond #1 was stocked March 2 with 100 rainbow trout. Tiger Park Pond was stocked March 2 with 1,534 catchable-size rainbow trout  

Lake Farmington was stocked March 10 with 2,100 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. 

Lake Maloya and Lake Alice at Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton are open. Lake Alice was stocked March 12 with 251 rainbow trout, and Lake Maloya was stocked with 1,499 rainbow trout. Call 575.445.1507 for information. 

Eagle Nest Lake State Park is closed to ice-fishing but is starting to have some open water, and the bank fishing has been good for rainbow trout. There is also northern pike, yellow perch and kokanee salmon. If you catch a northern pike at Eagle Nest you must kill it. You cannot release it back into the lake. The state-record kokanee salmon was caught here. The Lake is open for boating, but the docks are not in. Call 575.377.1594 for information. 

Morphy Lake State Park near Mora is now open. It was stocked March 5 with 1,501 rainbow trout. 

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas is open. It was stocked four times two weeks ago with a total of 11,339 rainbow trout. 

The Pecos River in Pecos Canyon State Park is opening. Fishing has been fair for rainbows and wild brown trout. The Pecos River near Villanueva was stocked twice last week with a total of 700 rainbow trout. 

The streamflow in the Pecos River was 40.1 cubic-feet-per-second, which is normal. There may be areas of open water since this is the first measurement in several weeks. 

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 March 11 with 2,280 catchable-size rainbow trout. It was stocked March 2 with 260 largemouth bass averaging 10.1 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 March 10 with 3,800 catchable-size rainbow trout and 9,609 sub-catchable rainbow trout. Call 505.876.2391 for more information.