By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post 

The State Game and Fish Department was stocking trout all across the state last week. The Winter Stocking Program in Southern New Mexico is still being done and more locations in Northern New Mexico are being stocked now.  The Winter Stocking will end in March. 

The Department stocked a total of 46,321 rainbow trout weighing 21,373 pounds. That’s over 10 tons of trout. 

The weather has been unseasonably warm in Northern New Mexico this year. Fruit trees are blooming early and may get hit with frost. 

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. 

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. Lower Charette Lake was stocked March 16 with 2,501 rainbow trout. 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 Monday (March 23) was 490 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. The streamflow at Cerro near the Colorado border was 398 cubic-feet-per-second, which is normal. The streamflow at Embudo was 496 cubic-feet-per-second.  That is below normal. 

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.  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 39.2 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week, but below 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 March 16 with 3,660 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 300 rainbow trout averaging 15.4 inches. 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 18 with 2,001 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 18 with 250 rainbow trout. 

The streamflow on the Red River below Questa was 36.3 cubic-cubic-feet-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 61.1 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little higher 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 600 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much higher than last week. It has wild brown trout and stocked rainbow trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here. It was stocked March 18 with 1,955 rainbow trout. 

The Chama River above El Vado Lake streamflow was 683 cubic-feet-per-second at La Puente. This is much higher than last week. This is likely due to the melting snow. 

In the first reading of the year, the Rio Brazos streamflow was 261 cubic-feet-per-second. 

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 259 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. 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 19 with 2,271 rainbow trout. 

Lakes in the Aztec area are now being stocked. Aztec Pond #1 was stocked March 19 with 120 rainbow trout. Tiger Park Pond was stocked March 19 with 1,076 catchable-size rainbow trout and with150 rainbow trout averaging 15.4 inches. 

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. It was stocked March 19 with 9,240 rainbow trout. The Lake is open for boating, but the docks are not in. Call 575.377.1594 for information. 

The Cimarron River has not yet t been stocked. Streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam was 6.97 cubic-feet-per-second. 

Morphy Lake State Park near Mora is now open. It was stocked March 17 with 2,703 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 300 rainbow trout averaging 15.1 inches. 

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 losing its ice. Fishing has been fair for rainbows and wild brown trout. The Pecos River near Villanueva was stocked twice last week with a total of 702 rainbow trout. 

The streamflow in the Pecos River was 47.1 cubic-feet-per-second, which is normal.  

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 last week with 2,501 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 240 rainbow trout averaging 15.1 inches. 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.