By GEORGE MORSE 
Sports and Outdoors 
Los Alamos Daily Post 

The past few weeks the State Game and Fish Department has been stocking some bigger-than-average trout at locations throughout Northern New Mexico. These fish will average 15-17 inches in size with some18-20 inchers in the mix.  

Check out the Fishing Report to see where these larger trout have been stocked. If you are catching bigger trout at your favorite fishing hole these stockings are why. 

The snow we had a week ago melted quickly this past week. It seems to be lingering above 12,000-feet and higher. 

Streamflows increased due to the melting snow. They should slowly drop this coming week. The increased flows will help the trout become more active. The increase in nutrients washing into the rivers and streams will have the fish actively feeding. High flows can make fishing a little tougher, but this is a good time to catch some of the bigger, holdover trout. The wild trout, mostly brown trout, will be active.  This is a good time to focus on the undercut banks looking for a lunker. 

Streamflow in the Rio Grande has fallen and is still well-below normal for this time of year. The streamflow at Cerro near the Colorado border was 225 cubic-feet-per-second.  

There will be a little spring runoff from Colorado. Snowpack in the Rio Grande headwaters declined to 10-percent of normal. Snow depth at Wolf Creek Summit was just six inches.

New Mexico’s snowpack remains well- below normal. The measure of snow water equivalent, which is the amount of water you will have once the snow is melted, was now just two percent of normal in the Pecos River basin. The Upper Rio Grande is at 24 percent. The Chama River Basin is now 10-percent of normal. 

The water-supply outlook for the upcoming growing season is looking grim. There’s a long ways to go to make up for such a dry winter. 

Fenton Lake State Park is open. Camping is reservation only. It was stocked Aug. 28 with 270 Rio Grande cutthroat trout averaging 14.5 inches in length. Fenton Lake was stocked May 13 with 1,080 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 195 rainbow trout averaging 17 inches. There are also wild brown 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 Rio Cebolla flows into and out of Fenton Lake. It was stocked April 30 with 399 rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout and Rio Grande cutthroat trout above Fenton Lake. It was stocked Oct. 24 with 5,668 small Rio Grande cutthroat 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 and a few Rio Grande cutthroats. It is north of Fenton Lake. It is open water. It was stocked May 7 with 300 rainbow trout. 

The Jemez River streamflow was 36.6 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week. It was stocked April 30 with 1,002 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout. 

The Rio Las Vacas, a tributary of the Jemez River, was stocked April 9 with 498 rainbow trout. The San Antonio River, another Jemez tributary, was stocked May 7 with 578 rainbow trout. Both streams have wild brown trout. 

Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The state-record rainbow trout was caught here. Since the lake reopened fishing has been very good. It was stocked May 1 with 2,079 catchable-size rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. It is open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday through Monday. Call 505.351.1438 or visit blm.gov/visit/santa-cruz-lake-recreation-area. 

The Bureau also manages the Orilla Verde Recreation Area on the Rio Grande at Pilar. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked May 15 with 1,999 rainbow trout. It was stocked March 27 with 9,304 fingerling 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 523 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is lower than last week. The Rio Grande Gorge above Pilar was stocked May 15 with 250 rainbow trout. It was stocked March 27 with 9,304 fingerling rainbow trout.

Watch for signs of the annual caddis fly hatch on the Rio Grande. It normally starts in May.

The Rio Pueblo near Penasco is free of ice and the streamflow is 229 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week. It was stocked May 14 with 1,201 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.

The streamflow on the Red River was 108 cubic-feet-per-second below Questa. This is higher than last week. It was stocked May 8 with 701 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout. 

The Red River above Questa streamflow is 86.6. cubic-feet-per-second.

The Red River Hatchery Pond is open again. It was stocked May 12 with 400 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 May 8 with 499 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 54 rainbow trout averaging 15.2 inches. It has open water.

The Shuree Ponds are closed. They will open July 1.

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 still be frozen, but there could be open water. 

Abiquiu Lake is managed by the Corps of Engineers. The fishing has been slow for smallmouth bass, walleye, crappie and catfish. Anglers are starting to catch some small largemouth 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 414 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week. It was stocked April 1 with 1,060 rainbow trout. There are some big, wild brown trout here. The limit here is two-trout-per day. 

The Canjilon Lakes are now accesible and open. They were stocked May 12 with 1,026 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 115 rainbow trout averaging 16.1 inches. Anglers were also catching some brook trout. 

The Trout Lakes near Cebolla are open. Access to these lakes can be difficult. They were stocked May 12 with 513 rainbow trout. 

Laguna del Campo, a small lake near Los Ojos, reopened May 1. It was stocked May 7 with 368 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 90 rainbow trout averaging 15.9 inches. Fishing is for anglers 11 years-old and younger or 65 years-old and older. 

Heron Lake State Park is open. Fishing for rainbow trout has been fair. It was stocked April 22 with 121,767 kokanee salmon fry. El Vado Lake State Park is closed for construction. Call 575.588.7470 for information.  

The streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 381 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week.  It was stocked Oct. 31 with 20,104 small Rio Grande cutthroat trout. It has wild brown trout. It was stocked May 6 with 562 rainbow trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here. 

The Chama River above El Vado Lake is free of ice. The streamflow 372cubic-feet-per-second at La Puente. This is much lower than last week. It was stocked May 6 with 1,056 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.  

The streamflow in the Rio Brazos was 195 cubic-feet-per-second. It was stocked April 14 with 565 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout and brook trout in the headwaters. 

Over in 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 road to Navajo Dam is closed. The fishing for northern pike has been fair-to-good. Bass fishing has been fair. It was stocked April 29 with 23,214 sub-catchable rainbow trout. Navajo Lake was stocked April 21 with 288,059 kokanee salmon fry. 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 387 cubic-feet-per-second. This is slightly 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. The Quality Water is stocked with small rainbow trout that grow quickly.  

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 May 5 with 1,936 catchable-size rainbow trout. It was stocked May 15 with 58,236 sub-catchable rainbow trout. 

Several lakes in Aztec are being stocked. Aztec Pond # 1 was stocked April 29 with 473 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 135 rainbow trout averaging 16.7 inches. Tiger Park Pond was stocked May 5 with 528 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 150 rainbow trout averaging 15.9 inches. 

The Animas River in Aztec was stocked April 29 with 189 rainbow trout. 

Lake Farmington was stocked April 22 with 3,150 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 is free of ice and fishing is good. It was stocked May 13 with 1,388 catchable size rainbow trout and with 185 rainbow trout averaging 16.1 inches. 

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 was stocked May 1 with 1,800 rainbow trout. 

Eagle Nest Lake State Park has been good for rainbow trout. This is a big fertile lake that can produce large trout. It was stocked May 1 with 20,026 rainbow trout. Eagle Nest Lake was stocked April 22 with 80,127 kokanee salmon fry. 

There are also northern pike, yellow perch and an occasional kokanee salmon. The state-record kokanee was caught here. If you catch a pike at Eagle Nest, you have to kill it. You cannot release it back into the lake. 575.377.1594 for more information. 

The Cimarron River at Cimarron Canyon State Park is stocked with rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. It was stocked May 8 with 2,425 rainbow trout. The streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam was 1.74 cubic-feet-per-second. The Cimarron River near Cimarron streamflow is 65.5 cubic-feet-per-second. 

The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground were stocked May 8 with 352 catcable-size rainbow trout and with 45 rainbow trout averaging 15.2 inches. They are open. 

Lake Maloya in Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton was stocked April 29 with 1,900 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 400 rainbow trout averaging 16.7 inches. Lake Alice, a smaller lake at the park, was stocked April 29 with 502 rainbow trout. Call 575.445.1507 for more information.  

Clayton Lake State Park was stocked May 5 with 3,601 catchable-size rainbow trout and stocked May 7 with 400 rainbow trout averaging 16.5 inches. There are also walleye, largemouth bass and catfish here. The state-record walleye was caught here. Be sure to check out the dinosaur tracks at Clayton. 

The Charette Lakes between Wagon Moun and Springer were stocked May 13 with 2,251 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 250 rainbow trout averaging 15.2 inches. There are also yellow perch and some good-sized holdover trout. 

Maxwell Lake 13 on the Maxwell Lakes National Wildlife Refuge was stocked April 22 with 2,000 rainbow trout. It had dried up in 2020 and is being stocked again. 

Morphy Lake State Park is open. It was stocked April 30 with 2,699 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 300 rainbow trout averaging 16.0 inches.  

Coyote Creek State Park near Guadalupita received its second stocking of the season. Coyote Creek was stocked May 14 with 800 rainbow trout. Coyote Creek Pond was stocked with 600 rainbow trout. 

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas was stocked twice last week with a total of 3,002 catchable-size rainbow trout. There are also catfish here.  

The Pecos River in Pecos Canyon State Park was last stocked twice last week with a total of 3,001 rainbow trout. Fishing has been fair for rainbows and wild brown trout.  

The streamflow in the Pecos was 208 cubic-feet-per-second and a little lower than last week. The Pecos River near Villanueva was stocked May 14 with 200 rainbow trout.

The Mora Fork of the Pecos River was stocked May 8 with 400 rainbow trout. Cow Creek was stocked May 14 with 499 rainbow trout. Holy Ghost Creek was stocked May 7 with 400 rainbow trout. 

The Cowles Ponds were stocked May 8 with 181 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 20 rainbow trout averaging 15.2 inches. 

Monastery Lake near Pecos is now open. It was stocked May 14 with 95 rainbow trout averaging 15.2 inches. 

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is no longer being stocked with rainbow trout. It was stocked April 24 with 621 channel catfish. 

Bluewater Lake near Grants has fair fishing for tiger musky and there are some catfish here. It was stocked March 10 with 6,000 rainbow trout, so trout fishing has picked up. Call 505.876.2391 for information. 

McGaffey Lake near Grants was last stocked Oct. 16 with 4,780 rainbow trout. It should have open water. It is also stocked with catfish.