By GEORGE MORSEThere will b a big change in the weather coming later this week. A strong cold front will hit Hew Mexico, dropping temperatures dramatically, especially on the eastern side of the state.
There may be some snow in the mountains, but the big difference will be the drop in temperatures. Night time and early morning temperatures will drop down into the teens and twenties, with highs in the forties and fifties.
The drop in temperature will likely turn on the trout fishing in the lakes, especially on the eastern side of the state. It will be a good time to fish lakes like Maxwell Lake 13, Clayton Lake and the Charette Lakes, which will close for fishing the last day of October.
It will likely stir up the elk and deer. Rifle-hunting season for elk opened over the weekend, with some hunters reporting successful hunts. New Mexico has some of the best elk hunting in the country if you were lucky enough to draw a tag in the drawing for big-game licenses. People tend to forget that this was not always true. Elk were extirpated from our state in the early 20th century. Only by establishing hunting seasons and transplanting elk from the few remaining wild herds like that in Yellowstone National Park have we been able to re-establish the hunting we have now. New Mexico is blessed with a large amount of public land that allows regular hunters a chance to go out and fill the freezer with quality game meat while enjoying the outdoors with friends and family.
This is a great time of the year to be out fishing, although you will need to keep an eye on the weather to see when there’s a cold front coming in that can change conditions in a hurry. There have been many times over the years when an October snowstorm has chased me out of the mountains.
There are reports from many locations of big brown trout being caught. This is the time of year that brown trout become more active going into their spawning season
The kokanee salmon snagging season opened Oct. 1 and it was reported as good at Navajo Lake near the dam. Navajo consistently has the best snagging success the last few years. There were no reports on how the snagging has been at Eagle Nest Lake, El Vado Lake or Abiquiu Lake. Heron Lake opens for snagging Nov. 1 and it used to be very good here, but it hasn’t been the same in recent years. They are catching some kokanee salmon fishing from the bank for trout at Eagle Nest.
The State Game and Fish Department will soon start stocking rainbow trout in lakes and ponds in Southern New Mexico as the water starts to cool down. The Department continues to stock rainbow trout throughout Northern New Mexico
Over in the Jemez Mountains, the fishing has been good at Fenton Lake State Park and should stay that way until the lake starts to freeze over. It was stocked Oct. 2 with 1,944 rainbow trout. There are some big brown trout in this little lake and now would be one of the better times to hook one of them.
The Seven Springs Brood Pond at Seven Springs Fish Hatchery has been good practically all year for stocked rainbow trout and it also has some big, wild brown trout. The fishing here is for kids under the age of 12.
The streams in the Jemez area are all running low and clear. All these streams contain wild brown trout that should be active right now. The Rio Cebolla near Fenton Lake was stocked Oct. 2 with 216 rainbow trout.
The best fishing in the Chama area will be found in the smaller lakes rather than the large reservoirs like Heron Lake and El Vado Lake. The Canjilon Lakes have been good for stocked rainbow trout, as have the Trout Lakes near Cebolla. There may still be some of the big, stocked rainbow trout that were planted earlier in the year left in the Canjilon Lakes.
The fishing has been good at Laguna del Campo and it has some big, stocked rainbow trout. There used to be brown trout here, but I haven’t heard of any being caught in recent years.
The upper Chama River above El Vado Lake has been running low and clear. The fishing has been good here and also in the nearby Brazos River. The fishing in the Chama River below El Vado Dam has been good and a 25-inch brown trout was caught here recently. There are some big brown trout here. The fishing in the Chama River below Abiquiu Dam has been fair, but the flow here is kind of heavy at 697 cubic-feet-per-second. It was stocked Oct. 2 with 1,092 rainbow trout. Flows need to be a little lower here for the fishing to improve. A reminder that the limit here is two-fish-per-day.
Abiquiu Lake remains low and there have been no reports here. A four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended for the launching of boats. Swimming has been prohibited here and don’t let your pets drink water from the lake due to a blue-green algae bloom.
Hopewell Lake has been good for stocked rainbow trout with some big fish still left from earlier stockings. There are wild brook trout here. Fishing for brook trout has been a little slow as it has been reported that they like to hang out in the weeds near the inlet and fishing for them is difficult.
The Rio de los Pinos is running low and clear. The wild brown trout here should be active as they get ready to spawn.
The Rio Grande is in prime condition for fall fishing with flows being a little below normal and the water clarity is good. The fishing has been good for rainbow trout and brown trout. The Rio Grande above Pilar was stocked Oct. 1 with 249 rainbow trout. The Rio Grande in the Pilar area was stocked Oct. 1 with 2,002 rainbow trout.
Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo has been slow. It has been a while since this lake was stocked and a stocking of rainbow trout would likely improve the fishing here.
The Rio Pueblo near Penasco is running low and clear. The fly-fishing has been good.
The fishing in the Red River/Questa area remains good, although there was no stocking last week. The Red River has been good, as has Eagle Rock Lake near Questa. The fishing at the Red River Hatchery Pond should be good for trout stocked earlier.
No reports from the Shuree Ponds in the Valle Vidal. There appears to have been little fishing pressure here all year long. It was stocked several times during the year with good-sized rainbow trout.
Eagle Nest Lake has been good for rainbow trout. The fishing for northern pike has been fair. No reports on perch fishing or kokanee salmon snagging.
The fishing has been good in the Cimarron River in Cimarron Canyon State Park. The wild brown trout here should be active. There should still be some stocked trout left in the Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground.
Stubblefield Lake was stocked Oct. 3 with 4,120 channel catfish averaging 11.2 inches in size. The state-record channel catfish was caught here. No reports recently on the fishing. It might be worth a try for walleye, largemouth bass and catfish.
Maxwell Lake 13 will close for fishing Oct. 31. There is normally a flurry of good fishing activity here just before it closes. The trout here are good-sized holdover fish in this fertile lake. It should be worth a try after the coming cold spell. The fishing should pickup at the Charette Lakes too.
No reports from Lake Maloya at Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton. This is surprising because this lake is always well-stocked. It was stocked Oct. 2 with 1,999 rainbow trout.
Clayton Lake was recently stocked, but the fishing has been reported as slow. The boat ramp is closed. This lake also closes on Oct. 31.
Coyote Creek at Guadalupita State Park near Mora is well-stocked with rainbow trout,. This is an out-of-the-way location and may have some good fishing right now.
There have been no reports recently from Storrie Lake near Las Vegas. The fishing here should get better after the coming cold spell.
A 22-inch brown trout was caught in the Gallinas River near Las Vegas last week. This stream is also stocked with rainbow trout and may be a good spot to try.
Fall is a fine time to fish the Pecos River. It has some nice wild brown trout that should be hitting now and is well-stocked with rainbow trout. The flow is low and the water clear. A 22-inch brown trout was also caught here last week.
Monastery Lake near Pecos has been good for stocked rainbow trout.
The bass fishing has been good at Conchas Lake on the Canadian River Fishing for white bass and walleye has been fair. The fishing for catfish has been good.
Over in the Four Corners area, the streamflow in the San Juan River below Navajo Dam was 604 cubic-feet-per-second. The fishing has been good in the Quality Water with a variety of fly patterns. The dry fly-fishing has been good. A 30-inch brown trout was reportedly caught last week. The fishing has been very good in the Bait Water.
As already mentioned, the kokanee salmon snagging has been good near the dam at Navajo Lake. Expect to find a crowd of other snaggers if you go. Fishing for trout and even catfish can be worthwhile near the salmon runs if you can find the room among all those flying treble hooks. Some anglers like to save the salmon roe (eggs) to use as bait later. Roe sacks are a very effective bait.
Other fishing tends to take a backseat during snagging season. The fishing for northern pike has been fair at Navajo.
The bass fishing has been good at Tingley Beach. The winter trout stockings should start soon here, especially after the coming cold spell. Fishing for bass and bluegill in the Albuquerque area drainage canals has been good. Winter stocking of trout should start soon here too.
The fishing for white bass continues to be good at Elephant Butte Lake. Fishing for largemouth bass has picked up and has been good. Crappie fishing has been good around the marina with minnows. Catfishing has been good.
The streamflow in the Rio Grande below Elephant Butte Dam has been cut back to zero. That concentrates the fish in the deeper pools, where the catfishing has been fair.
Fishing in the Ruidoso area has been good for trout at Alto Lake and Grindstone Reservoir. Alto Lake was stocked Oct. 1 with 998 rainbow trout. Grindstone was stocked Sept. 30 with 1,499 rainbow trout. The fishing in the Ruidoso River has been fair. It was stocked Oct. 1 with 499 rainbow trout.
Lake Roberts near Silver City received two different stockings of two different species of fish last week. It was stocked Oct. 3 with 3,000 channel catfish averaging 11.5 inches in length. On Oct. 2, it was stocked with 980 Gila trout averaging over a foot in length. No reports on the fishing, but the trout fishing for both Gila trout and rainbow trout should pick up here.