By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post
Early predictions for the upcoming winter are for a weak La Nina pattern. La Nina usually means lower precipitation and warmer than average temperatures.
However, the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a cold and wet winter for New Mexico. Let’s hope they are right.
One river that seems to still be holding up well is the Pecos River. Streamflows throughout the drainage are near, at or above normal.
On weekends, flows on the Chama River below El Vado Dam are increased dramatically to accommodate recreational rafting. They are lowered during the week. This especially true now as flows on the Rio Grande are low and dropping. Rafting companies move over to the Chama. On Labor Day (Monday) the flow remained high for the holiday.
The flow below El Vado was 488 cubic-feet-per-second, as of Sunday, Aug. 31.
Streamflow in the Rio Grande is still well below normal throughout its drainage for this time of year. The streamflow at Cerro near the Colorado border is just 60.0 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little higher than last week.
The Rio Grande at Embudo is low at 219 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week.
This past week saw some significant rainfall here in Northern New Mexico. That was encouraging and let’s hope it continues. In some areas, it was too much of a good thing. Flooding was reported in Chimayo and along the Eastern side of the Sangre de Cristos.
The heavy rainfall damaged some National Forest roads. Expect muddy conditions. A four-wheel drive vehicle is strongly recommended.
Fenton Lake State Park is open. Camping is reservation only. It was stocked Aug. 28 with 325 Rio Grande cutthroat trout averaging 12.9 inches. Fenton Lake was stocked Aug. 15 with 915 catchable-size rainbow trout. 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 Aug. 27 with 667 rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout and Rio Grande cutthroat trout above Fenton Lake.
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. It is north of Fenton Lake. It was stocked Aug. 20 with 200 rainbow trout averaging 17.4 inches. It was stocked Aug.27 with 450 catchable-size rainbow trout.
The Jemez River streamflow was 12.6 cubic-feet-per-second. This is about the same as last week. This is still a low flow. It was stocked May 20 with 824 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.
The Rio Las Vacas, a tributary of the Jemez River, was stocked May 20 with 501 rainbow trout. The San Antonio River, another Jemez tributary, was stocked Aug. 27 with 749 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. Fishing may be slowing down as the water warms up. The lake may not be stocked again until the water temperatures cool down. 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 streamflow in the Santa Cruz River is 19.4 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week and normal.
The Bureau also manages the Orilla Verde Recreation Area on the Rio Grande at Pilar. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked Aug. 19 with 5,903 sub-catchable 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 207 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is a little higher than last week. The Rio Grande Gorge above Pilar was stocked Aug. 21 with 20,000 Rio Grande cutthroat trout averaging 1.3 inches.
The Rio Pueblo near Penasco streamflow is 15.5 cubic-feet -per-second. This is lower than last week. It was stocked Aug. 20 with 1,200 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.
The Sipapu Pond was stocked Aug. 20 with 68 rainbow trout.
The streamflow on the Red River was 36.3 cubic-feet-per-second below Questa. This is higher than last week. It was stocked Aug. 21 with 699 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.
The Red River above Questa streamflow was 21.9 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little higher than last week. It was stocked Aug. 25 with 2,902 catchable-size rainbow trout. The East Fork and West Fork of the Red River were each stocked Aug. 25 with 301 rainbow trout.
Goose Lake, a high-elevation lake in the Red River drainage, was stocked June 30 with 451 rainbow trout.
The Red River Hatchery Pond is open again. It was stocked Aug. 28 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 Aug. 25 with 499 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 54 rainbow trout averaging 15.1 inches.
The Shuree Ponds on the Valle Vidal are open. They were stocked Aug. 7 with 500 rainbow trout averaging 15.8 inches.
Cabresto Lake is a high-elevation lake accessible by four-wheel drive. It has good fishing for wild brook trout and wild cutthroat trout.
Abiquiu Lake is managed by the Corps of Engineers. The fishing has been fair-to-good 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 196 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and below normal. It was stocked Aug. 18 with 973 rainbow trout. There are some big, wild brown trout here. The limit here is two-trout-per day.
The Canjilon Lakes are now accessible and open. They were stocked Aug. 25 with 1,240 catchable-size rainbow trout. It was stocked Aug. 26 with 200 rainbow trout averaging 18.0 inches. Anglers were also catching some brook trout.
The Trout Lakes near Cebolla are open. Access to these lakes can be difficult when it rains. They were stocked Aug. 25 with 930 rainbow trout.
Laguna del Campo, a small lake near Los Ojos, reopened May 1. It was stocked June 18 with 408 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 90 rainbow trout averaging 17.3 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. El Vado Lake State Park is now open for fishing and boating. Call 575.588.7470 for information.
The streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 488 cubic-feet-per-second. It was stocked Oct. 31 with 20,104 small Rio Grande cutthroat trout. It has wild brown trout. It was stocked Aug. 18 with 453 rainbow trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here.
The Chama River above El Vado Lake streamflow was 26.7 cubic-feet-per-second at La Puente. This a little higher than last week. It was stocked Aug. 18 with 556 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.
The upper Chama River above the town of Chama is low at 9.60 cubic-feet-per-second, but a little higher than last week.
The streamflow in the Rio Brazos was 13.5 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week. It was stocked June 17 with a total of 564 rainbow trout, including 156 rainbow trout averaging 12.4 inches. It has wild brown trout and brook trout in the headwaters.
The Brazos Lodge Pond was stocked May 19 with 200 rainbow trout.
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. Navajo Lake has the best kokanee salmon fishing in the state. 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 1010 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and above normal. It has world-class fly-fishing for big trout. Wading can be tough with high flows. This is a good time to float the river and hire a guide.
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. It was stocked July 2 with 68,560 fingerling 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 Aug. 18 with 2,294 catchable-size rainbow trout and stocked July 2 with 81,424 fingerling 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. The fishing is good. It was stocked July 1 with 1,701 catchable-size rainbow and with 185 rainbow trout averaging 16.9 inches. Hopewell gets very weedy this time of year.
The Lagunitas Lakes received their first stocking of the year July 9 of 1,502 rainbow trout.
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 Aug. 18 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.
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. Call 575.377.1594 for more information. Weed growth may soon get heavy here.
Blue-green algae has been detected at Eagle Nest. Do not let pets drink from the lake. The toxins produced by the algae can be fatal to dogs and sicken humans.
The Cimarron River at Cimarron Canyon State Park is stocked with rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. It was stocked Aug. 26 with 2,425 rainbow trout. The streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam was 10.7 cubic-feet-per-second. The Cimarron River near Cimarron streamflow was 13.3 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week.
The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground were stocked Aug. 26 with 325 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 45 rainbow trout averaging 15.1 inches. They are open.
Lake Maloya in Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton was stocked Aug. 13 with 3,100 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 400 rainbow trout averaging 15.4 inches. Lake Alice, a smaller lake at the park, was stocked June 18 with 500 rainbow trout. Call 575.445.1507 for more information.
Clayton Lake State Park was stocked June 2 with 4,001 catchable-size rainbow trout. 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 Mound and Springer were stocked July 1 with 2,500 rainbow trout. 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 near Mora is open. It was stocked July 9 with 1,351 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 150 rainbow trout averaging 15.5 inches.
Coyote Creek State Park is open. Coyote Creek was stocked Aug. 21 with 800 rainbow trout. Coyote Creek Pond was stocked with 600 rainbow trout.
Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas was stocked June 3 with 3,000 catchable-size rainbow trout. There are also catfish here.
The Pecos River in Pecos Canyon State Park was stocked Aug. 26 with 3,003 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 298 rainbow trout averaging 15.2 inches Fishing has been fair for rainbows and wild brown trout.
The streamflow in the Pecos River at Pecos was 190 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week, but above normal.
The Mora Fork of the Pecos River was stocked May 20 with 401 rainbow trout. Cow Creek was stocked Aug. 11 with 500 rainbow trout. Holy Ghost Creek was stocked Aug. 18 with 405 rainbow trout.
The Cowles Ponds were stocked Aug. 18with 180 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 21 rainbow trout averaging 15.2 inches.
Monastery Lake near Pecos is now open. It was stocked Aug. 27 with 1,223 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 263 rainbow trout averaging 15.2 inches.
Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is no longer being stocked with rainbow trout. It was stocked Aug. 28 with 449 channel catfish. It was stocked June 12 with 99 largemouth bass averaging 17 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. Call 505.876.2391 for information.
McGaffey Lake near Grants was stocked May 28 with 3,504 rainbow trout. It was stocked Aug.28 with 133 channel catfish.