New Mexico fishing and stocking reports for March 26

New Mexico Department of Game & Fish sent this bulletin at 03/26/2024 04:45 PM MDT

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This fishing report, provided by the Department of Game and Fish in cooperation with Dustin Berg of www.gounlimited.org (“supporting disabled anglers”), has been generated from the best information available from area officers and anglers. Conditions encountered after the report is compiled may differ, as stream, lake and weather conditions alter fish and angler activities.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Tell us about your latest New Mexico fishing adventure, or your catch of the week. Send it to us at funfishingnm@gmail.com. We may include your story in our next report. For catches of the week include: name, age, hometown, date, location, type of fish, length and weight if possible, and bait, lure or fly used. Fish weights and measurements are provided by the angler and printed here as received.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST STOCKING REPORT

2024-25 Fishing Licenses On Sale Now!

A new 2024-25 Fishing License is required when the new license year begins on April 1. The 2024-25 Fishing Rules and Information Booklet (RIB) will be available online April 1 and in print soon after.

2023-24 fishing licenses are still valid through March 31. The 2023-24 Fishing RIBs are still available in print and online in English and Spanish for download.

Check the Fishing Conditions and Trip Planner!

The Department's Fishing Conditions and Trip Planner was created using data from past Weekly Fishing Reports to develop graphs depicting fishing conditions for several species and waterbodies throughout the year. Each graph represents the average fishing conditions for each week of the year over the four-year period.

The Department has also developed an interactive Fishing Waters Map with a wealth of information on fishing locations in New Mexico. It displays hundreds of fishing access points with information of fish species available, facilities, accessibility, boat ramps and general regulations.

Check out the webpage to plan your trip now!

Take the Bass and Trout Challenges!

To promote fishing opportunities in New Mexico and encourage anglers to branch out and discover new fishing waters and species, anglers can participate in the New Mexico Bass Challenge, the New Mexico Trout Challenge and the Master Angler Challenge. Who knows, you could catch a New Mexico Record Fish.

Catch all the challenge species that are found throughout New Mexico or a New Mexico State Record Fish and receive a certificate and challenge coin for your accomplishment!

Land Management Agency Links

The Department reminds anglers to “know before you go” and to contact land management agencies regarding additional regulations or restrictions on specific properties of interest prior to heading afield.

Consult local government websites for information regarding specific city and town fishing access.

NORTHEAST

NORTHEAST CATCHES OF THE WEEK

Rio Grande: Cid Little Elk of Questa caught and released a 20-inch brown trout using a black Balanced Leech fly on March 15.

NORTHEAST FISHING REPORT

Cabresto Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Charette Lakes: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using worms and Orange PowerBait.

Cimarron River: Streamflow near Cimarron Monday morning was not measured due to ice.

Clayton Lake: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using PowerBait and worms.

Conchas Lake: Fishing for smallmouth bass and walleye was fair to good when using clown-pattern crankbaits and nightcrawler worms.

Costilla Creek: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Cowles Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Coyote Creek: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Eagle Nest Lake: Closed to ice fishing. For updated lake conditions, visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at 575-377-1594.

Eagle Rock Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Gallinas River: National Forest closures have been in place restricting fishing access. Visit the Santa Fe National Forest webpage or call the Santa Fe National Forest office at 505-438-5300 for the latest closure information.

Hopewell Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Alice: Ice fishing season has ended.

Lake Maloya: Ice fishing season has ended. The ADA dock is open to anglers, with priority given to mobility-impaired persons.

Los Pinos River: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Maxwell Lake 13: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Monastery Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using bead-head nymph flies and Pistol Pete spinner flies. The lake is part of the Department’s Open Gate Program. Please visit our website for more information about this property.

Morphy Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using PowerBait and olive Hare’s Ear flies.

Pecos River: Streamflow near Pecos Monday morning was not measured due to ice. Fishing for trout was good when using streamer flies; black, white and olive Woolly Bugger flies; black-and-chartreuse, tungsten bead-head nymph flies and small, egg-pattern flies.

Red River: Streamflow below the Red River Hatchery on Monday morning was 41 cubic feet per second (cfs). Fishing for trout was fair to good when using Hare’s Ear flies and black Streamer flies.

Rio Grande: Streamflow below the Taos Junction Bridge on Monday morning was 576 cfs. Fishing for trout was good when using black Balanced Leech flies.

Rio Hondo: Streamflow near Valdez Monday morning was not measured due to ice.

Rio Mora: Streamflow near Terrero Monday morning was not measured due to ice.

Rio Pueblo: Streamflow near Peñasco Monday morning was not measured due to ice.

Santa Cruz Reservoir: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using Chartreuse PowerBait.

Shuree Ponds: Closed until July 1.

Springer Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Storrie Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Stubblefield Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Ute Lake: Fishing for walleye was good when using swimbaits, jerkbaits and bottom-bouncing spinner rigs tipped with minnows. Fishing for white bass was good when trolling using Berkley Flicker Shad lures and crankbaits that run 8-10 feet deep. Fishing for smallmouth bass was fair to good when using drop-shot rigs and Shakey Heads. The main lake water surface temperature was in the lower 50 F range, and the water’s color was lightly stained from wind.

NORTHWEST

NORTHWEST CATCHES OF THE WEEK

Rio Chama: Mark Mondragon of Rio Chama caught a 23.5-inch brown trout using a silver Panther Martin spinner below Abiquiu Lake on March 22.

San Juan River: Jonathon Casados of Albuquerque caught a 25-inch rainbow trout using a lime-green Mop Fly on March 23.

Seven Springs Kids’ Pond: Jayden Valdez, age 11, and Maddison Ortega, age 10, of Albuquerque caught and released several trout using worms and Yellow PowerBait on March 22 (above, left). Robert Salas, age 8, of Isleta caught two trout using salmon eggs on March 19 (above, right).

Tiger Park Reservoir: Austyn Riley, age 12, of Laguna Pueblo along with his family caught his limit of trout using a variety of PowerBait and flies on March 23.

Tingley Beach: Amaya Perez, age 7, of Albuquerque caught her first trout using live worms with her brother Kilian on March 22.

NORTHWEST FISHING REPORT

Abiquiu Lake: Contact the Abiquiu Lake Main Office at 505-685-4371 for updated lake conditions and closure information.

Animas River: Streamflow below Aztec Monday morning was 295 cfs.

Albuquerque Area Drains: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Bluewater Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Brazos River: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Canjilon Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Cochiti Lake: Fishing for bass was fair when using crankbaits.

El Vado Lake: Closed due to dam construction project. For more information, visit El Vado Lake State Park’s webpage or call 575-588-7247.

Fenton Lake: Closed to ice fishing, and angler’s reported that there was no open water to fish from shore. For updated lake conditions and potential closure information, visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at 575-829-3630.

Grants Riverwalk Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Heron Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Jemez Waters: Streamflow near Jemez Monday morning was 62 cfs. Fishing for trout was good when using gold, bead-head nymph flies.

Laguna del Campo: Closed until May 1.

Lagunitas Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Farmington: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Liam Knight Pond: Fishing for trout was fair when using flies and Garlic Green PowerBait.

McGaffey Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Navajo Lake: Fishing for brown trout was slow to fair when trolling using large lures. Fishing for pike was good when using large, diving crankbaits and Streamer flies.

Rio Chama: Streamflow below El Vado Lake Monday morning was 102 cfs; streamflow below Abiquiu Lake Monday morning was 137 cfs. Fishing for trout below Abiquiu Lake was fair to good when using Panther Martin spinners. Please remember, from the river-crossing bridge on U.S. Highway 84 at Abiquiu upstream 7 miles to the base of Abiquiu Dam is special trout waters with a bag limit of only two trout.

Rio Grande: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Riverside Park Pond (Aztec Pond #1): Fishing for trout was good when using rainbow-colored, Garlic PowerBait.

San Gregorio Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

San Juan River: Streamflow near Archuleta Monday morning was 352 cfs. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was fair to good when using lime green Mop flies and small Pheasant-Tail nymph flies. Fishing for trout in the bait waters was good when using spinners, spoons, egg-pattern flies, bead-head mayfly-pattern flies and nightcrawler worms near Crusher Hole and Cottonwood Campground.

Seven Springs Kids’ Pond: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using salmon eggs, worms and yellow PowerBait.

Tiger Park Reservoir: Fishing for trout was good when using a variety of PowerBait and flies.

Tingley Beach: Fishing for trout was good when using yellow Gulp Worms and live worms.

Trout Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.

SOUTHWEST

SOUTHWEST CATCHES OF THE WEEK

Bill Evans Lake: Alejandro Renteria and Alejandro Pacheco both of Deming caught their limits of trout using Salmon PowerBait and Garlic PowerBait on March 16.

Elephant Butte Lake: Monty Cash Caldwell, age 10, of Casa Colorada caught and released a 7.5-pound blue catfish using cut bait on March 21.

Escondida Lake: Matthew Valenzuela caught a 29-inch, 12.7-pound carp using Here Fishy-Fishy bait on March 20.

SOUTHWEST FISHING REPORT

Alumni Pond: Closed for repairs until further notice.

Bear Canyon Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using Pink and Rainbow PowerBait, and black-and-yellow Panther Martin spinners.

Bill Evans Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using Salmon PowerBait and Garlic PowerBait.

Caballo Lake: Fishing for catfish was fair when using cut bait. Fishing for walleye was fair when using curly-tail grubs.

Elephant Butte Lake: Fishing for bass was good when using minnows. Fishing for catfish was good when using cut shad bait and cut carp bait.

Escondida Lake: Fishing for carp was fair when using Here Fishy-Fishy bait.

Estancia Park Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Gila River: Streamflow near Gila Monday morning was 240 cfs.

Glenwood Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Roberts: Fishing for trout was good when using Natural-Scent, Glitter PowerBait.

Percha Dam: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Quemado Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Rancho Grande Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Rio Grande: Streamflow below Elephant Butte Dam on Monday morning was 1,550 cfs. Fishing for catfish was good when using worms and chicken liver near Socorro.

Snow Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Trees Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using worms and Cheese PowerBait.

Young Pond: Fishing for trout was fair when using nightcrawler worms.

SOUTHEAST

SOUTHEAST CATCH OF THE WEEK

Alto Lake: Robert Dodd of Moriarty caught his limit of trout using PowerBait Trout Nuggets on March 19.

Eunice Lake: Lucas Valeriano, age 7, of Jal caught a 2-pound rainbow trout using a Kastmaster lure on March 16.

SOUTHEAST FISHING REPORT

Alto Lake: Fishing for trout was very good when using PowerBait Trout Nuggets.

Bataan Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Berrendo Creek: Please visit the Open Gate webpage for more information on this property.

Black River: Streamflow at Malaga Monday morning was 45 cfs.

Blue Hole Park Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Bonito Lake: Closed until further notice by the City of Alamogordo due to fire damage. The lake is full but needs time for aquatic habitat to develop to sustain a healthy fish population. The city hopes to reopen the lake for recreational purposes in June.

Bosque Redondo Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Bottomless Lakes: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Brantley Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Carlsbad Municipal Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using Pink PowerBait.

Chaparral Park Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Corona Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Dennis Chavez Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Eunice Lake: Fishing for trout was good when using Kastmaster lures.

Green Meadow Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Greene Acres Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Grindstone Reservoir: Fishing for trout was good when using Garlic PowerBait, Rainbow PowerBait and red, zebra midge-pattern flies.

Harry McAdams Park Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Jal Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Van: Fishing for trout was fair to good when using white PowerBait Power Eggs.

Ned Houk Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Oasis Park Lake: Fishing for trout was fair when using a variety of different PowerBait.

Pecos River: Streamflow below Sumner Lake Monday morning was 74 cfs.

Perch Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Rio Bonito: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Rio Ruidoso: Streamflow at Hollywood Monday morning was 16 cfs.

Rock Lake Hatchery Kids’ Pond: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Santa Rosa Lake: Fishing for bass was fair when using Senko worms.

Sumner Lake: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Timberon Ponds: We had no reports from anglers this week.

Tips, Tricks and Stories – Springtime Big Fish

If you keep an eye on the weekly fishing reports, you’ve probably noticed a recent uptick in people catching big fish across New Mexico. Every spring as the waters begin to warm, big fish of all species become more active and thus angling opportunity increases. As a general rule of thumb, think big lures when it comes to catching big fish. We are in an in-between time; whereas, most baby fish from last year have now grown in size, and the next generation of baby fish are yet to hatch. This means that the big fish that anglers are trying to catch are most likely feeding on larger baitfish as compared to what they will be feeding on after a new generation of baby fish hatch.

Cody Longley’s brown trout measured 34-inches long and was caught using a trout-pattern lure on 8-pound test line.

Looking back on the past couple of years, we have had some good success catching large trout and pike this time of year at Navajo Lake. Cody Longley was prepping the GO Unlimited boat for adaptive fishing trips with disabled participants, and a bit of good karma came his way. He put a 6-inch swimbait on his line and drug it around the deep edges of the lake. Cody hooked into something big after a couple of hours of trying to find where the fish were. The fish stayed at a depth of 50-feet and did not reveal itself. The fight lasted about 14 intense minutes before the fish finally surfaced. It was a huge brown trout! After a quick high-five and a couple pictures, the beautiful brown was released back into the lake. It was great to see her dive back into the depths with vigor and continue her lively journey. Cody mentioned that was happy to release his catch to give her a chance to produce thousands more eggs over her remaining lifetime.

NMDGF Weekly Fishing Report author Dustin Berg getting in a quick photo op with Cody’s big fish.

Last year around this time Alejandro brought in the biggest pike we have ever caught from the GO Unlimited boat. He caught it while casting a large, red spoon at Navajo Lake. It was a rather intense fight and Alejandro had to really put his back into reeling in this fish. It measured 41-inches and had phenomenal girth.

Alejando and his dad Lenny with GO Unlimited volunteer Ken take a quick picture with the massive 41-inch pike caught by Alejando.

Let us know how your fishing trip goes! Share your tips and tricks with your fellow anglers by emailing us at funfishingnm@gmail.com and let’s help the next generation of anglers find success.

Thanks for reading and supporting our angling community!

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