By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post
Opportunities and destinations for New Mexico anglers to cast their lines will improve significantly today, June 24 with the announcement that Santa Fe National Forest, Cibola National Forest and Lincoln National Forest have reopened to all outdoor activities.
Carson National Forest will reopen with areas still being impacted by wildfires remaining closed.
In addition, Fenton Lake State Park will open for fishing Friday and for camping Monday, June 27 after being closed. Cimarron Canyon State Park also reopened today. The closures were initiated May 19 because of extreme fire danger conditions.
Morphy Lake State Park and Pecos Canyon State Park will remain closed.
Popular fishing locations now available again to anglers include the Canjilon Lakes, the Trout Lakes near Cebolla and Hopewell Lake between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla. They were all heavily-stocked just prior to the closure and the fishing should be very good to excellent.
The National Forests and State Parks were closed due to several wildfires on forest lands, including the two largest fires in state history. The Calf Canyon/Hermit Peak Fire near Las Vegas and the Black Fire in Southwestern New Mexico each exceeded 300,000 acres in size. The extremely dry and dangerous conditions to the closures.
Recent monsoon rains have helped firefighters improve containment of the wildfires and the dangerous fire conditions have improved with the added moisture.
The monsoon rains have begun. They are a most welcome sight after a hot and dry spring that was dominated by news of wildfires, including the two largest in state history.
After an early and meager spring runoff, streamflow levels are falling to well-below normal. The welcome rains will hopefully keep streamflows from falling to critical levels and keep water temperatures low enough to protect trout from dangerously high (for trout) water temperatures.
Despite the recent moisture, Carson National Forest and Santa Fe National Forest, along with many of New Mexico’s State Parks, remain closed. It is best to keep checking to see when these areas will reopen. The popular Fourth of July holiday will fall on a Monday this year and many people will be seeking to spend the extended weekend enjoying our beautiful outdoors.
An early reminder that fireworks are always prohibited on New Mexico’s National Forest lands.
If you head out soon to enjoy the areas that are still open, expect muddy conditions in some areas. Even moderate amounts of rain can lead to flash floods, especially when it falls on burn scars from the recent wildfires. Do not attempt to cross flooded arroyos in vehicles. The popular saying is “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.”
For day trips from Los Alamos, Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo would be the closest fishing spot open for fishing. The Lake is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, which has not closed any of its properties as of yet.
Santa Cruz Lake has open water and fishing has been good. It was stocked May 2 with 3,208 catchable size rainbow trout and with 300 rainbow trout averaging 18.3 inches in size. There are also some wild brown trout. The Overlook Campground is open. The lake is open Thursday-Sunday from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. For updated conditions, check the Bureau of Land Management website at: blm.gov/visit/santa-cruz-lake-recreation-area or call (505).351.1438.
The Bureau also manages the Orilla Verde Recreation Area along the Rio Grande at Pilar. Camping is on a first-come basis. No reservations. The Rio Grande streamflow is 271 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is noticeably lower than last week. The fishing had been fair-to-good for rainbow trout and brown trout. Fishing for smallmouth bass should be improving. Some northern pike are beng caught around Pilar. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked June 15 with 1,399 rainbow trout.
From the Colorado state line downstream to the Taos Junction Bridge, the limit is two-trout-per-day in the Rio Grande.
The Rio Grande is open for fishing from the Colorado/New Mexico state line downstream through the Wild Rivers Recreation Area. The Rio Grande Gorge above Pilar was stocked May 24 with 249 rainbow trout.
State Parks that are currently closed due to extreme fire conditions include: Fenton Lake, Cimarron Canyon, Morphy Lake, Coyote Creek, Pecos Canyon. The following State Parks are open for fishing.
Eagle Nest Lake at Eagle Nest State Park is now open for boating. It was stocked April 19 with 82,237 fingerling kokanee salmon. A new state-record kokanee was caught at Eagle Nest last year. The best kokanee fishing is normally done trolling from a boat. Fishing should be good for rainbow trout, yellow perch and northern pike. It was stocked June 17 with 6,002 sub-catchable rainbow trout. For more information and current conditions, call (575).377.1594.
Lake Maloya at Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton is now open to fishing. Lake Alice, also at Sugarite State Park, is open for fishing. Lake Maloya was stocked May 25 with 2,591 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 400 rainbow trout averaging 15.8 inches in size. Lake Alice was stocked with 499 rainbow trout. Call (575).445.5607 for current conditions.
Clayton Lake State Park opened March 1 for fishing. It is stocked with rainbow trout and has big walleye. The state-record walleye was caught here. This is a trophy bass lake. The daily limit is two largemouth bass with a 14-inch and longer size limit. It was stocked June 1 with 3,999 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 200 rainbow trout averaging 16.2 inches in size. There are also catfish. Call (575).374.8808 for current conditions.
Heron Lake State Park has open water for bank fishing. Be aware that the banks are very muddy. The boat ramps are closed. The lake level is still low. It was stocked April 20 with 147,290 fingerling kokanee salmon. It was stocked June 7 with 10,964 sub-catchable rainbow trout.
Call (575).588.7470 for conditions at both Heron Lake and El Vado Lake.
El Vado Lake State Park has rainbow trout, brown trout, perch and small smallmouth bass. Boating is closed. The Dam Day Use Area is closed for construction. Water level is low. The banks are very muddy.
Bluewater Lake State Park is open. Camping is allowed by reservation only. Lake water level is low. Tiger muskies are being caught and the fishing for them is fair using big crank baits and waterdogs. The limit on tiger muskies is one-per-day at least 40 inches in length. The boat ramp is closed. Anglers may launch boats at their own risk along undeveloped shoreline. Call (505).876.2391 for current conditions.
Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas is open for bank fishing. It was stocked June 7 with 3,034 rainbow trout. It also has some big catfish.
Over in the Four Corners, Navajo Lake State Park is open. Camping is by reservation only. Trolling minnow-imitating lures like Rapalas could produce a trophy brown trout. Fishing for northern pike has been fair. Bass fishing should be picking up. Fishing for catfish has been good, while crappie fishing is fair. It was stocked April 20 with 219,027 kokanee salmon fingerlings. Boating conditions are good. Call (505).632.2278 for conditions.
Anglers with boats should start checking with the Marina to see if the kokanee salmon are starting to school up and at what depth they can be found at. Deep trolling for kokanee salmon is a popular method of catching these fish in the summer at Navajo Lake.
The best river in the state and well-known throughout the angling world is the San Juan River below Navajo Dam. The streamflow here is 527 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and still less than normal. The San Juan offers world-class fly fishing for big trout.
The fishing has been good with a variety of fly patterns in the four miles of Quality Water below the Dam. The fishing here is catch-and-release with flies and lures having a single, barbless hook. There are big, wild brown trout in the Quality Water. Some of these fish would likely shatter the state record if they could be kept and weighed.
The fishing in the Bait Water of the San Juan below the Quality Water has been fair-to-good with flies, bait and lures. A regular daily limit of five trout may be kept here. There are some big brown trout here too. It was stocked June 15 with 4,400 rainbow trout.
Also in the Four Corners area, Tiger Park Pond and Aztec Pond #1 in Aztec are being stocked. Tiger Park Pond was stocked May 3 with 864 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 150 rainbow trout averaging 18.3 inches in size. Aztec Pond was stocked May 18 with 406 catchable-size rainbow trout..
Lake Farmington has been stocked again. On April 25, it was stocked with 1,494 rainbow trout. This lake is managed by the City of Farmington.
The trout fishing has been good in the Jemez River below Jemez Springs (closed above Jemez Springs). The streamflow is now 15.5 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week. The fish are concentrated in deeper pools. It was stocked May 17 with 1,000 rainbow trout.
The following locations also are open for fishing:
Abiquiu Lake is open, including the boat ramp and picnic areas. Camping is open. It is managed by the Corps of Engineers. Reservations may be made at www.recreation.gov. The water level is low at Abiquiu, but should be rising. A four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended for launching boats. The fishing has been slow for walleye and smallmouth bass. Trout fishing could pick up. There are some good-sized trout in Abiquiu. It was stocked April 26 with 516,849 walleye fry. Call 505.685.4371 for more information.
The Chama River below Abiquiu Dam is flowing at 223 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week. The water here is murky. It was stocked June 7 with 3,080 rainbow trout. The fishing is likely fair for stocked and holdover rainbow trout. There are a few big, wild brown trout here. The limit here is two-fish-per-day.
The Chama River below El Vado Dam is flowing at 134 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much lower than last week. The fishing has been fair for stocked rainbow trout and wild brown trout. You may hook a cutthroat trout here. It was stocked June 15 with 598 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 50 rainbow trout averaging 16.2 inches in size. The state-record brown trout was caught here.
Above El Vado Lake, spring runoff is winding down on the Chama River. The streamflow at La Puente was 50 cubic-feet-per-second last week. It was not measured this week due to equipment failure. It has been dropping and fishing should be picking up here. It was stocked June 15 with 1,195 catchable size rainbow trout and with 80 rainbow trout averaging 16.2 inches in size.
Streamflow in the Rio Brazos was 59.4 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week. The Brazos was stocked June 15 with 598 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 50 rainbow trout averaging 16.2 inches in size.
Laguna del Campo, a small lake near Los Ojos, is open. It was stocked June 2 with 378 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 80 rainbow trout averaging 16.1 inches in size. Fishing here is for anglers 11 years old and younger or 65 years old and older. The limit is three-trout-per-day.
The Charette Lakes between Wagon Mound and Springer have good fishing for good-sized, holdover rainbow trout.
Lower Charette Lake was stocked June 14 with 2,500 rainbow trout.
Cochiti Lake has reopened. The fishing has been fair-to-good for northern pike and bass. Night fishing for catfish could be worthwhile. Tetilla Peak Recreation Area is open, but the campground is closed.
Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is no longer being stocked with rainbow trout. It is now being stocked with channel catfish. It was stocked May 26 with 476 catfish averaging 18 inches in size. It was stocked June 8 with 55 largemouth bass averaging 13.7 inches in size.
The Red River below the Fish Hatchery is flowing at 54.3 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week. It was stocked June 15 with 2,000 rainbow trout. The Red River above Questa is closed.
The Red River Hatchery Pond is now open. It was stocked June 15 with 601 catchable-size rainbow trout. Fishing is for anglers 11 years of age or younger and 65 years old or older. The limit is three-fish-per day.
In Southern New Mexico, Elephant Butte State Park and Caballo Lake State Park are both open and offer good fishing for white bass, walleye and catfish. If you prefer trout, Grindstone Reservoir and Alto Lake near Ruidoso are managed by the City of Ruidoso and open for fishing. Both are well-stocked with rainbow trout. Both also contain catfish.
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