By GEORGE MORSE
Sports And Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

Streamflows are falling and the water temperatures rising as much of the Western United State is in the midst of a historic heat wave. If the temperatures stay hot and the monsoon rains continue to be delayed there will be several developments that will affect anglers.

The best fishing will be early in the morning and late in the evening. Trout in reservoirs and lakes will move to deeper water seeking cooler water temperatures. Trout are adversely affected by water temperatures above 70 degrees. In streams and rivers, fishing early and late will be the best time to be on the water. Temperatures above 70 degrees will have the trout seeking the coolest spots they can find and become very lethargic.

Anglers should cease fishing during the hottest times of the day to protect the trout. Even while practicing catch-and-release, the stress of being hooked, played and released can put to much strain on the already heat-stressed trout and they will not survive long after being released.

As the water continues to warm, weed growth will be heavy in many lakes and reservoirs, making fishing from shore more difficult. Fenton Lake, Eagle Nest Lake and Hopewell Lake, along with likely several other, are examples of places where this may happen.

Fenton Lake State Park is open for camping. Lake is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Camping by reservation only. It is heavily-stocked with rainbow trout. It also has some wild brown trout and some Rio Grande cutthroat trout from earlier stockings. It was stocked June 21 with 1,617 rainbow trout. Only two cutthroat trout may be kept as part of the five fish daily limit at Fenton. For more information and current lake conditions call 575.829.3630.

The Rio Cebolla, which flows into and below Fenton Lake, was stocked June 29 with 399 rainbow trout.

The Jemez River streamflow Sunday was 17.6 cubic-feet-per-second. This is the same as last week and below normal. Streamflow had been dropping. The Jemez River was stocked June 21 with 323 rainbow trout.

The smaller tributaries of the Jemez River are running high but dropping. The Rio San Antonio was stocked June 29 with 749 rainbow trout.

The Seven Springs Brood Pond, also known as the Kid’s Pond, is open. The fishing is for anglers 11-years of age or younger. It was stocked June 7 with 450 rainbow trout. It also has some wild brown trout and some Rio Grande cutthroat trout from an earlier stocking. The limit is three trout-per-day.

The Bureau of Land Management manages Santa Cruz Lake Recreation Area near Chimayo. It will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. The fishing should be good for stocked rainbow trout and some wild brown trout. For updated conditions, check the Bureau of Land Management website 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 was 833 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is lower than last week and close to normal. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked June 2 with 1601 rainbow trout.

From the Colorado state line downstream to the Taos Junction Bridge, the limit is two-trout-per-day in the Rio Grande.

Eagle Nest Lake at Eagle Nest State Park is open. Boating is open and docks are in.

Fishing should be good for rainbow trout, yellow perch, northern pike and an occasional kokanee salmon. Eagle Nest has been receiving heavy stockings of catchable-size and larger hatchery fish, which is unusual. Larger trout are being stocked in hopes of mitigating the losses to predation by northern pike. Remember, if you catch a pike at Eagle Nest, you cannot put it back in the lake. You have to kill it. For more information and current conditions, call 575.377.1594.

The Cimarron River streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam was 22.5 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much higher than last week. The Cimarron River near the town of Cimarron streamflow was measured at 27.5 cubic-feet-per second. It was stocked July 3 with 2,425 rainbow trout. Check the Carson National Forest website to see if campgrounds are open.

The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground are open now. They were stocked July 3 with 354 rainbow trout.

Lake Maloya and Lake Alice at Sugarite State Park near Raton are open. Lake Maloya was stocked June 13 with 2,600 catchable-size rainbow trout. Lake Alice was stocked June 13 with 501 rainbow trout. Call 575.445.5607 for current conditions.

Heron Lake State Park is open now. There is open water for bank fishing. The boat marina and boat ramp are now open. The lake level is much higher than in previous years.

Call 575.588.7470 for conditions at both Heron Lake and El Vado Lake.

El Vado Lake State Park is closed. Try fishing at the north end of the lake where the Chama River comes in.

Laguna del Campo, a popular, small lake near Los Ojos, opened for fishing. It was stocked June 15 with 825 rainbow trout. Fishing is for anglers 11 years of age or younger and 65 years old or older. Limit is three-fish-per-day.

Morphy Lake State Park near Mora has reopened. It was stocked several times three weeks ago with a total of 4,321 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 400 rainbow trout averaging 14.5 inches in length.

The Charette Lakes have good fishing for holdover rainbow trout. There are also yellow perch here. They were stocked June 27 with 2,497 rainbow trout.

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas is open. It was stocked three weeks ago with a total of 7,327 rainbow trout. It also has some big catfish.

Pecos Canyon State Park is open. In the Canyon, streamflow was measured 89 cubic-feet per second. This is lower than last week and a little below normal. The fishing has been fair-to-good for rainbow trout and brown trout. Pecos Canyon was stocked twice last week with a total of 3,004 rainbow trout.

In the Pecos drainage, Holy Ghost Creek was stocked June 21 with 200 rainbow trout. The Mora Fork was stocked July 6 with 400 rainbow trout. Cow Creek was stocked June 27 with 501 rainbow trout.

The Cowles Ponds were stocked June 21 with 180 rainbow trout.

Monastery Lake near Pecos has been fair-to-good. It was stocked June 27 with 975 rainbow trout.

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-to-good. Bass fishing has been fair. Check at the Marina to see if the kokanee salmon have begun to school up near the dam and at what depth. Boating conditions are good. Call 505.632.2278 for conditions.

Popular fishing locations on Carson National Forest include the Canjilon Lakes, the Trout Lakes near Cebolla and Hopewell Lake between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla.

The Forest Service roads to the Trout Lakes and Canjilon Lakes are now open. Canjilon was stocked June 26 with 1,071 rainbow trout and has small brook trout. The Trout Lakes were stocked June 27 with 485 rainbow trout.

The campground at Hopewell Lake is opening up. The fishing has been good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brook trout. It was stocked June 26 with 1,785 rainbow trout.

The Rio de los Pinos is near the border with Colorado. It is running high and hard to fish, but bigger-than-average trout can be caught now. It was stocked June 12 with 1,800 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.

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 now 509 cubic-feet-per-second, which is about like last week. This is a much better flow for wading anglers. 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. It is heavily-stocked with small rainbow trout that grow quickly in the fertile waters.. 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 27 with 4,598 rainbow trout.

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. Water levels are much higher here than in previous years. The fishing has been slow-to-fair for walleye, catfish and smallmouth bass. There are some good-sized trout in Abiquiu.

They may have moved into deeper water. Call 505.685.4371 for more information.

The Chama River below Abiquiu Dam is flowing at 400 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and below normal. The water is murky. 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.

Streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 215 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and almost normal. It was stocked July 3 with 618 rainbow trout.

Above El Vado Lake, the Chama River at La Puente is clearing and streamflow was 117 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week and almost normal. It was stocked July 3 with 1,729 rainbow trout.

Brazos River was flowing at 22.7 cubic-feet-per-second. It was lower than last week. It was stocked June 12 with 585 rainbow trout.

Cochiti Lake has reopened. The lake water level has risen 11 feet. The fishing has been fair-to-good for northern pike.

Fishing for catfish could be worthwhile. Tetilla Peak Recreation Area is open, but the campground is closed.

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is now being stocked with channel catfish. It was stocked June 29 with a total of 459 catfish averaging 18 inches in length.

The Rio Pueblo near Penasco is free of ice and streamflow was measured at 22.7 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week and below normal. It was stocked July 5 with1,200 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.

The Sipapu Pond was stocked June 12 with 61 rainbow trout.

The Red River below the Fish Hatchery is flowing at 91.1 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week and below normal. It was stocked June 21 with 699 rainbow trout. The Red River above Questa was stocked July 7 with 2,199 rainbow trout.

The Red River Hatchery Pond is open. Fishing is for anglers 11 years of age or younger and 65 years old or older. The limit is now five-fish-per day. It was stocked July 3 with 398 catchable-size rainbow trout.

The East and West Forks of the Red River were each stocked June 20 with 300 rainbow trout.

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa is open. It was stocked July 7 with 730 rainbow trout.

Cabresto Lake, a small, high-elevation lake accessible by four-wheel drive vehicle near Questa, has good fishing for wild brook trout and wild cutthroat trout.