By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post 

The snowpack in Northern New Mexico  is  still well-below normal. Despite more beneficial snow that fell this past week, the measure of snow water equivalent, which is the amount of water you will have once the snow is melted, is below 50-percent of normal in the Upper Rio Grande, Jemez River and Pecos River basins. The Chama River Basin improved somewhat and is now 57-percent of normal. 

The snowpack in Southern Colorado, including the headwaters of the Rio Grande, is also below normal.  Snow water equivalent in the Rio Grande headwaters and the An Juan Basin improved somewhat to 70-percent and 71-percent, respectively.  

Snow depth at the Hopewell measuring station was 40 inches. Snow depth at Cumbres Trestle was 56 inches. Both are in Rio Arriba County. The snow depth at Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado was 73 inches. 

The ice-fishing season lasted only about a week or so this year. Popular ice-fishing lakes like Fenton and Eagle Nest now have open water for fishing. It has been good at both locations. 

One location reporting good ice fishing is Hopewell Lake between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla.  

Navajo Lake does not freeze over and remains open all winter. The San Juan River below Navajo Dam has excellent winter fishing and a little bit more elbow room during this time of year.  

Several lakes in Northeast New Mexico recently opened for fishing. Clayton Lake State Park  was stocked Feb. 20 with 4,001 rainbow trout in preparation for the opener. It also has largemouth bass and walleye. The state-record walleye was caught here. Check out the dinosaur tracks at Clayton. 

The Charette Lakes between Wagon Mound and Springer are open. Fishing should be good for holdover trout with some being good-sized. Charette Lake also has yellow perch. 

Maxwell Lake 13 dried up in 2020 and there have been no reports of it being restocked since then. 

Fenton Lake State Park is open. Camping is reservation only. It was stocked Aug. 28 with 270 Rio Grande cutthroat trout averaging 14.5 inches in length. Fenton Lake was stocked March 12 with 2,760 rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. Only two cutthroat trout may be kept as part of a five trout daily bag limit. Fenton Lake was opened  for ice fishing Jan. 26. The warm weather has melted the ice. There is open water for bank fishing, which has been very good. 

Call 575. 829.3630 for current conditions. 

The Rio Cebolla flows into and out of Fenton Lake. It was stocked Feb. 26 with 249 rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout and Rio Grande cutthroat trout above Fenton Lake. It was stocked Oct. 24 with 5,668 small Rio Grande cutthroat trout.  

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 and a few Rio Grande cutthroats. It is north of Fenton Lake. It is open water. It was stocked March 4 with 440 rainbow trout. 

The Jemez River streamflow was 24.1 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little higher than last week. It was stocked March 4 with 1,000  rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.  

Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It is now closed until Feb. 15. Ice fishing is not allowed here. The state-record rainbow trout was caught here. Since the lake reopened fishing has been very good.  It was stocked twice last week with a total of 2,491 rainbow trout. There sre also wild brown trout. It is open Thursday-Monday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Call 505.351.1438 or visit blm.gov/visit/santa-cruz-lake-recreation-area. 

The Bureau also manages the Orilla Verde Recreation Area on the Rio Grande at Pilar. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked  March 13 with 2,002 rainbow trout. It was stocked Feb. 13  with 10,526 fingerling rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout, northern pike and smallmouth bass. 

From the Colorado border to the Taos Junction Bridge the limit is two trout per day on the Rio Grande.  Streamflow was 626 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is higher than last week. The Rio Grande Gorge above Pilar was stocked March 13 with 250 rainbow trout. It was stocked Feb. 13 with 15,001 fingerling  rainbow trout. 

The Rio Pueblo near Penasco is still not reporting streamflow due to ice. This area received a lot of snow two weeks ago-21 inches at Tres Ritos. The streamflow should be good. 

The streamflow on the Red River was 34.0 cubic-feet-per-second below Questa. This is the same as last week. It was stocked March 11 with 699 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout. 

The Red River above Questa is icing over. 

The Red River Hatchery Pond is open again. It was stocked Nov. 18 with 400 rainbow trout. Fishing is for anglers 11 years old or younger and 65 years old or older.  

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa was stocked Nov. 6 with 600 rainbow trout. Use caution if attempting to ice fish. It may have some open water. 

The Shuree Ponds on the Valle Vidal opened July 1 for fishing. They are likely frozen and are now closed. 

Cabresto Lake is a high-elevation lake accessible by four-wheel drive. It has good fishing for wild brook trout and wild cutthroat trout. It is likely frozen. Use caution if attempting to ice fish. 

Abiquiu Lake is managed by the Corps of Engineers. The fishing has been slow for smallmouth bass walleye, crappie and catfish. Anglers are starting to catch some small largemouth bass. Most are under legal size. There are some good-sized trout in Abiquiu. Camping by reservation. Call 505.685.4371 for more information. Portions of the lake will freeze but it seldom completely freezes. 

The streamflow in the Chama River below Abiquiu Dam was 25.7 cubic-feet-per-second. This is below normal and is the same as last week. It was stocked March 5 with 504 catchable-size rainbow trout. It was stocked Feb. 20 with 17,962 fingerling rainbow trout. There are some big, wild brown trout here. The limit here is two-trout-per day. 

The Canjilon Lakes will be difficult to reach due to snowfall and they should be freezing up. 

The Trout Lakes near Cebolla were stocked Oct.  8 with 455 rainbow trout. The road to these lakes can be rough when it rains. Access to these lakes will be difficult due to snowfall and they are likely frozen 

Laguna del Campo, a small lake near Los Ojos is now closed. It will reopen May 1. 

Heron Lake State Park is open. Fishing for rainbow trout has been fair.  It was stocked Nov. 19 with 3,188 sub-catchable rainbow trout. Kokanee salmon snagging season opened Nov. 11 at Heron. So far it has been slow. Snagging season is now closed. El Vado Lake State Park is closed for construction. Call 575.588.7470 for information.  

The streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 99.8 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little lower than last week and below average. It was stocked Oct. 31 with 20,104 small Rio Grande cutthroat trout. It has wild brown trout. It was stocked Feb. 12 with 24,998 sub-catchable rainbow trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here. 

The Chama River above El Vado Lake is  free of ice. The streamflow was 54.3 cubic-feet-per-second at La Puente. It was stocked Nov. 19 with 4,910 sub catchable rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.  

The streamflow in the Chama River above the town of Chama is no longer being reported and is icing over. 

The streamflow in the Rio Brazos is not being measured. It is likely iced over. 

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 and the snagging for kokanee salmon season is closed. The fishing for northern pike has been fair-to-good. Bass fishing has been fair. It was stocked  Feb. 27 with 21,598 sub-catchable rainbow trout. 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 413 cubic-feet-per-second. This higher than last week and below normal. It has world-class fly-fishing for big trout. 

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 Feb. 28 with 27,713 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 March 4 with 2,290 catchable-size rainbow trout.  

Several lakes in Aztec are being stocked. Aztec Pond # 1 was stocked March 4 with 111 rainbow trout. Tiger Park Pond was stocked March 4 with 1,567 rainbow trout. 

The Animas River in Aztec was stocked March 4 with 251 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. Expect snow on the ground. Ice fishing has started here and has been good. The ice may be deteriorating. Use caution, especially near the inlet. 

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 is iced over. 

Eagle Nest Lake State Park has been good for rainbow trout. This is a big fertile lake that can produce large trout. It was stocked March 11 with 9,999 rainbow trout. Eagle Nest was opened for ice fishing Jan. 27. The ice has deteriorated and it is now closed to ice fishing. There is good fishing for rainbow trout in the areas of open water. 

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. 575.377.1594 for more information. 

The Cimarron River at Cimarron Canyon State Park is stocked with rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. The streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam was 0.58 cubic-feet-per-second. The Cimarron River near Cimarron is free of ice and low. Streamflow is just3.75 cubic-feet-per-second. 

The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground were stocked Oct. 8 with 429 rainbow trout. They are likely frozen and have not been stocked. 

Lake Maloya in Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton was stocked March 12 with 1,499 rainbow trout. Lake Alice, a smaller lake at the park, was stocked  March 12 with 251 rainbow trout. Call 575.445.1507 for more information. The ice is now unsafe. There is  some open water for bank fishing. 

Morphy Lake State Park is open. It was stocked March 4 with 1,499 rainbow trout. 

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas was stocked March 11 with 4,496 rainbow trout. There are also catfish here.  

The Pecos River in Pecos Canyon State Park was last. stocked  Oct. 9 with 1,502 rainbow trout. Fishing has been fair for rainbows and wild brown trout. There’s some shore ice but the river is very fishable. 

The streamflow in the Pecos was 26.0 cubic-feet-per-second and is  higher than last week. The Pecos River near Villanueva was stocked March 4 with 495 rainbow trout. It was stocked between Villanueva and Interstate 40 March 3 with 200 rainbow trout. 

Monastery Lake near Pecos is now open. Ice fishing is not allowed here. It was stocked March 12 with 270 rainbow trout 

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is now being stocked with rainbow trout. It was stocked two times  last week with a total of 2,281 catchable-size rainbow trout. 

The drainage canals in the Albuquerque area are now being stocked with rainbow trout. The Albuquerque, Albuquerque South, Belen Riverside, Bernalillo, Corrales and Peralta drains were stocked last week. 

Bluewater Lake near Grants has fair fishing for tiger musky and there are some catfish here. It was stocked March 10 with 6,000 rainbow trout, so trout fishing should pick up. It currently has some thin ice that is unsafe. There is some open water where the trout fishing has been fair-to-good. Call 505.876.2391 for information. 

McGaffey Lake near Grants was stocked Oct. 16 with 4,780 rainbow trout. It may freeze.