By GEORGE MORSE
Sports And Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

Whirling disease has been detected among rainbow trout at the Rock Lake Fish Hatchery. The State Game and Fish Department will euthanize 70,000 rainbow trout to control and prevent the spread of the disease.

The resulting shortage of fish for stocking should be temporary. In the past, whirling disease has been detected at the Department’s Los Ojos Fish Hatchery and Lisboa Springs Fish Hatchery. In both cases, fish were euthanized and the hatcheries closed and cleansed of the disease.

The spring wild turkey hunting season will begin statewide Saturday (April 15) and run for one month, ending May 15 in New Mexico. There are three species of wild turkey found in New Mexico – Merriam’s, Rio Grande and Gould’s.

Merrriam’s are by far the most abundant and are found statewide in ponderosa pine forests. Rio Grande wild turkeys, despite their name, are not found along the Rio Grande in New Mexico. They inhabit several watersheds along the Eastern border of the state. Gould’s, the rarest of the species found in New Mexico, are found in the Bootheel portion of extreme Southwestern New Mexico. Permits to hunt Gould’s wild turkeys are extremely limited in number.

Turkey hunters will need to purchase an Over-The-Counter (OTC) turkey hunting license at Department offices, license vendors or online. The bag limit is two turkeys with a visible beard. The beard is a hairy projection in the center of the breast that distinguishes male turkeys from female turkeys.

For more information, view the 2023-2024 New Mexico Rules & Info proclamation online. Printed copies of the proclamation may be picked up at Department offices or at license vendors statewide.

The Bureau of Land Management manages Santa Cruz Lake Recreation Area near Chimayo. It will be open from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. The fishing should be good for stocked rainbow trout and some wild brown trout. It was stocked March 15 with 3,444 rainbow trout. Overlook Campground will reopen April 15. If access road to Santa Cruz is snowpacked and icy, it will be closed. 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 411 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is lower than last week and below normal. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked March 22 with 2,361 rainbow trout. There are some big, wild brown trout. Northern pike are caught on big streamers in the Pilar and Taos Junction Bridge areas.

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 Gorge above Pilar was stocked March 22 with 500 rainbow trout.

Fenton Lake State Park is open for camping. Lake is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Camping by reservation only. It is now closed to ice fishing due to deteriorating ice conditions. 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 April 5 with 1,820 rainbow trout. Only two cutthroat trout may be kept as part of the five fish daily limit at Fenton. There should be open water for bank fishing soon. Still mostly frozen Sunday. For more information and current ice conditions call 575.829.3630.

The Rio Cebolla, which flows into and below Fenton Lake, was stocked April 5 with 320 rainbow trout.

The fishing has been good in the Jemez River. The streamflow is 396 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much higher than last week. The river is now blown out with spring runoff and fishing will be very difficult. It has wild brown trout. It was stocked April 5 with 125 rainbow trout.

The smaller tributaries of the Jemez River are also swollen with runoff. San Gregorio Lake likely has rapidly deteriorating ice                   

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 April 5 with 385 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. 

Eagle Nest Lake at Eagle Nest State Park now has plenty of open water for bank fishing. Boating is closed.

Fishing should be good for rainbow trout, yellow perch, northern pike and an occasional kokanee salmon. The state-record kokanee was caught at Eagle Nest. For more information and current conditions, call 575.377.1594.

The Cimarron River in Cimarron Canyon State Park is opening up. The streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam was 1.48 cubic-feet-per-second. This is slightly higher than last week. The Cimarron River near the town of Cimarron is losing its ice and streamflow was measured at 5.99  cubic-feet-per second. Check the Carson National Forest website to see if campgrounds are open.

The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground are likely open now but have not been stocked.

Lake Maloya and Lake Alice at Sugarite State Park near Raton have some open water. Lake Maloya was stocked March 28 with 1,266 rainbow trout and Lake Alice was stocked with 500 rainbow trout. Call 575.445.5607 for current conditions. 

Clayton Lake reopened March 1. The state-record walleye was caught here and it is heavily-stocked with rainbow trout. It was stocked April 5 with 1,830 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 400 rainbow trout averaging 17.8 inches in size. Call 575.374.8808 for conditions.

Heron Lake State Park is now closed to ice fishing due to deteriorating ice conditions. Should be some open water for bank fishing soon. The boat ramps are closed. The lake level is still low. 

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. Lake surface is closed due to poor ice conditions. Boating is closed. The Dam Day Use Area is closed for construction. Water level is low. The banks are very muddy. 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, will open May 1 for fishing.

Bluewater Lake State Park is open. Camping is allowed by reservation only. Lake water level is low but it is rising. Currently, the lake is mostly  open water. The lake surface is closed and going on to the ice is strictly prohibited. Tiger muskies were being caught and the fishing for them was fair using big crank baits, spinners and hot dogs. The limit on tiger muskies is one-per-day at least 40 inches in length.  It was stocked March 15 with 6,000 rainbow trout. The trout fishing should be good until the stockers are caught by anglers or eaten by tiger muskies. Call (505) 876-2391 for current conditions. 

Morphy Lake State Park near Mora has reopened. This lake was heavily-impacted by the Calf Canyon/Hermit Peak Fire. It was stocked April 5 with 3,599 catchable-size rainbow trout.

The Charette Lakes have good fishing for holdover rainbow trout and were stocked March 30 with 1,249 catchable-size rainbow trout. There are also yellow perch here.

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas is open for bank fishing. Boating is closed. It was stocked April 4 with 2205 rainbow trout. It also has some big catfish. 

Pecos Canyon State Park is open. In the Canyon, the river has thawed and streamflow was measured 85.5 cubic-feet per second. This is higher than normal. There is lot of open water. It was stocked twice last week with a total of 1,044 rainbow trout. The streamflow at Anton Chico is 184 cubic-feet-per-second which is well above average. The fishing has been fair-to-good for rainbow trout and brown trout. The Pecos River at Villanueva State Park was stocked twice last week with a total of 1,021 rainbow trout.

The Mora Fork of the Pecos River was stocked April 6 with 325 rainbow trout.

Monastery Lake near Pecos reopened March 9 after the ice melted. It was stocked April 4 with 198 rainbow trout. Fishing should be good.

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. It was stocked three times last week with a total of 37,158 sub-catchable rainbow trout. Boating conditions are good. Call 505.632.2278 for conditions. Navajo Lake does not freeze.

Aztec Pond #1 in Aztec was stocked April 4 with 244 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 45 rainbow trout averaging 14.7 inches in length. Tiger Park Pond in Aztec was stocked April 4 with 854 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 150 rainbow trout averaging 14.7 inches in size.

Lake Farmington was stocked March 27 with 1,450 rainbow trout. 

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. These are high-elevation lakes that are now frozen.  

The Forest Service roads to the Trout Lakes and Canjilon Lakes are likely snowpacked and difficult to travel. Hopewell Lake is close to Highway 64 and may be accessed by hiking in or by snowmobile. 

The campground at Hopewell Lake is now closed. The ice fishing has been good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brook trout.  US Highway 64 has been reopened. Please be aware that this road may close during hazardous winter driving conditions. The ice is starting to deteriorate here and caution should be used. Check nmroads.com for road conditions.

The Rio de los Pinos is near the border with Colorado. It is thawing and is hard to fish.

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 284 cubic-feet-per-second. This is slightly higher than last week and way below 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 Quality Water was stocked Feb. 21 with 33,090 sub-catchable rainbow trout.

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 April 4 with 2,445 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, but higher than last year at Abiquiu. Mostly open water and no ice fishing. A four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended for launching boats. The fishing has been slow for walleye, catfish and smallmouth bass. There are some good-sized trout in Abiquiu. They may have moved into shallow water. Call 505.685.4371 for more information. 

The Chama River below Abiquiu Dam is flowing at 645 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much higher than last week and above normal. It was stocked April 4 with 836 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.

Streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 431 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a much higher than last week. The state-record brown trout was caught here. It was stocked April 4 with 950 rainbow trout.

Above El Vado Lake, the Chama River at La Puente has thawed and streamflow was measured 220 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much higher than last week and still below normal. It was stocked April 4 with 836 rainbow trout.

Cochiti Lake has reopened. 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 not being stocked with trout again until fall. It was not stocked last week.

The winter stocking of trout has ended in Albuquerque area drainage ditches. They were not stocked last week.

The Red River below the Fish Hatchery is flowing at 55.7 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and almost normal. It was stocked April 5 with 560 rainbow trout. The Red River above Questa is losing its ice and streamflow was measured at 26.3 cubic-feet-per-second 

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 April 5 with 325 rainbow trout.

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa is open. The ice is almost gone. It is best to fish the open water. It was stocked March 23 with 499 rainbow trout.

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