By GEORGE MORSE
Sports And Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

February is a month that will tease you with hints of spring. Temperatures in the 60’s, 70’s and even 80 degrees will likely be recorded here in New Mexico.

Winter still lets us know it’s hanging around by every now and then sending a frigid blast down from the North that drops the temperatures 30 degrees in 24 hours. They hopefully will also bring some much-needed snow to the mountains.

It is still below-zero in some of the high mountain towns like Chama, Red River, Eagle Nest and Angel Fire. Every now and then Angel Fire will make the news as the coldest spot in the country.

The warm days will trigger the buds on some of the trees to start swelling. Usually, it’s the elm trees where you’ll first notice it. Much to the chagrin of those of us who suffer from allergies, the juniper trees will start shedding pollen. Towards the end of the month don’t be surprised if some of the early, flowering bulbs like crocus start poking up through the ground.

Streams should start to rise a little bit as the lower elevation snowpack starts to melt. If you are planning an ice-fishing trip, it’s a good idea to call ahead and make sure the conditions are safe.

Eagle Nest Lake continues to offer some of the best ice fishing. The numbers of trout caught appears to be a little down. The quality of fish, however, has been very good. A number of beautiful over 20-inch rainbow trout have been landed recently. The lake is open to walk-in anglers. Do not drive vehicles on to the ice. Avoid areas near pressure ridges. Ice thickness varies from 8-18 inches. Fishing should also be good for yellow perch and northern pike. The Main Area and Visitors Center are now open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Six-Mile and the Marina Day Use areas are open daily. For more information and current conditions, call (575).377.1594. 

Fenton Lake State Park in the Jemez Mountains is closed to fishing due to thin ice. Camping is allowed by reservation only. It was stocked Feb. 1 with 501 catchable-size rainbow trout. Once the ice melts off at Fenton, the fishing should be very good. Call (575).829.3630 for current conditions at Fenton.

The trout fishing has been fair in the Jemez River. The streamflow is now 21.4 cubic-feet-per-second. This is the same as last week.  The fish are concentrated in deeper pools. It was stocked Jan. 26 with 1,047 rainbow trout. Headwater tributaries of the Jemez River are iced up.

Heron Lake State Park is open to ice fishing. The ice is six inches thick. The boat ramps are closed. Fishing could be fair for rainbow trout. You may catch a lake trout this time of year and an occasional kokanee salmon. The lake level is still low. 

Call (575).588.7470 for conditions at both Heron Lake and El Vado Lake.

El Vado Lake has rainbow trout, brown trout, perch and small smallmouth bass. Boating is closed. Water level is low. El Vado Lake has thin ice. It is closed to ice fishing. 

Abiquiu Lake is open, including the boat ramp and picnic areas. Camping is closed. It is managed by the Corps of Engineers. Reservations for later in the year may be made at www.reservation.gov. The water level is low at Abiquiu. 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. Call 505.685.4371 for more information.

The Chama River below Abiquiu Dam is flowing at 58.3 cubic-feet-per-second. This is low and not beneficial to the wild brown trout. The water here is murky. It was stocked Feb. 7 with 554 rainbow trout averaging 12.6 inches in length. The fishing is at least fair-to-good for stocked and holdover rainbow trout. There are a few big, wild brown trout here. Fly Fishermen should use flies with a little flash to them. The limit here is two-fish-per-day. 

The Chama River below El Vado Dam is flowing at 100 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little higher than last week. The fishing has been fair-to-good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brown trout. You may hook a cutthroat trout here. The state-record brown trout was caught here.

Above El Vado Lake, the streamflow in the Chama at La Puente was not measured due to ice. Try fishing below the outflow from Heron Dam. A big lake trout was recently caught below Heron Dam.

Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is currently closed due to a buildup of ice along the shoreline. Ice fishing is not allowed. The North Shore and Overlook campgrounds are closed. It is stocked with rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout.  For updated conditions, check the Bureau of Land Management website or call (505).351.1438.

Hopewell Lake between Tierra Amarilla and Tres Piedras is frozen over and the gate is locked. Anglers may park and hike to the lake. Ice fishing has been good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brook trout.

The Cimarron River in Cimarron Canyon State Park is open. Streamflow below Eagle Nest Dam was 0.79 cubic-feet-per-second. This is really low and not beneficial for spawning brown trout. The stream is icing up and fishing is difficult. Streamflow near the town of Cimarron was not measured due to ice

Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton is open daily. Camping is available by reservation only. Lake Alice is a small lake and the fishing is primarily for recently-stocked rainbow trout. It is closed due to thin ice. Lake Maloya is bigger and is capable of producing larger, holdover trout.  It was stocked Dec. 27 with 1,313 catchable-size rainbow trout. It was opened to ice fishing Jan. 22. Call (575).445.5607 for current conditions. 

Cochiti Lake is open. The boat ramp is open. Reservations are no longer needed to enter the lake. Camping reservations can be made at www.recreation.gov. They are not sold at the lake. The best fishing is for catfish. Thin ice may form on this lake and it is closed to ice fishing. The Tetilla Peak Recreation Area is closed. This lake is managed by the Corps of Engineers.

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is now being stocked. Stockings here will continue through the winter. It was stocked Feb. 8 with 240 rainbow trout averaging 14.7 inches in size. It was stocked Feb. 9 with 2,260 catchable-size rainbow trout.

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

Over in the Four Corners Navajo Lake State Park is open. Camping is by reservation only. Navajo Lake does not freeze. Kokanee salmon snagging season ended Dec. 31. The best fishing is likely from the bank for rainbow trout near the salmon runs. Trolling minnow-imitating lures like Rapalas could produce a trophy brown trout. Boating conditions are good. Call (505).632.2278 for conditions.

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 408 cubic-feet-per-second. This is slightly higher than last week and 50-percent of normal. It 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. The Quality Water were stocked several times last week with a total of 70,921 small, sub-catchable 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 Feb. 1 with 2,923 rainbow trout.

Tiger Park Pond and Aztec Pond #1 in Aztec are now being stocked. Tiger Park Pond was stocked Feb. 1 with 1,319 catchable-size rainbow trout. Aztec Pond was stocked Feb. 1 with 100 catchable-size rainbow trout. There may be some bigger trout left over from earlier stockings.

Bluewater Lake State Park is open. Camping is allowed by reservation only. Lake water level is low. The Prewitt Side is open. The trout fishing should pick up. It was stocked Feb. 8 with 6,296 rainbow trout. Tiger muskies are being caught and the fishing for them is slow-to-fair using big crank baits and waterdogs. With below-zero temperatures in the area, Bluewater is likely to start freezing. It seldom has safe ice-fishing conditions. Boating is closed. Expect traffic delays on westbound Interstate 40 at Laguna. Call (505).876.2391 for current conditions. 

The Rio Grande streamflow is 411 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is higher than last week and slightly below normal. The fishing had been fair for rainbow and brown trout. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked Feb. 11 with 2,000 rainbow trout. The Rio Grande above Pilar in the Gorge was stocked with 250 rainbow trout. Floating ice can complicate fishing here.

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

The Red River near the Red River Fish Hatchery is flowing at 46.3 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week.The fishing is normally fair-to-good here for stocked rainbow trout and some wild brown trout. It was stocked Feb.1 with 701 rainbow trout. The upper Red River is iced over.

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa is open. This little lake is right off the highway between Questa and Red River. It is now mostly frozen over and ice fishing has been good. Use extreme caution when ice fishing. It was last stocked Oct. 28 with 374 catchable-size rainbow trout and with 50 rainbow trout averaging 15.5 inches in size.

Cabresto Lake near Questa is a small, high-elevation lake open for ice fishing. It has wild brook trout and cutthroat trout. The road into the lake is rough and snow-packed. You will need a good four-wheel drive vehicle.

The Pecos River above the town of Pecos is icing over and tough to fish. The streamflow at Pecos was not reported due to ice. The fishing had been fair for stocked rainbow trout and wild brown trout. The deeper pools will hold the most trout. The stockings of trout in the winter move south to Villanueva State Park. It was stocked Feb. 1 with 751 rainbow trout. This area may also be icing over. Stockings will also be made below Sumner Dam during the winter. It was stocked Jan. 31 with 300 rainbow trout.

Monastery Lake has iced over. Ice fishing is not allowed at Monastery Lake. It was last stocked Dec. 28 with 189 catchable-size rainbow trout. Please pick up your trash here as this is private property and should be respected. Fishing here is possible through the State Game and Fish Department’s Open Gate Program