By GEORGE MORSE
Sports And Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

There are several fishing areas in Northeast New Mexico that will open Friday (March 1) for the 2024 season.

Morphy Lake State Park, Clayton Lake State Park and the Charette Lakes will open for fishing. The Charette Lakes should be good for some nice, holdover trout. There should also be some holdover trout at Morphy Lake.

Clayton Lake will also open. Clayton Lake was stocked Feb. 21 with 3,200 rainbow trout  in preparation for it’s opening Friday for the 2024 season. The state-record walleye was caught here. Clayton Lake is a designated trophy bass water. The limit is two bass-per day at least 14 inches or more in length. There  are also catfish here

Santa Cruz Lake should reopen Friday. Call ahead to check on conditions.

Please note that Laguna del Campo near the village of Los Ojos opens May 1 and NOT Friday (3/1) for the 2024 season.

The ice is deteriorating at Fenton Lake . It may close to ice fishing this week. Be sure to call ahead.

The ice is still good at Eagle Nest Lake and Lake Maloya, but it has been warm and it may not last long. Be sure to call ahead.

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.

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is now being stocked with rainbow trout. It was stocked twice last week with a total of 2,281 rainbow trout.

Fenton Lake State Park is now open for ice fishing. Use caution. It was stocked Feb. 13 with 450 rainbow trout. Anglers have been catching a few cutthroat trout. For more information and current lake conditions call 575.829.3630. The ice is checked daily.

The Rio Cebolla, which flows into and below Fenton Lake, was stocked Oct. 26 with 501 rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout.

The Jemez River streamflow Monday was 3.35 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much lower than last week and well-below normal. The Jemez River was stocked Feb. 13 with 800 rainbow trout.  

The upper tributaries of the Jemez River are icing up and will be difficult to fish. 

The Seven Springs Brood Pond, also known as the Kid’s Pond, is open. It is located at the Seven Springs Fish Hatchery. The fishing is for anglers 11-years of age or younger. It was stocked Oct. 26 with 661 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. This pond is likely frozen.

The Bureau of Land Management manages Santa Cruz Lake Recreation Area near Chimayo. It has closed for the season and will reopen March 1.

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 471 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is higher than last week and below normal. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked Feb. 14 with 2 131 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 Gorge above Pilar was stocked Feb. 14 with 269 catchable-size rainbow trout. It was stocked Nov. 27 with 43,846 fingerling Rio Grande cutthroat trout

Eagle Nest Lake is now open for ice fishing. Foot traffic only allowed on the ice surface. Fishing should be good for rainbow trout, yellow perch  northern pike and an occasional kokanee salmon.

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 was not measured below Eagle Nest Dam or near the town of Cimarron. It was stocked Oct. 11 with 2,426 rainbow trout. Check the Carson National Forest website to see if campgrounds are open.

The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground are open. They are frozen over.

Lake Maloya and Lake Alice at Sugarite State Park near Raton are open. Lake Maloya was stocked Dec. 8 with 2,979 catchable-size rainbow trout. Lake Alice is closed to fishing due to unsafe ice conditions. Lake Maloya is open for ice fishing  Call 575.445.5607 for current conditions. 

Heron Lake State Park is open now. There is open water for bank fishing, which has been fair for rainbow trout. It was stocked Jan. 18 with 93.370 sub-catchable rainbow trout. Kokanee salmon snagging season started Nov. 11 and was reported as very slow. It is now closed. No ice fishing.

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.

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas is open. It was stocked Oct. 3 with 4,008 rainbow trout.

The streamflow at Pecos Canyon State Park was not measured due to ice. The fishing has been fair-to-good for rainbow trout and wild brown trout. Pecos Canyon was stocked Oct. 25 with 1,498 rainbow trout. The Pecos River at Villanueva was stocked Feb. 20 with 499 rainbow trout.

Monastery Lake near Pecos is closed due to unsafe ice conditions. Ice fishing is not allowed here.

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. It was stocked six times three weeks ago with fish from three different hatcheries for a total of 94,519 sub-catchable rainbow trout. Fishinfg for northern pike has been fair-to-good. Bass fishing has been fair. Boating conditions are good. Navajo Lake does not freeze over. Call (505).632.2278 for conditions.

Bluewater Lake State Park was stocked Feb. 13 with 4,799 rainbow trout. Fishing will be good until most of these trout are caught or eaten by tiger muskies. Musky fishing may be slow. Thin ice may be forming on the lake.

Other lakes in the Four Corners area are now being stocked. Lake Farmington was stocked Feb. 19 with 1,738 rainbow trout. Aztec Pond Number 1 was stocked Feb. 12 with 81 rainbow trout. Tiger Park Pond in Aztec was stocked Feb. 12 with 1,189 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. They are frozen and may be inaccessible due to snow. 

Hopewell may be reached by snowmobile. The ice fishing is reported to be very good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brook trouf.

The Rio de los Pinos is near the border of Colorado north of Tres Piedras. II was stocked Oct. 3 with 1,799 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout. It is iced over.

The best river in the state and well-known throughout the angling world is the San Juan River below Navajo Dam The streamflow on the San Juan was 377 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little higher than last week. The San Juan offers world-class 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. It was stocked twice last week with a total of 36 9021 sub-catchable rainbow trout. 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. 12 with 1,617 rainbow trout.

Abiquiu Lake is open, including the boat ramp and picnic areas. Boat ramp may be closed periodically. Camping is open. It is managed by the Corps of Engineers. Reservations may be made at www.recreation.gov. The fishing has been slow for walleye, catfish and smallmouth bass. There are some good-sized trout in Abiquiu. Call 505.685.4371 for more information. 

The Chama River below Abiquiu Dam is flowing at 56 cubic-feet-per-second. This is the same as last week and well-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. It was stocked Feb. 13 with 441 rainbow trout. The limit here is two-fish-per-day.

Streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 98.8 cubic-feet-per-second. This is about the same as last week and below normal. It has wild brown trout. It was stocked Oct. 25 with 36,990 one-inch Rio Grande cutthroat trout.

Above El Vado Lake, streamflow on the Chama River at La Puente was not measured due to ice. Above the town of Chama streamflow was not measured.

The Rio Pueblo near Penasco streamflow was not measured due to ice. It has wild brown trout. 

The Red River below the Fish Hatchery is flowing at 37.5 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and above normal. It was stocked Feb. 22 with 559 rainbow trout. 

The Red River Hatchery Pond is likely frozen. 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 Oct. 16 with 400 catchable-size rainbow trout. It is likely frozen.

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa is open. It was stocked Nov. 8 with 500 rainbow trout. It may be freezing over. Use caution as ice may be unsafe.

The Shuree Ponds on the Valle Vidal are closed until July 1.

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. It is frozen over.