By GEORGE MORSE
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post 

With the extensive flooding in the Las Vegas area, especially along the Gallinas River, it is best to avoid this area as crews clean up and repair damage.

Heavy rainfall two weeks ago raised stream flows to higher than normal. This past week was drier, and stream flows fell back to near and below normal.  More rain is forecast for this coming week so stream flows may rise again. It is always a good idea to check conditions at the location you are headed to. Stream flows can be checked on the United States Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow website.

Lakes and reservoirs are starting to warm up. Fish will be moving into deeper water. Early mornings and evenings will soon be the best times to be out on the water.

The format has changed a bit, and the focus will be on waters close to Los Alamos and Santa Fe.

Fenton Lake State Park is open. Camping is by reservation only. The fishing has been fair-to-good. It was stocked June 6 with 860 rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout here and some Rio Grande cutthroat trout from earlier stockings. Only two cutthroat trout may be kept as part of a five trout daily bag limit. Call 575.829.3630 for current conditions.

The Rio Cebolla flows into and out of Fenton Lake. It was stocked June 26 with 393  rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout and Rio Grande cutthroat trout above Fenton Lake.

The Seven Springs Brood Pond, also known as the Kid’s Pond, is open to anglers 11 years of age and younger. It was stocked June 26 with 451 rainbow trout. There are also some wild brown trout and a few Rio Grande cutthroats. It is north of Fenton Lake.

The Jemez River streamflow was 18.9 cubic-feet-per second. This is much lower than last week and below normal. It has been stocked with rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.

The tributaries of the Jemez River have been stocked with rainbow trout. The Rio de Las Vacas, San Antonio River and Rio Guadalupe also have wild brown trout and Rio Grande cutthroat trout.

Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It was last stocked on May 2. The water here is warming up and the trout heading to deeper water. It also has brown trout, and the state record rainbow was caught here. It is open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Monday. 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 May 29 with 1,698 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.  Stream flow was 393 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is lower than last week and below normal.

The stream flow on the Rio Pueblo near Penasco was 20.6 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much lower than last week and below normal. It was stocked June 27 with 1,200 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.

The stream flow on the Red River was 66.5 cubic feet per second below Questa. This is lower than last week. It was stocked July 3 with 701 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.

The Red River above Questa was stocked June 26 with 2,431 rainbow trout. The stream flow was 48.3 cubic-feet-per-second.

The Red River Hatchery Pond was stocked July 3 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 June 24 with 502 rainbow trout.

The Shuree Ponds on the Valle Vidal opened July 1 for fishing. They were stocked June 25 with 500 rainbow trout.

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

Abiquiu Lake is managed by the Corps of Engineers. The fishing has been fair 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.

The stream flow in the Chama River below Abiquiu Dam] was 101 cubic-feet-per-second. is well-below normal and low. It was stocked June 4 with 1,085 rainbow trout. There are some big, wild brown trout here. The limit here is two-trout-per day.

The low flows below Abiquiu Dam are because of flooding further downstream at Medanales. Flows would normally be much higher.

The Canjilon Lakes near Canjilon were stocked June 25 with 1,205 rainbow trout. There are also some brook trout.

The Trout Lakes near Cebolla were stocked June 24 with 450 rainbow trout. The road to these lakes can be rough when it rains.

Laguna del Campo, a small lake near Los Ojos was stocked June 17 with 496 rainbow trout. Fishing is for anglers 11 years-old or younger and 65 years-old or older.

Heron Lake State Park is open. Fishing for rainbow trout has been fair. Fishing for carp is good. El Vado Lake State Park is closed for construction. Call 575.588.7470 for information.

The stream flow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 485 cubic-feet-per-second. It was stocked July 1 with 538 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout. The state-record brown trout was caught here.

The stream flow above El Vado Lake was 81.5 cubic-feet-per-second. This is lower than last week and below normal. This is an excellent flow for fishing. It was stocked July 1 with 2,566 rainbow trout and has wild brown trout.

The stream flow in the Rio Brazos was 40.2 cubic-feet-per-second. This is below normal and a little lower than last week. It was stocked June 4 with 482 rainbow trout.

The Brazos Lodge Pond was stocked May 20 with 255 rainbow trout.

Over in the Four Corners the fishing has been good at Navajo Lake State Park. Trolling minnow imitating lures like Rapalas could produce a trophy brown trout. The kokanee salmon are starting to school in deeper water near the dam. Check at the Marina for the depth they may be caught at. Navajo Lake has the best fishing for kokanee salmon in New Mexico. The fishing for norther pike has been fair-to-good. Bass fishing has been fair. 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 stream flow is 440 cubic-feet-per-second. This is low and well-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. 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 July 2 with 2,150 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. Fishing has been good. There have been some nice brookies caught recently. It was stocked July 3 with 2,150 rainbow trout.

The Rio de Los Pinos north of Tres Piedras near the Colorado border has good fishing. It was stocked June 12 with 1,800 rainbow trout. It also has wild brown trout.

Eagle Nest Lake State Park has been good for rainbow trout. This is a big fertile lake that can produce large trout. There are also northern pike, yellow perch and an occasional kokanee salmon. The state-record kokanee was caught here. Remember if you catch a pike, you cannot return it to the lake. You have to kill it. Call 575.377.1594 for more information.

The Cimarron River at Cimarron Canyon State Park was stocked July 1 with 2,426 rainbow trout. There are also wild brown trout. The stream flow below Eagle Nest Dam was 33.2 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week.

The Cimarron Gravel Pit Lakes at Maverick Campground were stocked July 1 with 356 rainbow trout.

Lake Maloya in Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton was stocked June 27 with 2,500 rainbow trout. Lake Alice  a smaller lake at the Park, has not been stocked recently. Call 575.445.5607 for more information.

Clayton Lake State Park was stocked June 5 with 4,000 rainbow trout. The state-record walleye was caught here. This is a trophy bass Lake. The limit is two  largemouth bass-per-day. Minimum size 14 inches. There are also catfish. Check out the dinosaur tracks when at Clayton Lake.

The Charette Lakes between Wagon Mound and Springer have good fishing for stocked and holdover rainbow trout there are also yellow perch. Lower Charette Lake was stocked June 13 with 2,501 rainbow trout.

Coyote Creek State Park was stocked June 27 with 800 rainbow trout. The Coyote Creek Pond was stocked with 600 rainbow trout.

Morphy Lake near Mora was stocked June 4 with 2,700 rainbow trout. There are a few cutthroat trout here.

Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas was stocked July 1 with 1,348 trout. There are also catfish here.

The Pecos River in Pecos Canyon State Park was stocked twice last week with a total of 2,998 rainbow trout. Fishing has been good for stocker rainbows and wild brown trout.

The stream flow in the Pecos was 72.3 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much lower than last week and below average.

The Mora Fork of the Pecos River was stocked July 3 with 388 rainbow trout. Holy Ghost Creek was stocked June 17 with 399 rainbow trout.

Monastery Lake near Pecos was stocked June 26 with 899 rainbow trout.

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is no longer being stocked with rainbow trout. It was stocked July 2 with 444 18-inch channel catfish.

Bluewater Lake near Grants has fair fishing for tiger muskies. Trout fishing is slow and there are some catfish here.

McGaffey Lake near Grants was stocked May 16 with 999 rainbow trout. It was stocked July 2 with 128 channel catfish.