By GEORGE MORSE
Sports And Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

The kokanee salmon snagging season opens Saturday (Nov. 11) at Heron Lake State Park. Back in the 1980’s and 1990’s snagging season became a social event. Anglers would mark their calendars. Crowds of them would li e the shores of the lake trying to impale the salmon with big treble hooks. The daily limit on salmon was generously increased to 12-per-day.

During that time, strong snowpack and reliable monsoon rainfall kept New Mexico’s reservoirs full. The high water levels benefited the fisheries like kokanee salmon. The kokanee did so well at Heron the State Game and Fish Department trapped salmon at Heron for their eggs. The eggs were taken to the nearby Los Ojos Fish Hatchery. There they were hatched and the young salmon stocked in lakes to maintain the fishery.

In recent years New Mexico has suffered from drought. Lake levels have gone from full in the 90s to in some cases less than 10-percent of capacity. This has had a negative effect on the kokanee fishery at Heron and it is no longer as good as it once was. The most viable kokanee salmon fishery is now at Navajo Lake in the Four Corners area.

It is hoped that if lake can return to its former levels at Heron that the kokanee fishery can return to its former excellence.

Tingley Beach in Albuquerque is now being stocked again with rainbow trout. It was stocked Oct. 18 with 1500 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 heavily stocked with rainbow trout. It also has some wild brown trout and some Rio Grande cutthroat trout from earlier stockings. It was stocked Oct. 17 with 1,588 rainbow trout. For more information and current lake conditions call 575.829.3630.

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 15.7 cubic-feet-per-second. This is slightly higher than last week and below normal. The Jemez River was stocked Oct. 26 with 1000 rainbow trout.

The Rio San Antonio, a Jemez River tributary, was stocked Sept. 28 with 12,424 fingerling Rio Grande cutthroat trout. It was stocked Oct. 4 with 751 rainbow trout.

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.

The Bureau of Land Management manages Santa Cruz Lake Recreation Area near Chimayo. It will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Thursday through Sunday. The fishing should be good for stocked rainbow trout and some wild brown trout. It was stocked Nov. 2 with 3,804 rainbow trout. The water level is low, but the boat ramp is still open. The cooler weather may have trout moving into shallow water.

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 296 cubic-feet-per-second at Taos Junction Bridge. This is slightly higher than last week and below normal. The Rio Grande at Pilar was stocked Oct. 25 with 1, 999 rainbow trout. Fishing conditions are very good on the Rio Grande now. The wild brown trout are active prior to spawning.

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 Oct. 25 with 250 catchable-size rainbow trout.

Eagle Nest Lake at Eagle Nest State Park is open. Boating is open and docks are in.

Fishing should be good for rainbow trout, yellow perch, northern pike and an occasional kokanee salmon. Eagle Nest has been receiving heavy stockings of near catchable-size and larger hatchery fish, which is unusual. It was stocked twice last week with a total of 21,148 rainbow trout seven inches in size. Larger trout are being stocked in hopes of mitigating the losses to predation by northern pike. 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 below Eagle Nest Dam was 2.00 cubic-feet-per-second. This is much lower than last week. The Cimarron River near the town of Cimarron streamflow was measured at 8.75 cubic-feet-per second. 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 now. They were stocked Oct. 11 with 397 rainbow trout.

Lake Maloya and Lake Alice at Sugarite State Park near Raton are open. Lake Maloya was stocked Oct. 10 with 3,000 catchable-size rainbow trout. Lake Alice was stocked Oct. 11 with 500 rainbow trout. 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. The boat marina and boat ramp are now open. The lake level is higher than in previous years. Kokanee salmon snagging season starts Saturday (Nov. 11).

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.

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

Pecos Canyon State Park is open. The streamflow is not being measured due to equipment malfunction. 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.

Monastery Lake near Pecos has been fair. It was stocked Oct. 26 with 999 rainbow trout.

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-to-good. Bass fishing has been fair. The kokanee salmon have begun to school up near the dam at 50-60 feet in depth. Kokanee salmon snagging season began Oct. 1. Early reports described the snagging as slow. Fishing has improved and is now fair-to-good. Boating conditions are good. Call 505.632.2278 for conditions.

Other lakes in the Four Corners area are now being stocked. Lake Farmington was stocked Oct. 24 with 1,575 rainbow trout. Aztec Pond Number 1 was stocked Oct. 24 with101 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.

Canjilon was stocked Sept. 25 with 1,184 rainbow trout and has small brook trout. The Trout Lakes were stocked Sept. 25 with 740 rainbow trout.

The campground at Hopewell Lake is open. The fishing has been good for stocked rainbow trout and wild brook trout. It was stocked Oct. 5 with 2,520 rainbow trout.

The Lagunitas Lakes have been stocked and the fishing for stockers has been very good. They were stocked Sept. 6 with 1,499 rainbow trout.

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

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 now 348 cubic-feet-per-second, which is lower than last week. 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. It is heavily-stocked with small rainbow trout that grow quickly in the fertile waters. It was stocked three times three weeks ago with over 110,000 fingerling rainbow trout. It was stocked Oct. 30 with another 11,618 fingerling 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 Nov. 3 with 1,910 rainbow trout.

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. Water levels are dropping as a lot of water is being released. The fishing has been fair 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 1,140 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and above 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 Nov. 2 with 700 rainbow trout. The limit here is two-fish-per-day.

Streamflow in the Chama River below El Vado Dam was 91.8 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little higher than 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, the Chama River at La Puente is clearing and streamflow was 34.0 cubic-feet-per-second. This is a little lower than last week and below normal. It was stocked Sept. 18 with 1,043 rainbow trout.

Brazos River’s streamflow is not being measured. It was stocked Sept. 18 with 820 rainbow trout.

The Rio Pueblo near Penasco streamflow was measured at 8.87 cubic-feet-per-second. This is just a little lower than last week and just below normal. It was stocked Sept. 26 with 2,001 rainbow trout. It has wild brown trout.

The Red River below the Fish Hatchery is flowing at 47.6 cubic-feet-per-second. This is higher than last week and normal.

It was stocked Oct. 26 with 700 rainbow trout. The Red River above Questa was stocked Sept. 13 with 2.900 rainbow trout.

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 Oct. 16 with 400 catchable-size rainbow trout.

The East and West Forks of the Red River were each stocked Aug. 22 with 300 rainbow trout.

Eagle Rock Lake near Questa is open. It was stocked Oct. 23 with 501 rainbow trout.

The Shuree Ponds on the Valle Vidal were stocked July 24 with 105 rainbow trout averaging 15.2 inches in size.

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