CATCHES OF THE WEEK:

 

Cow Creek: On May 3 Chris Vigil of Santa Fe caught a 21 inch rainbow trout while fishing with salmon eggs.

 

Albuquerque Drain: On May 4, Trason Garcia age 4 of Rio Rancho caught a 24 inch, 7 pound channel catfish. He was using worms for bait.

 

Conchas Lake: On May 3 and 4 Robert Bulcock of Albuquerque took his grandson, Marco Galvin on his first fishing trip. Marco caught 16 bass. Robert caught two 6pound largemouth bass and one 3.5 pound smallmouth bass. All of the bass were caught on tubes and power worms and all were released alive.

 

Sumner Lake: On May 6, Pam Bycraft of Alamogordo caught a 22.5 inch 6 pound largemouth bass. She was using a Wally Diver.

 

NORTHEAST AREA

 

CHARETTE LAKES:           Trout fishing on the lower lake improved a bit this past week as anglers reported some good results using power bait, home made dough baits and worms. A few perch were caught by anglers using worms.

CIMARRON RIVER:            Water flow below Eagle Nest Lake as of Monday was 22 cfs. Trout fishing was good this past week for anglers using copper john barrs, bead head hares ears and gold spinners. Trout fishing at the Gravel Pit Lakes was fair for anglers using power bait, worms, Pistol Petes and spinners.

CLAYTON LAKE:               Fishing was fair-to-good using gold spoons and spinners for trout. A few catfish were taken by anglers using chicken liver. We had no reports on other species.

CONCHAS LAKE:               Fishing was good using night crawlers from the bank for catfish. Most of the cats were in the 2 pound class. Fishing was good using tubes and power worms for smallmouth and largemouth bass. A few were also taken by anglers using spinner baits, crank baits and jerk baits. Most of the action was on the north side of the lake. Fishing was fair-to-good using minnows, crank baits and grubs for walleye. The best reports again this week came from anglers fishing around Big Island. Fishing was fair-to-good using minnows, tubes and grubs for crappie. Fishing was fair using crank baits, grubs and minnows for white bass. We had no reports on other species.

COYOTE CREEK:                 Trout fishing was very good this past week as anglers did well using corn, worms, salmon eggs, power bait, spinners, copper john barrs and caddis.

EAGLE NEST LAKE:           Trout fishing was fair-to-good for anglers fishing from boats and from the bank. Anglers trolling did well working the west side of the lake and using Arnies, Rooster Tails and Wedding Rings. Most of the trout caught were in the 13-to-16 inch range. Anglers fishing from the bank did fair using power bait, home made dough baits, worms and salmon eggs. Fishing was fair using worms for perch.

LAKE MALOYA/

LAKE ALICE:       Trout fishing was fair-to-good this past week at both lakes. Anglers fishing at Lake Maloya did well using power bait, home made dough baits, Pistol Petes, Panther Martins, Rooster Tails and Daredevles. Most of the spinner action was near the dam. The trout ranged in size from 8-to-14 inches. Fishing at Lake Alice was good for anglers using power bait and home made dough baits.

MAXWELL LAKES            Trout fishing was slow-to-fair for anglers using power bait and minnows.  

MCALLISTER LAKE          Due to poor water quality, the lake will remain closed until further notice.  

MONASTERY LAKE:         Trout fishing was fair for anglers using power bait and corn.

MORPHY LAKE:                 Trout fishing was fair-to-good this past week for anglers using salmon eggs, power bait, corn, home made dough baits, wooly buggers and spinners.   

PECOS RIVER:                      Water flow near the town of Pecos as of Monday morning was 379cfs. Trout fishing this past week slowed due to the high water conditions but a few fish were taken by anglers using spinners, night crawlers and weighted wooly buggers.

RED RIVER:                          Water flow below the hatchery was 278cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

RIO GRANDE:                      The water flow Monday morning at the Taos Junction Bridge was 2,320cfs. Fishing was slow for all species.

SPRINGER LAKE:                We had no reports from anglers this week.

STORRIE LAKE:                  Fishing was slow for all species. Fishing pressure was very light due to windy conditions off and on during the week.  

STUBBLEFIELD:                  We had no reports from anglers this week.   

UTE LAKE:                           Crappie fishing continued to be quite good this past week for anglers using minnows, worms, small tubes and grubs. Most of the crappie were taken in less than 10 feet of water. Fishing was fair trolling crank baits over 25-to-30 feet of water for suspended walleye. A few walleye were also taken by anglers using minnows, grubs and tubes. Fishing was fair-to-good using jerk baits, tubes, spinner baits, jigs and crank baits for largemouth and smallmouth bass. Fishing was good using cut bait, dough bait, night crawlers and liver for catfish. Anglers reported catching most of the cats in 3-to-4 feet of water. Fishing was fair trolling crank baits and using white and chartreuse grubs for white bass.

 

NORTHWEST AREA

 

ABIQUIU LAKE:                 Fishing was good for some but slow for others again this past week. Anglers trolling for walleye caught more brown trout and the best action for the browns was at the upper end of the lake. A few walleye and smallmouth bass were taken by anglers drifting minnows and grubs. The water was quite murky and the warmest surface temp reported was 55 degrees.  

ALBUQUERQUE 

   AREA DRAINS:                Fishing on the Albuquerque and Belen Drains was slow-to-fair for anglers using worms for catfish. A few trout were taken on corn/salmon egg combinations. We had no reports from the other drains or on other species.  

BLUEWATER LAKE:         Trout fishing was fair for anglers using power bait, corn and salmon eggs. Fishing was fair using jerk baits, swim baits and large spinners for tiger musky. We had no reports on other species.

CHAMA RIVER:                  Monday morning water flows below El Vado and Abiquiu were 711cfs and 837cfs respectively. Trout fishing below El Vado was fair-to-good for anglers using night crawlers and power bait for a mix of brown and rainbow trout. Most of the browns were in the 16-to-18 inch range while the rainbows measured 8-to-14 inches. A few rainbows were also taken below Abiquiu by anglers using spinners, power bait and worms.  

COCHITI LAKE:                  Bass fishing was fair for some anglers but very slow for others. Best baits were jigs and spinner baits fished in shallow water and around salt cedars.  Fishing for catfish was slow but a few were taken by anglers using night crawlers and liver. We had no reports on other species.

EL VADO LAKE:           Fishing was slow but there were a few carp caught by anglers using corn and wooly buggers.

FARMINGTON LAKE: We had no reports from anglers this week.       

FENTON LAKE:                   Trout fishing was fair-to-good for anglers using night crawlers and salmon eggs. A few fish were also taken by anglers using spoons, wooly buggers and Pistol Petes.

HERON LAKE:                     Fishing was generally slow for all species due to murky water conditions. However, a few small lake trout were taken by anglers using jigs tipped with cut bait. The few that were cleaned were full of crawdads. Try using crawdad imitations or cut bait in rocky areas on your next trip.

JEMEZ WATERS:               Water flow on the Jemez as of Monday morning was 186cfs near Jemez Springs. Trout fishing on the Jemez was good for anglers using Pistol Petes with extra weight. Trout fishing on the upper reaches of the Cebolla, San Antonio and East Fork was fair-to-good for anglers using dry dropper combinations with Royal Wulffs, caddis, prince nymphs and olive and black copper john barrs. A few fish were also taken by anglers using worms and salmon eggs.

LAGUNA Del CAMPO:      (Burns Canyon Lake) Trout fishing was fair-to-good for anglers using power bait, salmon eggs, spinners and Pistol Petes.

MANZANO LAKE:             We had no reports from anglers this week.  

MCGAFFEY LAKE:             We had no reports from anglers this week but the lake recently received another stocking of several hundred keeper size rainbow. Fishing should be good.  

NAVAJO LAKE:                  Crappie fishing continued to be quite good for some anglers this past week. They did well using tubes, minnows and jigs. The best reports came from Uhl and Bancos canyons. Fishing for northern pike was good for anglers using jerk baits, crank baits, tubes and spinner baits. Anglers fishing for smallmouth bass and largemouth bass did well using tubes, worms, jerk baits, swim baits and crank baits. Most of the good bass action was in the back half of coves. Fishing for trout slowed some but a few were taken by anglers trolling assorted lures in the Francis Canyon area and near the dam. We had no reports on other species.  

RAMAH LAKE:                   Trout fishing was fair for anglers using salmon eggs, power bait, corn and worms. A few fish were also taken on olive and brown Pistol Petes.

SAN JUAN:                          Water flow below Navajo Lake as of Monday morning was dropping to 1,000cfs. From there, the flow will be gradually increased to 5,000cfs by May 28^th where it will stay until June 23^rd. The flow will then be reduced over the next several days to 500cfs. This was the latest release plans as of May 9. Trout fishing this past week was fair for anglers using small hair jigs, leeches, bead head pheasant tails, wooly buggers, red annelids and San Juan worms. Fishing in the bait waters was fair-to-good using jerk baits, wooly buggers, spinners, garlic cheese and night crawlers.

SANTA CRUZ LAKE:        Trout fishing was fair-to-good using small tubes, Rooster Tails, power bait, worms and salmon egg/corn combinations.

SEVEN SPRINGS

    BROOD POND:                It’s just for kids under 12 and the trout fishing was very good again this past week. Best bait was power bait.  

TINGLEY BEACH:               Trout fishing at the Youth Pond and the Central Pond was fair using salmon eggs. Fishing for bluegill was good using worms and small jigs. Fishing for catfish was good using stink bait. Fishing for bass was good using jerk baits. At the Catch and Release Pond best baits were leeches, mayflies and egg patterns.

 

SOUTHWEST AREA

 

BEAR CANYON:                 We had no reports from anglers this week.

BILL EVANS LAKE:            Fishing was slow-to-fair using power bait, worms and spinners for trout. A few bluegill were taken by anglers using worms. A few largemouth bass were taken by anglers using small swim baits, tubes and salt craws. We had no reports on other species.  

BURN LAKE:                        We had no reports from anglers this week.

CABALLO LAKE:               Fishing was very good this past week for anglers fishing for walleye and white bass. The best reports came from anglers fishing the upper end of the lake around and across the lake from KOA point. They were using crank baits, jigs, grubs and minnows.

ELEPHANT BUTTE:           Fishing for white bass was fair-to-good for anglers using live bait, crank baits, curly tail grubs, jigs and tubes. Anglers did well near McRae Canyon, Rock Canyon, the Jungles and near the Butte. Fishing for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass was fair for anglers using worms, crank baits, chatter baits, tubes and jerk baits. A few bass were also taken by anglers using top water lures. Fishing for walleye slowed some but a few anglers did okay using live bait, jigs and crank baits. Fishing for catfish was fair using cut bait, shrimp and liver. The best reports came from anglers fishing the north end of the lake. A few striped bass were taken by anglers using live bait. We had no reports on other species.

ESCONDIDA LAKE:           Fishing was slow for all species. 

GILA RIVER:                         Water flow on the Gila as of this past Monday was 95cfs. We had no reports from anglers this week.

LAKE ROBERTS:                 Trout fishing was good using power bait, salmon eggs, spinners, spoons and worms.                  

PERCHA DAM:                   Fishing was a bit tough as some anglers zeroed while a few others managed to catch limits of walleye. They were using white grubs and minnows. A few white bass were caught on the same baits. There was a considerable amount of moss in the water.

QUEMADO LAKE:             We had no reports from anglers this week.   

RIO GRANDE:                      Water flow below Elephant Butte on Monday was 1,710cfs.  We had no reports from the river below the Butte but anglers fishing below Caballo reported good success fishing for white bass and walleye. They were using white, green and chartreuse grubs, minnows and tubes. We had no reports on other species.

SNOW LAKE:                      We had no reports from anglers this week.   

 

SOUTHEAST AREA

 

BATAAN LAKE:                 We had no reports from anglers this week. 

BONITO LAKE:                   Effective May 1, the lake was closed due to high fire danger in the area. Look for updates from the Lincoln National Forest for additional information.  

BOSQUE REDONDO:          Fishing was slow but there were a few trout and bass caught. Best baits were worms, wooly buggers and spinners.

BOTTOMLESS

 LAKES:                 Fishing was slow. Stocking has been suspended due to a golden algae bloom.

BRANTLEY LAKE:             Anglers are to practice catch and release for all fish here as high levels of DDT were found in several fish. 

CARLSBAD

     MUNICIPAL LAKE:       We had no reports from anglers this week.   

GRINDSTONE

RESERVOIR:                  Fishing was fair using salmon eggs, power bait, corn, spinners and Pistol Petes for trout.

JAL LAKE:                            We had no reports from anglers this week.      

LAKE VAN:                          We had no reports from anglers this week.    

PECOS RIVER:                      Water flow on Monday below Sumner Lake was 103cfs. Fishing was slow but there were a few catfish taken by anglers using liver and night crawlers.

PERCH LAKE:                      We had no reports from anglers this week.

RUIDOSO RIVER:                Water flow at Ruidoso on Monday was 1.2cfs. Trout fishing was slow.

SANTA ROSA LAKE:        Fishing for crappie was fair-to-good this past week for anglers using tubes, grubs, night crawlers and minnows. Fishing for walleye was fair for anglers working tubes and worms and jig and grub combinations in the brush and trolling crank baits in the main channel. Fishing for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass was fair for anglers using top water lures, tubes, crank baits, spinner baits and jerk baits. A few catfish were caught by anglers using liver and night crawlers.

SUMNER LAKE:                  Fishing was fair this past week for anglers using minnows, worms, grubs, crank baits and tubes for crappie and walleye. Fishing was fair-to-good using jerk baits, tubes, worms, crank baits, top water lures and jigs for largemouth and smallmouth bass.  We had no reports on other species.  The surface water temperature ranged from 52-to-62 degrees.