If you have a catch of the week story or just want to tell us about your latest New Mexico fishing experience, send it to ABQ Sportfishing email. We may include your story in our next report. For catches of the week, include name, date, location, type of fish, length and bait used.

Catches of the Week

Abiquiu Lake: 4,000 acre lake on the Chama River Northwest of Abiquiu. Fish species- Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Catfish, Crappie and Trout
Clarity:1-2 foot
Water Temp:60s
Bass, walleye, crappie and cats were caught in 1-to-5 feet of water. Best baits were minnows, jigs, grubs, tubes, creature baits, cranks and jerk baits. Catches included one smallie over 4 pounds and a few "eye" over 6.

Amistad Lake - Del Rio, TX: 64,900 acre lake on the Rio Grande, 12 miles northwest of Del Rio, TX in Val Verde County. Fish species- Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Channel and Blue Catfish, White and Striped Bass
Click here for the Amistad Fishing Report Sponsored by SW Texas Bass Guide - Kurt Dove

Conchas Lake: 16,033-acre lake on the Canadian River. Fish species - Largemouth and smallmouth bass, bluegill, crappie, channel catfish and walleye.
Clarity:Good
Water Temp:70s
Walleye are good from the south side shore and trolling. Jigs, spinners, crank baits and night crawlers are working well. Crappie are slow with jigs and minnows. Smallmouth and largemouth bass are reported as fair to good with tubes, Senkos and worms. Catfish are good with stink bait and chicken liver. No reports on white bass.

Elephant Butte Lake: 40,000-surface acre lake on the Rio Grande formed by a dam created in 1916. Hundreds of miles of shoreline with a depth of 165 feet. When lake level is at capacity the lake is up to 40 miles long with an average width of about 1.5 miles. Fish species - Largemouth bass, catfish, walleye, flathead and channel catfish, crappie, smallmouth, white bass and striped bass (true stripers, not hybrid) and bluegill.
Clarity:6 feet
Water Temp:68
Great for white bass, crappie, walleye and good for smallies, largemouth. Anglers fishing east side main lake points did great using Flicker Shad, Rat-L-Traps, Bombers, sassy shad, grubs and Lucky Craft jerk baits. Smallmouth and largemouth bass are good with white bombers and sassy shads. Walleye are good with grubs and shiners. Crappie are good with minnows. Striped bass are fair to good using live bait and Captain Mack umbrella rigs. A 32- pound and several 20-pound striped bass were reported last week. Good catfish action at night and early morning using frozen fat head minnows, liver and dough bait. Action from the bank was very good in the Ash Canyon area and south of the Butte.
Fishing Report Sponsored by Marina Del Sur

Navajo Lake: 15,600-acre lake with a depth at the deepest part close to the dam of almost 400 feet. Three major arms of the lake, the Pine, the San Juan, and Francis gives fishermen plenty to enjoy. Fish species - Smallmouth and largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, northern pike, rainbow trout, kokanee salmon, brown trout and channel catfish.
Clarity:Good, very light stain in areas.
Water Temp:50-60
Pike are good in the San Juan and Pine arms with spinners, crank baits and jerk baits. Smallmouth bass are reported as good in the San Juan arm with jerk baits, tubes and any chartreuse lure. Crappie are fair in Francis Canyon, Negro Andy Canyon and the Pine arm with jigs and minnows. Kokanee are starting to school and should be good in a week or two. Catfish are fair using stink bait. No reports on other species.

Santa Rosa Lake: 3,500-acre lake on the Pecos River. Fish species - Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Catfish, Bluegill, Crappie and Walleye.
Clarity:3 inches, chocolate milk
Water Temp:upper 60s
Walleye are good drifting and trolling with chartreuse or white curly tails and sassy shad. Smallmouth bass are reported as good around the shoreline and largemouth bass are good at 9-12 feet with crank baits, jigs and minnows working well for both. Crappie are good in 9-15 feet of water with jigs and minnows. No reports on catfish.

Sumner Lake: 2,800-acre lake with a maximum depth of 65' and an average depth of 20-30 feet on the Pecos River. Fish species - Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, bluegill, walleye, catfish, crappie, white bass and winter trout.
Clarity:Stained
Water Temp:upper 60s
Walleye are slow to fair. Best reports are from the west side near Spears Point trolling bottom bouncer rigs with night crawler trailers. Bass are slow. Catfish are good below the dam with chicken liver and minnows.

Ute Lake: 8,200-acre lake with a shoreline of approximately 45 miles with a maximum depth of 88 feet. Winds for miles through a rocky canyon up the Canadian River and Ute Creek. Fish species - Largemouth and smallmouth bass, bluegill, crappie, walleye, channel catfish and white bass.
Clarity:lightly stain on the main lake, moderately stained up the arms
Water Temp:58-60
Click here for the Ute Lake Fishing Report Sponsored by The Tackle Box It seems that we have had a very short spring this year. We have been pushing 100 degrees the last week and it is expected to be the same the next week. You want to get out early. The bite seems to be pretty good in the heat of the day, but since my boat doesn't have air conditioning, I try to be off the lake by 1-2 p.m. Another note----don't forget bug repellent---the deer flies are starting to feed on humans while on the water. The fishing is good some days and excellent on others. Crappie--Fair--Use minnows up either river arm. Some limits are coming in, but not very many. Keep moving from tree to tree if the bite is slow. Walleye--Good/Excellent--One day we caught & released 28 Walleye while trolling, the next day we had to work to catch 6 of them. Thats why they call it fishing and not catching. Typically when we have stable weather like we have had, the fishing is much more constant day to day. Trolling crank baits over brush in 10-20 feet of water has been producing for me. Crawlers and minnows fished near structure on the main points in 5-15 feet of water has also been producing. Catfish--Good/Excellent--Cats are being caught in the many coves near 2-6 feet of water on stink baits. Either river arm will also produce fish. The best bite has been 6-10 am. Whites--Fair--Many smaller ones are being caught trolling, but you will catch a few keepers. Smallmouth and Largemouth bass--Fair--Some on beds in shallow water although that is almost over. Chigger craws, tubes, senkos stingers, etc. are all working when you find them. Topwater and crankbaits also produced some fish.

Tight lines,

ABQ Sportfishnig