Fishing Line for Sept. 27, 2023

CATCHES OF THE WEEK

James Scaggs of Cannon Air Force Base caught a 5.2-pound largemouth bass at Conchas Lake using a custom-painted white crankbait on Sept. 23.

Josiah Roybal, 11, of Pecos caught a 19-inch brown trout on the Pecos River using a silver Panther Martin spinner on Sept. 22.

On the Rio Grande, Seth Hardy of Red River caught and released a 20-inch rainbow trout using a white Streamer fly near Questa on Sept. 20. … Ian Smuczynski of Taos caught and released a 23-inch brown trout using a black Woolly Bugger fly on Sept. 13.

Dominic Sandoval of Albuquerque caught a 40.5-inch tiger muskie at Bluewater Lake using raw shrimp on Sept. 21.

At Navajo Lake, Ayanna Martinez of Albuquerque caught a 32-inch, 6.5-pound pike using a deep-diving purple/blue crankbait on Sept. 16. … Jay Collins of Albuquerque caught a 30-inch, 8-pound pike using a shad-pattern crankbait on Sept. 14. … Adrian Martinez of Albuquerque caught a 36-inch, 11-pound pike using a medium-diving pink/silver crankbait on Sept. 13.

Zayden Baca, 10, of Albuquerque, caught and released a 28-inch, 6.5-pound catfish at Tingley Beach using a corn and hot dog combination on Sept. 16.

Adrian Toscano of Los Lunas caught a 20.25-inch, 4.5-pound smallmouth bass at Elephant Butte Lake using minnows on Sept. 22.

Tommy M. Erven of Los Lunas caught and released two catfish at Escondida Lake using nightcrawler worms on Sept. 24.

Mario Velasco of Chaparral and Paul Perez of La Mesa caught nine trout at Alto Lake using PowerBait on Sept. 21.

Timothy Martinez caught a 16-inch, 2-pound albino catfish at Greene Acres Lake using red worms on Sept. 23.

If you have a catch of the week story, send it to funfishingnm@gmail.com.

NOTES FROM GAME & FISH

Northeast fishing report

Fishing for brook trout at Cabresto Lake was good using beadhead nymph flies.

Charette Lakes had no reports from anglers this week.

Streamflow on the Cimarron River near Cimarron on Monday morning was 18 cubic feet per second (cfs). Fishing for trout was good using yellow Stimulator dry flies, San Juan Worm flies and live worms. Fishing for trout at Gravel Pit Lakes was fair using marshmallows, worms, Salmon Peach PowerBait and Yellow PowerBait.

Fishing for catfish at Clayton Lake was fair to good using nightcrawler worms and chicken liver.

Fishing for bass at Conchas Lake was good using white crankbaits.

Fishing for trout at Costilla Creek was good using ant-pattern flies and Prince Nymph flies.

Fishing for trout at Cowles Ponds was fair using dry flies in the evening.

Fishing for trout at Coyote Creek was fair to good using black dry flies and nymph flies.

Fishing for trout at Eagle Nest Lake was fair to good using black leech-pattern flies and rainbow PowerBait. Fishing for pike was fair to good using swimbaits and large spoons. For updated lake conditions, visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at 575-377-1594.

Eagle Rock Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

National Forest closures have been in place restricting fishing access to the Gallinas River. Visit the Santa Fe National Forest webpage or call the Santa Fe National Forest office at 505-438-5300 for the latest closure information.

Fishing for trout at Hopewell Lake was good using gold spoons.

Lake Alice had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for trout at Lake Maloya was good using grasshopper-pattern dry flies. The ADA dock is open to anglers, with priority given to mobility-impaired persons.

Los Pinos River had no reports from anglers this week.

Maxwell Lake 13 had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for trout at Monastery Lake was fair using worms. Monastery Lake is part of the Department’s Open Gate Program. Please visit our website for more information about this property.

Fishing for trout at Morphy Lake was good using PowerBait and when trolling using Mack’s Wedding Ring lures with salmon eggs and corn.

Streamflow on the Pecos River near Pecos Monday morning was 24 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using silver Panther Martin spinners.

Streamflow on the Red River below the Red River Hatchery on Monday morning was 56 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using worms and dry-dropper fly setups.

Streamflow on the Rio Grande below the Taos Junction Bridge on Monday morning was 252 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using black Woolly Bugger flies, white Streamer flies and bead-head nymph flies. Fishing for pike was fair to good using white Streamer flies.

Streamflow on the Rio Hondo near Valdez on Monday morning was 14 cfs.

Streamflow on the Rio Mora near Terrero on Monday morning was 7 cfs.

Streamflow on the Rio Pueblo near Peñasco on Monday morning was 9 cfs.

Santa Cruz Reservoir is open from 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Thursday-Sunday.

Fishing for trout at Shuree Ponds was fair to good using ant-pattern flies and Prince Nymph flies.

Fishing for catfish at Springer Lake was fair to good using nightcrawler worms and chicken liver.

Fishing for catfish at Storrie Lake was good using nightcrawler worms.

Stubblefield Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for walleye at Ute Lake was slow to fair when trolling. Fishing for white bass was fair when trolling in 25-35 feet of water in the Canadian River arm of the lake. Fishing for bass was slow to fair using Berkley MaxScent Hit Worms on drop-shot rigs. Fishing for crappie was fair to good using live minnows at night under lights. Fishing for catfish was fair to good using chicken liver and cut bait. The main lake water surface temperature was in the low 70s and the water was clear.

Northwest fishing report

Fishing for walleye at Abiquiú Lake was fair using crankbaits and Yum White Curly-tail Grubs with pink jig heads.

Streamflow on the Animas River below Aztec on Monday morning was 204 cfs.

Albuquerque Area Drains had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for tiger muskie at Bluewater Lake was fair to good using raw shrimp.

Fishing for trout on the Brazos River was good using size-16 Adams flies.

Canjilon Lakes had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for pike at Cochiti Lake was fair using crankbaits. Fishing for walleye was fair using curly-tail grubs. Fishing for bass was fair using chartreuse/pearl curly-tail grubs. Fishing for crappie was slow to fair using minnows and small gold swimbaits. Fishing for catfish was good using cut bait.

El Vado Lake is closed due to dam construction project. For more information, visit El Vado Lake State Park’s webpage or call 575-588-7247.

Fishing for trout at Fenton Lake was fair to good using copper Kastmaster lures and Mop Flies. For updated lake conditions and potential closure information, visit the park’s webpage or call the park office at 575-829-3630.

Grants Riverwalk Pond had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for trout at Heron Lake was fair using worms.

At the Jemez Waters, streamflow near Jemez on Monday morning was 8 cfs. Fishing for trout was good using Hopper flies in the Valles Caldera.

Laguna del Campo had no reports from anglers this week.

Lagunitas Lakes had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Farmington had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for bass at Liam Knight Pond was slow using live worms.

Fishing for trout at McGaffey Lake was fair using PowerBait.

Fishing for kokanee salmon at Navajo Lake was slow to fair using silver spinners, green spinners, pink spinners and orange squid tipped with corn fished 65-75 feet deep. Fishing for smallmouth bass was fair to good using Z-Man 3.5-inch plastic worms, chartreuse curly-tail grubs and watermelon-green tube jigs. Fishing for pike was good using pink/silver crankbaits, purple/blue crankbaits and shad-pattern crankbaits.

Streamflow on the Rio Chama below El Vado Lake on Monday morning was 90 cfs; streamflow below Abiquiú Lake on Monday morning was 1,190 cfs. Please remember, from the river-crossing bridge on U.S. Highway 84 at Abiquiú upstream 7 miles to the base of Abiquiú Dam is special trout waters with a bag limit of two trout only.

Fishing for catfish on the Rio Grande was good using chicken liver near Albuquerque.

Riverside Park Pond (Aztec Pond #1) had no reports from anglers this week.

San Gregorio Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Streamflow on the San Juan River near Archuleta on Monday morning was 811 cfs. On Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 4 a.m., the Bureau of Reclamation will decrease the release from Navajo Reservoir from 800 cfs to 550 cfs. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was good using Baetis flies and grey midge emerger-pattern flies.

Fishing for trout at Seven Springs Kids’ Pond was fair to good using worms.

Tiger Park Reservoir had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for catfish at Tingley Beach was fair to good using corn and hotdogs.

Trout Lakes had no reports from anglers this week.

Southwest fishing report

Alumni Pond is closed for repairs until further notice.

Bear Canyon Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Bill Evans Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for catfish at Caballo Lake was good using gizzard shad and cut bait.

Fishing for smallmouth bass at Elephant Butte Lake was fair to good using live minnows. Fishing for white bass was fair to good trolling using shad-pattern crankbaits. Fishing for catfish was good using cut bait.

Fishing for catfish at Escondida Lake was fair to good using nightcrawler worms.

Fishing for bass at Estancia Park Lake was good using live worms.

Streamflow on the Gila River near Gila on Monday morning was 33 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair using nymph flies at Gilita Creek.

Fishing for trout at Glenwood Pond was good using PowerBait and worms.

Fishing for catfish at Lake Roberts was fair using chicken liver and homemade stink bait.

Fishing for carp at Percha Dam was fair using bread and corn.

Fishing for trout at Quemado Lake was fair to good using nightcrawler worms.

Rancho Grande Ponds had no reports from anglers this week.

Streamflow on the Rio Grande below Elephant Butte Dam on Monday morning was 602 cfs. Fishing for catfish was good using cut bait in the canals north of Elephant Butte Lake.

Snow Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for catfish at Trees Lake was good using minnows.

Young Pond had no reports from anglers this week.

Southeast fishing report

Fishing for trout at Alto Lake was good using PowerBait. Fishing for bass was good using worms. Fishing for catfish was slow to fair using worms.

Fishing for bass at Bataan Lake was fair using plastic worms. Fishing for catfish was slow using hot dogs.

Fishing for catfish on Berrendo Creek was fair to good using hot dogs. Please visit the Open Gate webpage for more information on this property.

Streamflow on the Black River at Malaga on Monday morning was 18 cfs.

Blue Hole Park Pond had no reports from anglers this week.

Bonito Lake is closed until further notice by the City of Alamogordo due to fire damage. The lake is full but needs time for aquatic habitat to develop in order to sustain a healthy fish population. The city hopes to reopen the lake for recreational purposes in June 2024.

Fishing for bass at Bosque Redondo Lake was fair using nightcrawler worms.

Bottomless Lakes had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for bass at Brantley Lake was fair using blue crankbaits.

Carlsbad Municipal Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Chaparral Park Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

High temperatures have impacted fish survival in Corona Pond. Department fisheries biologists are working to restore fish populations.

Eunice Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for catfish at Green Meadow Lake was fair using hot dogs and nightcrawler worms.

Fishing for catfish at Greene Acres Lake was fair to good using red worms.

Fishing for trout at Grindstone Reservoir was good using Salmon Peach PowerBait. Fishing for bass was fair using rubber worms.

Harry McAdams Park Pond had no reports from anglers this week.

Jal Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Van had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for catfish at Ned Houk Ponds was fair to good using worms and stink bait.

Fishing for catfish at Oasis Park Lake was good using red worms.

Streamflow on the Pecos River below Sumner Lake on Monday morning was 88 cfs.

Perch Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Rio Bonito had no reports from anglers this week.

Streamflow on the Rio Ruidoso at Hollywood on Monday morning was 5 cfs.

Rock Lake Hatchery Kids’ Pond had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for walleye and crappie at Santa Rosa Lake was fair to good trolling using crankbaits.

Sumner Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Timberon Ponds had no reports from anglers this week.