Jicarilla Fishing Blog

Fishing Report 12-27-11

            The Jicarilla Lakes have been busy this week, with lots of sunshine and good fishing. There are also some anglers looking to perfect a strategy for the 6^th annual ice derby which is coming up on Saturday January 21^st 2012. We received a few great reports this week. In fact, the year’s biggest reported fish from Stone was landed through the ice on Friday. The ice thickness is at least 5 inches at all of the lakes, and the cold single digit nights will continue to add on to that. The hot spot this week is Dulce Lake, but the quality of the fish in Stone brings it up a notch in my opinion. Mundo is slow, which is a surprise and Horse and Enbom still haven’t produced a good report.

            Dulce Lake is producing Rainbows that average 16 inches with both bait and jigs. Wax worms and meal worms are both working as is yellow powerbait. Jigs vary from crappie feather jigs to plastics and have been working in a variety of colors. The water is very clear and the lake is shallow which allows for a good view of your rig if you get down on the ice and look through your hole. Some friends and I had a blast sight fishing with jigs out there last week.

            Stone Lake has given up some very nice fish to jigs over the past week. The prime time seems to be around 2:30pm considering that several reports mention the same timing. They have been hitting white, pink, chartreuse and other colored jigs and are often hooked within 4-6 feet from the ice. Audie Reval from Dulce caught a lunker this weekend which measured 26 inches and was estimated to be 7.5 lbs based on the 15 inch girth. A picture of this monster will be attached below.

            Mundo Lake has been slow according to two reports this week. One report was from 3 anglers who fished 4 hours with zero bites and the other was from an angler who fished for an hour and caught 1 bass. This is not typical for Mundo Lake, and I feel like things will turn around soon.

            Horse Lake is the source of bad news this week. I tried it for an hour with two other guys last week and we got skunked. I also tried it several days prior to that trip and had the same result. To top it off, I just had a call from a veteran ice man and he got skunked in 3 and ½ hours. I don’t know what is going on out there, but I hope to have some answers for next week’s report. The reason I am so surprised is due to the great gill net results we had in late November (and no I did not net them all!).

That’s it this week. We didn’t hear anything from Enbom which is not a surprise with Stone and Dulce doing so well but we hope to get some info for you next week. Check out the picture of Audie’s 26 incher below.

Kevin Terry

Fisheries Biologist

Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish Department     

Audie Reval- 12-23-11- Stone Lake 26 inch, 15 inch girth, est. weight 7.5lbs.

Fishing Report 12/20/11

            I hope you all are gearing up for the 6^th annual Jicarilla Ice Derby which is only one month away. The date is set for Saturday January 21^st 2012. Over $3,000 in prizes are on their way and we will have t-shirts for everyone. Details will be coming soon but you can expect the same format as years past with the exception of the raffle, which will not be happening this year. The derby is early this year because we hope to be able to include Dulce Lake and Horse Lake in this year’s event. Only time will tell if they will hold on that long.

            The ice season is off to a great start with a few folks getting out there already. I measured the ice and fished for twenty minutes at all five lakes today. The thickness and reports are listed below.

Stone Lake- 6 inches of good ice. The top layer is gray ice formed from melted snow, but the bottom 5 inches are hard clear ice.

I had one bite at Stone Today with a white feather jig with a pink head.

Friday (12/16) KC Manwell caught a lunker that measured 21 & ½ ” and weighed 5 lbs. (see picture below)

Enbom Lake- 6 ½ inch base layer with a water layer and 1 ¼ inch soft top layer. Enbom will be sloshy on sunny days until the top freezes up solid. The bottom layer is good ice though.

I didn’t have any luck at Enbom, but there was evidence of ice fishermen from the weekend.

Horse Lake – 5 ½ inches of solid clear ice with 2 inches of snow. There are elk tracks on the ice to verify the strength.

I did not get any hits at Horse today and I don thtink anyone else has fished it yet. The road is snow packed but passable for 4wd vehicles.

Mundo Lake- 7 inches of solid ice. There are areas where the snow melted and settled in puddles which are now frozen. This looks odd but the ice sheet is stable.

I had one hit at Mundo with the same pink and white jig.

Dulce Lake- 6 inches of good ice. Definite fishing pressure but only a couple of reports.

The best report is 8 fish in two hours. The average Dulce Lake Rainbow is 16 inches and chunky.

That’s it for reports this week. The Ice season is here and it’s time to get working on your strategy for the derby. To clarify a somewhat confusing part of our license system, I want to explain our ice season permit. The ice fishing season permit is a flat rate of $20 for everyone. The valid dates are 12/15/11-3/15/12. This permit is for folks who only want to ice fish at the Jicarilla Lakes. If you have an annual permit, then you do not have to purchase an ice season permit too. Your annual permit is valid year round.

Remember folks, Ice fishing is never completely safe and always carries some level of risk to injury. Please use common sense and fish in groups. If something looks bad, then do not go out on the ice. Trust your instincts and stay away from any open water.

Have a great week of hard water fishing! Check out the big boy from Stone Below!

Kevin Terry

Fisheries Biologist

Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish Department

KC Manwell- caught this beauty at Stone Lake on 12/16/11 (21 ½ inches 5 lbs. ) 

Fishing Report 12/13/11

            The ice has developed quickly this year thanks to last week’s Arctic chill. The weather continues to be wintery this week with lots of clouds and predicted snow from time to time through the weekend. Four out of five lakes are cleared for ice fishing this week. However, we want to stress that ice fishing is a dangerous endeavor and early season conditions require special attention. Be careful around the edges and stay way away from open water holes caused by aeration. Fish in groups and bring safety equipment including ropes and ice picks. It is always a good idea to drill pilot holes as you head out to deeper water sections. Our Standard is 4 inches of clear ice and four lakes are there and Stone Lake is close. Our official ice season begins on Thursday Decmeber 15^th and anglers can purchase a ice season only permit (12/15/11-3/15/12) from our vendors or online for a flat rate fee of $20. Also, remember that we allow anglers to use two poles each when ice fishing at no additional cost. Please review the 2011-12 fishing proclamation for other regulations and catch limits.

            WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE DATE FOR OUR ANNUAL ICE DERBY. THE 6^TH ANNUAL JICARILLA ICE DERBY WILL BE HELD ON SATURDAY  JANUARY 21^ST 2012. THE FORMAT WILL BE SIMILAR TO YEARS PAST AND THE LAKES INVOLVED WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT A CLOSER DATE. WE WILL NOT HAVE A RAFFLE THIS YEAR, BUT WE HAVE OVER $3,000 IN PRIZES AND T-SHIRTS FOR EVERYONE. STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO ON THIS GREAT EVENT.

            The following ice measurements were taken today (12/13/11)

Stone Lake- 3.5 inches with open water areas near the aerators-NOT RECOMMENDED this week

Horse Lake- 5 ¼ inches of clear ice- 4wd is necessary at this time.

Enbom Lake- 5 inches of good ice- not recommended due to low fish numbers

Mundo Lake- 4 inches of clear ice. One open water area near the south end.

Dulce Lake 4.5 inches of clear ice. Fishing should be fair to good for 17 inch rainbows.

            Be safe and have a great start to the ice season. Please send us a report so that we can all get off to a good start for hard water fishing on the Jicarilla Lakes. Small rod, big fish!

Kevin Terry

Fisheries Biologist

Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish Department

Fishing Report 12/8/2011

            Open water is officially over at the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. The recent storm and subsequent arctic chill have transformed the lakes into ice overnight (literally!). There is a possibility that things will open back up, but the forecast is calling for frigid temps in the next few days and my guess is that we have ice for the duration. We will begin monitoring ice thickness next week and will report conditions at that time. For now, the lakes are closed to ice fishing. Don’t forget that we have an ice fishing season which begins on Dec 15^th and goes through March 15^th 2012. The price for this season is $20 and you can get your permit online or at one of our vendors. Have a great week getting the ice gear ready!

Kevin Terry

Fisheries Biologist

Jicarilla Game and Fish Dept.

Sorry Guys! I spaced putting this up the other day when I wrote it. But dont worry, I will let you know next week on ice measurements.