Jicarilla Fishing Blog
June 9th, 2026
Folks,
Mr. Damian sent this photo of his son's first fish, Mr. Eli looks pretty stoked, and the fish looks pretty fat and healthy. First fish posts are pretty awesome.
The Fish Crew has a question... How many of our anglers are using gastric lavage as part of their normal fishing experience at our lakes, or other fisheries? Send a thoughtful or even rude answer to jicarillafishqs@gmail.com for a chance to win a prize (yet to be determined, but very likely fishing oriented). The best e-mail response will be chosen by the Fish Crew on June 22nd.
Mundo surface water temp at 0730 this morning 64.3 degrees.
Many anglers but especially fly anglers pride themselves on their scientific like knowledge of insect names, hatch timing, hook sizes, tippet knots and euronymph tail fiber count as it relates to hook up ratios, sink tip techniques, and rainbow trout diets. You name it. We have been seeing a lot of information surrounding the drought, warming waters, catch and release, etc. circulating the internets and some of it is top tier excellent, others...well, not so much. Be very careful equating watching online entertainment videos as "doing research" or it being some "final authority". We all want healthy fisheries, some of folks have spent full careers focused on trying to provide just that, others make YouTube videos, very few do both.
Be like Eli. Catch a fish. Be happy. (more importantly send us a photo and a report of when you do those things).
J.
June 1st, 2026
Folks,
Not much to report, one report submitted. The water is warming (64 at lunch) and the catfish are biting. Time to think about summer fishing. Bass and catfish are out and about. If you are into trout catch and release that
time is coming to an end soon(ish). If you must, we suggest you start to focus your fishing to the early morning hours and take a siesta from it the rest of the day, consider targeting warm water fish, etc. To support those thoughts we have included a photo of a very nice ten pound catfish caught recently.
J.
May 18th, 2026
Folks,
It sure is windy, nasty wind, reef the sails type wind. A few reports trickled in; many fish 12-22" caught. Mr. Brad even caught some in the 12-17" range. All Jokes aside leeches, midges, dragonflies and all sorts of buggers and damselfly patterns seem to be working. The water is low but the surface temperature at Mundo this morning was 60.2 F.
(un)Ironically Mr. Brad was surprised to find out that I have been known to fish recreationally once of twice a decade. I'm not sure if I told him the truth about occasionally fishing. A classic Liars Paradox, maybe Mr. Epimenides was an angler. Almost as funny as the things I read on the internet about fishing.
The water situation has not improved since our last update, but our fingers are crossed.
J.
May 11th, 2026
Folks,
No reports have been submitted, but the catfishing must be good since this photo was snapped of a ten pounder (below). The weather is turning hot this week with highs in the upper 80's being forecasted.
All lakes are low. If you are a catch and release angler your window of ethical conditions isn't going to last forever this year.
IF YOU FISH THE QUALITY WATERS OF THE SAN JUAN RIVER IN NEW MEXICO, prior to fishing any other waters WASH AND DRY BOATS AND GEAR LIKE WADING BOOTS ETC... Do your part to keep this tiny invader from spreading!
The San Juan River below Navajo Dam is infested with the Aquatic Invasive Species New Zealand Mudsnails (as reported by New Mexico Department of Wildlife). Nonindigenous Aquatic Species.
J.
April 30th, 2026
Folks,
Three or four reports have trickled in and they tell a pretty standard story. First off a big thanks to folks like Mr. Kurt and Mr. Robert for sending along their hard earned knowledge (Double thanks to Mr. Robert for the photos!!), it's kinda the gas that makes this machine run.
14-18" trout most common at a rate of five per hour at the slower side of things, and one 23" monster reported.
Prince nymphs, dragonfly larvae, damsels, simi-seal leeches, buggers, double bunnies, chironomids, basically it seems as if trout probably eat most things. Location and depth are probably what is separating the "oh golly geeze, that was an amazing day" from the " I only caught twenty fish it was kinda slow".
There have been quite a few citations being written. Many folks have not taken the time to read this year's proclamation... I'd do that, save yourself the ticket.
The water situation is not great, as with the rest of the west... Lakes like Embom and Stone may not make it through the summer. Fingers are always crossed for the monsoon and eL Nino.
J.
April 21st, 2026
Folks,
No reports have been submitted. It seems maybe the blog isn't as useful as it once was to anglers.
Spring is here and so is the drought. I borrowed the recent US Drought Monitor map for the state of New Mexico and put it below. 92 % of Rio Arriba County is currently at Severe or Extreme Drought Intensity
I feel it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that we (most of the American West and New Mexico as a whole) are currently in a fire ban due to the extreme regional fire risk.
Please understand that when you purchase a Jicarilla Permit you are agreeing to the terms and conditions. This means you have read and understand the Annual Fishing Proclamation... It has been a productive year thus far for law enforcement, I'd say it is easier to follow the rules in the long run...
J.
April 1st, 2026
Folks,
Season Opener today. Online and in office permits are now available for the 2026-2027 season which starts today. Please review the new Fishing Proclamation as there are some new changes which may be of interest. By purchasing a permit and validating it you are certifying that you have read and understand the Proclamation.
Fishing has been pretty average for springtime. Five to ten fish an hour being reported nothing below 17 inches and many in excess of 23" being noted. Simiseal leeches and olive scuds. Midges and callibaetis in the shallows. One of the anglers mentioned hooking into what he thinks may have been the biggest trout of his career, just everyday Jicarilla fishing stuff.
Best of luck fishing. The ladies are winning on the fishing this week.
J.
March 17th, 2026
Folks,
No reports have been submitted. Plenty of anglers out and about.The drought is in full effect, but I guess the weather is pretty darn nice.
Go fish enjoy it before it gets too hot. Kids are catching them which is cool and happy smiling.
J.
March 11th, 2026
Folks,
Permit sales are heating up, but fishing reporting is not keeping pace. 2026-2027 Permits will go on sale at the end of the month, as the new season starts April 1st.
Anglers that did report mentioned fishing 14-18" rainbows with some consistency.
Leeches and buggers, not exactly relevational rocket science.
Water is extremely low and there seems to be no additional moisture in sight.
It would be super cool if you were so inclined to submit some photos of your outings, it does liven up the blog.
J.
February 23rd, 2026
Folks,
A quick update. The weather has been a wild mix of bad the last little while. The drought is by no means loosening its grip. There hasn't been much to report at all, no reports have been submitted...
No ice at Stone or Mundo except depending on nighttime temperatures there is light sheet ice in the mornings. Sometimes covering large portions and especially the edges. Water temps are still low, so fishing is probably very slow, but you don't know if you don't go.
If you were wanting to catch a nice fish at Stone I would consider early spring your only opportunity in the foreseeable future. Water is quite low so it will be an effort but could be worth it depending on your personal proclivities.
This winter is tied with 2002 for the worst on record. A few more snow storms wouldn't hurt my feelings.
J.