Jicarilla Fish Weblog

Fishing Report 7-22-08

The reports have been slow to come in after the Little Beaver Celebration weekend. In this case I will give you all a run down of what I do know. Mundo has been fishing well with bait and flies, especially in the deeper areas around the dam and the east side of the lake. Green powerbait is still the favorite, but many different colors are working. I suspect that the catfishing has been good due to the numbers of fish caught during the derby, and the recent full moon. Liver is the fan favorite at Mundo. The big Bass have kind of fallen off the screen lately at Mundo, but topwater stuff and grubs will still get you into plenty of 10” fish. I always encourage flyfishermen to give the largemouth a shot at Mundo as well. Enbom Lake has been harvested for weeds and should be fishing well, especially with flies. There has been a slight green algae bloom lately, but it should subside shortly. The trout in Enbom grow quickly and the next couple of months are perfect for harvesting these fish, due to the low chance of over winter survival. Be prepared for rare monsters that lurk in the depths.
Stone Lake is looking great for this time of year, with very minimal plant growth. The water temps are a little warm for trout, but there have been recent sightings of so called, “Monster Bass” on the east side that has me pretty intrigued. We often speculate about the potential size of the Largemouth given the over abundance of salamanders and the ability for Bass to avoid our gill net samples. We know they are in there, and that there are definitely large fish, but just how large is probably the biggest mystery of Stone Lake. If you have a boat or float tube, Stone is an adventure waiting to happen. Come and surprise us all Bass guys.
Horse Lake is weed covered and tough to fish. There is also a small green algae bloom that has reduced visibility in the open areas. A few folks have been out, and report good success but shore fishing is not currently recommended. This lake is traditionally a great fall fishery and is worth a shot in late September, October, and November. The first month or so of ice fishing can be excellent as well.
Last but not least is the Navajo river which has been clearing up decently this year. This is another adventure spot where there are definitely good Browns and Rainbows here and there on the 12 mile stretch through the reservation. Small caddis patterns, stonefly nymphs, and terrestrials are all worth a shot. The monsoons have been regular so bring rain gear for the afternoons.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 7-15-08

The 2nd annual 3-Species Fishing Derby was a great success, and there were some really nice fish of all three species caught. There were 105 contestants with approximately 90 from the local area. Needless to say the competition was quite steep, and some of the trout even surprised me. The other lakes were somewhat neglected this past weekend due to the derby, but Enbom is back in action thanks to the weed harvester. The fish in Enbom are getting quite fat and there should be a few of the trophy class fish left as well. Stone still needs some company, but several local anglers have been trying for the big Bass that have recently made themselves visible in the clear water. Horse Lake is another fall fishery that might deserve a little attention in the next month or so. This weekend is the 50th annual Little Beaver Celebration, so come and check out the action, as this celebration typically brings a few thousand folks into town. Also, thanks goes out to all of the folks that participated in the derby and helped raise needed funds for the Pony Express Race on Friday.
Mundo Lake is fishing quite well for all three species and the derby sure proved that. In the Trout division alone there were 110 fish weighed in. Robert Archibeque a Dulce local stole the show with an impressive 13.4 lb. creel that included the biggest fish of the day. This fish was a 25” Rainbow that weighed in at 5.8 lbs by itself. His eight year old son Marcos Archibeque also caught a slammer with a 23” Rainbow; his third 20+” fish of the year. These guys may be on to something out there, as they were trolling deep diver rapalas all day. There were also quite a few trout in the 14-20” range entered at the weigh in. The winning Catfish Creel was taken was taken by Jordan Cachucha for the 2nd year in a row with 9.6 lbs. There were quite a few Bass caught but nothing super impressive this week. Jamil Montoya took the top prize with a 2.18 lb. creel for three fish. Just about anything you can think of (legal) was used out there this weekend, and everyone was catching. Bait should be fished deep for both Catfish and Trout right now, and sinking line is probably a good idea for flyfishermen. Beadheads are the flies at the moment and wollybuggers down deep should get some of the bigger fish to move. Green powerbait is the still the most popular color, and worms are working as well.
Enbom Lake is accessible again with recent weed harvesting efforts clearing the way to fat Rainbows in the 12-14” range. There have been reports of evening dry fly action. As the season progresses these insects are getting smaller and smaller so come prepared with some #16-20 midge and mayfly patterns. Matching the hatch is not as important as size at Enbom. The Bait fishermen have been doing well with powerbait of various colors, and they are using bobbers and fishing top-down where the weeds are bad. There is the possibility of some larger fish in there so be ready.
I am almost at the point of making things up for Stone Lake so that I might get a few folks out there to give it a shot. Several local Bass guys are chasing the Big boys around on the East side, but as of yet I haven’t heard of any hook ups. One thing is for sure, they are there. Several people including myself have seen these big boys foraging around near the shorelines. No word this week on the trout fishing. The surface temps are getting up there, so the deep water near shorelines is probably holding good numbers of trout hanging deep with their heads up towards the migrating damsels. Trolling spoons and rapalas deep might also be the ticket especially after seeing those hogs in Mundo. It’s simply too Hot to be dry so hit the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes and COOOL OFF.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 7-8-08

The Derby is just days away (Saturday, July 12th) and everything looks good for a kick butt event. We have some tremendous raffles and prizes, and most importantly the fishing has been good for all three species in Mundo Lake. Weed harvesting is under way at Enbom Lake where the trout are robust and hungry and I even heard a success story from Stone this past weekend.
Mundo Lake has been fishing really well lately. Bait, spinners, and Flies have all been working for the Rainbows. Some of the 16-20” trout that we stocked last week were taken over the weekend, but there are plenty left to spice things up in the trout division on Saturday. The Bass are still hitting well around the shorelines, where the necessity for weedless stuff is growing daily. Apparently some large catfish have been taken recently as well, with several rumors floating around of a 20 lb. fish being caught on Sunday. Bring your entire arsenal this weekend and plan on diverting from the typical and trying for Diversity. The Grand Prize will be awarded to the heaviest combined creel of the day.
Enbom Lake should be ready for float tubes and Boats as well as limited shoreline fishing by this weekend. Those who have braved the vegetation have been successful for the most part with nice fat 12-13” trout with a few hold over trophies mixed in. Green powerbait is all I have heard lately, but the flyfishermen tend to do well with damsels, hares ears, wollybuggers, and chironomidaes to name a few popular patterns.
Stone Lake continues to have the lowest fishing pressure of any on the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. Talking to folks that are out and about (Game Wardens) really clarify this point. I did talk briefly with a gentleman who spent a few hours on Sunday and caught 2 fish. I don’t know what he was using but 1 fish was measured at 21 3/4”. The weed growth, which is usually an issue this time of year hasn’t been a problem thus far. All I can say is come and give a shot, especially if you are looking for that one really big fish.
Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Raffles

On site Raffle - Drawing will be held at the awards cerimony after the Three Species Derby on Saturday July 12th, 2008. This is a one day on-site raffle for derby participants and friends.

Tickets will be $3 or 2 for $5 and the proceeds will go to the Pony Express Comitee to help fund the 2008 Pony Express Race.

1st-2nd place- Spring Turkey Hunting Permit on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. ($500)
3rd place- Guided Fishing Trip on Running Elk Ranch in Chama New Mexico ($400 value)
4th-5th-6th place- Annual Waterfowl permit ($100)
7th-8th-9th place- Annual Jicarilla Fishing Permit ( $60)

Ongoing Raffle- (Drawing Date July 18th, 2008)

2008 Little Beaver Pony Express Raffle
$10 per ticket

1 Guided Bull Elk Hunt
2 Guded Cow Elk Hunt
3 Star Quilt
4 Gas Grill
5 Season Fishing Permit and Gear
6 $100 Cabelas Gift certificate
7 4 person Tent
8 Portable DVD Player
9 Tool Set
10 Jicarilla Seal Buck Knife
11 Outback Steakhouse Gift Certificate

(NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN)

Derby Prize List (incomplete)

Grand Prize - Heaviest Creel for combination of all 3 species. 9' Colorado Pontoon Boat ($400)

Trout
1st- Temple Fork Outfitters 4piece 5wt Fly Rod and Reel ($350)
2nd- Float Tube ($150)
3rd - Hydro Chest Pack fishing vest ($80)

Bass
1st- Temple Fork Outfitters Spinning Rod and Abu Garcia Reel ($200)
2nd- Float Tube ($150)
3rd- Bass tube jig set and Jig Head Set ($50)

Catfish
1st- Temple Fork Ouotfiters Casting Rod and Casting Reel ($160)
2nd- Foat Tube ($150)
3rd- Filet Kit ($40)

Door Prizes and Tagged fish Prizes will also be available.

Come and spend a day with us to catch fish and support a worthy cause. There will be food and drinks available for purchase.

3 Species Fishing Derby
Mundo Lake, July 12th 2008
7:30am-4:30pm

Entry Fee- $20 (with Jicarilla Permit) or $25
Kids (12 and under)-$5

Adult Divisions:
Trout, Largemouth Bass, and Channel Catfish

There will be prizes for 1st-3rd place in each species category by total creel weight, as well as a Grand Prize for the heaviest combined creel of the day.

Trout Limit- 6 fish (Rainbow or Brown)
Bass Limit- 3 fish any size
Channel Catfish- 8 fish

Kid’s Division:
Prizes will be awarded for 1st-3rd place by total creel weight of all species combined. (Unlimited Bluegill will be included for the Kid’s division)

There will also be Door Prizes, Tagged Fish Prizes, and an On-Site Raffle for Hunting and Fishing Permits.
Details can be found at www.jicarillahunt.com or call Kevin Terry at (575)759-3255

This event is sponsored by the Pony Express Committee which is a non-profit group that organizes the Pony Express Race that is held annually during the Little Beaver Festival in Dulce, New Mexico. All proceeds from this event will benefit the 2008 Pony Express Race on Saturday July 18th 2008.

Fishing Report 7-1-08


The water has been warming up, and so has the fishing for warm water species in the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. Mundo continues to run the show with good fishing for all three game species. The Largemouth and Channel Cats have been hitting very well at Mundo Lake and things are looking up for the Three Species Derby which will be held at Mundo Lake on Saturday July 12th 2008. The Derby will take place between 7:30am and 4:00pm and details for the event will be posted separately on the website (www.jicarillahunt.com). We are stocking approximately 700 16+” Rainbow Trout into Mundo Lake tomorrow July 2nd. This should make for an interesting weekend and will throw a mix into the derby.
Mundo has been fishing very well, especially for Bass and Catfish. Both species are into their spawning season and should be protecting nests and territory near the shorelines. Several large Bass have been caught recently and they are almost constantly foraging around the shoreline vegetation. I have heard that spinner baits, jigs, plastic worms and grubs, rapalas, and others have all been working well for Bass. The Catfish are hitting the usual stinky stuff and should line up fairly quickly to your spot. Remember that you can fish all night at Mundo. The Rainbow Trout have also been biting well on bait and flies. Green powerbait deep is working well and a wide variety flies both dry and nymphs are hot.
Enbom Lake is currently weedy, but it should be cleaned up by the Holiday weekend. The Rainbows are growing fast in there and there should be a few of the trophies still lurking as well.We are harvesting the weeds to create some avenues for float tubes to maneuver around in. There has been some surface action at Enbom the past couple of weeks especially in the mornings and evenings.
Stone Lake has been slow despite excellent water quality and a significant reduction in plant growth from last year at this time. Several people have seen the Bass becoming active on the shorelines, but no word on any hook-ups lately. I have only heard of a few people at Stone lately, and one bite between the three. For now, I would recommend Stone Lake to only the serious trophy hunters. Have a safe Holiday weekend, and come join us for the Fishing Derby on July 12th.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 6/24/08

We are back online with your weekly fishing reports. Please excuse last week’s absence; I was in Missouri for training. I also have to announce that the Pony Express Three Species Fishing Derby which was scheduled for Saturday June 28th will be postponed until Saturday July 12th. We have had some difficulties arranging various aspects of the derby and simply don’t want to diminish what is sure to be a great event. A flyer will be posted shortly on the site with details, but we have a great list of prizes as well as raffles, on site food vendors and a load (1250lbs.) of large trout (16+”) to mix things up. Several of the fish will be tagged for the derby and might win you an annual fishing permit for the 2009-2010 season. The large fish will be stocked into Mundo Lake on Tuesday July 2nd for those of you who will be on the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes for the Holiday weekend. Please help us let everyone know that the derby will be postponed and we are very sorry for inconveniences this late change may have caused you. The fishing has slowed down on the Jicarilla Lakes the past week. Water temps (low 70’s) are finally starting to slow down the trout, but the Bass and Catfish are happy and hungry.
Mundo Lake has been fishing fair for Rainbows in the 8-12” range with the occasional 14+” fish mixed in. Most of the pressure lately has been from bait anglers with powerbait and worms. I have not received info on the fly side of things, but I did observe random voracious rises while I was doing water quality sampling this morning. Given the hard sometimes airborn rises, I would guess that they are attempting to intersect the damselfly adults that are constantly cruising the lakes surface. I recommend that flyfishermen bring an assortment of dry flies including Damsels and Bass poppers as well as a variety of beadhead nymphs. The water has cleared up substantially after a relatively minor green algae bloom for the past couple of weeks. The Bass and Catfish have been very active and fishing for both species is good right now. The Bass can be seen in the clear water cruising around the submerged and emergent vegetation that exists around the majority of the lakes shoreline. They too are pursuing the adult Damselflies with acrobatic maneuvers and there is a definite niche for top water stuff right now. However, I would suggest weedless flies and lures as opposed to advil if you are targeting these feisty fighters. Two mentionable Bass were caught measured and released last week by local anglers. One measured 18” and the other 19”, and both fish were estimated over 5 lbs. I have some pictures of these beauties that I will post ASAP in the photo gallery. Spinnerbaits, frogs, plastic worms and grubs and probably others should get you into the Bass at Mundo right now. The Channel Catfish have also been fishing well, especially in the late evening and well into the night. The local favorite is beef liver but any of the typical stinkbaits should produce. There is a healthy population of 14-16” cats in Mundo, so keeping the 10”ers may not be necessary.
Enbom Lake has nice fat trout that are jumping continuously for the Damsels but access is very limited due to weed and filamentous algae growth. About the only feasible fishing is for flyfishermen using dry flies from the shorelines. We will have the weed harvester out there either late this week, or early next week, but definitely before the holiday weekend.
Yet again we have heard very little from Stone Lake. The few folks that have been out have had very little luck, with a bite or two in a day. One fish in the 14” range was caught that I know of but who knows how the fishing really is. I can tell you that the water quality is in terrific shape for this time of year and the weeds are not a problem as of yet. There are millions of damselflies migrating towards the shore and crawling out. This is the primary invertebrate food source for these fish and they should be lining up to gorge on them. I think that they are hanging a little off the shore in deeper water but not in the middle where there is less habitat for the Damselfly nymphs. I can also tell you that there are some tremendous Rainbows in Stone Lake that even had the USFWS guys wide eyed during a recent electrofishing sample. Please call (505-759-3255) or email (terrykev@gmail.com)with any news from Stone Lake, so that I can assimilate a better report for you all. It’s toooo HOT out there not to fish so throw a line.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 6/10/08

The Jicarilla Fishing lakes are maintaining great water quality for this time of year. The water temps are still in the 60’s with colder reserves at the bottom. This means that the trout are still comfortable and should be feeding consistently. However, The lake with the best water quality is Stone Lake which is still fishing extremely slow. Enbom and Mundo are holding up the slack though, as they are both fishing well. The date is set for the three species derby, which will be held on Saturday June 28th. Details for this event including prizes, categories, and entry fees will be posted shortly on the website, in the ABQ journal, and at our various vendor locations. This will be year two for this derby and promises to be a lot of fun. Another load of large Rainbows will be stocked prior to the derby and should throw a twist into an already diverse event.
Stone Lake is looking great with cool clear water and a bustle of insect activity (damselflies). However, in this case looks are deceiving and yet another week has passed by without a positive report. In fact, we have received very little feedback from Stone recently and the law enforcement and other game and fish employees have noticed a sharp decline in angler pressure. We will be surveying Stone Lake this week via electrofishing and trammel nets and will have some size and hopefully population data to report next week. In the meantime we need some of you seasoned veterans to get out and crack the slump. That’s right folks, we are looking for a few good men and women to catch the notorious hogs of Stone Lake.
Mundo is still fishing well despite a green algae bloom that has reduced visibility to approximately 3-4ft. The best reports are from anglers fishing bait on or near the bottom. Flies including top water patterns in the evenings and nymphs all day have rivaled the bait fishermen for the best action on the Lake. The water on the bottom is 4-5 degrees cooler and is holding more dissolved oxygen. Powerbait and worms are the hot baits for trout right now. Spinners and pistolpetes are a good option for spin casters, and will most likely result in a Trout and Bass creel mix. Bass anglers are doing well with plastics near vegetation and the season for weedless lures is approaching quickly. The inundated willows and reeds are holding good numbers of Largemouth Bass and top water action has been observed. The catfish are hitting on the bottom with liver. We have yet to see anything over 25” but several 18-22” catfish have been reported.
Enbom Lake is currently the best trout fishing on the reservation. They are hitting on powerbait especially the green and rainbow colors. Flies are currently taking the show out there, and a float tube will increase the catch rate substantially. Folks often forget that smaller boats can launch at Enbom as well. Damselfy nymphs or green beadhead wolly buggers are the fan favorite, but pheasant tails, prince nymphs, and hares ears have all been working. Spincasters are also picking up there share of Rainbows with panther martins, castmasters, midget daredevils and pistol petes behind a bubble. The evening hours between 7 and 8:30 have also produced relatively good surface action.
Horse Lake and the Navajo River are currently not recommended for fishing. Have fun and don’t forget the sun block.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist