Jicarilla Fish Weblog

The recent monsoon weather patterns have been bringing consistent afternoon showers to the Jicarilla fishing lakes. The cold rain and cloud cover has helped buffer the surface temperatures, resulting in more surface activity throughout the day. The water clarity remains excellent at all of the lakes, and temperatures have stabilized in the mid to upper 70’s. This week the Jicarilla Game and Fish Department is announcing a change in regulations for Largemouth Bass at Mundo and Stone Lakes. We are eliminating the size limit (previously 14,16”), and increasing the creel limit to two fish per day (4 in possession).
Mundo Lake has been fishing very well for Largemouth Bass and Channel Catfish, and well for Rainbows in the mornings and late evenings. The Bass are very active and have been responding to grubs, spoons, rapalas, and top water patterns like poppers and frog imitations that don’t accumulate as many weeds. Two local anglers called in a report of Bass fishing at Mundo over the weekend. These two gentlemen were fishing from the shore, and caught 62 Bass between them. They walked around the lake and spent the majority of the day doing so, but were rewarded for their time and effort. The largest fish they landed was 19” and estimated at 5-6 lbs. Channel catfish have also been hitting anything stinky and have come in up to 30”. The Catfishing has been better in the evenings, and into the night.
Enbom Lake has had light pressure, and is best fished from a float tube or small cataraft. When the Rainbows are hitting the surface with regularity, big attractor patterns stripped noisily will get attention. If the fish are down, or rising randomly, try stripping or trolling green wollybuggers with various beadheads including damselfly nymphs behind them. Bait fishermen should use bobbers to keep the bait above the aquatic vegetation and visible to the cruising trout.
Stone Lake has had a little pressure lately, and the trout fishing is still slow. The best action is for Largemouth Bass with rapalas, and large grubs including salamander and frog imitations. A boat is the best way to cover water at Stone Lake. Look for Bass along the shorelines and in the pockets amongst the weed beds. Be prepared for the possibility of large trout hitting as well.
There have not been any reports from Horse Lake this week.

Kevin Terry – Fisheries Biologist

The Jicarilla Fishing Lakes seem to have reached a stable trend in both fishing and water quality. The surface water temperatures have been in the middle 70’s across the board, and the clarity is great on all of the lakes. Nuisance weeds and filamentous algae have limited anglers to the upper portion of the water column. Dissolved oxygen levels are right around 100% saturation in the upper column, helping the fish to remain active and stress free. The high temperatures have been making the Rainbows more lethargic in the heat of the day. Therefore, the best action for trout has been in the early mornings and late into the evenings. Conditions are just right for the Largemouth Bass in both Stone Lake and Mundo Lake, and a stroll along the shorelines of either will reveal cruisers anxious for a nice grub or lure to slam.
Mundo Lake is still fishing well for all three of the main fish species, and the potential is there for bluegill which is rarely targeted directly. The trout continue to feed on the surface in the mornings, evenings, and randomly throughout the day. Anglers have reported success with a wide variety of dryfly patterns, as well as wollybuggers and beadheads. Large flashy streamers or brightly colored pistol petes should provoke both Rainbows and Largemouth, and may help attract larger fish of both species. For bait fishermen, powerbait and worms fished from a bobber between 2-7 feet have been popular for trout fishing. Grubs, jigs, rapalas, and virtually anything that wiggles (watch the Chihuahuas closely) are bound to get attention from the Largemouth. Fly fishermen waiting out the heat, shouldn’t hesitate to try poppers in the reeds and cattails along the shorelines. The Channel Catfish are still hitting well on various stink baits, and seem to be well dispersed throughout the lake.
Enbom Lake is fishing well from float tubes for Rainbows up to 23”. The top water action has been good with attracter patterns including grasshoppers and stimulators fished actively in the pockets around the vegetation. Nymphs including princes and pheasant tails have also been reported successful. There haven’t been any reports of bait fishing at Enbom lately. Remember that camping at Enbom is free to anglers with a valid Jicarilla fishing permit.
The trout fishing at Stone Lake has been very slow, and the few anglers out there have reported a catch rate of approximately 1 fish per 5+ hours of fishing. There have been a few rising fish in the mornings, but these fish are randomly distributed, and seem to spook easily to the presence of boats. On the contrary, the Largemouth Bass are very curious and actively cruising shorelines and pockets in the vegetation. During a routine water quality check last week, I was able to get 3 good strikes and 1 fish in 5 casts from the Southside boat ramp. I simply threw on the first grub and jig head that I came across in the tackle box (light brown with a yellow head) and ended up landing a nice 12” Bass in great shape ( In Bass terms that means he had a huge belly). This is essentially an untapped resource when considering the Jicarilla Lakes, and carries with it an appeal of the unknown, and the hope for that Monster that has been undisturbed and steadily devouring the seemingly unlimited supply of salamanders in Stone Lake for the last 5 years. Take Pictures and bring a net just in case.
Horse Lake has had very little pressure this season. The most recent report was from an angler who spent an unsuccessful hour there over the weekend. The population of Rainbows in Horse is primarily composed of the 15,000 fish stocked in late March, which means lower densities than past years. Fishing from a small boat and covering a lot of water should be a good strategy for finding the fish in Horse Lake. Assuming, the typical growth rates in Horse (~2”/month), these stockers should be between 11-13” by now. Make sure that you bring plenty of water, sunscreen, and a raincoat for quick afternoon thunderstorms.

Kevin Terry – Fisheries Biologist

The Fishing on the Jicarilla Lakes over the past week has literally been hot and cold. The Rainbows continue to bite well at Mundo Lake, especially in the mornings and evenings when the surface temperatures are cooler. During these times there is good surface action with a wide variety of dry flies, including mayfly and caddis size #10-14. However, the fish don’t seem to be too picky when they are rising in numbers, and the frenzy carries over to subsurface action with wollybuggers, pistol petes and baits including worms and powerbait. In the midday heat, the Rainbows seem to slow down and the action switches to the Largemouth Bass. The Bass have been actively cruising around the reeds and rocks on the North and Northeast shorelines and have themselves been displaying some acrobatic rises from time to time. They seem to be very active, and a good splash with an interesting grub or bass lure is sure to get at least a curious customer. The high visibility in Mundo right now has made for good sight fishing for Largemouth. The Catfishing has been best in the late evenings and into the night. They are responding best to stinky baits fished between 4 and 8 feet below a bobber. The 3-species tournament on Saturday was a big success, and the Jicarilla Game and Fish Department would like to thank all of you who came out. Look for pictures from the event in the photo gallery (coming soon).
We finally received a report from Stone Lake, and the verdict is tough fishing for the Rainbows. The angler report is two days, two anglers and one hook up from a lunker who broke the line and proceeded to display himself fully in the air within a rods distance of the cataraft. Any way you cut it, that is frustrating fishing. However, There are largemouth Bass in Stone Lake and they are actively cruising the shorelines. Very few anglers are targeting these fish, and a Bass enthusiast may find his or herself all alone with 300 acres of potential.
There haven’t been any reports from either Horse Lake or Enbom Lake lately, but the water conditions indicate that the Rainbows should be behaving similarly to fish in Mundo, with more action in the mornings and late evenings. Any fishing information from these lakes can be called in to the Jicarilla Game and Fish Department at (505) 759-3255 or emailed to me at terrykev@gmail.com.
Kevin Terry- Fisherie

MUNDO LAKE THREE SPECIES FISHING TOURNAMENT

The tournament will be held on Saturday July 7th at Mundo Lake

Registration begins at 7:00 am at the Mundo Lake spillway and the tournament will end at 4:00pm. The weigh in will be at the same location.

Admission is $20 for adults without a Jicarilla permit or $15 for adults with a Jicarilla permit.
Children 12 and under will be $5.

There will be three prizes awarded in the adult division based on the creel weight for each of three species.

The creel Limit for Trout (browns and rainbows) will be 6 fish and the heaviest six fish will take home a Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) professional series 9 foot, 6 weight 4-piece fly rod with a TFO mkII reel and rod case. Retail Value- $325

The creel limit for Largemouth Bass will be three fish of any size (NOT NORMAL LIMIT) and the heaviest creel will take home a Temple Fork outfitters spinning rod and reel with rod case
Retail value -$175

The creel limit for Channel Catfish will be 8 fish and the heaviest creel will take home a 4 person raft set -Retail Value $160 dollars

Door prizes and prizes for the three heaviest combined creels in the Kids division will also be distributed.

An on-site raffle will be held at 4:30pm for $10 a ticket.

1st prize- guided cow elk hunt with 2 nights at the Jicarilla Best Western ($1400 value)
2nd prize- Spring Turkey permit ($500 value)
3rd prize- Waterfowl Season Permit ($100 value)
4th,5th,6th- ANNUAL FISHING PERMITS ($60 value)

All of the proceeds of the tournament will go to the pony express race during the little beaver festivities

The tournament layout may be a little confusing, but rest assured that there will be a detailed rules list available at the registrars table on Saturday.

Also questions about the event may be called in to Kevin Terry at the The Jicarilla Game and Fish Department (505) 759-3255

The outlook is promising on the Jicarilla fishing lakes for the
Holiday weekend. We are gearing up for the tournament at Mundo Lake on Saturday (7/7/07) and the fishing should be great. We are two weeks out of the massive green algae bloom at Mundo, and the water clarity has improved drastically. In fact, strolling around the lake will reveal hundreds of Largemouth bass, Bluegill, and Trout slowly cruising through the cattails and aquatic macrophytes (weeds). The channel catfish can also be seen in the shallows guarding their nests and fending of intruders. The fishing has been good for all of the species and each has been hitting a wide variety of baits and lures. The Rainbows have been attacking the surface throughout the day, with energetic aerials probably aimed at the hovering damselflies ovipositing their eggs. Pistol petes, wollybuggers, and virtually any dry flies should get good action. Spinners have also been working well for the Rainbows and the Largemouth. Powerbait and worms off a bobber are good options for bait fishing for trout. Grubs in the reeds and along the shorelines will take Bass (and some weeds). Young of the year Largemouth and bluegill are present in good numbers, and imitation lures should do well for the bigger Bass and possibly even Catfish. The Catfish are in their spawning cycle and can be seen guarding nests in shallow areas. The catfishing has been good with traditional stinky baits, and some large fish have been caught lately. David Skinner caught a 26.5” 7 lb Channel Cat on Sunday (7/1/07) and had another over 20” in his creel. You can see his picture in the photo gallery on the website.
Enbom has had light pressure despite feeding fish throughout the day. Fishing from the bank can be frustrating due to weed and algae growth (we’re doing our best to control it). The conditions are prime for float tubing. Spinners and powerbait have been named as working well in the very few reports we received. Remember, camping at Enbom is free as long as you have a fishing permit.
There hasn’t been a single report from Stone Lake in over two weeks, and the lake has been devoid of anglers almost every time a Game and Fish employee has passed by. The Large scale green algae bloom that covered the lake last week has killed off and the clarity is good, especially around the aerators where the Rainbows should be disproportionately congregated. Large flashy lures and flies are a suggestion for brave anglers who want to give it a shot. Don’t forget that there are Largemouth in Stone Lake, and the conditions are perfect for these warm water fish. Any report whatsoever from Stone Lake will be welcomed with open arms and will help all of us in our pursuit of the monsters within. Have a great weekend and I hope to see you at Mundo on Saturday.

-Kevin Terry, fisheries biologist