Jicarilla Fish Weblog

Fishing Report 11/26/07

Winter has finally arrived at the Jicarilla fishing lakes. The Thanksgiving storm managed to cover the entire reservation with a blanket of snow. In some areas, like Horse Lake, the snow accumulated to more than 12 inches, and the roads are still in pretty bad shape. Despite the snow and the cold nights the lakes are still trying to give you some last minute open water opportunities. This holds especially true for Stone Lake, which will close for the year to non-tribal anglers on Saturday December 1st. For those of you who look forward to ice season, it may happen after all. The official ice season begins on Dec. 15th and don’t forget that this year you can purchase a 2nd pole stamp for $10/season (12/15-3/15) or $3/day.
Mundo Lake is currently free of ice but as you know that can change in a heartbeat. There was a fair amount of action over the weekend for Rainbows in the 10-12” range. The majority of the pressure was from bait fisherman using powerbait and worms. Throwing lures and flies should be just as productive, but who knows. Lately the black beadhead wollybugger seems to be the fly pattern of choice for the few late season fly fishermen. The last of the seasonal docks were removed this morning (11/26) at Mundo so be prepared for fishing from the shore. The weeds are down so casting from the shore should be relatively stress free.
Enbom is still in fishing condition and has some really nice death row inmates looking for an alternative to a water burial. Your dinner table is as good a place as any. The reports have been slow to come in, and have been few in numbers so who really knows what’s going on out there? A local angler told me that it was slow on bait last week, but it may still be worth a shot if you are in the area.
Horse Lake is typically the first to ice over and seems to be heading in that direction. However, the long term forecast suggests a warm mild winter, so don’t hang up the rod yet. The road to Horse is snow packed and will soon be very muddy. A 4wd is necessary right now, and if the mud is bad won’t be enough. I will update the website in a few days for road conditions to Horse. The Ice is covering about two thirds of the lake right now, but will probably recede before it eventually conquers. There haven’t been any reports at Horse due to the weather, but November is typically a good month out there. Ice anglers stay tuned for ice thickness monitoring beginning in December.
Stone Lake is just about done for the year for non-tribal anglers. Friday November 30th will be the last day of the season and given the info from a Thanksgiving angler, it may be worth one last trip. Adam Jimenez Jr. and his son Caleb decided to get out for a try on Wednesday (11/21) and got into some good fish. All in all, they hooked into nine fish including a couple in the 3-4lb. range and one line buster. They were throwing mini jigs and primarily drifted the east shorelines along the weed lines. This report fits in with the recent trend of good fishing at Stone and is threatening to leave this chair empty on Friday (11/30). I hate to say it, but this is LAST CALL for the Stone Lake Bombers.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 11-20-07

Fishing has been consistent and fair at the Jicarilla fishing lakes lately. The fish per hour rate has gone down at Mundo and Enbom but Trout are still being caught at both lakes. Horse and Stone have been hit or miss, but in general the fishing is better than it was during the summer months. All of the lakes except Mundo have good average sizes that will make the extra fishing time worthwhile. There has also been a marked decrease in fishing pressure, so who knows what you could get into out there.
Mundo Lake is fishing well for Rainbows with bait, lures, and flies and the water clarity is excellent. Powerbait and night crawlers are the local favorites for bait. Spinners, spoons and beadhead nymphs including princes and wollybuggers are all working out there as well. We removed two of the three floating docks at Mundo, leaving the one at the spillway. There haven’t been any reports on Catfish or Bass, but the Rainbows are averaging 12” and seem to be feeding pretty well.
Enbom is still holding some really nice Rainbows that are averaging 15”. These fish are nice and fat and need to be taken out before the winter brings there almost certain doom. Pressure has been very low so the only report I have for you is that you have the opportunity for private fishing with a 20 trout limit. Olive wollybuggers and Chironomidae nymphs are patterns that emulate the primary diet for these fish, but spinners and powerbait will get good action too.
Horse Lake hasn’t been used by anything except thousands of ducks for the past week. This is a shame because November is traditionally a great month for Horse. The Rainbows are averaging 14-17+ and are very fat. If the rumors can be trusted, these fish are also pretty tough fighters and aerial all-stars. Small boats and float tubes are recommended, but some people have been throwing large hardware over the shallow weedy shores to limited success. Damselfly nymphs are always a good bet at Horse Lake. Black beadhead wollybuggers and various spinners have also been working out there. No word yet on bait but it may be worth a shot. I don’t even want to guess the catch rate out there but I know the fish are there.
Stone Lake is still a tough place for the impatient angler, but thos of you who put in the time can and will catch quality Rainbows up to 25”. Hiroshi Hoida a Jicarilla fishing veteran was able to entice three nice fish at Stone yesterday (11/19) from his raft with a size 16 wolly worm. His biggest fish was 21 1/2” (picture in gallery) and all three were caught near the boat ramp on the East side of the lake. Two other anglers were fishing from the shore on the same side, and had three strikes at 11am when I talked to them. We set the fall gill nets last week and excluding the fall stockers had an average of 17”. If we exclude the spring stockers the average was 19”, and the largest fish was 21.5”. We have seen larger fish in there so you can rest assured that the really big boys conveniently avoided our nets in order to be there for you. Come and get’em!

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 11-13-07

The fishing like the weather hasn’t changed much lately on the Jicarilla Lakes. Fair is probably the best description for the fishing right now. However, fat is the word for the condition of the fish that are being caught. Stone lake continues to fish better than it has for months, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll find nonstop action. There haven’t been any signs of ice forming on the lakes, so FISH ON.
Mundo has been fishing well for Rainbows in the 10 15” range. Worms and powerbait have become the staple for bait fisherman due to their unquestioned reliability at Mundo. About the only thing that changes is the color and orange is usually a good bet out there. Black bead head wollybuggers have been reported this week and are worth a try if you are out there. Spoons and spinners are also getting some action and may entice the larger fish that were stocked in October. The water is cool and clear and looks fishy.
Enbom has very fat healthy fish that need to be taken out due to the chronic winterkill events that are almost guaranteed at Enbom. I attempted to transplant some of these beauties to Mundo today (11/13/07) with an electrofishing boat, but had very little success. The conductivity of the water is not optimal for electrofishing, and we were only able to get a few (25) moved. I was able to get a good average size however, which is just shy of 15” and slightly over 1.5lbs. Powerbait has been taking trout at Enbom, as well as wollybuggers and various other flies and lures. 1-2 fish per hour is about the average right now, but I bet you’re better than that. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, this is a guilt free opportunity for you catch and releasers to supply those friends and family members with fresh trout that they always mention not getting after your excursions.
Horse Lake is still tough to put a finger on in terms of when what and how. About the only thing I can tell you for sure, is that if you do get into these feisty little buggers you will not forget this special lake. The football like Rainbows will probably have you cursing up a storm since the catch rate seems to be lagging behind the loss rate right now. I suppose that alright though because chances are you will be all alone out there. The south end of the lake seems to be fishing better, but there is a lot of water out there and a little boat with a trolling motor is the ticket to try it all. Float tubers and Catarafts can also cover plenty of ground. Big lures and spinners as well as streamers and wollybuggers are what I would try, but I don’t know how bait would do.
Stone Lake is getting better as slowly as it can without making me crazy. It seems like every week this fall a few more fish are getting caught tempting me to believe that there are indeed good numbers of trout in Stone. This week the report is for big hardware including spoons, spinners, and rapalas, as well as big bead head wollybuggers especially black. I hate to say it but 1 fish per 2 hours is about the norm right now. The payoff is that around half of these fish are in the 19-20+” range, and the other half are the same fat 15-16” fish that you’ll find at Horse. Bank access is also slowly improving, and is better on the North side and the East side of the lake. I will be setting the fall gill nets soon at Stone, so I should be able to report the exact averages by next week. Have fun and stay safe out there.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 11-6-07

The fishing lakes have been slow to fair on the Jicarilla Reservation. Nice healthy fish have been caught, but constant action has been hard to come by. The weather on the other hand has been spectacular, and may compensate for tough conditions. The water temperature is down in the low 50’s for all of the lakes and turnover is in progress. The top to bottom temperature difference is now approximately 1 degree centigrade and dissolved oxygen levels are relatively constant throughout the water column. The water clarity has suffered as a result of turnover leaving the water greenish with plant debris suspended. Mundo and Horse still have good clarity, but Enbom and Stone are a little turbid. This debris should fall out in the next week or two but successful fishing is possible right now.
The ever consistent Mundo Lake has continued its recent descent in fish production. However, a limit of trout can still be had with a little diligence. Powerbait and worms have been reported, especially the green sparkle Powerbait. A cat fishermen has also come forth to let you all know that they haven’t completely turned off. While his secret bait is still a secret, he told me that late night 10-12 has been the right time, and that fish began to hit 2 hrs after setting up at a good spot. Several 15-17” Rainbows that were stocked in early October have also shown up on the line. No word on the Bass but with the cool water that is no surprise. A lack of fly fisherman means a lack of fly fishing info, but not that flies won’t work.
Enbom has been off and on for Rainbows in the 14-16” range. The collective word is that bait is working better than flies and lures. Orange powerbait and orange power eggs on the bottom seem to get the fish to move. Float tubers and boaters shouldn’t hesitate to cover the water with wollybuggers, red midge larvae, and bead heads despite the recent slow trend. Castmasters and Spinners should also get hits. There is a no guilt policy in place right now at Enbom since the season is coming to an end and the fish rarely survive winter. There is a 20 trout limit in place right now so take them home or butter up your neighbors with fresh fish. The Jicarilla Game and Fish Department will begin transplanting fish on Nov 13th and 14th with electrofishing equipment. However this endeavor is relatively inefficient and should not scare anglers from fishing after the 14th.
Horse Lake has been the least predictable fishing lake on the reservation. Some people are getting into them thick and others are getting skunked. Piece work seems to suggest that the mornings are doing better but it is hard to tell. I personally spent a couple hours on horse yesterday (11/5) and managed to get two bites one follow up and one fish. The fish I caught was on a big traditional Mepps spinner but had hits on a yellow and red Panther Martin and a blue red and silver Thomas Cyclone. Another Game and Fish employee has been at horse lately and said that the blue and silver Thomas Buoyant has hooked him into some nice fish but failed him when it came to landing them. In fact, the word on Horse is that the trout are fat feisty and reluctant to get in a boat. The solitude and beauty of Horse may be just the thing for anyone who has to use I-25 regularly, so come on up.
Stone Lake while still relatively slow has been better than it has for months. Most of the action reported is on large hardware, but a few anglers have caught them on flies. There have even been some shore anglers on the east side who have had success. Castmasters, crocodiles, daredevils, and spoons have had limited success, as have big wollybuggers and double hackle pheasant tails. Three to five fish a day is considered a good day at Stone Right now to put it in perspective. The smallest trout reported thus far is 15” and obese, but most of them are in the 17-22” range. These fish are fighters so be prepared for fish over 5 lbs. The water clarity is at approximately 4 ft. which might account for the bigger lures and flies. Stone Lake is the place for the patient angler looking for that one giant hog on the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. Slack lines don’t catch fish, and neither do slackers so Tevo the game and get out here.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist