Jicarilla Fish Weblog

Fishing Report 12/18/07

The Jicarilla fishing lakes are still in transition from open water to stable ice conditions. Mundo and Enbom are currently very dangerous with thin soft ice and a few open spots in the afternoons. The nights have been good and cold the past week, but the ice still hasn’t been able to dominate these lakes. Horse Lake does have a full cover with about 2-3”s of stable ice below 1” of soft slushy ice. The conditions at Horse are still considered very dangerous. However, I was able to get out on the ice yesterday 12/17/07 in the afternoon for an hour of fishing. There were two other anglers who are presumed to be the first on the ice this season. They caught two limits (12 trout) of 15-17” Rainbows in the 1.5-2 lb range. They were using eggs of various colors and caught approximately 1 fish per hour per angler. You can expect almost every fish to be in this size range because of last years winterkill and spring stocking of one size class. The conditions out there were nerve racking, and extreme precautions are necessary. Pilot holes close to shore are highly recommended, as is fishing with multiple people in a group. DO NOT push your luck if something seems amiss or if you hear loud cracking. Be very cautious in the afternoons when the sun is the strongest at Horse. Carry ropes and blankets should an accident occur. We will be following the ice developments very closely and will report changes. For now please do not attempt to get on the ice at Enbom or Mundo. One gentleman fell through the ice at Mundo on 12/17/07 and was very lucky to have friends with a rope. Ice is never completely safe so please be careful out there.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 12/4/07

The Jicarilla Fishing Lakes are currently at battle with ice cover. Horse, Enbom, and more recently Stone are all 90% covered and threatening to kick the ducks out any day. This may be a little early for the eagles that line up for a concentrated feast, but we are ready to get out on the ice and keep fishing. We will start ice thickness monitoring in a week or two depending on the weather and ice development. As always, we will do our best to get this information to you as soon as we feel that conditions are relatively safe. Mundo Lake is the last hold out, and the only possibility for open water fishing right now. However, ice is forming on the edges in the mornings and extends to 15 feet from the shore in places. This makes it hard to fish from the shore until the afternoons if it warms up enough. A trailered boat can break through the thin ice and is the most reliable way to access the lake right now. Surprisingly enough, there haven’t been any recent reports, and probably won’t be until stable ice conditions arrive. The ice and water temperatures make for extremely dangerous conditions right now, so please take care and be safe out there. Stay tuned for information on ice fishing and get ready for the second annual Jicarilla Ice fishing Tourney in January.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist