Jicarilla Fish Weblog

Fishing Report 3/31/08

Well what should be the season opener fishing report is actually a lake conditions report. As it stands today Stone Lake is around 70% open water, and is very turbid with visibility less than 1 foot. Theoretically Stone is fishable, but fishing is not recommended right now. The lake should be clear of ice by the end of the week, but it will take some time to let the sediment settle out. On a more positive note, the runoff this year has been tremendous and we are currently 4 feet from the spillway. I don’t think that we will fill it all the way up this year, but this is as close as it has been in a decade. We have passed the peak of runoff so now we just have to wait for the lake to clear up and we will be in the money. Given the dynamic conditions, I will be reporting more frequently until the lake conditions stabilize.
Mundo Lake is also virtually unfishable and is holding more ice than Stone. Mundo has been spilling for over a week and will be at absolute capacity when it starts fishing in two to three weeks. As most of you know, we typically have spring gill net data and stocking reports by now but this year we will be around a month late. Stay tuned, as info will be coming in regularly.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 3/25/08

The big runoff we have been expecting is finally here at the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. The water is flowing into Stone Lake and raising the lake level daily. Mundo Lake has also been catching its share and is presently brimming threatening the emergency spillway and the parking lot for which it is better known. The main ice sheet at both lakes is still thick and has not been breaking up yet. However the edges of both lakes are mostly open water, and attempting to access the ice is very dangerous. Therefore, fishing the Jicarilla Lakes is currently not possible. We will be reporting changes to the conditions regularly, and keeping our fingers crossed for open water on the April 1st Stone Lake opener.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 3/18/08

The long winter is finally taking its toll on the dissolved oxygen levels in Mundo Lake. There is no immediate danger of a winterkill event, but the fish have responded by distributing themselves in the upper half of the water column. The top 10 ft or so have suitable oxygen levels for Trout and a few fish will intermittently cruise even deeper. In terms of angling, the best approach is to start halfway from the bottom and work your way up. By setting up in the deeper water, you have a larger zone to fish before the oxygen levels dissipate. Recently, fish have been taken as little as 2 feet below the ice. The edges of the lake, especially the areas where water is flowing in, are very thin and at times open water. Please use caution when entering onto the lake as these zones will change daily depending on the weather. Keep this in mind as well when you are leaving for the day as your entry spot may have changed. The primary ice sheet is still thick, measuring in the 14-16” range. The ice has been groaning and making cracking noises, which may be kind of eerie at times. This is normal for this time of year when there is a larger difference between day and night temperatures. We will be watching the lake closely, and will report if we feel conditions are dangerous.
As for the actual fishing report side of things, pressure has been fairly light, and we have not received very many reports. Game and fish officer Adaline Montoya reported that a 20” Rainbow was taken from Mundo on Saturday (3/15). Rosenburg Tafoya and I spent two hours on the lake this morning while conducting water quality testing. Without fishing constantly we managed to catch 8 Rainbows and missed another 10 or so. We were jigging with 1/4oz. neon green jig heads attached to small white with glitter shad tubes. The largest fish was 14” and the smallest two were both 7-8”. The other 5 were in the 11-13”class. All of the fish were caught between 2-10 feet from the ice, and we were set up in 20 feet of water around 100ft out from the middle of the dam. The sun is shining and the fish are biting, so why not get into both at Mundo Lake.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Sorry Folks,
Our web service has been down for a few days, so I couldn't upload the report until now.

Since I wrote the report on Tuesday I have heard some positive news for all of you waiting for the Stone Lake opener on April 1st. Three tribal members caught 11 fish in the 18-21+" range on Tuesday with barb less spoons and spinners. The ice is the only thing in our way now for a good opener. We will be watching closely so stay tuned. Here is Tuesday's report.

Fishing Report 3-11-08

Fishing on Mundo Lake has slowed down a little this past week, but remains good for Rainbows in the 11-13” size class. The bottom 2-5 feet is becoming depleted of oxygen and has moved the fish up higher in the water column. Start fishing around 4 feet off the bottom and move up from there to try to get a bead on the depth that the fish are currently feeding. Since Mundo is naturally shallow, you may want to try the deeper spots in front of the dam and 50 ft out from the east shoreline. If you aren’t in at least 8 feet of water, consider moving out a little. Rainbows have been caught within two feet of the ice so don’t be too concerned about fishing close to the ice. The baits that have been working include corn, salmon eggs, powerbait, and worms. Perch and Bass jigs are also working well and help when trying to find the right depth. The water is beginning to run off, so the edges of the ice may be slushy and fragile where water is coming in. Use caution around these areas. The ice sheet itself is still in good shape, with 14-16” of solid ice. Warm afternoons have made for extremely comfortable ice fishing conditions but reek havoc on the roads around Mundo. The road to the spillway is decent, but the section that actually climbs to the spillway itself has a large mud puddle that may consume smaller 2wd vehicles. The J-8 (stone lake road) pullout above the lake on the east side is muddy as well. There is one small cement slab on the northeast corner with room for 2 vehicles if you don’t want to deal with the mud at all. Make sure to bring sunscreen this week, since we do have an extra hour of the good stuff.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 3/4/08

The word is excellent when out on the ice at the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes this week. Sunshine, blue skies, and hungry trout are calling your name from Mundo Lake. With spring right around the corner, your favorite ice fishing t-shirt can be utilized at last. The ice is holding strong despite the warm weather and is still in the 14-16” range with either compacted snow or slush on top. There are only 3 and ½ weeks until the season opener, so it is likely that we will be fishing through the ice on April 1st. The bite is on at Mundo for Rainbow trout in the 10-13” range, with the occasional 16” fish mixed in. Various reports of locations, techniques, and tackle have come in from anglers this week. All of these reports have one thing in common, the fishing is good. Whether fishing with jigs or bait you stand a very good chance of getting your limit in 1-2 hours, or catching as many as 30 fish in a day if you are releasing the fish alive. The hot baits reported are yellow powerbait, corn, and salmon eggs. Worms are working also but seem to be a little slow comparably. The jigs reported are white and chartreuse 1/32oz perch jigs. Also, one angler reported that the fish appear to be off the bottom a few feet or so. A few anglers have tried for catfish with variable success. The smelliest baits you can find seem to be the key for cats through the ice. A few Bass have also made an appearance lately, but targeting these guys is not recommended right now. The roads in and around Mundo have been muddy in the afternoons, so bringing the new Bentley is a bad idea right now. Hope to see you all on the ice.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist