Jicarilla Fish Weblog

Fishing Report 9-30-08

Fishing on the Jicarilla Lakes has been good and looks to be getting better as we get cooler and cooler weather. The daytime temps are still getting into the 70’s but the nights are hitting the 30’s consistently and pulling the water temps down into the low 60’s. Enbom and Mundo have both been fishing very well for trout, and the cats are still hitting at Mundo. Stone has been vacant of anglers, but looks good. The Navajo River is running clean and may have some browns moving in from the San Juan for spawning season. October is here, so don’t wait too long to plan your fall fishing trip.
Weed harvesting is complete and fishing is good at Mundo Lake. The best reports at Mundo this week are from bait anglers. Salmon eggs and powerbait in yellow and orange have been hot. Powereggs are working well also. The Catfish are hitting on liver and several large specimens have been found dead attached to a hook, line, sinker, and in 2 cases a bobber. These bigger fish most likely entangled themselves in the vegetation and forced a break off. Fishing from the top down or using heavy line that allows the angler more leverage might help alleviate that problem. However, don’t get too excited about the King Cat since the average fish is around 10-13”. In fact, my most recent complaint from Mundo is that there are too many small catfish. There haven’t been any reports of Bass lately, but Rosenburg ( Fisheries Technician) spotted some big Bass on the southside while he was harvesting weeds.
Enbom continues to fish well for Rainbows in the 11-14” range. These fish are hitting bait including powereggs and salmon eggs as well as lures and flies. The water is clear and cold (60 F) and the weeds are breaking up and falling down. I had a chance to fish Enbom this morning for 2 hours with my fly rod. I started with a big parachute Adams (#10) and caught three fish in 20 minutes. 2 of these fish were targeted after the rise and 1 was a blind cast. I switched to a # 10 royal wulf and caught another 4 fish in approximately 45 minutes. Things were starting to slow down so I switched to a green and black sparkle wollybugger beadhead. Apparently this was the color since I caught 3 fish in 5 casts and had the chance to watch it all from the rocks on the southside. The fish were hitting the bugger hard and the 4th fish took my fly. I was forced to switch to a brown beadhead bugger that was the same size and caught 3 or 4 more. However the fish were more wary of the brown and it seemed to get follow ups and soft hits comparably. I would call the fishing good and the weather great. Bring the float tube and enjoy a truly special spot.
Stone Lake is next on the list for the weed harvester, which will be launched tomorrow (10/1). The first stage will be focused near the shorelines which should open up bank access by the weekend. Nature is helping out with substantial fall down and breaking up of weeds occurring. The water temp is in the low 60’s and the pH is around 9. There are no reports from Stone this week. October is well known as a good month at Stone, so I expect to see you out there.
The Navajo River is clear and looking fishy. Several locals have been doing well for rainbows with worms. Migratory browns should be moving up from the San Juan in the next few weeks to spawn. The Navajo River is an option for those of you looking for moving water and a new spot.
Horse Lake is still in poor shape but might be worth a shot if you have a float tube or small boat. We stocked 15,000 fish this spring, and they should be fat and greedy by now. Lures or streamers including wollybuggers would be my suggestion if you try Horse. This is a fabulous location to hear elk bugle early in the morning and late into the evenings. Have a great week.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 9-23-08

The fish guy is back, and fall fishing is here, so let’s start things off with a free day of fishing at the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. That’s right, the Jicarilla Game and Fish Department would like to invite you to a free day of fishing on Saturday September 27th. Anglers will not be required to have a Jicarilla fishing permit on 9-27-08 but will still be responsible for following the regulations set forth in the 2008-2009 Jicarilla fishing proclamation. This day is the National Hunting and Fishing Day and free fishing will also be allowed on all public waters in the state of New Mexico. This is a good chance to come and check out the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes if you haven’t been here before, or make a day trip up if it has been a few years since your last visit.
Mundo Lake is currently fishing fair to good for Rainbow Trout in the 10-14” range. Powerbait, worms, and salmon eggs are working for bait anglers who will be glad to know that weed harvesting will be complete by Thursday at Mundo. Flies and lures are also working and will tend toward a mixed bag of Bass, Bluegill, and Trout. The deeper water in front of the dam (north side) is still holding larger trout and good numbers of Bass and Bluegill. There hasn’t been any recent news from Cat fishermen which is surprising given the recent full moon. I would expect that the cats have slowed a bit due to the dropping water temps, but they should still be catchable in good numbers.
Enbom Lake has been fishing very well for Rainbow Trout in the chunky12-14” range. These fish are feisty little guys with a weakness for flies and lures. The fish in Enbom have been quite surface oriented, but will hit bait on the bottom also. The hot powerbait colors are yellow, green, and orange. Flies continue to reign as king at Enbom with fish hitting a wide variety of surface and sub-surface patterns. Olive and black wollybuggers are a good consistent pattern for this fishery. Lures including daredevils, castmasters , and panther martins are rivaling flies for action in Enbom. One angler reported catching approximately 15 fish per hour at Enbom using a small holographic panther martin.
Stone Lake has had a little pressure ( 3 anglers that I know of ) in the past couple of weeks. From that info I have a total of one fish to report. This fish was a fat 14” Largemouth taken on the east side of the lake where Elk Creek drains into Stone during the spring runoff. One angler reported a ton of action on his fish finder but zero hits on the line in 4 hours of fishing. It seems like Stone is still being tough with us, but I think that we need some more info to make a sound judgment. As the Jicarilla Veterans among you know, October and November can be great at Stone.
Horse Lake is still not recommended for fishing. A few good folks have given it a try to no avail, and the clarity remains poor with a lingering algae issue. I hope that everyone has a great week, and gets the chance to wet a line on free fishing Saturday (9/27/08).

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 9-9-08

Things are really beginning to feel like fall on the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. The overnight temps have been dipping down into the upper 30’s and the days are getting shorter and shorter. The water temps are on a downward trend, and the aquatic weeds should begin to fall out and die. There hasn’t been much for fishing reports lately, as the local folks are gearing up for hunting season as well as the Go-Jiya celebration which takes place at Stone Lake this weekend. I haven’t received any emails lately either. What I have heard is primarily coming from Mundo and Enbom.
Mundo is fishing fair to good for trout in the 11-13” range. Flies and lures have the best reports, but bait is working as well. The weeds are currently being harvested at Mundo and the lake will be cut by the weekend. Catfish are biting on a number of stinkbaits as well as lures and flies. No news on Bass, but given the robust population size they shouldn’t be hard to find if you are looking.
Enbom has slowed down considerably for trout. They are still biting and continue to be surface oriented. The weeds are back and making things tough for bait anglers which may reflect the less positive reports lately. Fly fishermen can still do very well with dry flies including grasshoppers, elk hair caddis, and parachute adams. Spin casters can use casting bubbles to fish dry flies and stay out of the weeds. The Rainbows in Enbom are fat 12-14” fish with a few to 20”.
Stone is slightly off color this week with a weak green algae bloom taking place. The temps are on their way down and fall is typically a very good time to fish Stone Lake. Things should really get better by the end of the month and all of October. Weed harvesting at Stone will be taking place the week of September 22nd. There hasn’t been any news from Stone lately but that should change soon as the veterans come back for fall action. If you are going to be at Stone this weekend (9/13-9/16) don’t be surprised to see a couple of thousand people camping on the north side for the tribes annual Go-Jiya celebration.
Fall fishing in northern New Mexico can be some of the year’s best, and we are hoping for a good one on the Jicarilla Lakes. The elk are bugling and they might just be calling you out to the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist