Jicarilla Fish Weblog

Fishing Report 10-28-08

The Jicarilla Fishing Lakes have been fishing fair to good across the board over the past week. Stone Lake has finally taken the spotlight, and most of the reports and recent attention has been focused there. The years largest Rainbow Trout was caught on Wednesday (10/22/08) at Stone Lake and weighed in at just over 9 lbs. Enbom Lake has slowed down quite substantially, but there are still trout to be caught. Mundo Lake is getting lonely with low pressure and zero new reports. The past couple of weeks have provided some of the year’s best opportunities for trophy trout in Stone, so get out here.
Mundo Lake has been almost vacant lately with anglers turning their sights on the larger fish in Stone and Enbom. The Lake is in good shape, with clear water in the mid to high 50’s. The weeds are naturally breaking up right now in all of the lakes which make for floating obstacles that get worse with windy conditions. For once I haven’t heard anything about Mundo, but I suspect that rainbows can be caught with bait, flies, or lures. If I am completely wrong please call and tell me otherwise. The water temps are a bit low for active catfish, but the patient angler can probably catch his or her share from the dam or any of the docks.
Enbom Lake has been quite moody with off and on action. The light switch effect is probably a result of the recent increase in pressure after the limit went up on Oct. 15th. I have spoken with a few anglers who gave it a shot and were skunked using bait, and have heard similar hearsay from around town. I still wouldn’t pass by it without throwing a few casts, especially if you are looking for dinner.
Stone Lake has been the allstar so far this fall, and continues to fish well for the most part. I wish that I could tell you that everyone is catching fish every time they go out, but since I know that at least a couple of veterans saw me strike out I have to fess up. The best reports and the most action appear to be on the North Side of the lake. Anglers are doing quite well from the shore with lures and flies in the afternoons and evenings. Eudane Vicenti, a tribal member and Game and fish employee has landed the years largest reported trout on the Jicarilla Lakes. He caught a 25”, 9lb. hen from the north shore with a traditional red and white daredevil spoon. The picture will be in the photo gallery soon, along with several other recent photos from Stone Lake. Len Furmanek out of Rio Rancho also caught a monster this week (Sunday 10/26) with a 24 and ½” 7 and ¾ lb male caught on a silver and orange castmaster. Bright colors including red, orange, chartreuse, and silver might be the key factor right now and both lures and flies in these colors have been working. The afternoons and evenings from 3pm until dark appear to be more productive, but fish are being caught all day. I went to Stone Lake on Saturday, and got skunked while everyone around me had trouble keeping them off. Seven fish total were landed in my boat, and we were anchored close enough to shore to watch two veteran anglers land around 10 between them. All of the action took place between 4pm and 7pm and the fish were caught with flies and lures. A black and red woolly bugger, and an egg sucking leach were working for flies, and orange and silver spoons for lures. All in all, I would say that the fishing pressure outweighs the reports I have received, which in my experience means that the fishing is good ( ssshhhh!).

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 10/21/08

Fall fishing has been good to the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. The water temperatures are in the mid to high 50’s, and the weed problems continue to diminish as they fall down and break up. Weed harvesting efforts are all but done for the 2008 season with operations at Stone Lake coming to a close by weeks end. Shoreline areas may still have some piles of weeds accumulating with wind transport, but access from the shore is possible at all four lakes. We have had our first substantial report from Horse Lake for the fall season and 3 limits of trout were caught. The limit increase at Enbom brought a few folks out, and the news is positive again from Enbom. All in all, it is a great time to plan a trip for the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes.
Mundo Lake which lately has seen a decrease in its number of faithful anglers continues to struggle in competing with Enbom and Stone. Anglers are catching trout with bait, flies and lures, but catch rates are lower than Enbom and are around 1-2 fish per hour on average. A few stories of Bass have been whispered around, but concrete details are none to be found. There have not been any recent reports of Catfishing.
Enbom Lake continues to fish well with bait, flies, and lures. The limit increase to 20 trout per day at Enbom brought a few crowds to the lake, and anglers faired well according to the Law enforcement division who hosted a road block game checkpoint this past weekend. Salmon eggs seem to be hot in reports but powerbait has its faithful, as do worms. Lures are a general but reoccurring report and the small spinners including roostertails or midget daredevil spoons and smaller castmasters are all worth a shot. Fly fishermen and anglers using casting bubbles with flies are probably holding on to the highest catch rates. A number of good still water nymph patterns like the double hackle peacock and warden’s worry have been mentioned. Pistol petes and woolly buggers are working well and can present a more visual way to fish subsurface. I have seen these voracious little trout move quite far to hit in a bugger in Enbom. Despite the limit increase, there are still plenty of fish in Enbom to keep things happening until the ice hits.
Stone Lake has already produced some beautiful fish this fall, and things are still improving weekly. Fishing is still what most anglers would consider tough conditions, and there are more hits and break offs reported than fish landed. However, the payoff is swimming somewhere in the lake with the biggest fish of the fall reported on Thursday. The big fish was 24” and 7 ¾ lbs. and she was caught on a black jig. Two anglers worked the better part of a day to get her and one other fish that was in the 16” range. On the fly side, we had a pair of hardy anglers camp at Stone for the better part of the week. They were fishing from solo pontoons and concentrated their efforts around the aerators in the southwest cove. I had a chance to speak with one of the duo momentarily and gathered that they were hooking in the neighborhood of 10-15 fish a piece per day (long day). He mentioned catching and releasing a number of fish in the 16” range, and showed me an obese example that had swallowed the hook too deep for recovery. A black and red beadhead wooly bugger was the hot pattern but he also caught fish on damselfly patterns. Another group of 3 spent some time at Stone last Wednesday and reported a 19” rainbow with a couple of 3-4” salamanders in the gut. The lake is by no means crowded and your new challenge is to break 8 lbs. so get out here.
The fall’s first successful mission to Horse Lake has been reported. Three anglers caught their limit of 6 trout each in a good days worth of fishing (5-6hours). They used a combination of bait, lures, and flies and reported the best success with salmon eggs and castmasters. The reported average is 8-10 inches and is well below what I would expect at Horse. Therefore, I am just going to have to inspect the situation myself (hate my job), and I will report to you all next week.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 10/14/08

The Jicarilla Fishing Lakes are fishing well despite windy cooler weather. The upcoming weekend looks to be fair and warming up a bit. We received several good fishing reports this week, with some positive news from Stone Lake. Enbom Lake moves up to a 20 fish per day limit (40 possession) on Wednesday (10/15). The water temps are in the upper 50’s to lower 60’s across the lakes and should be good for active trout fishing. Enbom continues to have spectacular moments mixed in with all around good fishing. Mundo has been a little neglected but is fishing fair for trout and Catfish. 

Mundo Lake is fishing slow to fair for trout with salmon eggs and powerbait. Lures and flies including panther martins, pistol petes, and woolly buggers will take a few trout and might crossover to Bass. Smaller beadhead nymphs like princes, copper johns, and pheasant tails are pulling trout and bluegill. The Catfish are biting on stink baits and are fishing well from the dam. 

Enbom Lake continues to reign supreme in terms of trout fishing right now on the Jicarilla Lakes. The fishing has been fair to good with salmon eggs, powerbait, lures including castmasters and daredevils, and flies including wooly buggers, double hackle peacocks, and copper johns. There are times including the early morning that have been reported to turn on with tremendous fishing for an hour followed by slower but still productive periods. The limit moves up to 20 fish per day and 40 in possession on wednesday (10/15). Enbom Lake is extremely prone to winterkill, so help us maximize utilization of these beautiful pan sized (12-14”) rainbows. 

Stone Lake is indeed on an apparent upswing, with several promising reports of action. The fishing is still tough out there with infrequent hits, big line breaking fish, and is dominated by hits and hookups opposed to netted fish. Several nice fish were caught over the weekend including one at 20” with a mystery lure. Flies including big woolly buggers and streamers are fishing well with heavy weight in the bottom half of the water column. Lures including spoons, rapalas, bass plastics (salamanders), and feather jigs are all getting bumped. Bring a small boat or float tube and enjoy fighting the freshwater pigs in Stone Lake. 

Horse Lake has struggled this year with algae blooms and less than optimal water quality. However, there were approximately 15,000 rainbows stocked in the spring, and with no apparent signs of summer kill we should have some very fat untrained fish ready to bite. The clarity is still not great but conditions are fishable, especially from a small boat, float tube or pontoon. As some of you know, and some will learn, Horse Lake is not the place to be when a storm hits. Any info from Horse would be greatly appreciated. October has historically been the best month for fishing at Horse Lake. 

The Navajo River has been looking quite fishy lately on my twice daily crossings to and from work. The browns should be moving up in there beautiful spawning colors looking for suitable gravel riffles to spawn in. Rainbows won’t be far behind the Browns, and an egg pattern or fireball should work for both species. Good Luck and Stay Warm.

Kevin Terry

Fisheries Biologist   

Fishing Report 10/7/08

The news is good from the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. Mundo and Enbom continue to fish consistently and Stone is beginning to fish well. The weed harvesting efforts combined with natural fallout are making things easier on us anglers, and the daytime temperatures are just about perfect according to my thermostat. The cats are biting well at Mundo and several nice Bass have been caught also. I managed a brief foray to Stone this morning and am happy to say that I caught fish. Speaking from a serious no bull perspective, it is time to hit the Jicarilla Lakes.
Mundo is fishing well for rainbows in the 10-14 inch range with the occasional 16 + inch fish mixed in. They are hitting on powerbait and salmon eggs, as well as flies and lures. Beadhead nymphs and wollybuggers including pistol petes are fishing very well. Small spinners and spoons are working well for trout. The Bass are hitting on grubs and spinnerbaits, but reports indicate that a slow retrieve may be the key for Largemouth as the water temps drop. The catfish are hitting on the same old stinky stuff and continue to line up for a turn. The cats can have a tough time during the winter, so please take a few (8) fillets home with you. These fish eat very well out of the clear water at Mundo. Mundo will be stocked tomorrow (10/8) with approximately 4,000 6 inch rainbows. These fish shouldn’t recruit into the catchable size until next spring.
Enbom is on fire. Reliable reports have come in with catch rates as high as 20 fish an hour. Lures and especially flies are very hot, and folks seem to be using them exclusively at Enbom right now. One angler told me that it is anything and everything at Enbom, and I think that just about sums it up. The fish are nice and healthy (robust) and averaging 12-15”. Remember that the limit for non-tribal anglers will increase to 20 fish per day on October 15, 2008. Enbom almost never survives the winter, so please help us reduce waste by taking some nice fish home. The locals say that Enbom has the best tasting fish on the reservation an I am sure all of us know someone who is willing to put that claim to the test.
Stone Lake is awesome. With that said, I am happy to report success at last. Myself and a colleague had the opportunity to fish Stone this morning for 4 hours. We launched the boat onto glassy water to the sound of bugling elk and flying ducks (waterfowl opens Sat. 10/11). We caught a total of four fish between us with the biggest at 20”and 5 lbs. The smallest was 16” and 3 lbs. I caught 3 fish with the same # 8 conehead wollybugger in red and black with sparkle. I was using a full sinking line and stripping relatively slowly. The fish were holding in the bottom half of the water column. My colleague caught his fish trolling a big silver and blue spoon. The water temperature is right at 60° and the clarity is good (4-5ft) despite suspended green algae chunks. There were two other anglers on the lake (surprise) and they caught three fish in approximately 5 hours. They reported one on a grub, one on a beadhead, and one on a spinner. One other report came in from a veteran angler of one 18 inch trout caught on a creature bait while targeting Bass. The numbers and catch rates are still on the low side, but all it takes is one of these beasts to make your day. See you at Stone.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist