Jicarilla Fish Weblog

Fishing Report 1-26-09

The 3rd annual Jicarilla ice Derby is just two weekends away (2-7-09) and the current fishing conditions suggest that this year’s event will be another battle of the lakes. The derby will be held at Mundo and Stone Lakes combined, and contestants can fish either one or both from 7:30am to 4pm. Registration will begin at 7 am at the Mundo Lake pullout off of the j-8 road (Stone Lake Road). As always, for more information please contact Kevin Terry at the Jicarilla Game and Fish Department (575-759-3255) or email me through the fisheries contact on the www.jicarillahunt.com website.
Mundo Lake has been fishing very well with bait. There are times when the bite slows down, but several anglers caught their 6 trout limit in an hour or less this past weekend. Yellow, rainbow, and orange powerbait have the best reports, but salmon eggs and worms are working also. During this ice season larger fish (17-18”) have made appearances at Mundo, which adds an exciting twist to this years event. Over the weekend at least three of these bigger fish were documented by Rosenburg Tafoya doing creel surveys. The average Mundo Lake rainbow is 12-13”. There have also been several reports of smaller 12-14” catfish coming through the ice. The ice is in good shape at about 10-11” of solid ice.
Stone Lake on the other hand has been quite slow this past week. Most anglers are getting a few subtle bites per day, but the hook rate is pretty low. At least five anglers were skunked this weekend, and there were only a handful of fish landed. Folks are still getting the best action on white jigs with bright orange, pink, or chartreuse jig heads. The road on the north side of the lake has been getting quite muddy on the warmer afternoons and anglers should keep this in mind. The fish that have been landed are in 17-20” range and fat. Right now, there doesn’t appear to be a real sweet spot at Stone, so I suggest a little exploration for those of you scouting for the derby.
Both Horse Lake and Enbom Lake are closed for the winter, as they have each suffered winterkill events. Have a great weekend, and we hope to see you all at the 3rd annual Jicarilla Ice Derby!!!!!!

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 1-20-09

Stone Lake- Ice Thickness- 8”-10”
Good on White jigs, orange or pink jig heads w white body.
16-20” Rainbows

Mundo Lake- Ice Thickness – 8”-10”
Excellent with yellow, green, and orange powerbait. Jigs work very well also. White jigs with orange or pink jighead. Worms are working well.
12”-16” Rainbows.
Some catfish have also been caught.

Enbom- closed due to winterkill
Horse Lake - closed due to winterkill

Rosenburg Tafoya
Fisheries Technician

As promised, here is the update from Horse Lake. While the long wait for access is over, a new wait begins for open water and spring stocking. As expected, Horse lake fell victim yet again to winterkill. The dissolved oxygen levels are well below the documented lethal limit for Rainbow Trout. Despite the oxygen probes confirmed assessment we gave a good effort (2hrs.) without a single bite. The winterkill has happened earlier than expected this year and is most likely the result of the excessive productivity that plagued open water fishing all year at Horse. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Kevin Terry

Roads Update 1-15-09

Those of you who have been waiting patiently for the roads at the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes to open can rejoice alas. All four lakes have been plowed. Stone lake has been opened up on the north side, the east side (manghani point), and the south side boat ramp. The road to Horse Lake was opened up late yesterday, and the years first ice foray is happening this morning. I will try to post the results of the fishing trip this afternoon including an outlook on the oxygen situation. The road into Horse Lake is still quite nasty, and the mud should show up soon if the warm weather persists. Therefore 4wd is a necessity right now if you are going to fish Horse Lake.
I regret to inform you all that Enbom Lake appears to have winterkilled for the year. The oxygen levels are very low (< 5% saturation) which is almost a guarantee that the remaining trout are dead. Thanks goes out to those folks who helped us remove and utilize as many trout as possible this fall. We estimate that less than 1,000 fish were still in Enbom.
Things are looking good for a scouting trip this weekend for all of you looking forward to the ice derby on Feb. 7th, 2009.Stay tuned for an update from Horse Lake.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 1-13-09

Access continues to be an issue on the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. However, the good weather has given road crews time to catch up, and access to all four lakes should be available by the holiday weekend. The 3rd annual fishing derby is rapidly approaching and will be held on Saturday February 7th 2009. For details on the derby please view the website www.jicarillahunt.com . The format for the derby is very similar to the 2 previous events, and will be held at all four of the Jicarilla fishing lakes combined. Every year things are getting a bit better, and the derby should be a great event for everyone.
Mundo Lake continues to be the most accessible, and angler pressure there has been the highest. Most anglers are catching their limit of rainbow trout (6fish/day), with an average size of 11-12”. Several nice fish came out of Mundo this past weekend with at least 2 fish reported at or over 17”. Numerous baits were reported suggesting that the fishing is good all around at Mundo. Corn, salmon eggs, powerbait, wax worms, and others were all reported this week. Catch rates were relatively high this weekend, with an average of 2-3 fish caught per hour.
Stone Lake remains slow, but several 5+ lb. fish came through the ice to patient anglers. All in all, the reports suggest that 1-2 fish per day is the average at Stone. Reported jig colors include chartreuse, pink, and white with several anglers having success with plastics including curly tails. The east side boat ramp, known as Manghani point has been opened up to vehicles, and the North Shore access should be open by the weekend.
Both Enbom and Horse Lakes have a decent chance of getting plowed out by the weekend, and changes will be posted ASAP on the website. At last report the fish were still alive and biting well at Enbom. Horse remains unknown, but the fish were averaging a fat 16” in the fall gill net sample. If the weather continues to be nice, conditions should be great for the holiday weekend. As always, feel free to contact Kevin Terry at (575) 759-3255 with additional questions or comments.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Last Minute Update 1-9-09

Here is the last minute update on the road conditions at the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. The only lakes with access are Mundo and Stone. Access is limited, but there is one access point at the South Side Boat ramp at Stone Lake. The spillway at Mundo Lake is also open, as is the pullout (off j-8) that over looks the lake. Horse and Enbom are still blocked, and walk in access is the only means to fish either lake. Good Luck.

3rd Annual Jicarilla Lakes Ice Derby
Saturday February 7th, 2009

Prize List:


Lowrance x510c fish finder


Strikemaster Mag 2000 -2 Stroke Auger- 10” blade


Fish Tv 7





Fish Watch

Digital Scale

Clam Chair

Fish Bag red/gray

Medium Sleds

Ugly Stick Combo

Ice Cleats

Ice fishing gloves

Ice fishing buckets

6lb berkely line

Chipper skimmer 24”

Strike indicator light

Plastic Skimmer 18"

Bucket rod holder

Winchester 8 piece fishing kit

Rattlin Flyer Spoon Kit

Strikemaster 2 cycle oil

Strikemaster laser hand auger 8”




All These and More !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jicarilla Fishing Lakes
3rd Annual Ice Derby

When: The tournament will be held on Saturday February 7th, 2009. The tournament begins at 7:30am and ends at 4pm.

Who: The tournament is open to the general public as well as Jicarilla Apache Tribal members. There will be an adult division and a kids 12 and under division.

Where: The Jicarilla Apache Nation, Dulce, NM. The tournament will take place on Horse, Mundo,Enbom, and Stone Lakes combined. Contestants may fish any combination of these lakes during tournament hours.

Registration: A registration/ judges table will be set up at the Mundo Lake pullout off of the J-8 road (refer to map on jicarillahunt.com website). Registration will be held from 7-10am. The entry fees are $25 for adult contestants that do not possess a valid Jicarilla fishing permit (includes day permit) or $20 for adult contestants that have a valid Jicarilla fishing permit. The entry fee for kids 12 and under is $5.

Rules: Contestants must follow the regulations, excluding creel limits, identified in the Non-Tribal Member Fishing Proclamation available on the website www.jicarillahunt.com.

Prizes: Prizes will be awarded to 1-3rd place in total creel weight (lbs.) as well as for the longest fish (Total length mm) caught in the adult division. In the kids division, prizes will be awarded to the three longest fish (total length mm) caught (one/contestant). There will also be randomly drawn door prizes for registered contestants and an on-site raffle will be held at $10 a ticket. The grand prize for this raffle will be a guided Cow Elk hunt valued at $1,000. (100% of the proceeds from this raffle will be used to buy Trophy Class Rainbow Trout for the 2009-10 season.)

For more information please call Kevin Terry (fisheries biologist) at (575)759-3255 Monday through Friday 8-5.

Fishing Report 1-6-09

The Jicarilla Fishing Lakes remain difficult to access due to another bout of winter weather. Up to 10-12” of new snow fell on the lakes over the weekend and there is potential for more weather this weekend. Stone Lake road is snow plowed and snow packed. Lake access roads to Stone Lake and Mundo Lake will be plowed by the Friday (1-9-09) barring any more snow fall. Horse Lake Road is plowed for 2.5 miles, leaving a half mile walk to the lake. Snowshoes or cross country skis would be very useful in the deep snow, should you decide to venture to Horse. Access to Horse has been restricted for several weeks, and there have not been any reports. The 3rd annual ice derby is coming up on Saturday, February 7th, so watch the weather and try to sneak in a fair weather scouting trip if you can.
Mundo Lake is fishing fair to good with bait and jigs. There were several reports of anglers taking their limits home this past weekend. Baits reported include corn, salmon eggs, fireballs, and wax worms. Jigs colors reported include chartreuse, white, and pink. Reports also indicate that the morning bite was better at Mundo. The Rainbows are averaging around 11” with a few larger 13-14” fish. The ice is layered with a good 5-6” base layer and another 2-3” s of snow packed and slushy ice on top. The access road to the spillway at Mundo will be the first to be plowed, and should open up by mid-week.
There have been a few reports from a few hardy folks fishing Stone over the weekend. Access was a mess, and even burly trucks had a go of getting anywhere near the Lake. The folks that I received reports from drove (4wd+chains) in on the north side access road to the first cattle guard and walked from there (350 yards). Fishing was slow with Jigs. However, a couple of nice fish were caught. All told I heard of four anglers and four fish. At least 2 anglers spent 5+ hours jigging a bunch of different colors to catch 1 fish each. One was 14” and one at 20”. Rosenburg Tafoya, the fisheries technician spoke with another gentleman who caught a 21” Rainbow estimated near 7 lbs. The ice is a solid 7-9”s capped with snow. Remain at least 100 yards away from the open aeration holes in the southwest cove and on the east side north of the boat ramp. Any changes to the road conditions will be updated ASAP, but at least one access point will be plowed by the weekend.
The entrance to Enbom Lake just happens to be a very bad spot for drifting snow. Therefore, the road is currently blocked and will need heavy machinery to be breached. The timeline for this task is unknown and changes will be posted as they occur. Several folks walked in and the fishing was fair for healthy 13-14” rainbows using bait. The water is beginning to get stale and stinky, which is a sign that winterkill may be on the brink.
We are in the middle of what seems to be another good Winter for northern New Mexico. This bodes well for next year’s open water fishing, but makes things tricky around the Lakes. 4 wd is highly recommended when driving around the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. It is also a good idea to have a few winter “tools” if you have them. Shovels, chains, tow straps, and blankets are all nice to have. Also, try and check a Dulce area forecast if you are planning a trip this weekend since the outlook is shaky right now. Have a great week in the snow.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist