Jicarilla Fish Weblog

Fishing Report 1/26/2010
Last week’s series of storms left nearly 2 feet of fresh snow at the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. It is safe to say that there were very few if any anglers out there last week and therefore we have very little to report in terms of fishing conditions. Instead, we will focus on the current road and ice conditions in this week’s report. I also have to apologize to all of the folks who use our website to obtain our fishing reports. Unfortunately, I posted both the report and a late week storm update on the wrong blog and they didn’t show up on the website.
The ice thickness is approximately 10 inches at both Stone Lake and Mundo Lake, with some areas of thicker ice at each lake. The new snow was very wet and created a layer of water between the snow on top and ice below. This water layer was around 5 inches deep initially, but it is slowly turning into ice as the insulating snow layer has been reduced to a thin layer (2 inches) of icy snow that can support the weight of a person in the mornings. The ice is still safe for fishing, but you can expect to see this slushy water layer. Warm waterproof boots are essential to your comfort in these conditions which may get sloppy on warm afternoons.
The roads are snow packed and slippery, but they have been plowed all the way to Stone Lake. 4wd is still a good idea, but it is not essential right now. The J-15 road short cut from highway 537 directly to Stone Lake has been plowed. The east side boat ramp at Stone Lake known as Manghani Point is the only current access road available at Stone Lake. However, we have a work order in with the Tribal Roads Department, and the north side access road and the south side boat ramp access road should be plowed by the week’s end. At Mundo Lake the usual parking area has been plowed but the campground has not. We are expecting a small storm on Wednesday and Thursday and the forecast is for very small accumulations (2-3”).
It is crunch time for those of you hoping to scout out the lakes before the upcoming 4th annual Jicarilla Ice Derby (2/6/10). There is just one weekend left before the derby and the weather should be nice, so get out there and formulate a winning strategy. For more info on the Ice Derby please check the fishing menu on the www.jicarillahunt.com website or call Kevin Terry at 575-759-3255.

Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 1/12/2010
Favorable weather has made for nice comfortable days on the ice despite sometimes frustrating fishing. The hot streak at Stone Lake has certainly cooled off, but we have several tremendous fish to report again this week. Mundo Lake has been more consistent and catch rates are pretty stable from day to day. At this point, the various regions at Stone have been explored, several of which seem to be fishing better than others. With the 4th annual Jicarilla Ice Derby coming up fast (Saturday February 6th, 2010), a dual lake approach is a good idea for people to scout out the lakes and formulate a strategy. As usual, the ice derby will be held at Stone Lake and Mundo Lake combined. The ice thickness is just shy of 10 inches at both Stone Lake and Mundo Lake as of 1/12/10.
Stone Lake has been frustrating over the past week. Catch rates are way down somewhere around 1 fish per 5 hours, but the quality of the catch has made it hard to give up. The southwest bay around the aerators has been producing fish and so has the area near Manghani point (cement boat ramp/east side). White remains the color of choice for jigs but green, red, and spoons were also reported. The average size is right around 20” but there seems to be two distinct size classes that are making up the majority of the catch. One class is between 16-18” and these fish are primarily Rainbows with a few browns mixed in. The second class of fish is between 23-26” and these fish are all Rainbows. On Friday (1/8/10) Marty Smith of Farmington and his friend Mark Vandi of Los Lunas each landed a trophy class trout. Marty’s fish was caught on a white crappie jig and measured 24” and weighed in at 7 ½ lbs. Mark’s fish was caught on a pinkish (flesh colored) crappie jig and it measured 26” and hit 10 lbs. You can see these fish in the photo gallery on www.jicarillahunt.com. In contrast, Saturday (1/9/10) found 15 anglers on the ice with an estimated catch of 5 fish between them. A good friend, skilled angler, and supporter of our program Matt Pelletier of www.fishenchantment.com spent 8+ hours on the ice with a buddy. Matt caught one fish and lost another, and his friend lost one at the ice. The best action has been from 10-2 and again at 4-5.
Mundo Lake is fair for Rainbows that average 9-12”, with larger Trout in the 14-17” range showing up occasionally. The catch rate is hanging in there with an average of 2-3 fish per hour. Small crappie jigs and plastic jigs including curly tails and tubes are working slightly better than bait. Most bait anglers are using powerbait of various colors and they are having trouble with strike to hook up ratios. The fish seem to be hitting short, and sizing down a little on the hook is recommended. Most anglers are taking advantage of the 2 pole system at Mundo with one baited and one jigging. There hasn’t been a lot of talk about moving around at Mundo and the high traffic area is just off of the emergency spillway (parking area). If the weather trend continues, you will want to bring sunscreen and a t-shirt for the warm afternoons. Watch out TROUT!!!!
Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist

Fishing Report 1/5/10
Fishing has been good to excellent at the Jicarilla fishing lakes over the past week and weekend. I have received some of the best reports from Stone Lake that I have heard of to date for ice season. Several trophies were landed, and in some cases they were literally squeezed through a 6 inch hole. Mundo Lake has been fair to good and varies primarily by technique. The 4th annual Jicarilla Ice derby is a month away (2/6/10) and we are gearing up for another great event. Ice thickness is slowly increasing at both lakes with an 8-10 inch average.
Stone Lake has been hot by Stone Lake standards. That is to say that catch rates have been better than 1 fish an hour at times, with at least one report citing 6 fish in an hour. The consensus is that the optimal times are mid morning to midday (10:00-1:00) with another good bite for the last hour of daylight (4:00-5:00). The hot color is white, and curly tails and tube jigs seem to be the preferred lure. There were several noteworthy catches this week at Stone Lake. Doug Steiner out of Farmington , NM caught a 26” male Rainbow estimated over 9 lbs on New year’s eve (see photo in gallery). This honker fell victim to a white tube jig with a chartreuse jig head. This was one of three fish reported in this size class for the week at Stone.
Mundo has been fair with bait and good with jigs. The average rainbow is 8-12”, but several 12” browns and a few 14-16” Rainbows have shown up here and there. Most folks are utilizing the 2 pole system with one on bait and another jigging small plastic jigs with various jig head colors. Catch rates have been on par with the average angler retaining a 6 trout limit in approximately 2 hours. The weather has been cold and clear with plenty of sunshine and very little exposed flesh to tan. Whether you’re after that wall hanger or just a few pan sized beauties, the Jicarilla Lakes are a great place to play on the ice.
Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist