Fishing Report 5/18/10
Fishing has been good to excellent this week at the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. Most of the recent pressure and action has been split between Mundo Lake and Enbom Lake, but we did hear of a Lunker that was caught at Stone Lake on Saturday. The water is clearing up at both Enbom Lake and Mundo Lake and Stone remains crystal clear. The year’s first Bass reports have come in and folks are catching Bluegill as well. We have completed the year’s spring stocking with a load of 1,500 lbs. of 16-22 inch Rainbow Trout that was split between Mundo Lake and Enbom Lake on 5/17/2010. A couple of local anglers each caught big Browns on the Navajo River over the weekend. One of the Browns was caught with a worm by Josh Martinez, a Dulce Local, and it measured in at just over 20 inches. The Navajo River is still off color a little but fishing quite well. There were no reports from Dulce Lake this week.
Mundo Lake is fishing good to excellent. Most anglers are targeting trout and the bite has been good for Rainbows with what appears to be a dual average. Half of the fish reported were the smaller 8-10 inch fish and the other half are averaging 14-16 inches with even larger fish reported. That dual average should persist for the next few weeks with the addition of 750 lbs. of Trophy Rainbows ranging from 16-22 inches that were stocked into Mundo Lake yesterday (5/17).The best reports were from anglers using smallish spinners especially dark colors, and flies including wooly buggers, pheasant tails, renegades, zug bugs, leeches, hares ears, and damsels. The good old lure/fly hybrid, the “Pistol Pete”, also faired very well at Mundo Lake this week. The docks will be installed for the year at Mundo Lake sometime between now and the Holiday Weekend (Memorial Day) depending on time and weather. A couple of anglers have started to target Bass at Mundo and they are having success with spinnerbaits along the shorelines. There haven’t been any huge Bass yet, but the 10-12 inch fish are pretty aggressive. There were no reports on Catfish this week.
Enbom Lake was far and away the hot spot this week at the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes. As many as 17 anglers were out there over the weekend, and the action was hot. Most of the success was on spinners and flies similar to the ones reported for Mundo. Also similar to Mundo, was the dual average reported, with approximately half of the Rainbows caught at 8-10 inches and half of them at 14 inches or better. I have heard of at least 10 Rainbows caught in the 18 inch range. Enbom was also stocked yesterday (5/17) with 750 lbs. of 16-22 inch trophy Rainbow Trout. These fish stocked well, and dispersed quickly in the rusty colored water that is still in the process of clearing up after runoff. The Chironomidae hatch is substantially more active at Enbom right now when compared to Mundo Lake. There should be a possibility for dry fly fishing early mornings and in the evenings or any other time when the wind is down.
Stone lake is still giving folks a hard time. To date, over 95% of the attempts at Stone Lake have been fruitless. Consequently, the fishing pressure is extremely low and therefore we have fewer and fewer reports. Finally, for the first time since ice out I have a fish caught at Stone Lake to report. Unfortunately, the report is second hand, but it comes from a reliable source. The fish was caught with a lure from shore and was a Rainbow Trout that measured 23 and ½ inches. The water is in excellent condition and the Midge hatch is going off big time. With any luck, the action will pick up soon.
Conditions are excellent at the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes right now. Don’t forget that camping is free with a valid Jicarilla Fishing Permit. Consider the Jicarilla Fishing Lakes for your next aquatic adventure!!!!!
Kevin Terry
Fisheries Biologist
Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish Department
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