Fishing Report For Eagle Nest Lake, NM

Current Report: Good

Fishing for cutthroat has been good for several years, and is expected to be quite good this year. The diet of these cutthroat trout consists of insects, small fishes and crustaceans. Locals report the need to match the hatch when fly fishing. Fly fishing is not covered in this website, but cutthroat trout are being caught on plenty of other lures and bait.

FALL. Cooling water temperatures again drive rainbow trout back to deeper water. Anglers are catching them 20 to 30 feet deep on outside flats, points, rocky structure, humps, and anywhere baitfish are gathering. Off shore around Eagle Nest Lake State Park is a popular choice. Now that they had a full summer to grow, there are some bragging size cutthroat catches, with 14 to 16 inch fish being caught fairly often. Small spinners, spoons, miniature crankbaits and swimbaits are catching cutthroat, as are salmon eggs and prepared baits.

WINTER. When Winter sets in, and the lake freezes over, ice fishing is quite good here. Early risers are having the best success just after sunrise. Jigging spoons and jigs tipped with bait are catching nice limits of cutthroat, out of 20 to 50 feet of water. Occasionally these cutthroats will suspend over deep structure.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, cutthroat trout move from their winter holding areas into shallow, warmer water - 6 to 25 feet deep. They seek our incoming water from snow-melt runoff. Generally, cutthroats will be drawn to these areas to spawn in clear, shallow water. Most cutthroat will be caught early in the morning or late afternoon. A wide variety of small spinners and spoons are catching most of the fish. Later in Spring trout are caught 15 to 35 feet deep.

SUMMER. Once Summer is here to stay, the warmer water drives cutthroat deeper, 25 to 50 feet deep. They seek out deep holes near shallow-water feeding areas. Trolling, using downriggers or leaded line, and drift fishing with bait, produce the majority of bites. Fishing is often best around dawn and dusk, in 6 to 20 feet of water, on windy points and flats.

Current Report: Good

Eagle Nest Lake was home to the state record kokanee. It weighed in at 5 pounds and was caught in 2021.

FALL. In early Fall, kokanee migrated into spawning grounds, along the shoreline of the lake, or upstream in rivers and tributaries. In the weeks just prior to the spawn, they gathered in sizeable schools near the mouths of these inflows. The spawn occurred in mid to late September. After the spawn they have moved a bit deeper. Good areas to explore include coves on the east shore around the Moreno Creek inlet, around Eagle Nest Lake State Park in the north arm, and the inlet area of Six-Mile Creek. Casting or trolling spinners, spoons, or kokanee rigs works well during the spawn. Now that late Fall has arrived, these schools have moved out to deeper structure in the basin. They are now being caught in 15 to 25 feet of water, often suspending above the structure.

WINTER. When ice fishing in Winter, December through March, kokanee are typically caught from 30 to 50 deep. On occasion they move deeper. Ice jigs, spoons, PowerBait, ShrimpZ, shoepeg corn and maggots are popular ice fishing baits here.

SPRING. During late Spring kokanee typically move closer to the surface where phytoplankton blooms become more abundant, providing a rich food source. Kokanee will feed heavily on this plankton in 15 to 35 feet of water, until surface temperatures reach the high 50's. Kokanee stage shallower, in tributary mouths, upper river arms, and warmer, food-rich pockets as they begin to move toward spawning reaches. Casting or trolling spinners, spoons, or kokanee rigs works well during this period.

SUMMER. Downriggers or leaded line are the two primary methods for catching kokanee here, while trolling. Kokanee school up and hang out in 30 to 50 feet deep, over deeper water, usually above some form of structure. The ideal water temperature is mid to low 50's. Identify the depth for that temperature range, and the kokanee will be hanging out in that depth range. They are also caught in 10 to 25 feet of water, early morning, and evenings, around flats and points. Worm harnesses and wedding ring spinner setups are popular when trolled behind a 4" dodger. Locals are tipping these baits with shoepeg white corn, PowerBait, Z-Man Scented ShrimpZ, or live nightcrawlers to helps attract bites. 15 to 30 feet deep is the ideal depth to work in these warmer months. Trolling these baits between 1.2 mph and 1.8 mph is a good speed for these kokes. PowerBait, Z-Man Scented ShrimpZ and scented shoepeg corn, spoons and kokanee spinner rigs all work well for slow drifting, or trolling.

Current Report: Fair

Plenty of northern pike have been caught here in lately, including some monsters over 40" long. These predators feed on small fish, and most anything else that moves. They favor perch, so lures imitating these fat sunfish, do well for pike. Jerkbaits are ideal as northerns often attack from below the prey.

FALL. As the weather starts turning cold, water temperatures cool fastest in the shallows. This brings baitfish into shallower waters, and northerns follow along with this food source. Good areas to explore include around the boat ramp in the Eagle Nest Lake State Park, coves along the east shore around the Moreno Creek inlet, and the inlet area of Six-Mile Creek. They hang around weedbed edges, main-lake points, reefs, and rocky shorelines to ambush prey in 2 to 12 feet of water. This is a prime feeding time as they prepare for winter. It is also a good time to catch a trophy pike.

WINTER. Pike remain active in Winter, often congregating in or near remaining weedbeds, especially along the edges. Other structure options include long points, reefs, ledge drop-offs, and rocky humps, ideally nearby deeper water. Anglers pursuing northerns while ice fishing had good success this year. At times, when oxygen is depleted in deeper water, northerns suspend directly under the ice, where maximum oxygen is available. Other times they hold on structure in 10 to 30 feet of water, sometimes deeper.

SPRING. After ice out, northern pike migrate to shallow, warmer pockets, bays and coves. Once water temperatures reach around 40 degrees, they move into even shallower areas with vegetation, to spawn. Ideal depths range from 3 to 15 feet. After spawning they linger in the shallow bays for a short period. Once water temperatures rise into the 50's, they move to deeper weedbeds and shallow structures adjacent to even deeper water. Bright colors, whites and flashy lures appeal to these predators. Noisy topwater lures can also produce some spectacular strikes. Alternate between baits until you identify which one triggers the most bites for the day.

SUMMER. Northern pike scatter all around the lake, rather than gather in groups. This makes them difficult to locate. During the day they are holding from 8 to 30 feet deep, on ledges, reefs, weedbeds, rock piles, islands and channel edges. Some of the larger specimens are suspending in open water, just outside feeding areas. Trolling or drift fishing produces some nice catches, using spoons, big spinners, cut bait, and deep diving crankbaits. Early and late in the day, they move shallow to feed and can be caught around most weedy shorelines, in 5 to 12 feet of water. Noisy topwater lures, spinnerbaits and Johnson spoons with curly-tail grubs, catch nice pike shallow.