Jemez Adventures Short Fishing Notes – April 15, 2025

These notes on Jemez Mountains fishing are excerpted from the Friends of Fenton Lake articles that appear in the After the Thunder newspaper published in Jemez Springs. They provide a window into Jemez fishing as a function of time and are reported twice a month. 

Fenton Lake fishing continues to be good with a stocking of 2201 triploid rainbow trout the week ending April 4^th. Favorite Flies for freshly stocked lake fish include the Squirmy Wormy, peach or orange egg flies, and of course wooly buggers. Small spinners and jigs are staples for spin fishers – including Power Baits and Gulp Minnows. Bait fishers do well with salmon eggs, worms, and Power Baits. Fishing near the bottom is always a good strategy  for freshly stocked fish, but as they acclimate to their new home this becomes less important. The Rio Cebolla in the Park was recently stocked with 399 fish the week ending April 11. The Cebolla also has a healthy, but small population of wild brown trout – please treat them gently and release them back into the stream. If you are after a fish dinner, take home stocked fish – they are particularly good when grilled  on a barbeque – add lemon, salt and pepper and wrap in foil, yum! 

Other recent Jemez Mountain stockings included the Rio San Antonio with 222 fish the week ending April 4. The week ending April 11 included stocking of the Jemez River with 600 fish; the Rio de Las Vacas with 498 fish, and the brood (Kids’)  Pond with 756 fish. A quick tip for the Jemez River - fish under the YMCA Camp bridge where stocked fish are captured by a tourist dam downstream and a small waterfall upstream (it will be crowded!). For the Las Vacas most stocked fish are in the first mile or so upstream of the FR 20 bridge,

Wild brown trout fishing is good in both the Guadalupe and Jemez drainages and getting better by the day. Early season hot spots include the two Las Conchas accesses on the East Fork, the Valles Caldera, the Rio Gaudalupe above the Gilman tunnels (note – the tunnels are closed for repair, so to fish the Guadalupe go to the FR 376 and NM 126 intersection near La Cueva and go south to the Porter bridge), and the Las Vacas in the mile or two above and below the Girl Scout Camp. The Rito Penas Negras on the western side of the Jemez (via NM 126 and FR 264) is a small stream (1 – 3 feet wide) with a good brown trout population and should fish well through May and June.