Anglers can hit three of Rio Arriba County’s top fishing destinations in one day by driving west from Tierra Amarilla on State Road 95.
The two-lane road runs along Heron Lake, provides access to the Rio Chama and ends near the northern end of El Vado Lake. Anglers can fish for three different species of trout and kokanee salmon within a span of five miles.
Heron Lake is the first destination for westbound travelers on State Road 95. The lake stretches for miles starting a few miles west of Tierra Amarilla with multiple access points off the road.
Heron Lake was created in 1971 along Willow Creek, but the source of its water is actually a tunnel that diverts water from the San Juan River. When full, the lake covers about 5,900 acres. While the drought has taken its toll on the lake over the past decade, the lake was 105 percent of average at the end of April.
Heron Lake is the only lake in New Mexico that offers fishing for lake trout. Lakers are a cold-water species that hang out in deep water most of the year. They are occasionally taken from the shore, but the most effective way of catching them is from a boat. The warmer the water gets, the deeper the lakers sink. Summer fishing is often done at depths of 80 to 100 feet.
The lake’s other prime fishing is for kokanee salmon. A landlocked species of sockeye salmon, kokanee grow to about 20 inches in size. They school in deep water and are also best caught from boats while trolling small lures.
Fishing guide Don Wolfley, of Tierra Amarilla, cautions that the angling for both species is decidedly different.
“For lake trout, you may fish all day and get maybe one or two strikes, but it may be a 20-pounder,” Wolfley said. “There’s a lot of action and more bites fishing for kokanee. When I have a family with kids, I recommend fishing for kokanee for the fast action.”
Heron also offers fishing for stocked rainbow trout. The rainbows are often caught while trolling for kokanee but are more commonly caught from the shore by anglers using salmon eggs or power bait.
Eleven miles west on State Road 95, anglers will find the entrance to the Rio Chama Day Use Area on the left-hand side of road. This area accesses the Rio Chama below Heron Dam. This stretch of the Rio Grande tributary offers fishing for brown and rainbow trout, some of them reaching more than 20 inches.
In May, the Rio Chama is usually swollen with runoff from the melting snowpack in the surrounding mountains and fishing is difficult. By mid-June, the river level will have fallen and the fishing is excellent. As of Monday, the Rio Chama just above El Vado Lake was running below average at 998 cubic feet per second.
The river has numerous rapids and pools downstream from Heron Dam toward the headwaters of El Vado Lake. Worms and spinners are the best bait and lures to use during the first few weeks after runoff. As the water drops further during the summer, fly fishing on the Rio Chama is excellent.
An 11-mile hiking trail that connects the two lakes starts (or ends depending on your perspective) at the day use area.
Fishing upstream from Heron Lake, the Rio Chama runs through the Rio Chama Wildlife area and fishing is restricted to artificial flies and lures with a single barbless hook.
The angler’s last stop on State Road 95 is El Vado Lake, into which the Rio Chama flows. Make a left at the entrance to El Vado State Park and take this road to a boat ramp on an inlet to the lake.
Like the Rio Chama, El Vado Lake offers fishing for good-size rainbow and brown trout. The water level at El Vado was 93 percent of average as of the end of April but has since risen to the point that a boat can be launched from the aforementioned ramp.
Anglers can also access the Rio Chama from this point in the lake by turning left up the Chama Canyon. The incoming flow from the Rio Chama attracts trout to this area. Spinners such as gold Panther Martins, Super Dupers and Rapalas are good lures to cast or troll in El Vado Lake.