Tips, Tricks and Stories – Springtime Big Fish
If you keep an eye on the weekly fishing reports, you’ve probably noticed a recent uptick in people catching big fish across New Mexico. Every spring as the waters begin to warm, big fish of all species become more active and thus angling opportunity increases. As a general rule of thumb, think big lures when it comes to catching big fish. We are in an in-between time; whereas, most baby fish from last year have now grown in size, and the next generation of baby fish are yet to hatch. This means that the big fish that anglers are trying to catch are most likely feeding on larger baitfish as compared to what they will be feeding on after a new generation of baby fish hatch.
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Cody Longley’s brown trout measured 34-inches long and was caught using a trout-pattern lure on 8-pound test line.
Looking back on the past couple of years, we have had some good success catching large trout and pike this time of year at Navajo Lake. Cody Longley was prepping the GO Unlimited boat for adaptive fishing trips with disabled participants, and a bit of good karma came his way. He put a 6-inch swimbait on his line and drug it around the deep edges of the lake. Cody hooked into something big after a couple of hours of trying to find where the fish were. The fish stayed at a depth of 50-feet and did not reveal itself. The fight lasted about 14 intense minutes before the fish finally surfaced. It was a huge brown trout! After a quick high-five and a couple pictures, the beautiful brown was released back into the lake. It was great to see her dive back into the depths with vigor and continue her lively journey. Cody mentioned that was happy to release his catch to give her a chance to produce thousands more eggs over her remaining lifetime.
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NMDGF Weekly Fishing Report author Dustin Berg getting in a quick photo op with Cody’s big fish.
Last year around this time Alejandro brought in the biggest pike we have ever caught from the GO Unlimited boat. He caught it while casting a large, red spoon at Navajo Lake. It was a rather intense fight and Alejandro had to really put his back into reeling in this fish. It measured 41-inches and had phenomenal girth.
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Alejando and his dad Lenny with GO Unlimited volunteer Ken take a quick picture with the massive 41-inch pike caught by Alejando.
Let us know how your fishing trip goes! Share your tips and tricks with your fellow anglers by emailing us at funfishingnm@gmail.com and let’s help the next generation of anglers find success.