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Abiquiu Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Abiquiu Lake on the Rio Chama: a Corps of Engineers reservoir the Corps calls excellent at times for walleye, smallmouth and trout.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
59 / 65 F
Wind
E 10 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Abiquiu Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 10 mph, steady pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 65. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:44 AM-11:44 AM and 10:12 PM-12:12 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

The top of this band is already stressful. In rivers fish mornings and evenings; in lakes WDFW notes rainbows turn sluggish and go deeper, so troll or suspend bait near the bottom.

Brown troutExcellent

Upper end of the range: fish dawn, dusk, night or cloudy days, with terrestrial flies along the banks and streamers through the deeper runs.

Smallmouth bassGood

Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

WalleyeGood

Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 58 F with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

New Mexico requires a fishing licence from age 12, from $49.00 for residents. What a New Mexico licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with NMDOW before you keep anything. The season dates for New Mexico, read off the agency, are on the New Mexico seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp59 F
High / Low65 / 48 F
WindE 10-11 mph
Pressure1011.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain12% cloud, 84%
Sunrise / Sunset07:20 / 18:19
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Abiquiu Lake this week

The best day on Abiquiu Lake this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:44 AM-11:44 AM and 10:12 PM-12:12 AM
Minor period
4:07 AM-5:07 AM
Sun
07:20 to 18:19
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 11 mph
Rain chance
84%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Abiquiu Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. The top of this band is already stressful. In rivers fish mornings and evenings; in lakes WDFW notes rainbows turn sluggish and go deeper, so troll or suspend bait near the bottom.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Upper end of the range: fish dawn, dusk, night or cloudy days, with terrestrial flies along the banks and streamers through the deeper runs.

When to come: the Abiquiu Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Abiquiu Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 23 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

New Mexico requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

A New Mexico fishing license is required. Limits for walleye, bass and trout in the lake: see the current NMDGF Fishing Rules & Info. Clean, drain and dry boats and equipment before moving them (Corps aquatic invasive species notice).

Access

Since Jan. 1, 2024 the Corps charges a $5 general day-use fee, which covers boat launching. Riana Campground opens April 15–Oct. 15 ($10–$20 a night). Project office: (505) 685-4371.

About this water

A 5,200-surface-acre U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Rio Chama near Abiquiu, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.

Fishing Abiquiu Lake: the full guide

A Corps lake under the Pedernal

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages Abiquiu Lake, a 5,200-surface-acre reservoir on the Rio Chama, with recreation areas and a campground; the dam looks out on Cerro Pedernal. The Corps says the lake offers some of the finest fishing in northern New Mexico and can be excellent for walleye, smallmouth bass, and rainbow and brown trout. It publishes a bathymetric map of the deepest areas, not for navigation, and warns that lake levels vary.

Facilities

Riana Campground sits on a 150-foot bluff above the lake at 6,400 feet, with 54 sites open April 15 to Oct. 15 by reservation on Recreation.gov; it has picnic and fishing areas, and the lakeshore boat launch is a mile away. Cerrito Recreation Area has picnic sites with a lake view and a swim beach without lifeguards. The lake is open to all water sports, including water-skiing and personal watercraft. Alcohol is not permitted anywhere at Abiquiu Lake.

The Rio Chama below the dam

Below Abiquiu Dam, NMDGF lists the Rio Chama from the base of the dam 7 miles down to the U.S. Highway 84 bridge at Abiquiu as a Special Trout Water with a 2-trout daily limit and any legal tackle (NMDGF regulations page last updated June 29, 2023). The Corps' Rio Chama Recreation Area has picnic sites under the trees along the river.

Common questions

What can I catch?

The Corps names walleye, smallmouth bass, and rainbow and brown trout as the species that can be excellent here.

Is there a launch fee?

The $5 day-use fee the Corps introduced on Jan. 1, 2024 includes boat launching.

Can I fish the river below the dam?

Yes. NMDGF manages the 7 miles from the dam to the U.S. 84 bridge as a Special Trout Water with a 2-trout limit; confirm in the current rules.

Is fishing good at Abiquiu Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Heron Lake32 miCochiti Lake45 miRio Grande46 miPecos River67 miNavajo Lake71 miEagle Nest Lake73 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.2630, -106.5170 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.