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Navajo Lake Fishing Report

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

The two-state canyon behind the San Juan: houseboat water of pike, smallmouth and kokanee stretching from New Mexico into Colorado.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
61 / 62 F
Wind
SW 8 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.

Navajo Lake is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SW around 8 mph, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 62. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:48 AM-11:48 AM and 10:17 PM-12:17 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeGood

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Northern pikeGood

The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Tomorrow: Similar at 60 F with a rain chance. 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 walleye 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.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp61 F
High / Low62 / 47 F
WindSW 8-15 mph
Pressure1011.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain39% cloud, 60%
Sunrise / Sunset07:25 / 18:23
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 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 Navajo Lake this week

Today is the pick of the week on Navajo Lake, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:48 AM-11:48 AM and 10:17 PM-12:17 AM
Minor period
4:11 AM-5:11 AM
Sun
07:25 to 18:23
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 16 mph
Rain chance
60%

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

Species guide

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

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. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

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. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

When to come: the Navajo 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
Walleye
Smallmouth bass
Northern pike
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 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 Navajo Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 57 F, wind to 15 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 67 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 68 F, wind to 8 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

NM or CO license by zone: no reciprocity: carry both to roam. Pike: unlimited NM side: check both states.

Access

Pine River marina/SP (NM), Sims Mesa (NM), Arboles/Navajo SP (CO) ramps.

About this water

15,600 acres spanning NM-CO on the San Juan, San Juan County NM / Archuleta County CO.

Fishing Navajo Lake: the full guide

Above the famous tailwater

Everyone fishes below Navajo Dam: the quality water's rainbows get the fame: while the 15,000-acre reservoir above runs its own show: flooded canyon arms spanning the NM-CO line, northern pike in the coves, smallmouth on every rockslide, kokanee clouds mid-lake, and crappie in the drowned timber. The San Juan's other fishery deserves the detour.

Pike and bronze in the arms

Spring floods the shallow canyon arms (Sambrito, La Jara, the Piedra) with pike: spoons and swimbaits at ice-out, fish past 15 pounds annually. Smallmouth colonize the entire rock shoreline: Neds and topwater from break to break all summer: the reservoir's most democratic bite. Largemouth hold the few brushy flats: a bonus, not a target.

Kokanee mid-lake

The kokanee fleet trolls dodgers-and-corn at 30-60 ft through summer (the dam basin and mid-lake channel), and October's spawn run stains the inlets red: snagging season by New Mexico rule. Browns and stocked rainbows patrol the cold margins: the two-story label fits the canyon's depth legitimately.

Two states, one canyon

The line crosses mid-lake: New Mexico license below, Colorado above (no reciprocity: carry both if you roam: rangers check). Marinas and ramps serve each side (Navajo Lake SP twice-named: NM's Pine site, CO's Arboles). Houseboat culture rules summer: anglers own dawn: and the wind funnels the canyons on schedule: mornings, always mornings.

Common questions

Do I need two licenses on Navajo Lake?

To fish both states' water, yes: the line has no reciprocity. Most anglers pick a side per trip: the NM arms hold the pike, the CO end the quiet.

What is the best bite on Navajo Lake?

Spring pike in the flooded arms and summer smallmouth on infinite rock: kokanee troll the middle for the fleet. The famous rainbows live below the dam: different trip, same drive.

Is fishing good at Navajo 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

San Juan River (Navajo Dam)3 miVallecito Reservoir40 miHeron Lake51 miAbiquiu Lake71 miSan Miguel River89 miRio Grande92 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.8000, -107.6000 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.
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 guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be 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.