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Ute Reservoir Fishing Report

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

A Canadian River reservoir nearly 13 miles long at Logan, where New Mexico's fall surveys find some of the state's highest white bass numbers.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
36 cfs
Air / High
79 / 81 F
Wind
SSW 15 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07227500, 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.

Ute Reservoir lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The main inflow is running 36 cfs, falling. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SSW around 15 mph, steady pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 81. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:31 AM-11:31 AM and 9:59 PM-11:59 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

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.

White bassFair

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 68 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 largemouth 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 from Canadian River near Amarillo (inflow).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07227500.

8292,3383,84736 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp79 F
High / Low81 / 54 F
WindSSW 15-21 mph
Pressure1009.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain25% cloud, 19%
Sunrise / Sunset07:07 / 18:08
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 Ute Reservoir this week

The best day on Ute Reservoir 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
9:31 AM-11:31 AM and 9:59 PM-11:59 PM
Minor period
3:54 AM-4:54 AM
Sun
07:07 to 18:08
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 17 mph
Rain chance
19%

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

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

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.

When to come: the Ute Reservoir 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
Largemouth bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
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 Ute Reservoir 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. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 83 F, wind to 18 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 83 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 82 F, wind to 18 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

Anglers need a New Mexico fishing license. See the current New Mexico Department of Wildlife Fishing Rules and Information booklet for walleye, bass, white bass and catfish limits on Ute Lake.

Access

Ute Lake State Park, Logan: boat ramps and docks, a seasonal marina (closed October through April), RV and primitive campgrounds (New Mexico State Parks).

About this water

A reservoir on the Canadian River at Logan, Quay County, New Mexico, nearly 13 miles long (New Mexico State Parks).

Fishing Ute Reservoir: the full guide

The lake

Ute Lake State Park surrounds a reservoir on the Canadian River at Logan in northeastern New Mexico. New Mexico State Parks calls it one of the longest lakes in the state at nearly 13 miles and gives the park an elevation of 3,762 feet.

What the Department of Wildlife reports

The New Mexico Department of Wildlife charts Ute Lake in its Fishing Conditions and Trip Planner for walleye, white bass and black bass and sunfish. Its report of October 1, 2026 says fall surveys have found white bass numbers highest at Conchas Lake, Lake Sumner and Ute Lake. The latest Ute Lake angler report, received September 24, had good fishing for white bass, smallmouth bass and catfish on jig heads with 4-inch soft minnows, and for largemouth bass on paddle-tail swimbaits.

Park facilities

The state park offers boat ramps and docks, a marina that closes from October through April, and 1.59 miles of trails. Full-service RV sites with hookups are in the Yucca and Zia campgrounds; Rogers, South Side and Mine Canyon are primitive camping areas.

About the flow gauge

The flow gauge shown for this page, USGS 07227500 Canadian River near Amarillo, Texas, is far downstream of Ute Dam, not an inflow. USGS 07227000, Canadian River at Logan, is the nearest active gauge below the dam.

Common questions

What fish does Ute Lake hold?

The Department of Wildlife's reports and trip planner cover walleye, white bass, smallmouth and largemouth bass and catfish at Ute Lake.

Is the marina open year-round?

No. New Mexico State Parks closes the marina from October through April.

Is the gauge on this page an inflow?

No. USGS 07227500 is on the Canadian River near Amarillo, Texas, well downstream of the dam; USGS 07227000 at Logan is closer.

Is fishing good at Ute Reservoir 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

Conchas Lake42 miLake Meredith110 miCimarron River120 miPecos River126 miEagle Nest Lake130 miTrinidad Lake139 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 07227500 β€” Canadian River near Amarillo (inflow)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 35.3500, -103.4500 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 5, 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 5, 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.