Best bass fishing lakes in New Mexico (Roswell, Carlsbad: live in, license)

[Jim Mac]

What are your favorite bass fishing lakes, and where are they located?

[TKO]

None of them are really good in the big picture, I'd go to Texas or Arizona if I were really serious. Elephant Butte (and to a lesser extent Caballo) has whites, stripers and both large and small mouth. White's are most prolific but of course much smaller.

North you have a variety of lakes that have bass none of which are outstanding either. Navajo is a decent small mouth fishery though. Haven't been to the northeast lakes though I read some good fishing reports from time to time. Check out the game and fish website.

[Jim Mac]

Thanks TKO. Which lakes in AZ do you think are the best? We are thinking about retiring to AZ or NM.

[TKO]

Patagonia is probably the best bass lake in AZ. Roosevelt is good too and in northern AZ you have the big ones, Mead and Powell both really good Striper and Smallie fisheries. Problem is fishing in the summer. It's just too damn hot for me.

[DOUBLE H]

I have friends who live in Tucumcari and Hagerman, just south of Roswell. Admittedly bass fishing isn't like Texas but keep in mind it's a desert state. Ute Lake is near Tucumcari and I've seen guys yank some good size smallmouth bass out of there using spoons. It's a good reservoir, a good state park. There is development going on around there near the lake and in Logan.

My friend in Hagerman and I yearly would go to Brantley Reservoir, just north of Carlsbad. Sadly, it closed earlier this year when it was discovered that low levels of DDT were found in some species of fish. As of late all species of fish have levels of it, but the game and fish folks decided to make it mandatory catch and release, and signs are posted all around stating that. Too bad, as it is a great water rec area for the Carlsbad folks.

Google bass fishing in New Mexico. Then pull up WesternBass.com. It has some good info on lakes in New Mexico, license fees, boat launch fees, and other info. Santa Rosa Lake and Sumner Lake, south of Santa Rosa are possibilities, am not sure myself as I've not fished there. Hopefully other people will weigh in here. Good luck!