Enchanted Lake Fishing in Mora County, New Mexico

• Overview

  Out in Mora County, New Mexico, sits Enchanted Lake. Elevation runs to 10,755 feet. It covers about 3 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is a small entry by Mora County standards. Chimayo is the closest place, 26 miles off. It is 89 miles to Albuquerque, the nearest city. Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Enchanted Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Mora County, recorded fish include cutthroat trout, white sucker and brown trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Enchanted Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 57°F for July and 24°F for January. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough late April. The water is typically free of ice between late April and early December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. On Enchanted Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Santiago Lake, 0.7 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat Enchanted Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.