Middle Fork Lake, New Mexico: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Middle Fork Lake stands in Taos County, New Mexico. It sits at 10,866 feet above sea level. The water measures roughly 8 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Size puts it in the front rank of our Taos County list. The closest town, Arroyo Seco, is 10 miles distant. Then Questa, 12 miles, and Taos Pueblo, 13 miles. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Middle Fork Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Records held for Taos County cover cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, white sucker, brown trout and Rio Grande sucker. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Middle Fork Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 18°F and July at about 53°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Count the season from break-up, usually mid May. Break-up near mid May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Anyone fishing Middle Fork Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Lost Lake, 1.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for Middle Fork Lake.