Red Pond Fishing near Navajo, New Mexico

• Overview

  Red Pond stands in San Juan County, New Mexico. The water sits 8,852 feet up. The water measures roughly 5 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Navajo lies 11 miles from the water. The big place round here is Albuquerque, 138 miles distant. More in the same country: Long Lake 2.8 miles off, Bowl Lake (4.7 miles), Chuska Lake 10 miles off, Red Lake (11 miles) and Black Lake 11 miles off. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Red Pond

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Species logged across San Juan County include flannelmouth sucker, bluehead sucker, channel catfish and common carp. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Fish Red Pond to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 64°F at the top of summer and 24°F at the bottom of winter. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. After early April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Climate averages put the opening at about early April and the closing near mid December. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. It sets the rhythm of the year at Red Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. The nearest alternative is Long Lake, 2.8 miles out. Ask locally about Red Pond if anything is unclear.