Toadlena Lake in San Juan County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Within San Juan County, New Mexico, you have Toadlena Lake. The water sits 9,072 feet up. With some 39 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Around 1.3 miles of margin, front to back. Tsaile lies 15 miles from the water. Lukachukai is 20 miles and Navajo 24 miles. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Toadlena Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name flannelmouth sucker, bluehead sucker, channel catfish, common carp and largemouth bass. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. On Toadlena Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 23°F in January up to 62°F in July. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about mid April until roughly early December. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Plan any trip to Toadlena Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Sort the permit out before you load the car. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Wheatfields Lake, 8.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Toadlena Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.