“SOME PEOPLE WANT to just go catch a fish,” says Kirk Patten, chief of fisheries for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. “Others will fly all the way across the country to fish for a native trout in a native habitat. The diehards will walk miles to catch a rare fish that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.” Here are a few tips, no matter what your angling approach.
LICENSE UP. Anglers are required to get a free Gila trout permit on their New Mexico fishing license. “It enables us to track how many people are fishing for Gila trout,” Patten says.
KNOW THE RULES. “A few Gila trout streams are closed by law. Some areas are catch and release only, while a couple of ponds have a general five-fish limit,” Patten says, pointing anglers to wildlife.dgf.nm.gov for detailed harvest and tackle restrictions.
WALK THE WALK. For those hoping to catch their first Gila trout, Patten suggests starting in the Catwalk National Recreation Area. “There are miles upon miles of habitat,” he says. “If you don’t want to walk far, you can catch Gila trout close to the parking lot. If you want to get adventurous, you can venture into the Gila Wilderness.”
CAST A WIDE NET. A self-sustaining population of Gila trout can be found in Mineral Creek near Alma or Willow Creek off Bursum Road.
CHASE THE RAINBOW. Glenwood Pond, on the hatchery grounds, is currently stocked with rainbow trout, but eventually it will be home to exclusively Gila trout.
BE PATIENT. As Glenwood Fish Hatchery ramps up its production of Gila trout, your odds of hooking one will only increase in the coming years. “When we’re going full tilt, we’ll try to replace most of our stockings in the Gila and San Francisco watersheds with Gila trout,” says hatchery manager Leonard Rice, who includes Sapillo Creek, Gila River, Lake Roberts, and Black Canyon Creek as target locations. “There will be fish out there for people to catch.”