New Mexico Trout Stocking Report 2026
Every sentence here comes from the New Mexico Department of Wildlife (NMDOW), and each section names its sources. Updated .
The New Mexico Department of Wildlife (NMDOW) runs six hatcheries. It stocks catchable trout in the more heavily fished waters and smaller trout and salmon where waters can grow them, and waters too warm for trout in summer get rainbows in winter, from November 1 through March 31. NMDOW posts a stocking report every week beside its weekly fishing report. Anglers 12 and older need a license, and the trout limit is 5 a day.
From NMDOW: Fish Hatcheries, NMDOW: 2026-2027 New Mexico Fishing Rules and Info (PDF) and NMDOW: Weekly Fishing & Stocking Report.
The NMDOW trout stocking report
Each week's stocking report, posted as its own file, alongside the weekly fishing reports built from anglers' accounts.
Open the Weekly Fishing & Stocking Report pageWhen New Mexico stocks trout
Winter Trout Waters
From November 1 through March 31, when the water is cool, NMDOW stocks hatchery rainbows in its Winter Trout Waters: stretches of the Black River, the Pecos and the Rio Grande; lakes such as Bosque Redondo, Bottomless Lakes State Park and Tingley Beach; and the Albuquerque, Belen, Bernalillo, Corrales and Peralta drains. The Albuquerque area drains and Tingley Beach are stocked every week through the winter, and Gila trout go into Sapillo Creek and the Gila Forks area in the cooler months.
From NMDOW: 2026-2027 New Mexico Fishing Rules and Info (PDF).
Rules on stocked water
- Anglers 12 and older need a license, valid April 1 to March 31. Residents pay $35 a year, nonresidents $90; either pays $12 a day or $30 for five days; and anglers 12 to 17 pay $5 as residents or $20 as nonresidents. Anglers 18 and older also buy a $4 Habitat Management and Access Validation once each license year, and anglers 12 and older need a $10 Habitat Stamp to fish on Forest Service or BLM land.
- The limit is 5 trout and kokanee a day and 10 in possession, no more than 2 of them lake trout and 2 cutthroat. Special Trout Waters can have their own limits, and Gila trout limits are lower or catch-and-release in several waters.
- A free Gila Trout Fishing Permit is needed to fish Black Canyon, Gilita, Mineral, Mogollon, Sapillo, Whitewater and Willow creeks and the West Fork of the Gila.
From NMDOW: 2026-2027 New Mexico Fishing Rules and Info (PDF).
How to hear about a stocking
- Check the week's stocking report on NMDOW's Weekly Fishing & Stocking Report page. Anglers can send in their own week on the form there, which builds the weekly fishing report and helps the department plan its stocking.
Worth knowing before you go looking
- Not every trout is a hatchery fish. Some waters are managed for native Rio Grande cutthroat and others for wild brown trout, which breed throughout the state. Where hatchery rainbows could breed with native fish, NMDOW stocks sterile rainbows from its Glenwood hatchery.
- Each autumn NMDOW takes kokanee eggs to raise the fry it stocks in Navajo and Eagle Nest lakes, so no kokanee may be kept at Heron Lake and Willow Creek from October 1 to November 10.
From NMDOW: 2026-2027 New Mexico Fishing Rules and Info (PDF) and NMDOW: Fish Hatcheries.
Which day to fish it
The schedule says where the fish went in. Which day to go is a different question: the forecast scores each day of the week for trout at the water you pick, from its water temperature, the wind and the weather.
See the week for rainbow troutSpecies guides: Rainbow Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brown Trout · Kokanee
Sources
Every sentence above was read on one of these pages, and a check re-reads each quoted line against the page it came from.
Spotted something out of date or plain wrong here? Tell us and we will check it.