By Matt Pelletier
It’s funny how we do this to ourselves. We often give in as our brain tries to feed our appetite for more fish, bigger fish, or better water. I blame the fishing shows that boast amazing fishing at waters here and there on a map. They get us dreaming and sometimes even planning trips to waters we had never heard of. All in search of trophy catches you can often find on your home waters through research and determination. Growing up I dreamed of taking trips to waters in Minnesota or Canada in hopes of catching the big pike and tiger muskies we’ve all heard and read about. I’ll get around to it one of these days, but here in New Mexico we have a few of those “gem fisheries” also. One in particular is rather unique to this region and very special; truly a fishery worth boasting and writing home about. But before I share about a lake that’s been given the name “Muskie Land” I’d like to back up a bit and revisit the fishery 30 years ago.
New Mexico before Tiger Muskies
Bluewater Lake is one of several New Mexico State Parks and is located in the west/central region of the state. Its location is very close to the continental divide and the lake sits at 7,400 feet in elevation so the lake freezes over nearly every winter. It’s a canyon lake, meaning it’s got a variation of steep grades to the shoreline and the middle of the lake is the deep water. When we do get rain, the lake catches a lot of runoff which results in it being a very fertile body of water that grows fish quickly.
In the mid 1980’s it was known as a trophy trout fishery and anglers enjoyed fishing for 3-7 pound trout always knowing there’s a chance of latching into a fish nearing 10 pounds. In those days Bluewater was about 35-40 feet deep and average surface acreage of water was 1,500 or more. There was even a hatchery in the region which allowed our state to stock trout there regularly.
Over the years drought has starved this region of water and today Bluewater Lake fluctuates between 16-25 feet deep, and water temperatures top out around 75 in the summer. In 1948 the Bluewater Toltec Irrigation District established a permanent storage pool of 320 surface acres. Current estimates indicate the lake is currently below that minimum pool level but for some reason irrigation still occurs. Obviously this isn’t ideal habitat for trout but surprisingly we still catch some big rainbows from time to time while we’re out targeting tigers.
Over the year the number of trout stockings decreased but angling pressure grew. That along with low water levels is reason for the drastic decline in trout populations. It’s also become perfect habitat for white suckers which have historically been a challenging species for New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) to control population biomass densities within the lake. Then somehow, somewhere in the early 1990’s, a population of goldfish exploded and eventually whipped out what trout habitat was left. Trash fish populations had become the main biomass of the fishery and in the early 2000’s NMDGF electrofishing surveys would yield over 800 trash fish per hour!
Clearly something had to be done to control these less desired fish species. Draining the lake was too risky, poison wasn’t something that would be received well by locals, and the largemouth bass that were stocked weren’t going to be able to keep up with the reproductive rate of the suckers and goldfish.
A New Fishery Is Born
Then a genius from our G&F named Rick Castell proposed stocking tiger muskies in Bluewater Lake and Quemado Lake. Other states have had success using the species for trash fish control because they grow fast and like eating soft fin/schooling baitfish. Being the fish are sterile they could stop stocking them if they don’t do their job and no harm will have been done. Well, the proposal was approved and in 2003 New Mexico received its first official stockings of tiger muskies. Since then, NMDGF has continued stocking tiger muskies and so far it’s been a huge success. It has certainly been a challenging lake to manage but there’s no doubt the fish have done their job and also created a trophy sport fishery for us here in a state where so much effort goes into put and take trout fisheries. Anglers here and abroad are now planning trips to Bluewater Lake to experience this world class fishery.
What makes this fishery so amazing is the shear numbers of tigers per acre of water. In the Midwest anglers are lucky to find a body of water with more than 2 or 3 muskies per acre. In 2008 NMDGF projected over 25 tiger muskies per acre of water in Bluewater lake alone; this estimate didn’t even include fish 20″ and shorter! Of the estimated 2-3,000 tiger muskies that were 38-41″ only 5% of those were over 40″. While it made for some great days for numbers of fish caught on the water; the NMDGF was worried that there may be too many adults and competition in the lake so they abandoned the mandatory catch and release regulations. The new plan was to allow anglers to keep one 40″ tiger muskie per day. At first our Chapter of New Mexico Muskies Inc (NMMI-Chapter 59) hated the idea but after spending some time speaking with muskie biologist and guru John Casselman, he convinced us that the adult population needed to be decreased to allow room for our fish to reach their full growth potential.
In 2010 the new regulation was implemented and we immediately saw an increase in traffic at the lake. So much of an increase that the park broke attendance records every other week. The cat was out of the bag and everyone and their kid was out there throwing tiny spoons on rods fit for trout fishing. Obviously this is far from conventional musky gear but amazingly we see people land big fish with 2 inch lures, 4 pound test and no steel! Meanwhile we’re out there with no less than 30lb mainline and 20 inch leaders and we still get sliced off on occasion. Then we started finding signs of the abuse these fish were taking as a result of people being unprepared and not having the proper tackle. This has resulted in NMMI becoming active trying to educate anglers in our state on the proper catch and release techniques and gear necessary when targeting tiger muskies. In 2012 the state record was broken 5 times and the current record is 50 1/2″ and 38.6 pounds and the fish is said to have been caught on a 2 inch minnow bait. The next few years will be crucial and will give us an idea of how long these fish are living. If we find our fish living beyond 10-12 years we just might see some mid 50 inch fish come out of the lake. This is yet to be seen however and our fish grow faster than muskie in the Midwest when growth curve charts are compared between the two. This leads me to believe that our fish won’t live longer than 10 or 11 years because the warmer water they inhabit allows quick growth but almost guarantees these fish won’t live as long as their brothers up north.
Western Gear and Techniques
I’ll never forget the day I caught my first tiger muskie: June 10, 2007. They were all 20 to 32 inch fish but my wife and I landed over 12 of them and a sick addiction was born. Since that day I’ve spent countless hours fishing Bluewater and Quemado Lakes and I still can’t get enough.
While trolling works for some we don’t see a lot of big fish caught this way. I prefer casting structure and covering a lot of water with 7 to 10 inch baits, but sometimes I’ll throw smaller baits. Dynamic Lures, a small independent manufacturer, makes a variety of baits I use when targeting tigers. The soft bodied FX Fury is a line through swimbait that has an enticing wobble as well as a heavy tail kick that drives these fish wild. It’s become one of my favorite baits because of how versatile it is. I can slow roll this bait close to 45 degree banks and keep it close to the bottom, burn it fast just under the surface and watch as fish come from nowhere and crush it, or vertically jig it after a follower disappears below the boat. They also make another great bait that works year round as I’m able to fish it very slow without it falling fast; the Dynamo LP. I also use Dingo’s, inline spinners, a variety of jerkbaits such as X-Raps, SP Pointers, HD XXL’s, and Travado DP’s.
Let’s face it, muskie fishing isn’t for the “gotta have action now” kind of guy. Even with ridiculous fish populations here in New Mexico we can still go days on end without catching a big fish. But when the magic happens, all hell breaks loose and adrenaline rushes rapidly through your veins. I still shake like crazy when I have a big tiger on the line or get followed by a fish only to see it swim off and never return. It’s a feeling I don’t get when I catch or target any other species. There’s something about “hunting” a fish that knows it’s the boss in the lake and can kill anything it wants when it wants. You may be able to find them but being there when that kill switch activates and they attack your bait with voraciousness is a moment you have to be patient and persistent to witness.
To me, a muskie angler is a different breed of fisherman. There’s something rare and a bit insane about a person that willingly plans fishing trips where they’re likely to get skunked every trip; yet comes home with a smile and memories of brief moments when the magic almost happened… All while planning the next trip in hopes of it being the one where it all finally comes together and then the final thrill of watching the catch swimming away makes it all worthwhile.
Matt Peletier was born and raised in Albuquerque New Mexico and has always enjoyed the outdoors. In 2001 he became a dedicated angler that fishing every weekend/chance, any specie, and any water he could find. Matt’s also dedicated to New Mexico Muskies Inc and NM Muskie fisheries. He has served as Secretary, VP, and most recently had the privilege of serving the Members as President from June 2009-Current. He is also a Member of the Dynamic Lures Pro Staff Team as well as the 2010 NMDGF (A.R.E.) Aquatic Resource Education Volunteer of the year. 2013 brings in new adventures as we launch “FE Guide Service”, and will be booking clients for trips to Bluewater Lake at feguides.com. Eventually we will offer trips to several bodies of water as we build our clients list and bring on new guides
