Navajo Lake is a reservoir in New Mexico, near Rio Arriba County.
Navajo Lake is a San Juan River reservoir in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. At full pool it covers about 15,610 acres, reaches about 388 feet, and holds roughly 1,708,600 acre-feet.
Before moving far on this water, one weed edge or deeper pocket can hold much of the day’s activity. Deep water at Navajo Lake gives fish room to move away from shore as summer heat and bright light build.
Navajo Lake is a long, deep San Juan River reservoir with three very different arms. The San Juan stretches roughly 35 miles, the Pine about 13 miles, and the Piedra about 4 miles, giving anglers river water, canyon banks, flooded coves, and deep open water in one lake.
Smallmouth bass fit broken rock and steep points, northern pike use shallower cover, and kokanee need an open-water search. Trout may follow cool inflow or hold below the bright surface. Fish one arm at a time because water color, temperature, and bait can change well before the next arm.
At full pool, the reservoir covers about 15,610 acres and holds roughly 1.7 million acre-feet. The water near Navajo Dam can be close to 388 feet deep. That great depth gives cold-water fish room to separate from bass, pike, crappie, and catfish, but it does not make the deepest hole the automatic target.
The San Juan arm is long enough to change character several times. Fresh inflow can add color and move food, while lower sections become clearer and more lake-like. A good first check is the clean-water edge, followed by the first rocky point that reaches toward the old river path.
Smallmouth bass are one of Navajo’s strongest practical targets. Tubes, Ned rigs, and small crankbaits fit the broken sandstone, especially where a shelf falls quickly. Make the cast shallow and let the lure cross several depths; bites on the fall often show the useful part of the break.
Kokanee are a different trip. They can suspend over very deep water and may move with plankton and temperature rather than visible cover. Keep trolling passes short until the depth is clear, then repeat the same level instead of making a wide loop that mixes several unproductive depths.
Northern pike and warm-water fish belong in the backs of coves and shallower arms. A sturdy spoon or minnow lure can cover weeds, flooded brush, and the edge of a flat. If that water is muddy or too warm, return to the closest firm point and fish the cleaner side.
The San Juan, Pine, and Piedra arms differ in length, inflow, shoreline shape, and water color, so the same lure depth will not fit all three.
Work a tube or small crankbait down broken rock where a point or canyon turn reaches deeper water.
Search open water for a suspended school, then troll a small spoon through that exact level instead of following the bottom.
Explore nearby waters, including local Featured destinations. Check each page for access and fishing restrictions.
Distances are straight-line estimates between mapped water locations.
Source dates describe the evidence, not a live catch forecast. Check the managing authority before planning access or keeping fish.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.