Santa Rosa Lake is a reservoir in New Mexico, near Guadalupe County.
Santa Rosa Lake is a reservoir in Guadalupe County, New Mexico, and covers about 16,670 acres, reaches about 40 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 200,000 acre-feet.
Wind can change Santa Rosa Lake quickly, so pick one manageable section and learn it before crossing open water.
Santa Rosa Lake is the first major dam on the Pecos River. It was built for flood control, irrigation storage, and sediment control, so drawdowns and river inflow can change its points, flats, and shoreline cover from one season to the next.
Walleye are the lead target on firm points, old channel turns, and riprap. Crappie and largemouth bass use the best brush or small protected cuts, while channel catfish work the river path and warm flats. Let the current pool decide which cover is real.
The reservoir was authorized in 1954 and built from 1976 through 1981. That flood-control job matters to anglers because a bank that held brush during one trip may be bare later. Use the current waterline only as a starting clue, then find the first old ledge below it.
Santa Rosa is known for productive walleye fishing. Walleye often favor a firm edge rather than a soft open flat, especially when a point reaches the old river path. A jig checks the lower edge well, while a crankbait is useful when fish move onto the crown to feed.
The lake can be drawn down in spring and fall. Isolated rock, old roadbeds, and sharper channel turns become more important. During a rise, freshly covered flats may draw bait and give bass or crappie new shallow water for a short time.
Smallmouth and largemouth bass are both listed, but they should not be treated as one target. Smallmouth fit broken rock and firm banks. Largemouth are more likely around protected brush, a small pocket, or any green cover that stays under water.
A simple first-hour route begins on one rocky point for walleye, moves into the closest protected cut for crappie, and ends on the old river edge with a catfish rig. The three stops are close together but test very different fish.
Storage and drawdowns change the shoreline and may move fish from shallow cover toward the old Pecos River channel.
Fish a firm point from its shallow top toward the old channel with a jig, minnow rig, or small crankbait.
Try brush, small cuts, and the first sharp drop in protected water with a small jig or minnow.
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.