Stony Lake

Stony Lake is a reservoir in Mora County, New Mexico, and covers about 23 acres, reaches about 9.6 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 123.3 acre-feet.

Stony Lake is small water, so a careful lap around the bank can show most of the useful cover. With little deep water in Stony Lake, weeds, wind, and water color can matter more than depth alone.

Fish and Baits

Fish listed for Stony Lake include Bluegill, Channel Catfish, and Green Sunfish.

One direct bluegill tactic on Stony Lake is to use a small jig, worm, or tiny plastic around green weeds and protected pockets.

Start the channel catfish search on Stony Lake by trying to fish cut bait or a nightcrawler on the bottom along a channel edge or warm flat.

How to Read the Water

A useful start on Stony Lake is simple: do not let the deepest number control the whole day; nearby cover, firm bottom, and food usually matter more than the deepest hole by itself.

Season by Season

Use this plain plan on Stony Lake: in spring, start with warming banks, creek mouths, and shallow cover; summer usually pushes the better bite toward the outside weed edge or a nearby drop; fall can bring bait back to windblown points, while winter calls for smaller moves and a slower pace.

A Simple Tackle Plan

For the next pass on Stony Lake, a medium spinning rod, 8-pound line, a small box of jigs, a few crankbaits, and a simple bottom rig cover most situations; change depth or speed before changing every piece of tackle.

Before moving far on Stony Lake, record the wind, water color, productive depth, and cover after a bite; those four notes are more useful on the next trip than a long list of spots that did not produce.