Storrie Lake

Storrie Lake is a reservoir in San Miguel County, New Mexico, and covers about 950 acres, reaches about 40 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 22,702 acre-feet.

Several patterns can work at once on Storrie Lake, especially when wind separates clear water from dirty water.

What Makes Storrie Lake Different

Storrie Lake is a shallow northern New Mexico reservoir where wind, weeds, and the old channel matter more than chasing extreme depth. Rainbow trout, white crappie, channel catfish, carp, and white suckers split the lake into cool-water, cover, and bottom patterns.

Cast small spoons or spinners for rainbow trout, fish tiny jigs around cover for crappie, and use cut bait along the channel for catfish. Carp need a quiet bottom presentation on a shallow flat. Let water color choose the first bank.

How Storrie Lake Fishes

The inventory lists about 950 acres and a deep point near 40 feet. Much of the useful fishing is shallower. A small depth change, clean weed line, or old channel edge can be more important than the deepest part of the lake.

Rainbow trout often respond to a moving lure in cool water. Cast a spoon or spinner across a shelf and count it down between retrieves. If two bites come at the same count, repeat that level instead of moving directly to bottom.

White crappie need cover or a clear edge. Fish the outside of weeds or brush with a small jig before putting the lure into the thickest part. This finds active fish and reduces snags.

Channel catfish and carp share a bottom approach but not always the same bait. Fresh cut bait fits catfish along the channel, while corn or dough bait can work for carp on a quieter flat. Keep each rig in place long enough for scent to spread.

A hard wind can muddy the broad shallow water. Look for the line where stained water meets a cleaner pocket, especially near a point. That edge can gather trout or crappie without forcing the angler into the roughest water.

Fish and Baits

Fish listed for Storrie Lake include Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Rainbow Trout, White Crappie, and White Sucker.

One direct white crappie tactic is to try a light jig or minnow around brush, weeds, and the edge of deeper water.

An easy channel catfish approach is to fish cut bait or a nightcrawler on the bottom along a channel edge or warm flat.

An easy rainbow trout approach is to cast a light spoon, inline spinner, light jig, or fly through cool water.

Try this for common carp: place corn or a dough bait on the bottom along a shallow flat.

How to Read the Water

Before changing spots on Storrie Lake, try wind as a clue; a light push can carry food toward a shoreline, but hard wind may muddy it, so look for a clean edge near a point or protected pocket.

Season by Season

Before moving far on Storrie Lake, begin in spring 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

To begin fishing Storrie Lake, a light spinning rod, thin line, a few light spoons, inline spinners, and jigs cover the listed trout; carry one slightly heavier setup when other fish or windy water call for more control.

After a bite, write down cover, water color, productive depth, and wind; those clues make the next trip easier to plan than a list of random places.

The plan for Storrie Lake starts here: keep the first hour simple: use one moving bait to find active fish, slow down with a jig or natural bait on the best edge, and repeat the same setup when two bites come from matching depth and bottom during that part of the trip.

Storrie Lake FAQs

Why does wind matter at Storrie Lake?

Its open, fairly shallow water changes quickly, with a light wind gathering food and a hard wind muddying broad banks.

Where should anglers look for Storrie crappie?

Try the best weeds, brush, or small drop in protected water with a small jig.

What is a simple Storrie catfish plan?

Fish fresh cut bait on the bottom along the old channel or a warm flat during low light.