Tompson Reservoir

Tompson Reservoir is a reservoir in Otero County, New Mexico, and covers about 0.6 acres, reaches about 2.5 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 0.9 acre-feet.

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

Fish and Baits

Fish listed for Tompson Reservoir include Bluegill, Channel Catfish, and Green Sunfish.

For bluegill on Tompson Reservoir, use a small jig, worm, or tiny plastic around green weeds and protected pockets.

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

How to Read the Water

For a short trip to Tompson Reservoir, use wind as a clue; a light push can carry food toward a bank, but hard wind may muddy it, so look for a clean edge near a point or protected pocket.

Season by Season

To begin fishing Tompson Reservoir, early in the year, protected water and the first warm afternoon can be the best clues; as the water heats up, check deeper edges without assuming every fish is on the bottom; cooling fall water often makes points and firm banks useful again.

A Simple Tackle Plan

When the bite is slow on Tompson Reservoir, 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.

Use this plain plan on Tompson Reservoir: 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.