EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — After more than a decade of being closed, Bonito Lake is set to open to anglers in time for Memorial Day weekend.
According to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Bonito Lake will open to the public on Saturday, May 25. The lake is located almost 13 miles northwest of Ruidoso, New Mexico.
Bonito Lake, owned by the City of Alamogordo, was filled with sediment after the 2012 Little Bear Fire.
According to the Department of Game and Fish, the City has made extensive efforts to remove the sediment and restore the lake.
Angler fishing from Lake Bonito. Photo courtesy to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
The City of Alamogordo and the Department of Game and Fish signed an agreement through the Department’s “Open Gate Access” program to allow angling to resume at the lake.
Anglers at Bonito Lake can only allow fishing from the lakeshore in open areas, excluding the shore near the dam and Bonito Creek inlet.
Lake Bonito. Photo courtesy to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
According to the Department, access to the lake is allowed 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Camping, boating, building fires, swimming, and other outdoor activities are not permitted. Signs posted at Bonito Lake’s entrance will provide visitors with a full list of rules with details.
The Department will stock the lake with rainbow trout before Saturday’s opening along with Brook trout. Both fish species can be harvested by licensed anglers under the statewide five-trout-per-day bag limit.
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