Mike Smith
Carlsbad Current-Argus
msmith@currentargus.com

New Mexico anglers are being challenged by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to catch four species of bass that swim in lakes and streams across the state.

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish spokesperson Melissa Garnett said the New Mexico Bass Challenge is a fishing competition that rewards anglers for catching spotted bass, white bass, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass.

Garnett said the challenge is statewide and bass must be caught in public fishing waters, which she defined as “any water the public can freely access. In other words, not a private pond.”

She said the challenge was created in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and officials would like to see the competition grow.

Some of the bass challenge rules

“The challenge is open to all anglers,” Garnett said. “But, if you’re 12 and older you need a valid New Mexico fishing license. Kids licenses are not required for resident and non-resident kids 11 years and younger. If you’re a non-resident 12 or older, you still need a fishing license.”

Garnett said a fishing license can be obtained online at onlinesales.wildlife.state.nm.us or by calling 888-248-6866. She said participants also must have a Customer Identification Number (CIN), which is assigned when an applicant for a hunting or fishing license creates an account with the Department of Game and Fish.

Once the challenge is complete, entrants should submit the CIN, fishing license number, the body of water where the fish was caught and a photo of the fish to dgf-fishingchallenges@state.nm.us.

Garnett said winners would receive a challenge coin from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

“That has our bass challenge logo and the (Department’s) bear head on the other side. You’ll also get a certificate of completion,” she said.

Record-setting catches for the challenge, Garnett said, include a 15-pound, 13-ounce largemouth bass landed by Steve Estrada at Bill Evans Lake in 1995. The record smallmouth bass was caught by Cale Sanders at Ute Lake in 2006 – 7 pounds, three ounces.

More information is available at https://wildlife.dgf.nm.gov/ in the fishing section.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 extension-2361.