NEW LEASE OF SPRINGER LAKE EXTENDS PUBLIC FISHING ANOTHER 20 YEARS
SPRINGER, N.M. – Springer Lake, once home to a New Mexico record northern pike, will remain open to public fishing for the next 20 years under a new lease between the Springer Ditch Co. and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. The lease began March 1 and ends Feb. 28, 2025. The lake about two miles west of Springer was similarly leased for the past 20 years. The Department will pay $76,000 in three payments for the new lease. The 150 surface-acre lake has a boat ramp, parking area and outdoor restrooms. In recent years, Springer Lake had about 4,000 angler-days of use annually. Under the lease, the lake is to average 700 acre-feet in size and is not to drop below a minimum pool of 400 acre-feet. In 1978, Paul Casi as caught a state-record 36-pound northern pike at Springer Lake. Casias shares the state record with Samuel Roy, who caught a 36-pound pike at Miami Lake in 1974. Springer Lake also contains bluegills, sunfish and bass.
