Elephant Butte Reservoir fishing: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Freshwater Drum
Target species: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Freshwater Drum, White Bass
The reservoir
Elephant Butte Reservoir covers 10,620 acres in New Mexico, across Sierra County. It is a reservoir: 91.2% of it is 75 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is ≈103 feet (31.3 m); at the dam, USGS RESSED gives 197 feet (60 m) at full pool. Our records hold 6 species for this water.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: ≈103 ft (31.3 m). USGS RESSED gives 197 ft (60 m) at the dam at full pool: a measured figure, not a survey map. 91.2% of the water is 75 feet or shallower. We hold 302 depth contours for this water, drawn from 429,758 soundings.
- 0–5 ft: 0.1% of the water
- 5–10 ft: 1.1% of the water
- 10–15 ft: 6.7% of the water
- 15–20 ft: 8.2% of the water
- 20–25 ft: 8.8% of the water
- 25–30 ft: 8.9% of the water
- 30–35 ft: 7.9% of the water
- 35–40 ft: 8.6% of the water
- 40–45 ft: 7.3% of the water
- 45–50 ft: 7.9% of the water
- 50–55 ft: 7.7% of the water
- 55–60 ft: 5% of the water
- 60–65 ft: 2.9% of the water
- 65–70 ft: 2.9% of the water
- 70–75 ft: 7.2% of the water
- 75–80 ft: 4.6% of the water
- 80–85 ft: 2.6% of the water
- 85–90 ft: 1.9% of the water
4 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass
- Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
- Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Freshwater Drum — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
- White Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
Also recorded here: Black Crappie, White Crappie.
Water and conditions
Our water temperature readings average 76°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.4. These readings span 2019–2020. The latest reading is from 2020, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.
What is hard here
Wind is the limit, not the fish: 10,620 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle.
Where this data comes from
- US Bureau of Reclamation, Technical Service Center — USBR reservoir bottom surfaces (GIS): class A, a survey of the bottom, 2017.
- USGS RESSED — USGS RESSED reservoir sedimentation database: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
- USACE CWMS — USACE CWMS elevation-area curves: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
- U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (RISE) — USBR area-capacity tables (RISE): class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
Part of these depths rest on an averaged water level, so they are approximate (≈).
