Shady Lakes

The difference between New Mexico's...Buffalo Thunder and The Shake Lakes Property. , for Albuquerque convention, reasonable access, one come actually walkup to the lake, family friendly, with a Golf course membership, Its rte 313 to be sited as a Historical roadway path, beginning at 4th st nw &Alameda Blvd nw, in an attempt to keep its natural environment, set aside the true native language, with a display of cultural arts, its claimed safest roadway across America, by its twinn environment of Sandia Lakes different, its man created vs natural environment, comments on the Revatilizion of this Historical site is yet to be completed. ,☆☆☆☆☆

Well not only do they charge you $7-11 per person for their fishing license even if you already have the state license, but they also charge you per inch for every fish. Naturally this wouldn't be a huge problem but they also force you to keep EVERY trout you catch. Even if it's not a decent size. The bass, bluegill and carp are catch and release only. Again not a huge problem except you will snag your hooks on every lily pad in the ponds. The ponds are so over grown with the water plants that it's not even worth trying to fish. The employees decided it would be a great idea to also sneak behind a tree and start making out instead of doing their jobs. Real professional for a "family and child friendly" establishment. Then to top everything off they over charged my card! I only spent $56.50 and they charged my card for over $230. When I called them they said they would take care of it but that they had to call the owner. I put a stop payment on the charge immediately because they never took my contact info to make certain that I received my money back.

Unbelieveable Pay per person and per fish....
Fish taste like toxic wast from run off of local area farms and livestock.

My husband and I took our dog here a couple of years ago. We don't fish, so it was just to spend some time in nature and check out the shop. We all liked it; our dog especially. We kept him on leash, of course, and I don't know why the ""Anonymous"" reviewer wasn't allowed to bring his dogs with him. There were too many noisy children for our taste, but kids are one of the target audiences so we expected it. If you don't expect too much privacy or grandeur, this is a nice outing in town, with or without children.

Very surprised to see complaints about folks having problems with Shady Lakes. I've dealt with them every year for over 10 years and have always had an excellent experience.

I primarily go for ponding supplies, such as fish, frogs, snails, and plants. Everything I've purchased has always been long lasting. Their advice has always been valuable. One of the benefits of being a longtime customers is seeing the amazing changes to the property over the years. It inspires me every year!!

As for the fishing, you have two opportunities; 1) Catch and Release in the big lily pond or 2) Fishing in the barrel. That is, if you want to ensure your little angler gets something, take them to the small pond. Yes, you have to pay for whatever you catch, but that's one of the costs of being assured that they'll get the excitement of the catch.

As Francois mentioned, Shady Lakes is a private business. They're not there as a public park (try the Rio Grande access area for that), but what they do have is worth whatever fee they want to charge for the experience.

I could not possibly disagree more with the ""anonymous"" poster who said ""do not go there"" - then goes on to talk about being harassed, having to pay, etc., by the owners...
Listen, folks - you have to understand the RULES of using private (emphasis on PRIVATE) fishing lakes like this. First, the owners have the right to charge what they see fit for people who are fishing, or not fishing, etc. If you are not willing to pay, then go to a public place.
I took my granddaughter there for her third birthday in 2010, and I could not have been more pleased. She got bites, and she caught fish - including one that was 18 inches! Yes - you pay - you pay for the privilege of using their space and fishing (or having a picnic, or whatever). Then, you pay for the fish you catch by the inch (they do also have some ponds for catch and release of warm water species - but you must keep and pay for all trout caught). It's not cheap. But, neither is the gasoline you have to put in your car to drive somewhere that you might catch some decent fish.
We had such a great time! This is an IDEAL place to take small children to teach them the basics of fishing, where they WILL catch some fish - and, don't forget, folks - they have to buy all of the fish that are put in there for the kids to catch.
Would I go back there? Yes - absolutely!! When my grandkids all get old enough to fish - they will probably also catch their ""first fish"" at Shady Lakes. These folks are friendly, they run a very nice operation, close to town, and maintain it well. I wouldn't hesitate to return.

this is not a good place to fish. I visited this place with my brother to teach him how to fish and after such a horrible time i would highly recommend anyone not to go fish at this place. 1. as we drove up we were immediatly harrased by the owners to pay for every single person in the car even if they were just going to sit in the car and wait or else they would call the police. 2. I couldnt believe this and to make things worse they did not allow my dogs to come with me. we we not the only people around and on several occasions i saw the owners harrasing other customers who were just trying to fish and have a good time with their family. 3. by the end of this ordeal i was yelled at by this blonde lady who said she owned the place and she treated everyone awful. this lady has issues or something, i told her i would never go there and she said she didnt care that she didnt want our business there anyways! so who wants to go to a place like that and just get yelled at...anyone who reads this... you have been warned