Stream Report for Friday January 27, 2006

Stream Report for Friday 27, 2006

 

San Juan River 361 cfs below Navajo Dam

Reports from a couple of our guides is that the water is still murky with visibility of about a foot. Fishing however, was good for anglers throwing larger sizes of the standard midge and baetis patterns, leeches and streamers. There was some fish coming up to BWO’s as well.

 

Rio Grande 264 cfs in the Wild and Scenic section and 440 cfs at Pilar

Fishing for trout remained slow this week with water temps straining to reach 37 degrees. A few were caught during the last hour of day light on Tuesday on black midge larvae fished along the edges. Pike fishing has been good this past week. Jarrett and I taught a Pike clinic for the Truchas Chapter of Trout Unlimited last Saturday. Almost everyone caught a pike, everyone definitely saw pike and one guy caught four! Truchas Chapter still has two spots left on the February 11^th Pike Clinic. Contact them through truchaschatper_tu.org

 

Chama River 246 cfs below El Vado dam and 21 cfs below Abiquiu dam

Fishing remains fair below El Vado. Best reports are from anglers using big  beadheads dead drifted in runs 4-6 feet deep. The Abiquiu stretch has slowed some since the Corps lowered the releases out of the dam. The fish are very spooky in this low water and there seems to not be a whole lot of fish left. Rampant overharvesting occurs here. Please report any violators to NM Game and Fish.

 

Pecos River

The Pecos is iced over in many pools above the village of Pecos. Fishing is very slow. I haven’t had any reports from Villanueva State Park. It’s usually only fishes well after a recent stocking and it’s been a while.

 

Jemez River 27 cfs below Jemez Springs

Game and Fish had recently stocked the main stem Jemez. Other good places to fish are the San Antonio below San Antonio hot springs and the East Fork upstream of Battleship Rock.

 

Thanks to the few volunteers who helped NM Game and Fish stock brown trout fry in the Red River and Rio Grande. This past Tuesday and Wednesday, our shop staff, members of Trout Unlimited, and personnel from the Forest Service and BLM assisted Game and Fish in hiking live fry down into the upper Rio Grande and Red River. We should all appreciate their efforts to improve our fisheries.  

 

 

Stream Report for January 1, 2006

Stream Report fo January 2, 2006

Attention All Anglers!
One of New Mexico's most colorful trout, cutbows, are into their spawn
right now. Please do not damage their spawning beds known as redds by
careless wading. A redd is an area of clean gravel usually located at
the tail of a pool. Sometimes the spawing pair is seen over their redd.
Please do not try to catch these fish as they clearly have something
more important to do. With the drought, forest fires, and rampant
overharvesting here in our state, we should all ensure that cutbows are
successful during their spawn.

San Juan River
Flows are currently at 489 cfs out of Navajo Dam.
The lake has turned over and visibility is less than a foot, however
fishing has been good for some anglers. Red and orange worms, red
midges, crystal antron worms, streamers and bigger fly choices are
working in this off colored water.

The Rio Grande
Flows are currently 312 cfs at Cerro and 515 cfs at Taos Junction. The
river has about 3-4 feet of visibility. Lots of midges hatching during
the sunny part of the day with the occasional baetis hatch. Fishing has
slowed some on the Rio. Best fishing has been late in the afternoon til
dusk. A few people have been catching some pike.

The Chama River
Releases are currntly 223 cfs out of El Vado Dam and 187 cfs out of
Abiquiu Dam. The water below both dams is murky as the lakes have
turned over. I've had a few good reports below El Vado, mostly from
anglers stripping streamers. Other fly choices would be #10-14 hares
ears, #8-12 double hackle peacocks under an indicator. Flies working
there include crane
fly larva, black midges, small pheasant tails, baetis nymphs, woolly
buggers, and parachute adams, and Griffith's gnats. The area below
Abiquiu Dam is designated as a Special Trout Water with a reduced bag
limit. Please report violators to New Mexico Game and Fish at
1-800-432-4263. There is a serious overharvesting problem here and
better fishing will not happen through complacency.

Pecos River
The water is quite low, clear, and cold. Fishing above the village of
Pecos has slowed dramatically. Villanueva State Park was stocked on
December 15th. I haven't had any reports from there yet.

Jemez River
The water is low, clear, and cold over much of the Jemez streams.
Exceptions would be the East Fork below McCauley hot springs or the San
Antonio below San Antonio hot springs. Both require a bit of a hike
especailly San Antonio. Small dry fly dropper rigs work best. The main
stem Jemez from Jemez Springs to Jemez Pueblo was stocked on the 14th.

Elephant Butte Lake
Hard to fish here with out a boat except for the dirt dam area. It can
be sheltered here depending on wind direction. I've had a few reports
of striped bass being caught from shore based anglers fishing the dirt
dam. It's a great way to make use of some of your saltwater gear and
catch fish measured in pounds rather than inches.

High Desert Angler
435 S. Guadalupe
Santa Fe, NM 87501
505 988 7688
www.highdesertangler.com
Fall/Winter hours: 10am-6pm Mon-Sat 12pm-5pm Sun