Stream Report for Tuesday April 24, 2007
Stream Report for Tuesday April 24, 2007
All anglers are reminded that the new fishing license year began April 1, 2007. New licenses are now available for sale.
Santa Cruz Lake and Stone Lake on the Jicarilla Nation opened Sunday April 1st. Reports from Santa Cruz are mixed. The best producers there are pistol petes, brown woolly buggers, and brown marabou jigs. Stone Lake is currently fishing well. Best fishing is in less than 6 feet of water about 50 feet from the banks as the fish move into the shallows and try to spawn. For those without watercraft, this is an ideal time to fish with average 19" rainbows being caught from the bank. Flies for Stone Lake are egg sucking leeches, wooly bugers, damsel nymphs, and egg patterns. Remember to get your new New Mexico fishing license or Jicarilla Nation permit as both seasons starts April 1st. The High Desert Angler is an official New Mexico license vendor and we also sell Jicarilla Nation fishing permits.
San Juan River 661 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
The San Juan is still a little murky. I've had mixed reports; good fishing for some anglers and not so good for the rest. The best fishing was upstream of Texas Hole to the cable, although there are some fish holding around the instream structure Game and Fish have placed below Simon Canyon. The warmer weather has been drawing a lot of people out and the upper river has been crowded. Baetis hatches are starting up again, but it's still midge hatches are still bringing most fish to the surface. Flies for the San Juan are Johnny flash in chocolate and grey, zebra midges, red or orange San Juan worms, chamois leeches, red disco midges, red desert storms, black beauties, uv flash midge emergers, and black midges.
The Bureau of Reclamation has published the release schedule for Navajo Dam. In anticipation of a potential early spring runoff, the peak release will occur earlier than in previous years. The current plan calls for Reclamation to begin ramping up the release on Monday, April 30, 2007. The release will be increased gradually over four days until the maximum release rate of 5,000 cfs is reached on Thursday, May 3rd. This release rate will remain at 5,000 cfs through Wednesday, May 16th. Then on Thursday, May 17th, the release will begin to be gradually decreased until it reaches 500 cfs on May 23rd. A more detailed schedule showing daily release rates throughout the spring peak release period is currently being developed and will be provided to the public soon. The release pattern, duration, and magnitude for the spring peak release generally follow the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program (SJRIP) Flow Recommendations for Endangered Fish.
Rio Grande 588 cfs at Pilar; Slow for pike, Fair for trout
The Rio Grande is murky but flows have come down over the past week. There are reports of caddis throughout Pilar and up into the lower box. Flies for the Rio Grande are elk hair caddis, emergent sparkle pupa, submarine softhackle, black, brown or olive woolly buggers, autumn splendors, zoo cougars, conehead madonna’s, double hackle peacocks, poundmeisters, caddis nymphs, and pheasant tails. No recent reports of people catching pike on the Rio.
Pecos River 152 cfs below Terrero; Fair
The Pecos River is flowing a little higher with the warmer weather we had on Monday but is still kind of clear and fishable. Mid-mornings have been the best time as the water is on it's way down. Nymphing is the most productive. The Pecos and Mora Creek were stocked late last week. Big stone fly nymphs, prince nymphs, and copper johns were working for several anglers. Brightly colored flies like red, chartreuse, and blue copper johns, and purple prince nymphs usually work on the stockers. Please report anyone over harvesting fish to New Mexico Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263.
Jemez Mountain Streams 137 cfs on main stem Jemez above Jemez Pueblo; Fair
Most of the Jemez streams are clearing and done with runoff. The main stem Jemez and Guadalupe are still high and off color. The best reports have been from the East Fork and the Cebolla. The good news is that runoff peaked weeks ago and seems to be on it's way down. Dry fly dropper rigs over the shallower runs or dead drifting big nymphs in the deeper pools will pick up a few fish.
The Chama River 380 cfs below El Vado Dam; Poor and 198 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Slow
The fishing is downgraded as poor below El Vado as the releases out of the dam went up by 200 cfs yesterday. The water is very murky. Big nymphs like double hackle peacocks and had favorites and streamers like woolly buggers, zoo cougars, and autumn splendors work best. No reports from the Chama below Abiquiui. Streamers are the general fly choices for Abiquiu. The area below Abiquiu Dam is a Special Trout Water with reduced bag limits. The density of fish is very low here and is not stocked. Please report anyone over harvesting here to New Mexico Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263.
Charette Lakes, Clayton Lake, Maxwell Lakes, and McAllister Lake all opened on Thursday March 1st. MacAllister Lake was heavily stocked recently but I still haven't had any reports from there. The main concern on any of these lakes should be the spring winds. Please use extreme caution if you go out on a boat. Fishing will probably be on the slow side. Woolly Buggers, leeches, midges, and aquatic snails, and damsel flies should be the best producers.
Santa Fe River 12 cfs through Santa Fe; Fair
The Santa Fe River was stocked on April 17th. Game and Fish will stock the Santa Fe River any time there is sufficient water to do so. So, no joke, you can catch fish out of this often dry river, at least for the time being. Any location east of downtown Santa Fe is generally preferred for it's access and ambience. With the talk of the Santa Fe River having a year round flow, it could be a good thing to show the demand for a nearby fishery by actually fishing the Santa Fe River. If any one goes, please e-mail me a report.
The Conejos River 272 cfs at Magote; Good
The Conejos River has also been fishing well lately. The road above Elk Creek Campground is open all the way to the Pinnacles. At a few hours drive from Santa Fe, it's within the same driving distance to the San Juan. With warmer temps expected as we get closer to May, this may be one of the last weekends of good fishing before runoff. Flies for the Conejos are krystal woolly buggers, olive bunny leeches, and big stonefly nymphs.
Arkansas River; Good
There are reports of caddis coming off between Salida and Canon City. Currently the river around Salida to Buena Vista is experiencing awsome blue winged olive hatches. The Ark is about four hours from Santa Fe and another river worth exploring, especially if you are one of the many to miss out on the caddis hatch on the Rio Grande.
Water and fishing condtitions are changing daily! Please CALL the fly shop for the latest in stream flows and water conditions.
Please see our announcements page for more news and upcoming events!
Call us at the shop for conditions on waters not listed here. 888-988-7688 out of Santa Fe or 988-7688 in Santa Fe.
For the latest in stream flows, see our links page and click on New Mexico Stream Flows.
All anglers are reminded that the new fishing license year began April 1, 2007. New licenses are now available for sale.
Santa Cruz Lake and Stone Lake on the Jicarilla Nation opened Sunday April 1st. Reports from Santa Cruz are mixed. The best producers there are pistol petes, brown woolly buggers, and brown marabou jigs. Stone Lake is currently fishing well. Best fishing is in less than 6 feet of water about 50 feet from the banks as the fish move into the shallows and try to spawn. For those without watercraft, this is an ideal time to fish with average 19" rainbows being caught from the bank. Flies for Stone Lake are egg sucking leeches, wooly bugers, damsel nymphs, and egg patterns. Remember to get your new New Mexico fishing license or Jicarilla Nation permit as both seasons starts April 1st. The High Desert Angler is an official New Mexico license vendor and we also sell Jicarilla Nation fishing permits.
San Juan River 661 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
The San Juan is still a little murky. I've had mixed reports; good fishing for some anglers and not so good for the rest. The best fishing was upstream of Texas Hole to the cable, although there are some fish holding around the instream structure Game and Fish have placed below Simon Canyon. The warmer weather has been drawing a lot of people out and the upper river has been crowded. Baetis hatches are starting up again, but it's still midge hatches are still bringing most fish to the surface. Flies for the San Juan are Johnny flash in chocolate and grey, zebra midges, red or orange San Juan worms, chamois leeches, red disco midges, red desert storms, black beauties, uv flash midge emergers, and black midges.
The Bureau of Reclamation has published the release schedule for Navajo Dam. In anticipation of a potential early spring runoff, the peak release will occur earlier than in previous years. The current plan calls for Reclamation to begin ramping up the release on Monday, April 30, 2007. The release will be increased gradually over four days until the maximum release rate of 5,000 cfs is reached on Thursday, May 3rd. This release rate will remain at 5,000 cfs through Wednesday, May 16th. Then on Thursday, May 17th, the release will begin to be gradually decreased until it reaches 500 cfs on May 23rd. A more detailed schedule showing daily release rates throughout the spring peak release period is currently being developed and will be provided to the public soon. The release pattern, duration, and magnitude for the spring peak release generally follow the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program (SJRIP) Flow Recommendations for Endangered Fish.
Rio Grande 588 cfs at Pilar; Slow for pike, Fair for trout
The Rio Grande is murky but flows have come down over the past week. There are reports of caddis throughout Pilar and up into the lower box. Flies for the Rio Grande are elk hair caddis, emergent sparkle pupa, submarine softhackle, black, brown or olive woolly buggers, autumn splendors, zoo cougars, conehead madonna’s, double hackle peacocks, poundmeisters, caddis nymphs, and pheasant tails. No recent reports of people catching pike on the Rio.
Pecos River 152 cfs below Terrero; Fair
The Pecos River is flowing a little higher with the warmer weather we had on Monday but is still kind of clear and fishable. Mid-mornings have been the best time as the water is on it's way down. Nymphing is the most productive. The Pecos and Mora Creek were stocked late last week. Big stone fly nymphs, prince nymphs, and copper johns were working for several anglers. Brightly colored flies like red, chartreuse, and blue copper johns, and purple prince nymphs usually work on the stockers. Please report anyone over harvesting fish to New Mexico Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263.
Jemez Mountain Streams 137 cfs on main stem Jemez above Jemez Pueblo; Fair
Most of the Jemez streams are clearing and done with runoff. The main stem Jemez and Guadalupe are still high and off color. The best reports have been from the East Fork and the Cebolla. The good news is that runoff peaked weeks ago and seems to be on it's way down. Dry fly dropper rigs over the shallower runs or dead drifting big nymphs in the deeper pools will pick up a few fish.
The Chama River 380 cfs below El Vado Dam; Poor and 198 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Slow
The fishing is downgraded as poor below El Vado as the releases out of the dam went up by 200 cfs yesterday. The water is very murky. Big nymphs like double hackle peacocks and had favorites and streamers like woolly buggers, zoo cougars, and autumn splendors work best. No reports from the Chama below Abiquiui. Streamers are the general fly choices for Abiquiu. The area below Abiquiu Dam is a Special Trout Water with reduced bag limits. The density of fish is very low here and is not stocked. Please report anyone over harvesting here to New Mexico Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263.
Charette Lakes, Clayton Lake, Maxwell Lakes, and McAllister Lake all opened on Thursday March 1st. MacAllister Lake was heavily stocked recently but I still haven't had any reports from there. The main concern on any of these lakes should be the spring winds. Please use extreme caution if you go out on a boat. Fishing will probably be on the slow side. Woolly Buggers, leeches, midges, and aquatic snails, and damsel flies should be the best producers.
Santa Fe River 12 cfs through Santa Fe; Fair
The Santa Fe River was stocked on April 17th. Game and Fish will stock the Santa Fe River any time there is sufficient water to do so. So, no joke, you can catch fish out of this often dry river, at least for the time being. Any location east of downtown Santa Fe is generally preferred for it's access and ambience. With the talk of the Santa Fe River having a year round flow, it could be a good thing to show the demand for a nearby fishery by actually fishing the Santa Fe River. If any one goes, please e-mail me a report.
The Conejos River 272 cfs at Magote; Good
The Conejos River has also been fishing well lately. The road above Elk Creek Campground is open all the way to the Pinnacles. At a few hours drive from Santa Fe, it's within the same driving distance to the San Juan. With warmer temps expected as we get closer to May, this may be one of the last weekends of good fishing before runoff. Flies for the Conejos are krystal woolly buggers, olive bunny leeches, and big stonefly nymphs.
Arkansas River; Good
There are reports of caddis coming off between Salida and Canon City. Currently the river around Salida to Buena Vista is experiencing awsome blue winged olive hatches. The Ark is about four hours from Santa Fe and another river worth exploring, especially if you are one of the many to miss out on the caddis hatch on the Rio Grande.
Water and fishing condtitions are changing daily! Please CALL the fly shop for the latest in stream flows and water conditions.
Please see our announcements page for more news and upcoming events!
Call us at the shop for conditions on waters not listed here. 888-988-7688 out of Santa Fe or 988-7688 in Santa Fe.
For the latest in stream flows, see our links page and click on New Mexico Stream Flows.
posted by High Desert Angler at Tuesday, April 24, 2007
