Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Monday October 12, 2009
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Pecos River 37 cfs below Terrero; Good
The Pecos is fishing fairly well with a few hatches of Blue Winged Olives and small caddis. Fishing is slow until mid-day, and dry dropper rigs work better than dries during that period. Fish the riffled water, pocket water, and places where the water is deeper. These fish aren't the gullible ones of early summer. Use fluorocarbon tippets and fish small baetis nymphs and midges. Yes, take your San Jaun box to the Pecos. Don't be a poacher! Please respect all of the landowners along the Pecos and stay out of all posted private waters. Please report anyone over harvesting fish or poaching to New Mexico Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263.
San Juan River 645 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
In order to maintain sufficient flows in the critical reach habitat for native fishes downstream of Farmington, the release was increased out of Navajo Dam. No word on how long we'll see the higher flows so take advantage of this. Fish cream, gray, or olive midge emergers and larvae in the morning below Texas Hole, then switch to baetis from lunch time til 5:00 pm. Fish midges upstream from the upper flats to the cable hole. The upper flats has good sight fishing with midges all day. Size 24 to 26 for the midges and size 20-22 for the baetis in an olive or gray, RS2's, johnny flash, or foam wings. If you are willing to go small, the fish will eat. Time to go to the small stuff and 6X or even 7X fluorocarbon tippets. Bunny leech type streamers in the deeper runs can be incredible. There is a two fly only rule for the quality waters of the San Juan. This rule went into effect on July 1st of 2008. Also, the Special Trout Water section is all no kill as of September 15th. If you see someone in violation, turn them into Game and Fish. Officers have been checking people for licenses, barbless flies, and the number of flies on your rig! File those barbs or go barbless, as the fines are steep!
Rio Grande 84 cfs at Cerro; Fair: 247 cfs at Pilar; Fair for pike, Good for trout, Slow for smallmouth bass
The Rio Grande is somewhat clear at 3 feet of visibility. For trout, show them a crane fly larvae, stonelfy nymph, or work streamers around structure. If you see some brown trout paired up or see a redd, please avoid them. A redd is their spawning bed and is marked by an area of clean gravel compared to the rest of the stream, and can usually be found in the tailouts. The low flows we are currently seeing should make casting to pike alot easier. Pike hunt by feel and they'll take large streamers that move water regardless of water clarity, just be sure to cover the water thoroughly. Cover the deep, slower runs and change flies frequently to see which ones trigger a strike.
Cimarron River 17cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Very Good
The Cimarron River is dam controlled for the most part by Eagle Nest dam. The release is down, but fishing is good. The lower river is more open and can offer easier casting than the brushy stuff on the upper end. There are some caddis, but blue winged olives are in the biggest numbers. Flies for the Cimarron are scuds, hares ear nymphs, miracle nymphs, BNWO's, and BLM's.
Jemez Mountain Streams 19 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Fair to Good
The Cebolla, the East Fork, and the San Antonio are fishing well with a dries or a dry with a small dropper. The lower streams like the Guadalupe and the main stem Jemez have more water and are fishing well from mid-day on. October 24th is the last day to fish the Valles Caldera. If you are interested, see their website at VallesCaldera.gov.
The Chama River above the village of Chama; Fair to Good: 43 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Slow to Fair: 391 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow: and 330 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Poor
Currently, the Sargent Wildlife Area or the Chama above El Vado are the places to fish. Fish Red Quills and Blue Winged Olives in the Sargent and large nymphs like craneflies and stoneflies or streamers like slumpbusters for the river above El Vado. Check the flows before you make that drive to one of the tailwaters. The fishing is generally fair below El Vado using big nymphs with flash and sparkle or streamers. Cover the tailouts of pools and hit the obvious seams. The release out of Abiquiu fluctuates greatly depending on irrigation need and municipal water supplies so it's best to find someplace else to fish until realeases stabilize for the winter. Baetis nymphs, midges, and crane fly larva are the usual flies for the Chama below Abiquiu. Even though this stretch does have some decent natural reproduction, most of the fish that get caught, get kept. The tailwater sections usually fish best below 300 cfs. The Chama River above El Vado and below Abiquiu are Special Trout Waters with reduced bag limits. The density of fish is very low there and is not stocked. Please report anyone over harvesting here to New Mexico Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263.
In Southern Colorado:
Conejos River 58 cfs below Platoro, 124 cfs at Mogote; Good
Rocktober 9, 2009. "Found some bugs that had some magic to them today. Flows bumped up as well as the lower river is now at a pretty choice 168 cfs. Biot Stone was magic today. Fish in deeper runs. Water color slightly colored. The lake at Platoro is turning over putting some color and dendritis (JUNK) in the water and as those of you who know often makes the Conejos a little more friendly to fish. Saw a few pictures of an angler this morning that landed in a day a 24" mutant brown with a huge girth and a bow that was maybe 26 or so that was obsene. Very impressive and makes going to the river with a fly that much more interesting. Jon Harp of Conejos River Anglers provided the preceding report.
Arkansas River 210 cfs at Granite; Good: 345 cfs at Salida; Good
Releases for the summer flow augmentation program have ended, but the Bureau of Rec, is begining to make room in some of the upstream reservoirs in the Arkansas Basin, so flows are back up for a month or more. At these levels, fish have been holding in deeper runs until the baetis hatch starts around 1:00 pm. At that time fish move into the rifles to eat emerging Blue Winged Olives,especially in the Salida area. From Brown's Canyon to Granite, try dry dropper rigs with a small micro may or BLM as a dropper and swith to small caddis or Blue Winged Olives.
Animas River 194 cfs at Durango; Slow to Fair
The Animas is fairly clear and fishing better with the cooler nights lately. Caddis nymphs with a trailing midge or pheasant tail drifted and swung along the banks will pick up some fish. The release on the Delores below McPhee is currenlty at 36 cfs. The fish here are very skittish making for some technical presentations.
Rio Grande 30 cfs at Creede; Slow to Fair: 174 cfs at Wagon Wheel Gap; Good
Releases out of Rio Grande Reservoir have been stable and has made for easy wading and good fishing from Creede downstream. The box canyon and the oxbows above Creede are fishing slower than the lower river with the cooler temps of fall. The South Fork of the Rio has fishing well on small attractors, BWO's, caddis and small adams.
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.
It's late summer in New Mexico and water and fishing condtitions change frequently! Please CALL the fly shop for the latest in stream flows and water conditions.
For the most current stream flows, see our links page and click on New Mexico Stream Flows.
Pecos River 37 cfs below Terrero; Good
The Pecos is fishing fairly well with a few hatches of Blue Winged Olives and small caddis. Fishing is slow until mid-day, and dry dropper rigs work better than dries during that period. Fish the riffled water, pocket water, and places where the water is deeper. These fish aren't the gullible ones of early summer. Use fluorocarbon tippets and fish small baetis nymphs and midges. Yes, take your San Jaun box to the Pecos. Don't be a poacher! Please respect all of the landowners along the Pecos and stay out of all posted private waters. Please report anyone over harvesting fish or poaching to New Mexico Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263.
San Juan River 645 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
In order to maintain sufficient flows in the critical reach habitat for native fishes downstream of Farmington, the release was increased out of Navajo Dam. No word on how long we'll see the higher flows so take advantage of this. Fish cream, gray, or olive midge emergers and larvae in the morning below Texas Hole, then switch to baetis from lunch time til 5:00 pm. Fish midges upstream from the upper flats to the cable hole. The upper flats has good sight fishing with midges all day. Size 24 to 26 for the midges and size 20-22 for the baetis in an olive or gray, RS2's, johnny flash, or foam wings. If you are willing to go small, the fish will eat. Time to go to the small stuff and 6X or even 7X fluorocarbon tippets. Bunny leech type streamers in the deeper runs can be incredible. There is a two fly only rule for the quality waters of the San Juan. This rule went into effect on July 1st of 2008. Also, the Special Trout Water section is all no kill as of September 15th. If you see someone in violation, turn them into Game and Fish. Officers have been checking people for licenses, barbless flies, and the number of flies on your rig! File those barbs or go barbless, as the fines are steep!
Rio Grande 84 cfs at Cerro; Fair: 247 cfs at Pilar; Fair for pike, Good for trout, Slow for smallmouth bass
The Rio Grande is somewhat clear at 3 feet of visibility. For trout, show them a crane fly larvae, stonelfy nymph, or work streamers around structure. If you see some brown trout paired up or see a redd, please avoid them. A redd is their spawning bed and is marked by an area of clean gravel compared to the rest of the stream, and can usually be found in the tailouts. The low flows we are currently seeing should make casting to pike alot easier. Pike hunt by feel and they'll take large streamers that move water regardless of water clarity, just be sure to cover the water thoroughly. Cover the deep, slower runs and change flies frequently to see which ones trigger a strike.
Cimarron River 17cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Very Good
The Cimarron River is dam controlled for the most part by Eagle Nest dam. The release is down, but fishing is good. The lower river is more open and can offer easier casting than the brushy stuff on the upper end. There are some caddis, but blue winged olives are in the biggest numbers. Flies for the Cimarron are scuds, hares ear nymphs, miracle nymphs, BNWO's, and BLM's.
Jemez Mountain Streams 19 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Fair to Good
The Cebolla, the East Fork, and the San Antonio are fishing well with a dries or a dry with a small dropper. The lower streams like the Guadalupe and the main stem Jemez have more water and are fishing well from mid-day on. October 24th is the last day to fish the Valles Caldera. If you are interested, see their website at VallesCaldera.gov.
The Chama River above the village of Chama; Fair to Good: 43 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Slow to Fair: 391 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow: and 330 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Poor
Currently, the Sargent Wildlife Area or the Chama above El Vado are the places to fish. Fish Red Quills and Blue Winged Olives in the Sargent and large nymphs like craneflies and stoneflies or streamers like slumpbusters for the river above El Vado. Check the flows before you make that drive to one of the tailwaters. The fishing is generally fair below El Vado using big nymphs with flash and sparkle or streamers. Cover the tailouts of pools and hit the obvious seams. The release out of Abiquiu fluctuates greatly depending on irrigation need and municipal water supplies so it's best to find someplace else to fish until realeases stabilize for the winter. Baetis nymphs, midges, and crane fly larva are the usual flies for the Chama below Abiquiu. Even though this stretch does have some decent natural reproduction, most of the fish that get caught, get kept. The tailwater sections usually fish best below 300 cfs. The Chama River above El Vado and below Abiquiu are Special Trout Waters with reduced bag limits. The density of fish is very low there and is not stocked. Please report anyone over harvesting here to New Mexico Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263.
In Southern Colorado:
Conejos River 58 cfs below Platoro, 124 cfs at Mogote; Good
Rocktober 9, 2009. "Found some bugs that had some magic to them today. Flows bumped up as well as the lower river is now at a pretty choice 168 cfs. Biot Stone was magic today. Fish in deeper runs. Water color slightly colored. The lake at Platoro is turning over putting some color and dendritis (JUNK) in the water and as those of you who know often makes the Conejos a little more friendly to fish. Saw a few pictures of an angler this morning that landed in a day a 24" mutant brown with a huge girth and a bow that was maybe 26 or so that was obsene. Very impressive and makes going to the river with a fly that much more interesting. Jon Harp of Conejos River Anglers provided the preceding report.
Arkansas River 210 cfs at Granite; Good: 345 cfs at Salida; Good
Releases for the summer flow augmentation program have ended, but the Bureau of Rec, is begining to make room in some of the upstream reservoirs in the Arkansas Basin, so flows are back up for a month or more. At these levels, fish have been holding in deeper runs until the baetis hatch starts around 1:00 pm. At that time fish move into the rifles to eat emerging Blue Winged Olives,especially in the Salida area. From Brown's Canyon to Granite, try dry dropper rigs with a small micro may or BLM as a dropper and swith to small caddis or Blue Winged Olives.
Animas River 194 cfs at Durango; Slow to Fair
The Animas is fairly clear and fishing better with the cooler nights lately. Caddis nymphs with a trailing midge or pheasant tail drifted and swung along the banks will pick up some fish. The release on the Delores below McPhee is currenlty at 36 cfs. The fish here are very skittish making for some technical presentations.
Rio Grande 30 cfs at Creede; Slow to Fair: 174 cfs at Wagon Wheel Gap; Good
Releases out of Rio Grande Reservoir have been stable and has made for easy wading and good fishing from Creede downstream. The box canyon and the oxbows above Creede are fishing slower than the lower river with the cooler temps of fall. The South Fork of the Rio has fishing well on small attractors, BWO's, caddis and small adams.
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.
It's late summer in New Mexico and water and fishing condtitions change frequently! Please CALL the fly shop for the latest in stream flows and water conditions.
For the most current stream flows, see our links page and click on New Mexico Stream Flows.
posted by High Desert Angler at Monday, October 12, 2009
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