Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Thursday October 8, 2009
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Rio Costilla .29 cfs below Costilla Reservoir Slow to Fair
The Rio Costilla is absolutely the most beautiful trout stream in the state and a place where you can reliably catch a Rio Grande Cutthroat. Unfortunately, once this year's irrigation season ended, the release out of Costilla Reservoir is virtually at ZERO cfs! Shuree Ponds also located within the Valle Vidal, is your best bet at fishing over the Costilla, and can give you a shot at catching a lunker over 20 inches. Diving caddis or damsel nymphs on a long leader and floating line for Shuree Ponds. Remember that all streams of the Valle Vidal is No Kill, Catch and Release only.
Pecos River 56 cfs below Terrero; Good
This weeks rain did not murk up the river but did bring up the river levels, and that is a good thing. 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. Midges upstream from the cable hole to the upper flats has good sight fishing with midges all day. Size 24 to 26 for the midgesa and size 20 -22 for the baetis in an olive or gray RS2', 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 70 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 14 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: 52 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Slow to Fair: 492 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow: and 629 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Poor
Currently, the Sargent Wildlife Area or the Chama above El Vado are the places to 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 117 cfs below Platoro, 177 cfs at Mogote; Good
Rocktober 5, 2009. "Here in Colorado we Rockie fans are hoping it is Rocktober, regardless this wednesday night you can bet we will be stuck in front of the tube. Flows have come up to about 80 out of the reservoir and that should be a good thing. The bad thing is the moon. Some say it does not matter much but I can track some of my worst trips of the year and the other guides will chime in that it does matter. Today was tough. If the river was chalked full of Rainbow's that just like to gorge than maybe not but Browns are a different animal. We spent the last half hour arguing if the spawn was mostly done and I can say there was no aggreement. Not that it would have mattered because we are not sure. Some have some have not yet would be my guess. I will say that there are alot of nice browns of all sizes in the tribs right now. Another interesting story is that last week there were a couple of professional photographers here fishing and taking pictures and were in the Pinnacles late and found a bluff overlooking a big hole and located a very large brown about 25" eating hard in a nice foam line and were having fun just watching when a much larger brown about 28" pushed the other brown out of his feeding position. They were dumbfounded and had a great time watching the hogs spend the last minutes of daylight eating hard. There are not that many but there are dozens of very large fish that would be trophies on any continent. Degree of difficulty to hook and land = off the charts. We have been trying for a while to catch some very large fish that we have located and it is hard to even get your rod in the air to make a cast. I have asked many a client out of jest what do large browns hate more than anything? My answer - Anything out of the ordinary. Well the larger they get the more keen they become at knowing what out of the ordinary is." Jon Harp of Conejos River Anglers provided the preceding report. I was up there on the 5th and found fishing a little tough, but the fall colors start in Mogote and were good all the way to Platoro.
Arkansas River 214 cfs at Granite; Good: 359 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 reservoir 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 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 221 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.
Pagosa Area: Piedra River 77 cfs at Arboles; Fair: San Juan River 105 cfs at Pagosa Springs; Fair to Good
The Pagosa area streams are also fishing bettre with cooler night time temps and a bump in water levels from this week's rain. There are still some Pale Evening Duns, but BWO's are the most abundant hatch. I've had great reports from South Fork of the Rio Grande, Turkey Creek, Fourmile Creek, and the East Fork of the San Juan. Much like everywhere else, fishing is bettter mid-day to evening.
Rio Grande 52 cfs at Creede; Slow to Fair: 227 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, 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.
Rio Costilla .29 cfs below Costilla Reservoir Slow to Fair
The Rio Costilla is absolutely the most beautiful trout stream in the state and a place where you can reliably catch a Rio Grande Cutthroat. Unfortunately, once this year's irrigation season ended, the release out of Costilla Reservoir is virtually at ZERO cfs! Shuree Ponds also located within the Valle Vidal, is your best bet at fishing over the Costilla, and can give you a shot at catching a lunker over 20 inches. Diving caddis or damsel nymphs on a long leader and floating line for Shuree Ponds. Remember that all streams of the Valle Vidal is No Kill, Catch and Release only.
Pecos River 56 cfs below Terrero; Good
This weeks rain did not murk up the river but did bring up the river levels, and that is a good thing. 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. Midges upstream from the cable hole to the upper flats has good sight fishing with midges all day. Size 24 to 26 for the midgesa and size 20 -22 for the baetis in an olive or gray RS2', 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 70 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 14 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: 52 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Slow to Fair: 492 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow: and 629 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Poor
Currently, the Sargent Wildlife Area or the Chama above El Vado are the places to 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 117 cfs below Platoro, 177 cfs at Mogote; Good
Rocktober 5, 2009. "Here in Colorado we Rockie fans are hoping it is Rocktober, regardless this wednesday night you can bet we will be stuck in front of the tube. Flows have come up to about 80 out of the reservoir and that should be a good thing. The bad thing is the moon. Some say it does not matter much but I can track some of my worst trips of the year and the other guides will chime in that it does matter. Today was tough. If the river was chalked full of Rainbow's that just like to gorge than maybe not but Browns are a different animal. We spent the last half hour arguing if the spawn was mostly done and I can say there was no aggreement. Not that it would have mattered because we are not sure. Some have some have not yet would be my guess. I will say that there are alot of nice browns of all sizes in the tribs right now. Another interesting story is that last week there were a couple of professional photographers here fishing and taking pictures and were in the Pinnacles late and found a bluff overlooking a big hole and located a very large brown about 25" eating hard in a nice foam line and were having fun just watching when a much larger brown about 28" pushed the other brown out of his feeding position. They were dumbfounded and had a great time watching the hogs spend the last minutes of daylight eating hard. There are not that many but there are dozens of very large fish that would be trophies on any continent. Degree of difficulty to hook and land = off the charts. We have been trying for a while to catch some very large fish that we have located and it is hard to even get your rod in the air to make a cast. I have asked many a client out of jest what do large browns hate more than anything? My answer - Anything out of the ordinary. Well the larger they get the more keen they become at knowing what out of the ordinary is." Jon Harp of Conejos River Anglers provided the preceding report. I was up there on the 5th and found fishing a little tough, but the fall colors start in Mogote and were good all the way to Platoro.
Arkansas River 214 cfs at Granite; Good: 359 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 reservoir 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 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 221 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.
Pagosa Area: Piedra River 77 cfs at Arboles; Fair: San Juan River 105 cfs at Pagosa Springs; Fair to Good
The Pagosa area streams are also fishing bettre with cooler night time temps and a bump in water levels from this week's rain. There are still some Pale Evening Duns, but BWO's are the most abundant hatch. I've had great reports from South Fork of the Rio Grande, Turkey Creek, Fourmile Creek, and the East Fork of the San Juan. Much like everywhere else, fishing is bettter mid-day to evening.
Rio Grande 52 cfs at Creede; Slow to Fair: 227 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, 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 Thursday, October 08, 2009
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