Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Sunday November 7, 2010
Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! Learn more at http://www.tu.org/science/aquatic-invasive-species-ais
It's that time of year again. Time for brown trout to spawn and make more fish! Please be ethical and leave the spawners alone. Often they'll be found over their redd, paired up and doing the deed. These fish are absolutely off limits! Some of the fish that aren't actively spawning are found close by and are still eating, These fish are OK to target, but please limit your wading and never wade through a redd. A redd is a circular area of clean gravel usually found in the tailout of pools and runs. Enjoy the fall fishing, just do it in a manner that you'll be able to sleep at night.
San Juan River 481 cfs below Navajo Dam; Very Good
It looks like the release is at it's winter level. From Texas Hole up to the Cable, fishing is very good in the mornings on #24-26 dark colored midge pupa and larva, Some fish are eating cream colored ones also. Afternoons below Texas Hole have been best gray or olive baetis emergers like a #22-24 foam wing, RS2, or johnny flash. The baetis are active from 11:00 am to about 5:00 pm. It's back to brown or black midge pupa/larva after 6:00. The Special Trout Water section is all catch and release and has a two fly only rule. If you see someone in violation, turn them into Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263. 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!
Pecos River 33 cfs below Terrero; Good:
The river is clear and fishing well. The fish are a little skittish so think about approaching the river with some stealth. A longer cast, a longer leader, and finer tippets are in order as well as using size #18 and smaller flies. The hatches blue winged olives are waning, but you still might have about an hours worth of dry fly action in the afternoons around 2-3. Nymph fishing is better than dry flies, so take your San Juan box when you go. Remember, the first public access is at Dalton Day Use. Fly choices would be RS2's, wonder baetis, batwing emergers, and CDC biot comparaduns. 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.
Rio Grande 391 cfs at Cerro; Fair: 537 cfs at Pilar; Fair for pike, Fair to Good for trout, Slow to Fair for smallmouth bass
The Rio came up to it's natural winter flows as the river isn't being diverted into irrigation canals in Colorado. Expect about a week or more to get the clarity down to waht it was before the jump in flows. Use a little larger fly with some flash or sparkle until things clear up. Smallmouth fishing has slowed but they can still be caught on small streamers and crayfish patterns in some of the slower runs and eddies. If you're going to go for trout, try a crane fly larvae or stonefly nymphs with a trailing caddis pupa or flashback pheasant tail. Pike hunt by feel. Large streamers that moves water will still get a pikes attention. I've already had several reliable pike reports!
Jemez Mountain Streams 24 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Good
The flows are quite low here as well making the fish easy to spook. Fish are taking small dries and small nymphs presented on a dry dropper rig. As far as flies go, beetles still have game, small neversink caddis, or parachute adams and blue wingeed olives in the afternoons. Keep the droppers on the small side like #16-18. The Valles Caldera has extended the Fall fishing season until December 10th. See the Caldera's website at http://www.vallescaldera.gov/ for more details.
Cimarron River 21 cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Good: 24 cfs at Cimarron
GEt ti and get it now! I can't believe that we still have this much water flowing out of the dam. Get it while it's good, and it has been good. Like the Costilla, the release will be reduced to near ZERO below Eagle Nest Dam and the days of decent flows and fishing are numbered here. Tricos, blue winged olives, scuds, and small caddis round out the current fare. The Red River around the corner is also fishing well on pretty much the same flies as the Pecos.
The Chama River above the village of Chama; Fair: 57 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Good: 147 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow to Fair: and 65 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Fair to Good
The Chama River above the town of Chama is slowing with some cooler weather. Some angler are finding some nice sized browns, but please consider the spawners off limits if you find them. Access can be had through the Sargent Wildlife Area. The river flowing into El Vado is fishing well. Cooler days and the recent rains may have helped out this stretch above Heron Dam and some trout move up out of El Vado at this time of year. Game and Fish put some 14 inch cutthroats in this stretch recently. The release out of Heron is zero. Below El Vado, you can use big nymphs with flash and sparkle, but your better off with streamers in the very murky water coming out of the dam. Cover the tailouts of pools and hit the obvious seams. The stretch below Abiquiu typically doesn't typically fish well until fall when the release is much lower and the water clearer. Currently the release is down, and is trending that way, so I think we'll see stable flows here through spring. Even though this stretch does have some decent natural reproduction, most of the fish that get caught, get kept. 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 8.2 cfs below Platoro Reservoir; Fair: 52 cfs at Mogote; Good
October 23, 2010. "Guided the last few days and yesterday was ok but today was just off the hook! I think we had hooked 45 fish by 12:00 and then went home. Fish just hammered the egg and small midge larvae stuff. We also at the end seemed to have fish turn onto baetis nymphs. I think we could have caught fish on dries but we kind of got stuck in our rut. There were a few fish midging in some softer water. Just so all of you know the shop closes regular hours tomorrow, kindoff!!! We will be back guiding on Thursday and we have booked so many guide trips that we will reopen the shop the following weekend Thursday thru Sunday. 8:00 to 4:00 and Sunday 8:00 12:00. Wow if you get a chance and are not a total beginner you could have some incredible fishing. We will be running a lodging/flies/guide special for the first week in November that will make it pretty inexpensive to be here and fish with me, Devan, or Troy. Yesterday Troy guided a young guy that had never held a fly rod and had him into fish within 2 hours so even if you are a beginner the fish are so concentrated that you still have a chance to catch some great fish. This afternoon my wife commented that she wanted to be the one in the photo with a huge fish and so I told her I would get the rods and camera ready so find your waders!!! Well we drove right to where I had seen some of the biggest fish I have seen and she hooked a fish 24' plus and ended up getting schooled under a big root wad. 10 minutes later she fought for several minutes a fish a little smaller and that fish decided to scream downriver after I thought we had her beat but and broke her 4x off in a diamond boulder cluster downriver. Ouch. Wife not happy.....! Anyway it made me realize that picking the right fly making the right cast getting the right drift setting the hook at the right time controlling your emotions that first 10 seconds actively steering a large fish with adrenaline and calmness netting the fish and then getting that perfect pose in the perfect light with a camera that is set up correctly is a little tricky! I think that hit us both! We will try again!" Jon Harp of Conejos River Anglers provided the preceeding report.
Rio Grande 3 cfs below Thirty Mile Bridge; Fair: 170 cfs below Wagon Wheel Gap; Fair to Good
The upper river around Creede is very low as releases out of Rio Grande reservoir have been reduced. The water is low and clear. Longer casts, long leaders, and fine tippets are necessary. Better fishing can be had downstream of Wagon Wheel Gap all the way to Del Norte. Still some caddis PED's/PMD's and lots of Blue Wings. Below Wagon Wheel Gap, nymphing with stonefly imitations and baetis patterns has been more productive.
Arkansas River 185 cfs at Granite; Good: 415 cfs at Salida; Good
The release out of Twin lakes has been raised putting a little more water in the river. The extra cooler water will probably mean some slower mornings especially above Salida. The better fishing is from Salida downstream through Bighorn Sheep Canyon. The fish are eating midges and baetis most of the day and a few are stuffing themselves with caddis pupa. The fish that are eating are stationed in a little deeper water off of the gravel bars waiting for their turn to spawn.
Animas River 270 cfs at Durango; Good
As always, consider any paired up trout over a redd off limits. Streamers in the deep and dark as well as dark stone fly nympsh and baetis patterns have been fooling the feeders. Some of caddis around as well increasing amounts of blue winged olives. Best fishing is in the afternoons, especially for dry fly action.
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 fall in New Mexico and water and fishing condtitions can change with the weather! 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.
It's that time of year again. Time for brown trout to spawn and make more fish! Please be ethical and leave the spawners alone. Often they'll be found over their redd, paired up and doing the deed. These fish are absolutely off limits! Some of the fish that aren't actively spawning are found close by and are still eating, These fish are OK to target, but please limit your wading and never wade through a redd. A redd is a circular area of clean gravel usually found in the tailout of pools and runs. Enjoy the fall fishing, just do it in a manner that you'll be able to sleep at night.
San Juan River 481 cfs below Navajo Dam; Very Good
It looks like the release is at it's winter level. From Texas Hole up to the Cable, fishing is very good in the mornings on #24-26 dark colored midge pupa and larva, Some fish are eating cream colored ones also. Afternoons below Texas Hole have been best gray or olive baetis emergers like a #22-24 foam wing, RS2, or johnny flash. The baetis are active from 11:00 am to about 5:00 pm. It's back to brown or black midge pupa/larva after 6:00. The Special Trout Water section is all catch and release and has a two fly only rule. If you see someone in violation, turn them into Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263. 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!
Pecos River 33 cfs below Terrero; Good:
The river is clear and fishing well. The fish are a little skittish so think about approaching the river with some stealth. A longer cast, a longer leader, and finer tippets are in order as well as using size #18 and smaller flies. The hatches blue winged olives are waning, but you still might have about an hours worth of dry fly action in the afternoons around 2-3. Nymph fishing is better than dry flies, so take your San Juan box when you go. Remember, the first public access is at Dalton Day Use. Fly choices would be RS2's, wonder baetis, batwing emergers, and CDC biot comparaduns. 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.
Rio Grande 391 cfs at Cerro; Fair: 537 cfs at Pilar; Fair for pike, Fair to Good for trout, Slow to Fair for smallmouth bass
The Rio came up to it's natural winter flows as the river isn't being diverted into irrigation canals in Colorado. Expect about a week or more to get the clarity down to waht it was before the jump in flows. Use a little larger fly with some flash or sparkle until things clear up. Smallmouth fishing has slowed but they can still be caught on small streamers and crayfish patterns in some of the slower runs and eddies. If you're going to go for trout, try a crane fly larvae or stonefly nymphs with a trailing caddis pupa or flashback pheasant tail. Pike hunt by feel. Large streamers that moves water will still get a pikes attention. I've already had several reliable pike reports!
Jemez Mountain Streams 24 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Good
The flows are quite low here as well making the fish easy to spook. Fish are taking small dries and small nymphs presented on a dry dropper rig. As far as flies go, beetles still have game, small neversink caddis, or parachute adams and blue wingeed olives in the afternoons. Keep the droppers on the small side like #16-18. The Valles Caldera has extended the Fall fishing season until December 10th. See the Caldera's website at http://www.vallescaldera.gov/ for more details.
Cimarron River 21 cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Good: 24 cfs at Cimarron
GEt ti and get it now! I can't believe that we still have this much water flowing out of the dam. Get it while it's good, and it has been good. Like the Costilla, the release will be reduced to near ZERO below Eagle Nest Dam and the days of decent flows and fishing are numbered here. Tricos, blue winged olives, scuds, and small caddis round out the current fare. The Red River around the corner is also fishing well on pretty much the same flies as the Pecos.
The Chama River above the village of Chama; Fair: 57 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Good: 147 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow to Fair: and 65 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Fair to Good
The Chama River above the town of Chama is slowing with some cooler weather. Some angler are finding some nice sized browns, but please consider the spawners off limits if you find them. Access can be had through the Sargent Wildlife Area. The river flowing into El Vado is fishing well. Cooler days and the recent rains may have helped out this stretch above Heron Dam and some trout move up out of El Vado at this time of year. Game and Fish put some 14 inch cutthroats in this stretch recently. The release out of Heron is zero. Below El Vado, you can use big nymphs with flash and sparkle, but your better off with streamers in the very murky water coming out of the dam. Cover the tailouts of pools and hit the obvious seams. The stretch below Abiquiu typically doesn't typically fish well until fall when the release is much lower and the water clearer. Currently the release is down, and is trending that way, so I think we'll see stable flows here through spring. Even though this stretch does have some decent natural reproduction, most of the fish that get caught, get kept. 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 8.2 cfs below Platoro Reservoir; Fair: 52 cfs at Mogote; Good
October 23, 2010. "Guided the last few days and yesterday was ok but today was just off the hook! I think we had hooked 45 fish by 12:00 and then went home. Fish just hammered the egg and small midge larvae stuff. We also at the end seemed to have fish turn onto baetis nymphs. I think we could have caught fish on dries but we kind of got stuck in our rut. There were a few fish midging in some softer water. Just so all of you know the shop closes regular hours tomorrow, kindoff!!! We will be back guiding on Thursday and we have booked so many guide trips that we will reopen the shop the following weekend Thursday thru Sunday. 8:00 to 4:00 and Sunday 8:00 12:00. Wow if you get a chance and are not a total beginner you could have some incredible fishing. We will be running a lodging/flies/guide special for the first week in November that will make it pretty inexpensive to be here and fish with me, Devan, or Troy. Yesterday Troy guided a young guy that had never held a fly rod and had him into fish within 2 hours so even if you are a beginner the fish are so concentrated that you still have a chance to catch some great fish. This afternoon my wife commented that she wanted to be the one in the photo with a huge fish and so I told her I would get the rods and camera ready so find your waders!!! Well we drove right to where I had seen some of the biggest fish I have seen and she hooked a fish 24' plus and ended up getting schooled under a big root wad. 10 minutes later she fought for several minutes a fish a little smaller and that fish decided to scream downriver after I thought we had her beat but and broke her 4x off in a diamond boulder cluster downriver. Ouch. Wife not happy.....! Anyway it made me realize that picking the right fly making the right cast getting the right drift setting the hook at the right time controlling your emotions that first 10 seconds actively steering a large fish with adrenaline and calmness netting the fish and then getting that perfect pose in the perfect light with a camera that is set up correctly is a little tricky! I think that hit us both! We will try again!" Jon Harp of Conejos River Anglers provided the preceeding report.
Rio Grande 3 cfs below Thirty Mile Bridge; Fair: 170 cfs below Wagon Wheel Gap; Fair to Good
The upper river around Creede is very low as releases out of Rio Grande reservoir have been reduced. The water is low and clear. Longer casts, long leaders, and fine tippets are necessary. Better fishing can be had downstream of Wagon Wheel Gap all the way to Del Norte. Still some caddis PED's/PMD's and lots of Blue Wings. Below Wagon Wheel Gap, nymphing with stonefly imitations and baetis patterns has been more productive.
Arkansas River 185 cfs at Granite; Good: 415 cfs at Salida; Good
The release out of Twin lakes has been raised putting a little more water in the river. The extra cooler water will probably mean some slower mornings especially above Salida. The better fishing is from Salida downstream through Bighorn Sheep Canyon. The fish are eating midges and baetis most of the day and a few are stuffing themselves with caddis pupa. The fish that are eating are stationed in a little deeper water off of the gravel bars waiting for their turn to spawn.
Animas River 270 cfs at Durango; Good
As always, consider any paired up trout over a redd off limits. Streamers in the deep and dark as well as dark stone fly nympsh and baetis patterns have been fooling the feeders. Some of caddis around as well increasing amounts of blue winged olives. Best fishing is in the afternoons, especially for dry fly action.
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 fall in New Mexico and water and fishing condtitions can change with the weather! 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 Saturday, November 06, 2010
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