Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Thursday June 30, 2011
Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! Learn more at http://www.tu.org/science/aquatic-invasive-species-ais
There are numerous forest closures due to extreme fire danger. Please see our announcements page for a list of what's closed and what is open. There are places to fish this holiday weekend, just think outside the box and be willing to try something different. Lot's of stuff just into Colorado is fishing very well and is a short drive north. I've had great reports from the Conejos River Anglers on the Conejos and it's tribs. I just floated the upper Rio Grande from Creede to Del Norte over three days and had excellent fishing. It was tough to breathe with all of the stoneflies and caddis flying about! Get out to Abiquiu Lake at the crack of dawn and cast poppers for smallmouth bass. Carp are taking flies on the surface at El Vado. So don't dismay if your usual go to fishing can't happen. You might just be delighted you went someplace else!
For the most current fire information go to http://nmfireinfo.wordpress.com/
Click on Public Lands Information Center from our links page for a list of fire restrictions or closures.
San Juan River 504 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
The high release is over. Fishing is good but fly choices have become smaller with the lower and clear water. Olive and grey bodied midge larvae and pupa are still working. For the beatis, try the ususal, chocolate foam wings in #22, chocolate johnny flash, wonder baetis, and small pheasant tails. Fish start eating midges once the baetis are done from then until dusk. The caddis hatch on the lower river is waning but, PMD's are starting to show up. From Rainbow Lodge on down all river access is private. If you can, a stay at Soaring Eagle or a float from one of the guide services can put you in the middle of the hatch. You can sometimes find bugs all the way up to the Gravel Pit take out. 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 30 cfs below Terrero; Fair to Good:
PECOS CANYON CAMPGROUNDS, DAY USE AREAS, HIKING TRAILS, AND FISHING ACCESSES ARE CLOSED.
The Department of Game and Fish imposed strict fire closures on State Game Commission properties in Pecos Canyon beginning Thursday, June 30th banning all camping and fishing. All forest lands surrounding the Pecos River are also closed. See our Announcements Page for more details. The Pecos National Historical Park is also closed to fishing. They will let anyone with a reservation on the river throught the 4th. Currently there is no walk on fishing at the park. Please see their website for the details at http://www.nps.gov/peco/index.htm and click on "2011 Fishing Program". Monastery Lake is also closed.
Rio Grande 531 cfs at Cerro; Slow: 679 cfs at Pilar; Slow for pike, Fair to Good for trout, Fair for smallmouth bass
The Rio Grande and it's tributaies like The Pueblo de Taos, Rio Hondo, and the lower Red River accessed through the Wild and Scenic Rivers area are open. The Red River Fish Hatchery campgrounds and parking area are closed, with no fishing access. The best fishing is on the lower Red or the Hondo. Not much for hatching bugs on the Rio right now. The flows have come up enough to the delight of the boaters, but the water is quite murky. I do best fishing the pockets when nothing is going on hatch wise. Fish big bugs like golden stonefly nymphs, cranefly larvae, or buggers. Remember to finish your drift off with a swing! Hold you rod tip over the lane of your drift and let you flies swing upwards as your line tightens. If you feel a take, coach yourself into waiting just a second before you set the hook otherwise you'll just pull it away from them. Try a slow retrieved streamer in some of the slower eddies for smallies. Pike hunt by feel. Large streamers that moves water will still get a pikes attention. Vary your retrieves and change up the color of your flies to see which ones trigger a bite.
The Rio Costilla within the Valle Vidal as well as the lower portion in the RCCLA Park is closed. Due to extreme fire danger the RCCLA and the Rio Costilla Park, including Latir Creek and Latir Lakes are closed until further notice. Please contact the office for more information at 575-586-0542.
Jemez Mountain Streams 8.5 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Fair to Good
ALL FISHING ACCESS IN THE JEMEZ MOUNTAINS INCLUDING FENTON LAKE STATE PARK ARE CLOSED. New Mexico Highway 4 from Los Alamos to La Cueva and all forest roads are closed, even FR 376 along the Guadalupe and up to the San Antonio Hot Springs. For more details on fire restrictions and closures go to http://nmfireinfo.wordpress.com. The Valles Caldera has cancelled all fishing reservations until further notice. Please call the Valles Caldera or visit their website at www.vallescaldera.gov for more information.
Cimarron River 79 cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Good: 65 cfs at Cimarron THE CIMARRON CANYON STATE PARK IS CLOSED. ALL SURROUNDING CARSON NATIONAL FOREST LANDS ARE ALSO CLOSED AS IS COYOTE CREEK STATE PARK. See the Carson NF website at www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/ for more info. Nearby over Bobcat Pass, the upper Red River all the way to Questa is closed. Eagle Nest State Park is open to camping and fishing at this time under stage 2 fire restrictions.
The Chama River above the village of Chama; Slow: 201 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Fair: 699 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow: and 874 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Slow
THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISH HAS ANNOUNCED SOME CLOSURES AFFECTING THE CHAMA RIVER. The Rio Chama Wildlife Area is closed to fishing, camping, hiking and horseback-riding. All accesses off of NM Highway 112 are closed to public entry. The Sargent Wildlife Area will be open to fishing, hiking and horseback-riding area near Chama beginning July 1 under Stage 2 fire restrictions. The other fire closures affecting the Chama is through the Chama Canyon Wilderness below El Vado Reservoir to Christ of the Desert Monastery. This affects the river rafters more than the fisherman. The upper Chama stretch flowing into El Vado is getting low and warmer every day. Don't delay fishing this especially while we are experiencing restrictions where we can fish around Santa Fe. The river below El Vado is open within Cooper's El Vado Ranch. The stretch below Abiquiu Dam within the Santa Fe NF is closed. Typically it won't really fish well until autumn when irrigators aren't calling for water. 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.
Be aware that the Rio de los Pinos Fishing Area northwest of Tres Piedras is closed to public entry as well as the Carson National Forest stretch.
In Southern Colorado:
Conejos River 618 cfs below Platoro Reservoir; Fair: 1590 cfs at Magote; Fair
June 28, 2011. "A couple of months ago everyone was lamenting the pitiful snowpack and what a short season it will be with no water. Tonight I had dinner with the guides and the conversation was the opposite. Where did all the water come from? We did get a chance to talk to someone from the water board here and they said we were at 95%. May was wet and cold and postponed the runoff so that seems to be what has made the flows higher than we guessed. I think it will make the Conejos have a normal season of water and if we can get some rain to keep the fire hazard down it should be a great year. Tomorrow morning I will be on a different stretch of water trying to figure it out all over again but I know that in my box will be some Drakes, Golden’s, Mahoganies, Caddis, and maybe a G-String or two! Hope you get a chance to make some casts soon! The preceeding report was provided by Jon Harp of the Conejos River Anglers.
Rio Grande 1210 cfs at Thirty Mile bridge in Creede; Good: 1940 cfs at Wagon Wheel Gap; Good
I had the good fortune of fishing the upper Rio for three days on guided floats. All business related of course! Tons of stoneflies on the water as well as lots of caddis. Green drakes are eminent and so are PMD's. The release out of Rio Grande Reservoir has been all over the place but never dropping below 1000 cfs. The water is fairly clear and fishing is good even though the wading is a little tough. Stoneflies and caddis are flying about and are the name of the game pretty much river wide.
Animas River 3450 at Durango; Slow
Still big water on the Animas! The flows are on there way down, it's just taking awhile. If you can find a pocket that's not blown out; stoneflies and baetis. Watch out for the river runners.
Piedra River 359 cfs at Arboles; Fair to Good
The lower Piedra is finally more fishable. The upper river all the way into the forks is fishing very well. I've had great reports from Williams Creek below the reservoir. Lot's of options have just opened up around Pagosa.
San Juan River 750 cfs in Pagosa Springs; Fair to Good
The San Juan is another river taking it's sweet time in coming down. Tough fishing at these flows on the main stem San Juan. The South Fork of the Rio Grande over Wolf Creek Pass is down and fishing well. Check out Turkey, Four Mile, or the East Fork of the San Juan for easier wading. Just like everywhere in southern Colorado, else, the peak flows seemd to have occurred and flows are trending downward. It's all about stones and caddis at this time of year.
Arkansas River 2630 cfs at Granite; Slow: 3700 cfs at Salida; Slow
High water pretty much river wide from melting snowpack and an increased release from Twin Lakes. Blue winged olive hatches, some caddis and stonelies are the nymphs to choose. Much of the river is difficult to fish at these levels. Good fishing nearby is Antero Reservoir and the Dream Stream.
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 summer 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.
There are numerous forest closures due to extreme fire danger. Please see our announcements page for a list of what's closed and what is open. There are places to fish this holiday weekend, just think outside the box and be willing to try something different. Lot's of stuff just into Colorado is fishing very well and is a short drive north. I've had great reports from the Conejos River Anglers on the Conejos and it's tribs. I just floated the upper Rio Grande from Creede to Del Norte over three days and had excellent fishing. It was tough to breathe with all of the stoneflies and caddis flying about! Get out to Abiquiu Lake at the crack of dawn and cast poppers for smallmouth bass. Carp are taking flies on the surface at El Vado. So don't dismay if your usual go to fishing can't happen. You might just be delighted you went someplace else!
For the most current fire information go to http://nmfireinfo.wordpress.com/
Click on Public Lands Information Center from our links page for a list of fire restrictions or closures.
San Juan River 504 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
The high release is over. Fishing is good but fly choices have become smaller with the lower and clear water. Olive and grey bodied midge larvae and pupa are still working. For the beatis, try the ususal, chocolate foam wings in #22, chocolate johnny flash, wonder baetis, and small pheasant tails. Fish start eating midges once the baetis are done from then until dusk. The caddis hatch on the lower river is waning but, PMD's are starting to show up. From Rainbow Lodge on down all river access is private. If you can, a stay at Soaring Eagle or a float from one of the guide services can put you in the middle of the hatch. You can sometimes find bugs all the way up to the Gravel Pit take out. 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 30 cfs below Terrero; Fair to Good:
PECOS CANYON CAMPGROUNDS, DAY USE AREAS, HIKING TRAILS, AND FISHING ACCESSES ARE CLOSED.
The Department of Game and Fish imposed strict fire closures on State Game Commission properties in Pecos Canyon beginning Thursday, June 30th banning all camping and fishing. All forest lands surrounding the Pecos River are also closed. See our Announcements Page for more details. The Pecos National Historical Park is also closed to fishing. They will let anyone with a reservation on the river throught the 4th. Currently there is no walk on fishing at the park. Please see their website for the details at http://www.nps.gov/peco/index.htm and click on "2011 Fishing Program". Monastery Lake is also closed.
Rio Grande 531 cfs at Cerro; Slow: 679 cfs at Pilar; Slow for pike, Fair to Good for trout, Fair for smallmouth bass
The Rio Grande and it's tributaies like The Pueblo de Taos, Rio Hondo, and the lower Red River accessed through the Wild and Scenic Rivers area are open. The Red River Fish Hatchery campgrounds and parking area are closed, with no fishing access. The best fishing is on the lower Red or the Hondo. Not much for hatching bugs on the Rio right now. The flows have come up enough to the delight of the boaters, but the water is quite murky. I do best fishing the pockets when nothing is going on hatch wise. Fish big bugs like golden stonefly nymphs, cranefly larvae, or buggers. Remember to finish your drift off with a swing! Hold you rod tip over the lane of your drift and let you flies swing upwards as your line tightens. If you feel a take, coach yourself into waiting just a second before you set the hook otherwise you'll just pull it away from them. Try a slow retrieved streamer in some of the slower eddies for smallies. Pike hunt by feel. Large streamers that moves water will still get a pikes attention. Vary your retrieves and change up the color of your flies to see which ones trigger a bite.
The Rio Costilla within the Valle Vidal as well as the lower portion in the RCCLA Park is closed. Due to extreme fire danger the RCCLA and the Rio Costilla Park, including Latir Creek and Latir Lakes are closed until further notice. Please contact the office for more information at 575-586-0542.
Jemez Mountain Streams 8.5 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Fair to Good
ALL FISHING ACCESS IN THE JEMEZ MOUNTAINS INCLUDING FENTON LAKE STATE PARK ARE CLOSED. New Mexico Highway 4 from Los Alamos to La Cueva and all forest roads are closed, even FR 376 along the Guadalupe and up to the San Antonio Hot Springs. For more details on fire restrictions and closures go to http://nmfireinfo.wordpress.com. The Valles Caldera has cancelled all fishing reservations until further notice. Please call the Valles Caldera or visit their website at www.vallescaldera.gov for more information.
Cimarron River 79 cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Good: 65 cfs at Cimarron THE CIMARRON CANYON STATE PARK IS CLOSED. ALL SURROUNDING CARSON NATIONAL FOREST LANDS ARE ALSO CLOSED AS IS COYOTE CREEK STATE PARK. See the Carson NF website at www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/ for more info. Nearby over Bobcat Pass, the upper Red River all the way to Questa is closed. Eagle Nest State Park is open to camping and fishing at this time under stage 2 fire restrictions.
The Chama River above the village of Chama; Slow: 201 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Fair: 699 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow: and 874 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Slow
THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISH HAS ANNOUNCED SOME CLOSURES AFFECTING THE CHAMA RIVER. The Rio Chama Wildlife Area is closed to fishing, camping, hiking and horseback-riding. All accesses off of NM Highway 112 are closed to public entry. The Sargent Wildlife Area will be open to fishing, hiking and horseback-riding area near Chama beginning July 1 under Stage 2 fire restrictions. The other fire closures affecting the Chama is through the Chama Canyon Wilderness below El Vado Reservoir to Christ of the Desert Monastery. This affects the river rafters more than the fisherman. The upper Chama stretch flowing into El Vado is getting low and warmer every day. Don't delay fishing this especially while we are experiencing restrictions where we can fish around Santa Fe. The river below El Vado is open within Cooper's El Vado Ranch. The stretch below Abiquiu Dam within the Santa Fe NF is closed. Typically it won't really fish well until autumn when irrigators aren't calling for water. 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.
Be aware that the Rio de los Pinos Fishing Area northwest of Tres Piedras is closed to public entry as well as the Carson National Forest stretch.
In Southern Colorado:
Conejos River 618 cfs below Platoro Reservoir; Fair: 1590 cfs at Magote; Fair
June 28, 2011. "A couple of months ago everyone was lamenting the pitiful snowpack and what a short season it will be with no water. Tonight I had dinner with the guides and the conversation was the opposite. Where did all the water come from? We did get a chance to talk to someone from the water board here and they said we were at 95%. May was wet and cold and postponed the runoff so that seems to be what has made the flows higher than we guessed. I think it will make the Conejos have a normal season of water and if we can get some rain to keep the fire hazard down it should be a great year. Tomorrow morning I will be on a different stretch of water trying to figure it out all over again but I know that in my box will be some Drakes, Golden’s, Mahoganies, Caddis, and maybe a G-String or two! Hope you get a chance to make some casts soon! The preceeding report was provided by Jon Harp of the Conejos River Anglers.
Rio Grande 1210 cfs at Thirty Mile bridge in Creede; Good: 1940 cfs at Wagon Wheel Gap; Good
I had the good fortune of fishing the upper Rio for three days on guided floats. All business related of course! Tons of stoneflies on the water as well as lots of caddis. Green drakes are eminent and so are PMD's. The release out of Rio Grande Reservoir has been all over the place but never dropping below 1000 cfs. The water is fairly clear and fishing is good even though the wading is a little tough. Stoneflies and caddis are flying about and are the name of the game pretty much river wide.
Animas River 3450 at Durango; Slow
Still big water on the Animas! The flows are on there way down, it's just taking awhile. If you can find a pocket that's not blown out; stoneflies and baetis. Watch out for the river runners.
Piedra River 359 cfs at Arboles; Fair to Good
The lower Piedra is finally more fishable. The upper river all the way into the forks is fishing very well. I've had great reports from Williams Creek below the reservoir. Lot's of options have just opened up around Pagosa.
San Juan River 750 cfs in Pagosa Springs; Fair to Good
The San Juan is another river taking it's sweet time in coming down. Tough fishing at these flows on the main stem San Juan. The South Fork of the Rio Grande over Wolf Creek Pass is down and fishing well. Check out Turkey, Four Mile, or the East Fork of the San Juan for easier wading. Just like everywhere in southern Colorado, else, the peak flows seemd to have occurred and flows are trending downward. It's all about stones and caddis at this time of year.
Arkansas River 2630 cfs at Granite; Slow: 3700 cfs at Salida; Slow
High water pretty much river wide from melting snowpack and an increased release from Twin Lakes. Blue winged olive hatches, some caddis and stonelies are the nymphs to choose. Much of the river is difficult to fish at these levels. Good fishing nearby is Antero Reservoir and the Dream Stream.
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 summer 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 Thursday, June 30, 2011
