Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Saturday July 23, 2011
Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! Learn more at http://www.tu.org/science/aquatic-invasive-species-ais
Some good news!!! The Carson National Forest has opened up some of their Ranger Districts under Stage II fire restrictions. See the details below. As far as the Santa Fe National Forest goes, the rainfall we've had over the last two weeks has been too sporadic to affect fuel mosture levels for the forests to reopen. It will take more consistent and steady rains to mitigate our current fire danger of extreme. I will be in contact with forest service officials next week to find out when the closures might be lifted. I will post that information as soon as it becomes available. Please see the rest of our announcements page below for a list of what's closed and what is open. There are places to fish. Plan a little bit and venture someplace new. The Valle Vidal is now open. The Wheeler Peak area near Taos Ski Valley is a great place to backpack. Cooper's Ranch below El Vado dam is open to camping and fishing. So, be willing to try something different, you might just be glad you did!!!
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 499 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
Fishing is good but fly choices have become smaller with the lower and clear water. In the mornings, use a red midge larva as your point fly and trail a black or gray midge pupa like a UV flash midge emerger. As the afternoon progresses, chang your flies to baetis, such as a gray or chocolate RS2 or foam wing emerger. I had one report of an ant fall that happened earlier this week. More rain could bring on another fall. Small #16-18 ants fished along the banks are also bringing up fish. 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. 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!
Rio Costilla 42 cfs below Costilla Reservoir, Good
The Rio Costilla within the Valle Vidal is officially open since the Carson National Forest lifted some of their closures today. Im' not sure if the lower portion in the RCCLA Park is closed or not. Please contact the office for more information at 575-586-0542. High riding dries cast tight to banks is the usual tactic to catch them super fast cutthroats. No reports as it has been closed since last December, but I'm guessing with the lack of pressure those fish are unbelievably gullible.
Pecos River 24 cfs below Terrero; Fair to Good:
PECOS CANYON CAMPGROUNDS, DAY USE AREAS, HIKING TRAILS, AND FISHING ACCESSES ARE STILL 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. I'll post any information on closures being lifted as soon as it becomes available. Fishing from the bridge crossings in Pecos is technically trespassing and many riverside landowners are starting to post their properties. The first PUBLIC access is Dalton Day Use and it is CLOSED. I know we all want a place to fish, but don't be a poacher. We will call State Police or Game and Fish if we catch you on our waters! Please respect the landowners along the Pecos and don't trespass. 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 304 cfs at Cerro; Slow: 464 cfs at Pilar; Slow for pike, Fair to Good for trout, Fair to Good 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 been fairly steady and the water clarity is around 1 to 2 feet. Trout need oxygen and the faster churning water is the place to find those fish. 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.
Jemez Mountain Streams 10 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 is now open from Los Alamos to La Cueva. All forest roads are closed however, 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 Natioanal Preserve has cancelled all fishing reservations until further notice. The Valles Caldera has reopened it's Staging Area on July 13th. The staging area, located in the Valle Grande, off NM 4 near mile marker 39. The preserve is being opened for visitors to come to the staging area to view the aftermath of the fire on the Preserve. There will be no tours or fishing programs nor actual contact with the fire zone. Please call the Valles Caldera or visit their website at www.vallescaldera.gov for more information.
Cimarron River 34 cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Good: 20 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: 48 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Slow to Fair: 766 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow: and 783 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 Heron Lake State Park access off of NM Highway 95 to the Chama is open. There must have been a half dozen cars there on Monday morning, so get an early start and realize that you are not the only one with that idea. The Sargent Wildlife Area opened to fishing, hiking and horseback-riding area near Chama on July 1st 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 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 186 cfs below Platoro Reservoir; Good: 334 cfs at Magote; Good
July 7, 2011. "I just took a few moments to look over Devan’s blog (button on the home page) and he is doing a great job. It made me realize how much better we could share with you some fun parts of our days on the water. Me and the rest of the guides have had some people landing really nice fish but yesterday Devan captured the image in seconds and minutes later is was “live” online! We will try and continue to use photography to share life here in Conejos County. If the rivershed here was a ski area we would post in our ski report 15” new, powder/packed powder conditions and 90% open! Perfect weather on the way! The only streams that are still a little high right now are the ones above 10,000 feet. The others are good and all but the Pinnacles section (to high to safely fish) of the Conejos is fishing really good. In a week I switched from catching 99% of the fish on nymphs to 70% of the fish on dries. Very buggy with Drakes, pmd’s, Mahoganies, Caddis, and some Golden’s up higher. I am sure there are hatches going on on every stream in the whole county and to be honest we don’t know what they all are but armed with a nice box of flies you should have a chance to see fish feed on the surface or near on about 200 miles of water. The water level on the lower river is around 600 cfs and the fish are loving the lower water for feeding on the surface. Seems like some days we have had some very selective fish on the surface and other days like today Troy said they ate several different dries. Josh had a 1 person half day today and hooked 40 fish (browns) on dries this morning about 2 miles from the shop. I had a good morning yesterday with two of the Sherwood’s and we had some really big fish eating early and landed some nice fish had others straighten hooks and then landed a really nice brown in the 21 to 22” range. Devan posted the photo on the blog. My best flies have been the Meaty Drake, Oops, Salvations, Superfly, Caddis emergers, Frenchies, and a #14 red bodied attractor fly when the hatches are sparse. We have not been on the tribs as much the last few days but last week guided some of them and they were pretty special." The preceeding report was provided by Jon Harp of the Conejos River Anglers.
Rio Grande 306 cfs at Thirty Mile bridge in Creede; Very Good: 590 cfs at Wagon Wheel Gap; Very Good
Dropping flows and a lower release have made the upper river from Creede to South Fork more wadable. The upper Rio and the streams around Pagosa Springs have the best fishing going! Still good reports of stoneflies and caddis on this section. Green and gray drakes are in the mix and we are seeing more PMD's everyday. The water is fairly clear and fishing is very good, with most action on dry flies.
Animas River 1170 at Durango; Fair to Good
Raw sewage has spilled into the Animas over the last two days. You might want to fish elsewhere or above the town of Durango. Dropping flows have made the Animas more fishable. Some caddis and stoneflies, but if your not finding the bugs, nymph the pockets. Watch out for the river runners and the afore mentioned sewage.
Piedra River 124 cfs at Arboles; Very Good
I've had good reports through the box cayons all the way up into the forks. Lots of stoneflies caddis, and yellow salliies. Williams Creek below the reservoir is still fishing well. Lot's of options have just opened up around Pagosa.
San Juan River 182 cfs in Pagosa Springs; Very Good
Flows have finally come down to where the town stretch can now be waded. Nymphing around town has been more productive than dry flies. Check out Turkey, or Four Mile for easier wading and dry fly fishing. The South Fork of the Rio Grande over Wolf Creek Pass is down and fishing well. Stones and caddis are most prevalent, but there are more and more green drakes and PMD's showing up also.
Arkansas River 1620 cfs at Granite; Slow: 2220 cfs at Salida; Slow
Good hatches of stoneflies and caddis from Granite all the way to Swissvale. The broader sections of river around Salida and down into Bighorn Sheep Canyon offer easier wading. Focus on the banks as most fish aren't in the main channel. A big bug like a size #8 PMX with a golden stone dropper cast tight to the banks has been the most productive. Be careful wading from Brown's Canyon upstream, You'll be confined to one bank or the other. Yellow Sallies, caddis and stonelies are the bugs to choose.
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.
Some good news!!! The Carson National Forest has opened up some of their Ranger Districts under Stage II fire restrictions. See the details below. As far as the Santa Fe National Forest goes, the rainfall we've had over the last two weeks has been too sporadic to affect fuel mosture levels for the forests to reopen. It will take more consistent and steady rains to mitigate our current fire danger of extreme. I will be in contact with forest service officials next week to find out when the closures might be lifted. I will post that information as soon as it becomes available. Please see the rest of our announcements page below for a list of what's closed and what is open. There are places to fish. Plan a little bit and venture someplace new. The Valle Vidal is now open. The Wheeler Peak area near Taos Ski Valley is a great place to backpack. Cooper's Ranch below El Vado dam is open to camping and fishing. So, be willing to try something different, you might just be glad you did!!!
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 499 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
Fishing is good but fly choices have become smaller with the lower and clear water. In the mornings, use a red midge larva as your point fly and trail a black or gray midge pupa like a UV flash midge emerger. As the afternoon progresses, chang your flies to baetis, such as a gray or chocolate RS2 or foam wing emerger. I had one report of an ant fall that happened earlier this week. More rain could bring on another fall. Small #16-18 ants fished along the banks are also bringing up fish. 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. 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!
Rio Costilla 42 cfs below Costilla Reservoir, Good
The Rio Costilla within the Valle Vidal is officially open since the Carson National Forest lifted some of their closures today. Im' not sure if the lower portion in the RCCLA Park is closed or not. Please contact the office for more information at 575-586-0542. High riding dries cast tight to banks is the usual tactic to catch them super fast cutthroats. No reports as it has been closed since last December, but I'm guessing with the lack of pressure those fish are unbelievably gullible.
Pecos River 24 cfs below Terrero; Fair to Good:
PECOS CANYON CAMPGROUNDS, DAY USE AREAS, HIKING TRAILS, AND FISHING ACCESSES ARE STILL 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. I'll post any information on closures being lifted as soon as it becomes available. Fishing from the bridge crossings in Pecos is technically trespassing and many riverside landowners are starting to post their properties. The first PUBLIC access is Dalton Day Use and it is CLOSED. I know we all want a place to fish, but don't be a poacher. We will call State Police or Game and Fish if we catch you on our waters! Please respect the landowners along the Pecos and don't trespass. 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 304 cfs at Cerro; Slow: 464 cfs at Pilar; Slow for pike, Fair to Good for trout, Fair to Good 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 been fairly steady and the water clarity is around 1 to 2 feet. Trout need oxygen and the faster churning water is the place to find those fish. 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.
Jemez Mountain Streams 10 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 is now open from Los Alamos to La Cueva. All forest roads are closed however, 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 Natioanal Preserve has cancelled all fishing reservations until further notice. The Valles Caldera has reopened it's Staging Area on July 13th. The staging area, located in the Valle Grande, off NM 4 near mile marker 39. The preserve is being opened for visitors to come to the staging area to view the aftermath of the fire on the Preserve. There will be no tours or fishing programs nor actual contact with the fire zone. Please call the Valles Caldera or visit their website at www.vallescaldera.gov for more information.
Cimarron River 34 cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Good: 20 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: 48 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Slow to Fair: 766 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow: and 783 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 Heron Lake State Park access off of NM Highway 95 to the Chama is open. There must have been a half dozen cars there on Monday morning, so get an early start and realize that you are not the only one with that idea. The Sargent Wildlife Area opened to fishing, hiking and horseback-riding area near Chama on July 1st 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 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 186 cfs below Platoro Reservoir; Good: 334 cfs at Magote; Good
July 7, 2011. "I just took a few moments to look over Devan’s blog (button on the home page) and he is doing a great job. It made me realize how much better we could share with you some fun parts of our days on the water. Me and the rest of the guides have had some people landing really nice fish but yesterday Devan captured the image in seconds and minutes later is was “live” online! We will try and continue to use photography to share life here in Conejos County. If the rivershed here was a ski area we would post in our ski report 15” new, powder/packed powder conditions and 90% open! Perfect weather on the way! The only streams that are still a little high right now are the ones above 10,000 feet. The others are good and all but the Pinnacles section (to high to safely fish) of the Conejos is fishing really good. In a week I switched from catching 99% of the fish on nymphs to 70% of the fish on dries. Very buggy with Drakes, pmd’s, Mahoganies, Caddis, and some Golden’s up higher. I am sure there are hatches going on on every stream in the whole county and to be honest we don’t know what they all are but armed with a nice box of flies you should have a chance to see fish feed on the surface or near on about 200 miles of water. The water level on the lower river is around 600 cfs and the fish are loving the lower water for feeding on the surface. Seems like some days we have had some very selective fish on the surface and other days like today Troy said they ate several different dries. Josh had a 1 person half day today and hooked 40 fish (browns) on dries this morning about 2 miles from the shop. I had a good morning yesterday with two of the Sherwood’s and we had some really big fish eating early and landed some nice fish had others straighten hooks and then landed a really nice brown in the 21 to 22” range. Devan posted the photo on the blog. My best flies have been the Meaty Drake, Oops, Salvations, Superfly, Caddis emergers, Frenchies, and a #14 red bodied attractor fly when the hatches are sparse. We have not been on the tribs as much the last few days but last week guided some of them and they were pretty special." The preceeding report was provided by Jon Harp of the Conejos River Anglers.
Rio Grande 306 cfs at Thirty Mile bridge in Creede; Very Good: 590 cfs at Wagon Wheel Gap; Very Good
Dropping flows and a lower release have made the upper river from Creede to South Fork more wadable. The upper Rio and the streams around Pagosa Springs have the best fishing going! Still good reports of stoneflies and caddis on this section. Green and gray drakes are in the mix and we are seeing more PMD's everyday. The water is fairly clear and fishing is very good, with most action on dry flies.
Animas River 1170 at Durango; Fair to Good
Raw sewage has spilled into the Animas over the last two days. You might want to fish elsewhere or above the town of Durango. Dropping flows have made the Animas more fishable. Some caddis and stoneflies, but if your not finding the bugs, nymph the pockets. Watch out for the river runners and the afore mentioned sewage.
Piedra River 124 cfs at Arboles; Very Good
I've had good reports through the box cayons all the way up into the forks. Lots of stoneflies caddis, and yellow salliies. Williams Creek below the reservoir is still fishing well. Lot's of options have just opened up around Pagosa.
San Juan River 182 cfs in Pagosa Springs; Very Good
Flows have finally come down to where the town stretch can now be waded. Nymphing around town has been more productive than dry flies. Check out Turkey, or Four Mile for easier wading and dry fly fishing. The South Fork of the Rio Grande over Wolf Creek Pass is down and fishing well. Stones and caddis are most prevalent, but there are more and more green drakes and PMD's showing up also.
Arkansas River 1620 cfs at Granite; Slow: 2220 cfs at Salida; Slow
Good hatches of stoneflies and caddis from Granite all the way to Swissvale. The broader sections of river around Salida and down into Bighorn Sheep Canyon offer easier wading. Focus on the banks as most fish aren't in the main channel. A big bug like a size #8 PMX with a golden stone dropper cast tight to the banks has been the most productive. Be careful wading from Brown's Canyon upstream, You'll be confined to one bank or the other. Yellow Sallies, caddis and stonelies are the bugs to choose.
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 Saturday, July 23, 2011
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