Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Wednesday July 6, 2011
Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! Learn more at http://www.tu.org/science/aquatic-invasive-species-ais
Even though we've seen the clouds build over the mountains every afternoon, there just hasn't been enough rain and widespread enough at that to lift the forest closures due to extreme fire danger. Please see our announcements page for a list of what's closed and what is open. 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 28 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. Please respect the landowners along the Pecos and don't trespass or poach. 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 460 cfs at Cerro; Slow: 625 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 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 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 46 cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Good: 38 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: 115 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Fair: 295 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow: and 428 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 310 cfs below Platoro Reservoir; Fair: 637 cfs at Magote; Fair
June 29, 2011. "***A couple of things for those concerned with the fire in New Mexico and smoke here. As of yesterday at midnight from what I understand all of the National Forest areas in New Mexico are closed. I only hope the people fighting the fire in NM got the rain we got today. I also hope that for the sake of the fisheries there that they get a wet summer and the fires go away and the fish have plenty of water to swim in. We have not had smoke issues here although occasionally if the wind is wrong we will see some but has not been an issue here. In this area we would love some more rain but are not in any fire ban or are any of the public properties here closed in any way. I fished one of the tribs today with Dr. Tom and had a wonderful day. Amazed at the health of the fish. Very buggy with PMD’s, Caddis, Stones, and a few Drakes. The easiest two guide days on record so far. Number of birds nest untangled in two days – 0! Fun! Most of our guides were not on the Conejos today but from what I heard when I got in it was very buggy. It depends on where you are on the river but everything from PMD’s, to Mahogonies,to Goldens, to Drakes. Clarity is good and flows have dropped to around 900."
The preceeding report was provided by Jon Harp of the Conejos River Anglers.
Rio Grande 906 cfs at Thirty Mile bridge in Creede; Good: 1150 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 until recently. The water is fairly clear and fishing is good and the wading is even easier. Stoneflies and caddis are flying about and are the name of the game pretty much river wide.
Animas River 2220 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 206 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 423 cfs in Pagosa Springs; Fair to Good
The San Juan is another river taking it's sweet time in coming down. Caddis are showing up 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 2160 cfs at Granite; Slow: 3000 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.
Even though we've seen the clouds build over the mountains every afternoon, there just hasn't been enough rain and widespread enough at that to lift the forest closures due to extreme fire danger. Please see our announcements page for a list of what's closed and what is open. 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 28 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. Please respect the landowners along the Pecos and don't trespass or poach. 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 460 cfs at Cerro; Slow: 625 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 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 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 46 cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Good: 38 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: 115 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Fair: 295 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow: and 428 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 310 cfs below Platoro Reservoir; Fair: 637 cfs at Magote; Fair
June 29, 2011. "***A couple of things for those concerned with the fire in New Mexico and smoke here. As of yesterday at midnight from what I understand all of the National Forest areas in New Mexico are closed. I only hope the people fighting the fire in NM got the rain we got today. I also hope that for the sake of the fisheries there that they get a wet summer and the fires go away and the fish have plenty of water to swim in. We have not had smoke issues here although occasionally if the wind is wrong we will see some but has not been an issue here. In this area we would love some more rain but are not in any fire ban or are any of the public properties here closed in any way. I fished one of the tribs today with Dr. Tom and had a wonderful day. Amazed at the health of the fish. Very buggy with PMD’s, Caddis, Stones, and a few Drakes. The easiest two guide days on record so far. Number of birds nest untangled in two days – 0! Fun! Most of our guides were not on the Conejos today but from what I heard when I got in it was very buggy. It depends on where you are on the river but everything from PMD’s, to Mahogonies,to Goldens, to Drakes. Clarity is good and flows have dropped to around 900."
The preceeding report was provided by Jon Harp of the Conejos River Anglers.
Rio Grande 906 cfs at Thirty Mile bridge in Creede; Good: 1150 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 until recently. The water is fairly clear and fishing is good and the wading is even easier. Stoneflies and caddis are flying about and are the name of the game pretty much river wide.
Animas River 2220 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 206 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 423 cfs in Pagosa Springs; Fair to Good
The San Juan is another river taking it's sweet time in coming down. Caddis are showing up 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 2160 cfs at Granite; Slow: 3000 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 Wednesday, July 06, 2011
<< Home