Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Friday May 11, 2012
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The Bureau of Reclamation has scheduled the Navajo Reservoir Spring Peak Release to start at least May 21st. A 7-day peak release of 5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), with a ramp up and down over 3 days will be scheduled. At the end of the peak release period, the release is scheduled to return to 500 cfs. Reclamation is still finalizing the operating plan and will send out the daily release schedule chart as soon as the plan is finalized. If the forecast remains unchanged next week, the spring peak release will be finalized next Monday, May 14th. The release should remain at 500 cfs until the start of the ramp up.
San Juan River 504 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
There has been still some midge hatches mid-morning and blue-winged olive hatches around 1 in the afternoon. In the mornings, use a red midge larva as your point fly and trail a size #24-26 black, olive, black, or gray midge pupa. As the afternoon progresses, change your flies to baetis, such as a gray or chocolate RS2 or foam wing emerger. See the note above regarding the Spring Peak Release. 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 258 cfs below Terrero; Fair to Good: at Villanueva State Park; Poor
The river is clearing, but the water is moving. It's fishable and becoming more wadeable. Concentrate on the deeper holes and get your flies down. Think big like stonefly nymphs, or bright like egg patterns, San Juan worms, and big copper johns. Please respect the landowners along the Pecos and don't trespass. The Pecos National Historical Park's Fishing Program for the spring has ended officially on April 9th. You can make reservations for their summer fishing program starting May 21st. The summer season runs from June 21st to August 6th. See our announcements page or the Park's website at: http://www.nps.gov/peco/planyourvisit/fishing.htm for more info.
Rio Grande 249 cfs at Cerro; Slow to Fair: 508cfs at Pilar; Slow for pike, Fair to Good for trout, Slow for smallmouth bass
There are still some caddis around, but the hatch is pretty much over for the season. The flows on the Rio are holding despite more release and snowmelt from Colorado. The water has with less than a foot of visibility. Not much for action on dry flies. Big flashy nymphs and bright green caddis pupa are the best color choices. No reports on smallmouth. Pike fishing is slow and the best pike fishing may be done for the season. Even though the water is murky and pike hunt by feel. Large streamers that moves water will still get a pike's attention. Vary your retrieves and change up the color of your flies to see which ones trigger a bite.
Jemez Mountain Streams 53 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Fair to Good, depending on the watershed.
The bottom dropped out of the flows on the Jemez. Easy wading even on the Guadalupe, and happy fish. No reports on stoneflies yet. I don't think it'll happen early despite our early runoff. Forest Road 376 is be open giving anglers more access to the Guadalupe. The Cebolla and the de las Vacas/Guadalupe are the only watersheds that did not experience a fish kill from the ash runoff from the Las Conchas Fire. Fenton Lake is also fishing very well. The fishing program at the Valles Caldera National Preserve will not open as planned on May 12th. See their website at: http://www.vallescaldera.gov/comevisit/fish/index.aspx for the details or to get a refund if you have already made reservations for this year.
The Chama River above the village of Chama; Poor: 554 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Poor: 455 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow to Fair: and 596 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Slow
The Chama below El Vado dam now seems to have the most consistent good fishing on the Chama, but the release is up making wading more difficult. The release out of El Vado is murky and big bugs with flash and streamers is the way to go there. The stretch flowing downstream of the village of Chama into El Vado reservoir is cold, murky, and still high. Fishing in this stretch upriver of El Vado is very slow. The stretch below Abiquiu Dam is high and murky and is likely to get higher as releases pick up for irrigation. 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 Reservoir; Slow to Fair: 667 cfs at Mogote; Slow to Fair
The release out of Platoro Reservoir was raised last weekend, but has been reduced to a very wadeable flow. The lower river is big. Wade carefully. The water is fairly clear. Look for fish in the deepr runs and holes. Look for depth over three feet, four is better. Big stonefly nymphs and worms or G-Strings are still the top producers.
Animas River 1720 at Durango; Slow
The Animas is better for a good raft trip than fishing right now. The flows have come up again, probably from some of the last remnants of snow being melted. If you gotta give it a go, try bigger bugs like stonefly nymphs or streamer have been getting more attention than the little stuff.
Arkansas River 238 cfs at Granite; Slow to Fair: 394 cfs at Salida; Fair to Good
Spring runoff has apparently hit the Arkansas. No increase in release from Twin Lakes or Clear Creek yet. The colder water tends to slow the caddis hatch, but blue winged olives are still hatching in decent numbers. The caddis hatch is above Salida heading towards Buena Vista. The fish are eating beatis hard especially in the afternoons above the caddis hatch. A caddis pupa with a trailing beatis nymph has been a good set up.
It's spring 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.
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.
Click on Public Lands Information Center from our links page for a full list of fire restrictions or closures.
The Bureau of Reclamation has scheduled the Navajo Reservoir Spring Peak Release to start at least May 21st. A 7-day peak release of 5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), with a ramp up and down over 3 days will be scheduled. At the end of the peak release period, the release is scheduled to return to 500 cfs. Reclamation is still finalizing the operating plan and will send out the daily release schedule chart as soon as the plan is finalized. If the forecast remains unchanged next week, the spring peak release will be finalized next Monday, May 14th. The release should remain at 500 cfs until the start of the ramp up.
San Juan River 504 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
There has been still some midge hatches mid-morning and blue-winged olive hatches around 1 in the afternoon. In the mornings, use a red midge larva as your point fly and trail a size #24-26 black, olive, black, or gray midge pupa. As the afternoon progresses, change your flies to baetis, such as a gray or chocolate RS2 or foam wing emerger. See the note above regarding the Spring Peak Release. 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 258 cfs below Terrero; Fair to Good: at Villanueva State Park; Poor
The river is clearing, but the water is moving. It's fishable and becoming more wadeable. Concentrate on the deeper holes and get your flies down. Think big like stonefly nymphs, or bright like egg patterns, San Juan worms, and big copper johns. Please respect the landowners along the Pecos and don't trespass. The Pecos National Historical Park's Fishing Program for the spring has ended officially on April 9th. You can make reservations for their summer fishing program starting May 21st. The summer season runs from June 21st to August 6th. See our announcements page or the Park's website at: http://www.nps.gov/peco/planyourvisit/fishing.htm for more info.
Rio Grande 249 cfs at Cerro; Slow to Fair: 508cfs at Pilar; Slow for pike, Fair to Good for trout, Slow for smallmouth bass
There are still some caddis around, but the hatch is pretty much over for the season. The flows on the Rio are holding despite more release and snowmelt from Colorado. The water has with less than a foot of visibility. Not much for action on dry flies. Big flashy nymphs and bright green caddis pupa are the best color choices. No reports on smallmouth. Pike fishing is slow and the best pike fishing may be done for the season. Even though the water is murky and pike hunt by feel. Large streamers that moves water will still get a pike's attention. Vary your retrieves and change up the color of your flies to see which ones trigger a bite.
Jemez Mountain Streams 53 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Fair to Good, depending on the watershed.
The bottom dropped out of the flows on the Jemez. Easy wading even on the Guadalupe, and happy fish. No reports on stoneflies yet. I don't think it'll happen early despite our early runoff. Forest Road 376 is be open giving anglers more access to the Guadalupe. The Cebolla and the de las Vacas/Guadalupe are the only watersheds that did not experience a fish kill from the ash runoff from the Las Conchas Fire. Fenton Lake is also fishing very well. The fishing program at the Valles Caldera National Preserve will not open as planned on May 12th. See their website at: http://www.vallescaldera.gov/comevisit/fish/index.aspx for the details or to get a refund if you have already made reservations for this year.
The Chama River above the village of Chama; Poor: 554 cfs below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Poor: 455 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow to Fair: and 596 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Slow
The Chama below El Vado dam now seems to have the most consistent good fishing on the Chama, but the release is up making wading more difficult. The release out of El Vado is murky and big bugs with flash and streamers is the way to go there. The stretch flowing downstream of the village of Chama into El Vado reservoir is cold, murky, and still high. Fishing in this stretch upriver of El Vado is very slow. The stretch below Abiquiu Dam is high and murky and is likely to get higher as releases pick up for irrigation. 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 Reservoir; Slow to Fair: 667 cfs at Mogote; Slow to Fair
The release out of Platoro Reservoir was raised last weekend, but has been reduced to a very wadeable flow. The lower river is big. Wade carefully. The water is fairly clear. Look for fish in the deepr runs and holes. Look for depth over three feet, four is better. Big stonefly nymphs and worms or G-Strings are still the top producers.
Animas River 1720 at Durango; Slow
The Animas is better for a good raft trip than fishing right now. The flows have come up again, probably from some of the last remnants of snow being melted. If you gotta give it a go, try bigger bugs like stonefly nymphs or streamer have been getting more attention than the little stuff.
Arkansas River 238 cfs at Granite; Slow to Fair: 394 cfs at Salida; Fair to Good
Spring runoff has apparently hit the Arkansas. No increase in release from Twin Lakes or Clear Creek yet. The colder water tends to slow the caddis hatch, but blue winged olives are still hatching in decent numbers. The caddis hatch is above Salida heading towards Buena Vista. The fish are eating beatis hard especially in the afternoons above the caddis hatch. A caddis pupa with a trailing beatis nymph has been a good set up.
It's spring 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.
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.
Click on Public Lands Information Center from our links page for a full list of fire restrictions or closures.
posted by High Desert Angler at Friday, May 11, 2012
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