Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Monday December 24, 2012
Happy Holidays! The High Desert Angler wishes all of you and your families the very best this holiday season!
Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! Learn more at http://www.tu.org/science/aquatic-invasive-species-ais
San Juan River 355 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
Not much change here. The release below Navajo Dam was reduced awhile ago and will remain at this level for the foreseeable future. Hopefully this won't be the flow we see all winter. Midges have been hatching pretty much all day with the thickest portion of the hatch is 11:00 to 2:00 . Midging, or presenting midge pupa in the middle of the water column, has been good in the late mornings, especially up from Texas Hole. They are small so try size #22-24 gray, olive, cream, brown, and black midge larvae and pupa. A Griffith's Gnat, dead chicken, or single midge dry has been picking up fish mid-day on the surface. Baetis start becoming more active from noon on. Good dry fly action, especially on cloudy days from 1:00 to 5:00 in the afternoons. Size #20-22 gray, olive, or chocolate baetis emergers and dries in the afternoons will pick up fish. The hatches are better below Texas Hole. Midges will again, become more relevant in late afternoons into the evening. Make sure to clean off any moss that accumulates on your rig. 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 ice below Terrero; Slow
Now that winter has finally arrived, expect some slow fishing on the upper Pecos. Mora Creek has had ice on it in the morning and the main stem is cold as far as water temps go. The better fishing will be in the afternoons after the river has had a chance to warm up. The river is low and clear. Use a long leader (nine foot 6x is fine), fine tippets and a longer cast to avoid spooking fish in these conditions. Fish the deeper runs and cover the water very thoroughly. Try a tungsten zebra midge or a small caddis larvae below your indicator. Sporadic hatches of midges will come off in the afternoons anywhere from 1:00 till 5:00. Keep your fly choices small. Size #20-22 bling midge, miracle nymphs, and jujube midges, barr's emergers, egg patterns have been the top producers. Villanueva State Park has received it's second stocking this winter. No reports, but the stockers typically go for egg patterns, and bright colors like copper johns. Please respect the landowners along the Pecos and don't trespass. The Pecos National Historical Park's Fall Fishing season has ended Monday November 5th. To make a reservation for their spring season, see the Park's website at: http://www.nps.gov/peco/planyourvisit/fishing.htm for more info.
Rio Grande 184 cfs at Cerro; Fair to Good: 338 cfs at Pilar; Slow for pike, Fair to Good for trout, Slow for smallmouth bass
The Rio is a little murky with some of the lower elevation snows that are melting off. Nonetheless, I keep getting good reports from all of the usual places. With the change in clarity, think big and flashy. Nymphing with big stonefly nymphs or crane fly larvae with a trailing caddis larvae or baetis nymph will pick up trout sub surface. Pike fishing is slow, but will just get better as we move futher into fall. Large streamers that move 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 17 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Fair to Good
The mainstem Jemez has been stocked recently as a winter trout fishery. The streams of the Jemez Mountains are very low and clear. Stealth has to be practiced for you to catch fish. Long leaders, fine tippets, and smaller flies are in order. Focus on deeper runs and pools. Fishing is a slow early in the morning before the sun has a chance to warm things up. A dry fly dropper rig will present your flies better than fishing under a typical indicator. Keep the dry fly small like a #16 and drop a #18-20 copper john, pheasant tail or caddis nymph off of that. The smaller darker flies are the top producers. The fishing program at the Valles Caldera National Preserve has ended for the season.
The Chama River above the village of Chama; Slow: below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Slow: 202 cfs below El Vado Dam; Fair to Good: and 221 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Fair to Good
The Chama in the Sargent Wildlife Area is low and clear and cold. There are better choices for fishing lower down. The Chama flowing into El Vado Reservoir is low and clear. The fishing there is best in the afternoons and the best place is below the Heron Dam spillway. Afternoons are better than the mornings. The release below both dams has just been reduced. The water clarity below Abiquiu is getting better as we move into winter. It's at about two feet of visiblity now. The Abiquiu stretch is getting heavily stocked and the catching is good. The release below El Vado is down and wadeable. The water there is murky. The top fly choices below both dams are bigger flies, especially with flash, like craneflies, big golden stones, with a trailing midge or baetis nymph. Streamers are a good choice. 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:
Animas River 172 at Durango; Fair to Good
The Animas is fishing well. The blue winged olive hatches are waning. Nymphing or throwing streamers has been the best tactics. Be ware of spawning browns and give them a wide berth if you happen upon them or their redds.
Arkansas River ice at Granite; Good: 202 cfs at Salida; Good
The fishing here is remains fair especially on the middle and lower river. The mornings are a little slow, but things pick up in the afternoons. Hayden Meadows down to Buena Vista has been the slowest section of river due to cooler water temps and low water. Warmer water and better fishing can be had from Salida down into Bighorn Sheep Canyon. Blue-winged olives are waning here also. Nymphing with caddis nymphs, baetis nymphs, midges, and golden stones still the top producers. Stay away from the spawing fish and their redds!
It's winter 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 and closures.
Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! Learn more at http://www.tu.org/science/aquatic-invasive-species-ais
San Juan River 355 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
Not much change here. The release below Navajo Dam was reduced awhile ago and will remain at this level for the foreseeable future. Hopefully this won't be the flow we see all winter. Midges have been hatching pretty much all day with the thickest portion of the hatch is 11:00 to 2:00 . Midging, or presenting midge pupa in the middle of the water column, has been good in the late mornings, especially up from Texas Hole. They are small so try size #22-24 gray, olive, cream, brown, and black midge larvae and pupa. A Griffith's Gnat, dead chicken, or single midge dry has been picking up fish mid-day on the surface. Baetis start becoming more active from noon on. Good dry fly action, especially on cloudy days from 1:00 to 5:00 in the afternoons. Size #20-22 gray, olive, or chocolate baetis emergers and dries in the afternoons will pick up fish. The hatches are better below Texas Hole. Midges will again, become more relevant in late afternoons into the evening. Make sure to clean off any moss that accumulates on your rig. 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 ice below Terrero; Slow
Now that winter has finally arrived, expect some slow fishing on the upper Pecos. Mora Creek has had ice on it in the morning and the main stem is cold as far as water temps go. The better fishing will be in the afternoons after the river has had a chance to warm up. The river is low and clear. Use a long leader (nine foot 6x is fine), fine tippets and a longer cast to avoid spooking fish in these conditions. Fish the deeper runs and cover the water very thoroughly. Try a tungsten zebra midge or a small caddis larvae below your indicator. Sporadic hatches of midges will come off in the afternoons anywhere from 1:00 till 5:00. Keep your fly choices small. Size #20-22 bling midge, miracle nymphs, and jujube midges, barr's emergers, egg patterns have been the top producers. Villanueva State Park has received it's second stocking this winter. No reports, but the stockers typically go for egg patterns, and bright colors like copper johns. Please respect the landowners along the Pecos and don't trespass. The Pecos National Historical Park's Fall Fishing season has ended Monday November 5th. To make a reservation for their spring season, see the Park's website at: http://www.nps.gov/peco/planyourvisit/fishing.htm for more info.
Rio Grande 184 cfs at Cerro; Fair to Good: 338 cfs at Pilar; Slow for pike, Fair to Good for trout, Slow for smallmouth bass
The Rio is a little murky with some of the lower elevation snows that are melting off. Nonetheless, I keep getting good reports from all of the usual places. With the change in clarity, think big and flashy. Nymphing with big stonefly nymphs or crane fly larvae with a trailing caddis larvae or baetis nymph will pick up trout sub surface. Pike fishing is slow, but will just get better as we move futher into fall. Large streamers that move 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 17 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Fair to Good
The mainstem Jemez has been stocked recently as a winter trout fishery. The streams of the Jemez Mountains are very low and clear. Stealth has to be practiced for you to catch fish. Long leaders, fine tippets, and smaller flies are in order. Focus on deeper runs and pools. Fishing is a slow early in the morning before the sun has a chance to warm things up. A dry fly dropper rig will present your flies better than fishing under a typical indicator. Keep the dry fly small like a #16 and drop a #18-20 copper john, pheasant tail or caddis nymph off of that. The smaller darker flies are the top producers. The fishing program at the Valles Caldera National Preserve has ended for the season.
The Chama River above the village of Chama; Slow: below the town of Tierrra Amarilla; Slow: 202 cfs below El Vado Dam; Fair to Good: and 221 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Fair to Good
The Chama in the Sargent Wildlife Area is low and clear and cold. There are better choices for fishing lower down. The Chama flowing into El Vado Reservoir is low and clear. The fishing there is best in the afternoons and the best place is below the Heron Dam spillway. Afternoons are better than the mornings. The release below both dams has just been reduced. The water clarity below Abiquiu is getting better as we move into winter. It's at about two feet of visiblity now. The Abiquiu stretch is getting heavily stocked and the catching is good. The release below El Vado is down and wadeable. The water there is murky. The top fly choices below both dams are bigger flies, especially with flash, like craneflies, big golden stones, with a trailing midge or baetis nymph. Streamers are a good choice. 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:
Animas River 172 at Durango; Fair to Good
The Animas is fishing well. The blue winged olive hatches are waning. Nymphing or throwing streamers has been the best tactics. Be ware of spawning browns and give them a wide berth if you happen upon them or their redds.
Arkansas River ice at Granite; Good: 202 cfs at Salida; Good
The fishing here is remains fair especially on the middle and lower river. The mornings are a little slow, but things pick up in the afternoons. Hayden Meadows down to Buena Vista has been the slowest section of river due to cooler water temps and low water. Warmer water and better fishing can be had from Salida down into Bighorn Sheep Canyon. Blue-winged olives are waning here also. Nymphing with caddis nymphs, baetis nymphs, midges, and golden stones still the top producers. Stay away from the spawing fish and their redds!
It's winter 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 and closures.
posted by High Desert Angler at Monday, December 24, 2012
