Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Saturday April 19, 2014
Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! Learn more at http://www.100thmeridian.org/emersion.asp
San Juan River 322 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
I am still getting very good reports on the Juan. The clarity of the river below the dam is getting better every day and is around 30 inches. As a result, the fish are turning their attention to midges and baetis and are more reluctant to eat eggs and worms. A little flash in your flies is still a good thing. Dry fly fishing is coming back with some afternoon baetis hatches below Texas Hole, especially on the overcast days. Black and olive midge larvae and pupa are the top producers near the dam especially in the mornings. Move down river after lunch to get the baetis hatch. Chocolate and olive have been the best baetis colors. Johnny flas and foam wing emergers are among the favorites. 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 90 cfs near Pecos; Fair to Good: at Villanueva State Park; Slow
The fishing is getting better up above the village of Pecos evry day. Stoneflies are molting and moving about making themselves available to fish. Baetis are also ver active and can provide a hatch after lunch especially if it's cloudy. All of the forest service public accesses are open below Terrero. Bert Clancey and Terrero Campground will re-open Friday April 18th. Game and Fish has stocked from Terrero downstream and many of the ares devoid of fish are now stocked. The river looks great after the ton of rain we had in September flushed a lot of the ash and sediment from the streambed. Please respect the landowners out there and stay out of any private property along the river. The outlook for the Pecos for this spring is looking more promising everyday. Currently the fishing program is still suspended at Pecos National Historical Park until further notice. To check for dates and availability for the 2014 spring fishing season see the Park's website at http://www.nps.gov/peco/planyourvisit/fishing.htm for more info.
Rio Grande 185 cfs at Cerro; Fair to Good: 382 cfs at Pilar; Fair to Good for trout, Slow for pike, Slow to Poor for smallmouth bass
Good news from the Rio!! First off, the caddis hatch is underway, and secondly, irrigation has begun in Colorado making the river very clear and wadeable. Caddis and blue winged olives are providing some dry fly action, but as usual, most of the fish are eating underwater. The best dry fly time for caddis is late in the evening. Blue winged olives are out from noon to four or five in the afternoon which is about the timethe caddis adults are coming back to the water. Fishing with big crane flies or stoneflies and caddis pupa and larvae should be among the fly choices. Pike fishing is slow. Gauge your success by how many you see, if you got a follow or not and of course an eat. Some days you get'em and some days a follow is as good as it gets. 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 87 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Fair to Good
The lower Jemez, the lower Guadalupe, and even the East Fork up from Battleship Rock are all fishing well during the warmer part of the day. The fish will eat nymphs 99 percent of the time, but try a dry dropper rig just as an easy presentation in the low and clear water you'll see in the winter. The upper streams are colder and fishing is much slower and harder to get to. The Fishing Program on the Valles Caldera National Preserve will resume starting May 16th. Please see their website for details or to make a reservation for the 2014 season at http://www.vallescaldera.gov/comevisit/fish/index.aspx
Chama River 1100 cfs above El Vado Reservoir; Slow: 412 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow to Fair: and 456 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Slow
The river below Abiquiu is stirred up and very murky. Pretty typical after running so low for so long. It's really time to fish elsewhere anyway. The release below El Vado has also been increased a little over a week ago. I like flows of aroung 150 to 400 cfs below El Vado. The extra water aids your drift and increases the opportunities down from Coopers. Streamers, stonefly nymphs and cranefly larvae have been the top flies. The river flowing into El Vado is in full runoff and it'll only increase in flow for another few weeks to a month. Look elsewhere. The Chama River above El Vado and below Abiquiu are Special Trout Waters with reduced bag limits. Please report anyone over harvesting there to New Mexico Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263.
In Southern Colorado:
Animas River 1180 cfs at Durango; Slow to Fair
The Animas is also in the beginning stages of spring runoff. The water is high and murky. Fishing with atreamers and big nymphs like stoneflies with some flash will still get the trout's attention just take caution while wading. .
Arkansas River 485 cfs at Granite; Fair to Good: 725 cfs at Salida; Fair to Good
The fishing is best from Salida upstream to Granite. You can fish downstream of Salida into Big Horn Sheep Canyon although the flows there make fishiing out of a boat your best option. Some of the extra water is coming out of Twin Lakes. Water is also being released out of Turquoise Reservoir which may help the fishing in Hayden Meadows. The best fishing will be in the warmest part of the day, generally from 11-3. Fish in the deeper runs mid-channel in the and cover the shallow riffles from mid-day on if you see active surface feeding. .
It's spring in New Mexico and water and fishing conditions and water flows 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.
San Juan River 322 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
I am still getting very good reports on the Juan. The clarity of the river below the dam is getting better every day and is around 30 inches. As a result, the fish are turning their attention to midges and baetis and are more reluctant to eat eggs and worms. A little flash in your flies is still a good thing. Dry fly fishing is coming back with some afternoon baetis hatches below Texas Hole, especially on the overcast days. Black and olive midge larvae and pupa are the top producers near the dam especially in the mornings. Move down river after lunch to get the baetis hatch. Chocolate and olive have been the best baetis colors. Johnny flas and foam wing emergers are among the favorites. 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 90 cfs near Pecos; Fair to Good: at Villanueva State Park; Slow
The fishing is getting better up above the village of Pecos evry day. Stoneflies are molting and moving about making themselves available to fish. Baetis are also ver active and can provide a hatch after lunch especially if it's cloudy. All of the forest service public accesses are open below Terrero. Bert Clancey and Terrero Campground will re-open Friday April 18th. Game and Fish has stocked from Terrero downstream and many of the ares devoid of fish are now stocked. The river looks great after the ton of rain we had in September flushed a lot of the ash and sediment from the streambed. Please respect the landowners out there and stay out of any private property along the river. The outlook for the Pecos for this spring is looking more promising everyday. Currently the fishing program is still suspended at Pecos National Historical Park until further notice. To check for dates and availability for the 2014 spring fishing season see the Park's website at http://www.nps.gov/peco/planyourvisit/fishing.htm for more info.
Rio Grande 185 cfs at Cerro; Fair to Good: 382 cfs at Pilar; Fair to Good for trout, Slow for pike, Slow to Poor for smallmouth bass
Good news from the Rio!! First off, the caddis hatch is underway, and secondly, irrigation has begun in Colorado making the river very clear and wadeable. Caddis and blue winged olives are providing some dry fly action, but as usual, most of the fish are eating underwater. The best dry fly time for caddis is late in the evening. Blue winged olives are out from noon to four or five in the afternoon which is about the timethe caddis adults are coming back to the water. Fishing with big crane flies or stoneflies and caddis pupa and larvae should be among the fly choices. Pike fishing is slow. Gauge your success by how many you see, if you got a follow or not and of course an eat. Some days you get'em and some days a follow is as good as it gets. 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 87 cfs above Jemez Pueblo; Fair to Good
The lower Jemez, the lower Guadalupe, and even the East Fork up from Battleship Rock are all fishing well during the warmer part of the day. The fish will eat nymphs 99 percent of the time, but try a dry dropper rig just as an easy presentation in the low and clear water you'll see in the winter. The upper streams are colder and fishing is much slower and harder to get to. The Fishing Program on the Valles Caldera National Preserve will resume starting May 16th. Please see their website for details or to make a reservation for the 2014 season at http://www.vallescaldera.gov/comevisit/fish/index.aspx
Chama River 1100 cfs above El Vado Reservoir; Slow: 412 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow to Fair: and 456 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Slow
The river below Abiquiu is stirred up and very murky. Pretty typical after running so low for so long. It's really time to fish elsewhere anyway. The release below El Vado has also been increased a little over a week ago. I like flows of aroung 150 to 400 cfs below El Vado. The extra water aids your drift and increases the opportunities down from Coopers. Streamers, stonefly nymphs and cranefly larvae have been the top flies. The river flowing into El Vado is in full runoff and it'll only increase in flow for another few weeks to a month. Look elsewhere. The Chama River above El Vado and below Abiquiu are Special Trout Waters with reduced bag limits. Please report anyone over harvesting there to New Mexico Game and Fish at 1-800-432-4263.
In Southern Colorado:
Animas River 1180 cfs at Durango; Slow to Fair
The Animas is also in the beginning stages of spring runoff. The water is high and murky. Fishing with atreamers and big nymphs like stoneflies with some flash will still get the trout's attention just take caution while wading. .
Arkansas River 485 cfs at Granite; Fair to Good: 725 cfs at Salida; Fair to Good
The fishing is best from Salida upstream to Granite. You can fish downstream of Salida into Big Horn Sheep Canyon although the flows there make fishiing out of a boat your best option. Some of the extra water is coming out of Twin Lakes. Water is also being released out of Turquoise Reservoir which may help the fishing in Hayden Meadows. The best fishing will be in the warmest part of the day, generally from 11-3. Fish in the deeper runs mid-channel in the and cover the shallow riffles from mid-day on if you see active surface feeding. .
It's spring in New Mexico and water and fishing conditions and water flows 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 Saturday, April 19, 2014
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