Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Friday November 28, 2014

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San Juan River 361 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
A steady flow rate and good fishing continues. Like any fishing situation, it pays to be in the right place at the right time. Midges are hatching from 10:00 am till noon and baetis are still hatching in the afternoon below Texas Hole. Black, gray, brown, and olive midge larvae and pupa are the top producers near the dam especially in the mornings.Chocolate and olive have been the best baetis colors. Johnny flash and foam wing emergers are among the favorites. Simon Canyon flashed after a heavy rain that sent a lot of sand into the river. The fishing downstream of Simon Canyon has been affected. 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 37 cfs near Pecos; Fair  
Cooler weather has fianlly arrived on the Pecos. Colder water is making the fishing slower especially in the mornings. This weekend's warmer weather will improve the fishing somewhat, but it's still banker's hours. Egg patterns, dark nymphs like oops flies, psycho mays, feeding caddis, and bruised baetis's hung below a buoyant dry is one of the better tactics. Fish probably won't hit the dry, but it'll be a better unobtrusive indicator. Please respect the landowners out there and stay out of any private property along the river. 

Rio Grande 420 cfs at Cerro; Slow to Fair: 501 cfs at Pilar; Slow to Fair for trout, Slow for pike, Goood for smallmouth bass
The Rio is a bit higher than normal for this time of year. Big dark nymphs and streamers will stand out more with the water being off color. 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 one gets an eat.

Jemez Mountain Streams  24 cfs above Jemez Pueblo;  Fair 
Lower sections of the Guadallupe, Jemez, and East Fork will fish fairly well during these warmer days of winter. The winter trout water on the lower Jemex has not been stocked yet, but should be soon. It's bankers hours fishing. Try tying a dropper nymph on like micromays, small HDA Favorites, and Anato-mays, or caddis pupa below a buoyant dry.

Chama River  above the town of Chama; Slow: 61 cfs above El Vado Reservoir; Slow to Fair: 228 cfs below El Vado Dam; Fair to Good: and  175 cfs below Abiquiu Dam;  Fair to Good
The river flowing into El Vado Reservoir is a at a good level. Fishing is spotty with a lot of the fish spending their energy on spawning. Avoid any redds you may encounter. The release below El Vado has been steady over the past few weeks. I like flows of around 150 to 400 cfs below El Vado at Coopers. Streamers, stonefly nymphs and cranefly larvae have been the top flies. The release below Abiquiu has increased also making the fishing better downstream of the pavillion. The river is still murky, but the clarity is improving. 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.

Cimarron River 0 cfs below Eagle Nest Dam; Poor: 5 cfs at Cimarron; Poor
The release out of Eagle Nest Dam has finally been reduced to ZERO!! Given the flow at Cimarron, there isn't much for trib flow either, I hate this time of year on the Cimarron. The majority of the fish on the Cimarron are brown trout which have just completed their spawn only to have the release out of Eagle Nest dam reduced effectively de-watering their redds. Natural recruitment here is low, so consider fishing elsewhere until the release situation improves. Nearby Red River over Bobcat Pass is another alternative and is fishing fairly well. .

In Southern Colorado:

Conejos River  37 cfs below Platoro Reservoir; Fair: 120 cfs at Mogote; Fair to Good
I'll continue to report on the Conejos as long as the release is this high out of Platoro. The cooloer night make for slow fishing in the mornings. Afternoons have been fair on the lower river where the water is a few degrees warmer. A hopper dropper rig works well in the low water. Medium sized nymphs like #12-14 twenty inchers and tungsten salvations were doing the most work. The road up to meadow section will be closing soon.

Animas River 284 cfs at Durango; Fair to Good
The Animas is a great fall fishery around Durango. Fishing with streamers and big nymphs like stoneflies with some flash will still get the trout's attention in the softer water just take caution while wading. .    

Arkansas River 485 cfs at Granite; Good: 938 cfs at Salida; Good
The fishing has taken a hit with high releases out of Twin Lakes. The release is going down as of report time soon the situation may improve. The smaller bugs like baetis and midges will be the active ones over the winter. A dead drifted stonefly nymph with a trailing baetis or midge works well here.

It's autumn 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.

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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.

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