Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Monday December 22, 2014

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San Juan River 348 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 29 cfs near Pecos; Slow: at Villanueva State Park; Fair to Good   
Cooler weather has finally arrived on the Pecos. Colder water is making the fishing slower above the village of Pecos. Villanueva State Park was stocked on December 18th.  Egg patterns, red and chartreuse copper johns, San Juan worms, are all good patterns for the stockers at Villanueva. Smaller dark nymphs like oops flies, psycho mays, feeding caddis, and bruised baetis's hung below a buoyant dry is one of the better tactics if you dare to try yopur hand upriver of Pecos.. 

Rio Grande 300 cfs at Cerro; Fair: 482 cfs at Pilar; Fair for trout, Fair for pike, Slow for smallmouth bass
The Rio is a bit higher than normal for this time of year. I have just started to get some better reports for the Rio for trout. Big dark nymphs and streamers will stand out more with the water being off color. Pike fishing is also picking up. 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  30 cfs above Jemez Pueblo;  Fair  The lower sections of the Guadalupe, Jemez, and East Fork will fish fairly well during these warmer days of winter. The winter trout water on the lower Jemez was stocked on December 4th. It's bankers hours fishing. Try tying a dropper nymph on like copper johns or an egg pattern, or caddis pupa below a buoyant dry.

Chama River  70 cfs at La Puente; Slow: 246 cfs below El Vado Dam; Fair to Good: and  228 cfs below Abiquiu Dam;  Fair to Good
The river flowing into El Vado Reservoir is a at a good level. Fishing is slow with colder water temps affecting the fishing. 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 also had a decent flow and has been steady for a couple of weeks making the fishing better downstream of the pavilion. The river is slightly 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.

In Southern Colorado:

Animas River 250 cfs at Durango; Fair 
The Animas is a viable winter 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. The best fishing is while the sun is on the water.  .    

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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