Ed's Fly Fishing Report for Sunday January 18, 2015
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San Juan River 331 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
The lake turned over earlier this month and the clarity has been affected. I've had mixed reports with most of the negative ones occuring right after the event. Since then the water seems to have improved in clarity, enough anyway that I had a solid report of someone fishing a late day midge hatch and caught fish on dry flies. Other than the clarity, the fishing sounds like not much has changed. 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 is still being 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 ice near Pecos; Poor: at Villanueva State Park; Fair to Good
Cooler weather has finally arrived on the Pecos. Colder water is making the fishing much slower above the village of Pecos. Many of the shaded stretches are covered in ice. Villanueva State Park was stocked in early January. 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 your hand upriver of Pecos..
Rio Grande 286 cfs at Cerro; Slow: 488 cfs at Pilar; Slow for trout, Fair for pike, Poor for smallmouth bass
The Rio is a bit higher than normal for this time of year. The cold of winter has really slowed the trout fishing on the Rio. Some longer days and more sunshine would help improve that situation. Big dark nymphs and streamers will do more to entice a reluctant trout than the small stuff. Jarrett has had a few successful pike trips over the last few weeks. Most people heading for the Rio are looking for pike. 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 ice above Jemez Pueblo; Slow The lower sections of the Guadalupe, Jemez, and East Fork will your best bet or the streams directly below some of the hot springs in the area. Expect the fishing to be slow unless you can get during these warmer days of winter. The winter trout water on the lower Jemez was stocked on January 6th. 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 ice at La Puente; Poor: 104 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow to Fair: and 51 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Fair to Good
The river flowing into El Vado Reservoir is too cold for any decent fishing. The release below El Vado dam has been reduced. The reduction in flows reduces the the length of river that has temps high enough to bring a trouts metabolism up enough to feed. The water actually gets colder as it flows downstream. The best water is from Coopers up to the dam. Streamers, stonefly nymphs and cranefly larvae have been the top flies. The release below Abiquiu has also had a significant reduction. The same effect also happens at Abiquiu where river will get colder the farther downstream from the dam you are, but to a lesser degree than in the high country around El Vado Reservoir. The catching is still good here albeit mostly for stockers. The state did put in some larger rainbows reared at the Los Ojos hatchery where they grew to fifteen inches before being stocked as part of a program to grow a larger more quality fish. Poaching has been rampant below Abiquiu dam. Game and Fish officers have been making visits, however it can be bad and even flagrant some days. Please report it to New Mexico Game and Fish or to the Army Corps of Engineers ranger who also patrols the river. There is only a three fish limit on the Chama below Abiquiu dam. 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 214 cfs at Durango; Slow to Poor
The Animas is a viable winter fishery around Durango. It is cold and not much is stirring. Some longer days and warmer temps will improve things here. Fishing with streamers and big nymphs like stoneflies with some flash may get the trout's attention in the softer water. The best fishing is going to be while the sun is on the water. .
It's the middle of winter 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 home 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 331 cfs below Navajo Dam; Good
The lake turned over earlier this month and the clarity has been affected. I've had mixed reports with most of the negative ones occuring right after the event. Since then the water seems to have improved in clarity, enough anyway that I had a solid report of someone fishing a late day midge hatch and caught fish on dry flies. Other than the clarity, the fishing sounds like not much has changed. 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 is still being 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 ice near Pecos; Poor: at Villanueva State Park; Fair to Good
Cooler weather has finally arrived on the Pecos. Colder water is making the fishing much slower above the village of Pecos. Many of the shaded stretches are covered in ice. Villanueva State Park was stocked in early January. 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 your hand upriver of Pecos..
Rio Grande 286 cfs at Cerro; Slow: 488 cfs at Pilar; Slow for trout, Fair for pike, Poor for smallmouth bass
The Rio is a bit higher than normal for this time of year. The cold of winter has really slowed the trout fishing on the Rio. Some longer days and more sunshine would help improve that situation. Big dark nymphs and streamers will do more to entice a reluctant trout than the small stuff. Jarrett has had a few successful pike trips over the last few weeks. Most people heading for the Rio are looking for pike. 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 ice above Jemez Pueblo; Slow The lower sections of the Guadalupe, Jemez, and East Fork will your best bet or the streams directly below some of the hot springs in the area. Expect the fishing to be slow unless you can get during these warmer days of winter. The winter trout water on the lower Jemez was stocked on January 6th. 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 ice at La Puente; Poor: 104 cfs below El Vado Dam; Slow to Fair: and 51 cfs below Abiquiu Dam; Fair to Good
The river flowing into El Vado Reservoir is too cold for any decent fishing. The release below El Vado dam has been reduced. The reduction in flows reduces the the length of river that has temps high enough to bring a trouts metabolism up enough to feed. The water actually gets colder as it flows downstream. The best water is from Coopers up to the dam. Streamers, stonefly nymphs and cranefly larvae have been the top flies. The release below Abiquiu has also had a significant reduction. The same effect also happens at Abiquiu where river will get colder the farther downstream from the dam you are, but to a lesser degree than in the high country around El Vado Reservoir. The catching is still good here albeit mostly for stockers. The state did put in some larger rainbows reared at the Los Ojos hatchery where they grew to fifteen inches before being stocked as part of a program to grow a larger more quality fish. Poaching has been rampant below Abiquiu dam. Game and Fish officers have been making visits, however it can be bad and even flagrant some days. Please report it to New Mexico Game and Fish or to the Army Corps of Engineers ranger who also patrols the river. There is only a three fish limit on the Chama below Abiquiu dam. 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 214 cfs at Durango; Slow to Poor
The Animas is a viable winter fishery around Durango. It is cold and not much is stirring. Some longer days and warmer temps will improve things here. Fishing with streamers and big nymphs like stoneflies with some flash may get the trout's attention in the softer water. The best fishing is going to be while the sun is on the water. .
It's the middle of winter 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 home 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 Sunday, January 18, 2015
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