Author: New Mexico Outdoor Sports Guide

On 3/3, the first sunny day in aweek, water temp was 51* at 11am and fishing great all day..D&D early and dries later [Caddis]..On 3/6 we fished lower in the canyon and temp was 49* at 10am and fishing was fair with long dry spells…On 3/7 I fished closer to the Hatchery and water temp was 55* at 11am and fishing was excellent all day..Small Prince nyph worked well as a dropper..On 3/13 I had a real good day. Water temp 50-58* ..Lots of 10-12″ Browns..I fell and banged my knee and it got infected which kept me off the stream for a couple of weeks..On 3/31 I fished with a client and fishing was good and there were lots of bugs..Fish weren’t everywhere but there were enough.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

On 2/3 I fished with a client and he fished nymphs for spawners on a cold and blustery day. He got 2 nice fish, an 18″ Cutbo and another 17″. Temps were 48-53*…On 2/17 I fished alone and the river seemed dead so I walked upstream and discovered a friend fishing ahead of me..We fished up together and it was great. Lots of caddis and Mayflies..Fish very active.. Best day so far this year..On 2/24 I fished alone on a cold and windy day..Not many bugs and fishing only fair.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

I fished alone on 1/7 and broke the tip on my bush rod going in. I fished anyway and caught a few fish..Water temp 48-52* over the day. On 1/17 I fished close to the Hatchery and temp was 53* and fishing fair on D&D combo.. On 1/20 I saw some Mayflies and a few spawners but water got muddy in the afternoon and later I drove up above Questa and saw that Molycorp was doing some backhoe work near the stream and causing discolored water in the canyon..On 1/28 we had the best fishing since November…Very good Mayfly hatch and the emerger worked well as a dropper..Browns 10-13″ and a couple of Cutbos 16″..On 1/31 it was not as good as 1/28 but fish were looking up..It slowed later in the day.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

I fished alone on 11/7 and water temp was 58* at 11am. Again lots of smaller fish. On 11/13 there were a lot of spawners about and I got a 23″ Brown off a redd [one my nicest Red River Browns].. Some big Cutbos around too..On 11/21 flow was 9/39cfs and most of the big Browns are gone back to the bigger water in the Rio..Mostly small fish today..On 11/26 I fished alone and had a good day. Not as many big fish but more in the 12-14″ range than I’ve seen in a while.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

On 8/2 the flow was 47cfs {State Line} and Rita landed a 22″ Cutbo in the Box that weighed about 6lbs. Water temps were 64-66* and it was cloudy with a light rain. The flows this Fall are lower than I have ever seen and altho fishing was great I am concerned about long term effects on the fish especially the Cutbos which are more sensitive to habitat changes.. Fishing remained great thru Oct and success didn’t seem to depend on pattern or method of fishing. We fished mostly D&D {dry and dropper} this Fall as low flows brought the better fish closer to the surface.Anglers who fished nymphs didn’t do any better and you can’t fish some of the smaller pocket water with those rigs. Fishing pressure was less than last year but still a problem. Croosing over to the west side was again a good idea.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

I fished with son Sam on 10/16 and water temp was 58* at 11am. Water was low and had a blue tint that we used to see when Molycorp was really cranking out the ore. We got a lot of small fish {6″} and a few to 12″ but fishing was poor..Reminds me of the old days when those Molycorp pipes used to break and send that bad water into the Red..On 10/21 I fished closer to the Hatchery and flow was 11/41cfs and 62* at 11am…Fishing was still off but better than 10/16.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

I only fished the Cita on 9/2 & 9/6 as the Rio Grande turned on early this year. Flows were 20cfs and we had a nice Trico {Para-Adams #18} hatch in the morning. Afternoon fishing picked up as the temps improved.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

By August the Resevoir was almost empty and the outflow was was murky with lots of debris in the stream. Water temps got into the high 60*s for the first time in my memory. Fishing was poor and they shut off the flow on 9/4.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Flows dropped to 2cfs in early July and the tributaries weren’t adding much flow to the river. No one had seen flows this low and fishing was very poor for those with nowhere else to fish. Flows stayed between 2 and 40cfs all month.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Flows increased and stayed between 20-40cfs as the downstream farmers neede their irrigation water.. Fishing was greater than I expected this month as maybe the Brown trout are acclimating to the higher temps. Last year when it got up to 68* it was time to quit but this year fishing was fair to 70* with droppers. The fish on the Cita really earned their keep this year as fishing elsewhere was poor.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Flows were between 10-20cfs most of the month and I was on the Cita a lot. We got welcome clouds on most days but the temps still crept over 70* a few times. The best fishing was in the morning and up to 2pm and again after 6pm til dark.Caddis was the dry fly this month and as the water temp got over 65* we added a dropper.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Long term drought has drasticly reduced water levels in Costilla Resevoir. Flows in July never got above 30cfs but water was clear and fishing fair thru the month on dry flies {Stimulator-Caddis -PMDs}.Lots of fishing pressure and low flows made for tough fishing.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Rita is back from Spain and we fished on 7/20..Water was a bit off-color from recent rains and 60* at 10am. It got up to 68* mid-afternoon and fishing fell off for a while. It got cloudy later and water cooled a couple of degrees and fishing picked up..Rita got some nice fish. D&D.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

The Conejos is starting to see the effect of our successive mild, dry winters. Flows were 200 thru the Pinnacles and 300 in Mogote and the Flywater along Hiway #17 was the best area. We fished a Stimulator and a Prince dropper early and late and between 11am and 2pm the fish were really hot on a Green Drake #10. Casting to rising fish repeatedly until they either took or stopped rising. By mid June flows were down to 60cfs and water temps were getting to be a problem later in the day, especially in the lower areas. With low flows and high temps the upper river was more productive and the Pinnacles and above afforded the best angling. By late June flows were down to 40cfs and the temperature problem got worse.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Lots of dark clouds and some rain kept water temps from getting totally out of wack. On sunny days water temps got up to 72* {OUCH} and fishing shut down. The Stonefly hatch was right on time on 6/1 and we fished the Philmont on 6/1 & 6/2 with client and between 4 anglers they got 150 fish, all on dries. On 6/1 the flow was 20cfs and clouds kept the temps down..Stonefly action continued good thruout the month.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

The last half of the month was good on the Cita and flows were 20-40cfs over that period.. I fished the Cita twice on 5/22 & 5/31 and the Holy Water on 5/28. It can get windy this time of year and that can make casting tough.. Best dry fly action so far was on the Cita on 5/31 at 20cfs.Stimulator#12 and Para-Adams #16. On 5/31 water temps got up to 68* in the afternoon.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Runoff a non-event again this year and water everywhere very low. On 5/6 flow was 12/42cfs and I don’t usually fish the Red much in May but I spotted a couple of larger Stoneflies flitting around and one landed on my hat. I had great dry fly fishing the rest of the day With a size #12 Stimulator without a dropper…I fished again on 5/13 and water was 11/41cfs and was good on Stimulator #12 altho water temps are getting high {64*} and its only mid-May

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

River is running at about 350cfs which is excellent for this time of year. The water temperature is still low (about 48 degrees), but the fishing is pretty good.

I landed 5 fish between 14″ and 17″ using Hare’s Ear Rubber Legs and Bead Head Hare’s Ears. Stone Flies Haven’t started to hatch yet, but as they should be on the water in a week or so, as the temperature warms.

I fished the Cita on 4/20 & 4/25 at 42cfs and the temps were 45-55* over the day and on 4/20 and never got over 52* on 4/25. Good fishing was limited to a few hours in the middle of the day. We fished a big dry {doesn’t matter the pattern} and a cased Caddis dropper.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Another dry year and when the first Caddis was spotted on 4/6 the flow was 100cfs {State Line}. In April the fishing around Pilar was good from 3pm til dark on Caddis dry #14. Best fishing was sight casting to rising fish. The Box was also excellent in April, May and early June until water temps got into the high 60*s.. On 5/26 I had my best day ever on the Rio Grande and counted 86 hookups, 5 or 6 nice Cutbos {one 20″er that took a dry}and 6 Browns over 17″..The flow was 59cfs and temps 64-66*. Lots of rising fish..I used a Moth with a Caddis larva dropper. We had a few good days in early June also and it is exceedingly rare to be able to fish the Rio Grande at this time of year but maybe not so rare if the drought continues.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

On 3/12 I fished with son, Joe and altho there were lots of Caddis, Stones and Mayflies fishing was again poor..Maybe the extended drought is finally affecting this stream????On 3/18 I fished alone and it was better than 3/12. I heard a rumor that someone poached a couple of hundred fish from the canyon and was giving them away in Taos. {unconfirmed }..It seems to be better fishing the closer you get to the Hatchery which would tend to support the rumor.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Another mild winter with very little snow. I fished on 2/19 and was a bit rusty but I did see a bunch of fish.. On 2/23 I saw some Caddis and a few small Stones but fishing was poor almost like someone was ahead of me but I don’t think so. I did get a 21″ Cutbo but the resident fish were MIA..On 2/27 fishing was again poor. Not many bugs and fish seemed to be in the deeper runs and not elevating..I hope I don’t have to start fishing with weighted nymphs like the old days.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

On 12/3 we saw a number of Cutbos spawning and picked an 18″er off a redd on a dropper and then got another from the same spot that turned out to be a 17″ Brown..On 12/10 there was a nice Mayfly hatch in the early afternoon and resident fish were busy for a few hours..I got one 17″ Cutbo and missed 3 others. D&D. On 12/18 not much of a Mayfly hatch but fishing was steady with D&D combo for resident Browns.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

On 11/1 fishing was steady but we didn’t see any bigger Browns up for their annual spawn..On 11/18 fishing started well but we ran into a couple of other anglers and it was slow after that..You don’t want to fish behind anyone on this river as even if they don’t catch all the fish they will spook the better ones.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

By mid September the flow was about 120cfs {State Line} and clear. Lots of anglers in the Box this year and fish were spooky. We fished a lot with a 2 nymph combo and an indicator {Weighted Stonefly nymph or Cranefly Larva with a Caddis larva dropper 14″ below}.With clients I fished on 9/22, 9/26, 9/27 and 9/29 and fishing was good depending on their skills. We got some nice Cutbos in the Box in the 2nd half of September.. In October water temps were better and fishing picked up but so did the fishing pressure. I’d never seen this many anglers in the Box and crossing to the west side improved the action. In the wilder sections of the Box fishing was excellent on Moth-Caddis Larva D&D combos. There were lots of natural Moths around this year..We had some good rains also and this tended to discolor the water a bit.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

I fished the Cita with clients on 9/10 and 9/12 at 30cfs and cooler weather and better flows made for good fishing. Most of the action was on dry Caddis {#14} and small Para-Adams {#18}.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

On 9/11, the day of the WTC attack, the flow was 110cfs, the highest flow since July, but fishing was poor as I think clients were disstracted by the events of the day. On 9/15 they shut off the flow and fishing ended for the year.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

9/4 was my last chance to fish with Rita before she returns to school in Spain and we had one of our best days together on the Red..Flow was 28/58cfs and we got lots of fish…My best a 17″ Cutbo and Rita 2 16″ Browns…Caddis-Moth and Dropper.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Fishing remained consistant and flows stayerd around 90cfs until later in the month when they rose to 130cfs. Wading was tough at 130cfs in the Pinnacles and above. Below the Pinnacles fishing was good with Caddis patterns. For rising fish a Para-Adams #14 or 16 worked well. Good flows and cloudy days kept the water temps in the good range {50-65*}.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Flows were around 60cfs on weedays and 30cfs on weekends. Like July, fishing the faster riffles was effective on weedends with Hoppers and on weekends the slower water with a Hopper-dropper combo. There was less pressure this month than on previous Augusts and fishing was good thru the month.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

I fished with Rita on 8/24 and 8/30 and flows continue to be up 30/60cfs from summer rains which is good as these flows get those better fish out from under those rocks..Caddis-Moth and dropper…Fishing was consistantly good all day both days.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

By early July the flow was down to 260cfs below the Pinnacles and altho wading was difficult it was doable for the adventurous angler. We had good days on the Hamilton Lease on 7/6 and 7/7 with D&D Rigs with a Stimulator #10 with a Prince or Caddis emerger #14 about 24″ below the dry.. We also got some nice fish with a #8 Peacock Stonefly nymph fished with an indicator in the deeper runs. In the second half of July flows were down to 90cfs and we fished the Pinnacles with Caddis #12 with a Caddis emerger dropper. The dry fly fishing was excellent and there were a lot of Caddis around all day most days.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

I only fished the Cimarron twice, on 7/1 and 7/2 and the flow was 40cfs and a little off-color from a big rain on 6/29. We fished the Cita both days and it was excellent both days on dry Caddis with a cased Caddis dropper. Slightly murky water makes the fish a little less paranoid and fishing usually improves.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

High flows were around 100cfs most of the month and low flows were around 25cfs. Fish were very active on weekdays, possibly because of overcast weather on the best days. These fish like low light situations and the lack of shade makes bright, sunny days tougher. On weekends the fish seemed to be in the faster water, probably using the current for cover. On low flow days it paid to fish this type of water {riffles}that we passed by on high flow days. Fishing these riffles worked well on weekends with small Hoppers.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

My daughter Rita fished on 7/16 and water still a bit high at 48/78cfs..She had a great day with lots of Brown and a few Cutbos, a few to 17″…She used Caddis patterns, D&D.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Evening Caddis hatches were awesome. From 7:30pm until dark (about 9:00pm) the fishing was great with several fish over 14 inches.

Fished the stretch of river between Menkhaven and Bear Creek. Water levels are finally coming down and the river is very fishable from all locations. Caught several nice Browns in the 12-16 inch range, all on Stimulators (#10 Orange Stimulators).

June saw a lot of runoff from the tributaries but levels in Platoro were low from lack of precipitation and at Mogote the flow was 600cfs and blow the Pinnacles it was 350cfs.. Wading was tough everywhere and best fishing was along the dges. Stoneflies were around by 6/10 and best fishing was in the Flywater along Hiway #17. Crossing the river at this flow was impossible.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

The flows were 25-50cfs all month and the tributaries weren’t contributing much to the downstream flow. Water temps were getting into the high 60*s and fishing slowed down after 2pm on sunny days. Clouds help keep the temps lower and its advisable to fish closer to the dam after 2pm on sunny days. There is a 3-4* temperature difference from the top of the Public Water to the bottom end. Stimulator #12 got all the attention as it does every June.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

I fished alone on 6/16 and water still high but clear. 110/140cfs. The first number is the reading in town {Questa}and the second is below the springs at the Hatchery. I haven’t fished this level for a few years and high water obscured a lot of those little pockets the Browns love but anywhere there was clear water and on the edges there were fish.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

I fished the Cita on 5/16, 5/23, 5/27 and 5/31 and altho release from the dam was 1-10cfs over this period the flow on the Cita was 20-30cfs. We fished D&D combos with a big, visible dry on top and a cased Caddis dropper. Almost all the fish were on the dropper 12-14″ below the dry. On 5/31 I saw a few Stones flying about.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

First Caddis spotted in Pilar on 4/2. Flows were about 400cfs {State Line} and not quite clear but fishable. Altho there wasn’t much snow this year the water never got real clear and fishing was fair at best. You had to work hard for your fish. I did a lot of sight fishing {casting only to rising fish}. They had more snow in the upper reaches of the Rio Grande Basin so there was some runoff and fishing was only fair thru April.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

I fished alone on 4/1 and had a great day.. I got the usual Browns and a few Cutbos to 18″…Lots of Caddis about and no people on a Sunday…Caddis hatch is happening on the Rio Grande so I won’t have any reports on the Red for a while.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

On 3/2 there were a lot more Caddis and a few small Stones as well as the usual Mayflies {#14 Para-Adams}. It was good early but slowed considerably at mid-day. It picked up again later and client got a 19″ Cutbo and a 16″ Brown..On 3/16 it was cold and windy at the top but nicer in the canyon {as usual} Very good top water action but we still fished with droppers and my guys hooked a couple of Cutbos to 20″.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

There has been a little more snow than the past 2 years but the Red remains low and clear. On 2/6 a client fishing a nymph-egg combo { his choice} got 10 Cutbos over 16″..On 2/13 with a front moving in we did fair with Dry & Dropper [D&D] combos with most fish taking the Mayfly emerger. We got 6 over 16″ {Cutbos} and a couple of Browns near 14″. On 2/15 the Mayfly hatch was sparse but fish were still active on top for bigger dries{ Moth #12}..Some nice Browns to 14″…On 2/20 we saw the first Caddis and fishing was good until mid-afternoon when water clouded up from the snomelt coming off Cebolla Mesa and we quit fishing.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Warm and dry weather and water low and clear. Cutbos are in the system and spawning but with low and clear conditions they were real spooky. On 12/2 a client got 3 Cutbos over 17″ and on 12/21 another got a 21″ and a 20″ Cutbo on a caddis dropper. On 12/31 I fished a Wooly Booger over some spawners and took 3 0ver 18″

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

On 11/1 I fished the Red with my daughter and the Browns have moved up out of the Rio Grande and Rita got a 19″ Brown among a bunch of other nice fish. The bigger Browns were done and gone back to the Rio Grande by 11/20 but action remained good for Browns 11-14″ and a few Cutbos to 16″.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Flows were very low this year at 60cfs {State Line}. At this level many more pockets in the Box were fishable and you could cross in spots. We started fishing the Grande in early September and the first half of the month was fair with water temps getting to the high 60*s by mid afternoon. By mid September the temps were better and fishing picked up. Rita and I had 2 great days fishing remote areas of the Box. We hooked up with about 40 fish apiece, Browns 13-17″ and Cutbos 14-18″. On 9/28 a client landed a 20″ Cutbo..We were using a big dry fly { Hopper or Moth } with a Caddis larva dropper 16-24″ below the dry. October continued great and we fished the Box on 10/2, 10/11, 10/15 and 10/18..We started getting some fish in the 20″ range, mostly Cutbos and a few Browns.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

On 9/5 I fished on the Cita with clients at 56cfs and had a great day. We fished Hoppers with a small # 16 mayfly emerger or a cased Caddis as a dropper. On 9/7 we fished the Holy Water {the private stretch immediately below the dam} but they turned the water down to 7cfs at 10am and fishing was poor altho we did get a 16″ Brown. We fished the Cita on 9/26 at 26cfs and had a good day on Hopper -dropper combos.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

They shut the flow off on 9/9 and the last day we fished here was 9/7 at a flow of 45cfs and had a great day. Very few people around and a client took a 17″ Cutbo and a few Rio Grande Cutthroats to 14″

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams