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.
NM Fishing Reports
Conejos River Fly Fishing Report 07/21/2001
Evening Caddis hatches were awesome. From 7:30pm until dark (about 9:00pm) the fishing was great with several fish over 14 inches.
Conejos River Fly Fishing Report 07/14/2001
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).
Red River Fly Fishing Report 06/25/2001
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.
Cimarron River Fly Fishing Report 06/25/2001
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.
Conejos River Fly Fishing Report 06/25/2001
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.
Cimarron River Fly Fishing Report 05/25/2001
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.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 04/25/2001
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.
Rio Grande Fly Fishing Report 04/25/2001
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.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 03/25/2001
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″.