NM Fishing Reports

Red River Fly Fishing Report 03/25/2004

On 3/6 I fished with Joe & Rita. It was the first nice warm day after a week of cold snowy weather..The normal Mayfly hatch came off and the fish were on the emerger. We didn’t see a lot of Caddis…A good day but not great..On 3/7 I fished for 4 hours below the Hatchery and water temps were 50-56*. Dry fly action on the Para Adams#14 was great for an hour or so. I didn’t see any Caddis..Fishing slowed after 3pm..On 3/8 Rita fished the same area I fished yesterday. She did very well and saw a bunch of Caddis that must have been hiding in the bushes yesterday. She fished a dry Caddis with a Caddis larva dropper. On 3/12 I fished alone, water temps were 52-56* and flow was up but fishable..It picked up when the Mayflies came off in early afternoon and continued good the rest of the day…Caddis later..On 3/19 I fished alone and temps were 53-60*. Lots of Caddis and the flow was up and fishing was fair..Best fish a 17″ Cutbo..On 3/28 I fished wth Rita and we got behind a couple of other anglers and it was poor but it is hard to say how the fishing is when you’re getting the second bite out of the apple..Water level remains higher than at this time in the past few years.

New Mexico Fly Fishing Guide Ed Adams

Elephant Butte Fly Fishing Report 02/26/2004

Striped bass action continues to be very good for some but slow for others. This past week they were caught on live bait, crank baits and large flies. Anglers having the best luck were switching from live bait to crank baits and back to live bait. Most of the fish taken were six-to-ten feet down over 20-to-60 feet of water. They seem to be in a cruising mode searching for bait fish.

Anglers fishing for stripers were also picking up a few good size white bass and were trolling areas from Rattlesnake Island south past Horse Island and making large sweeps through this area. A few stripers were also taken in the marina areas.

The only other reports received were of a few catfish taken at the north end of the lake. The Rock Canyon boat ramp has reopened and the Dam Site ramp has one lane open.

San Juan River Fly Fishing Report 02/26/2004

Water flow below Navajo Dam is 252cfs.

Fishing in the Quality Waters is good using leaches, egg patterns, RS2s, emergers and small pheasant tail nymphs for trout.

Fishing in the lower bait waters is fair but should be picking up since this area was recently stocked. Use the same fly patterns as in the Quality Waters as well as cheese, worms, jerk baits and salmon eggs for browns and rainbows.