New Mexico Outdoors Blog
Red River Fly Fishing Report 05/25/2002
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
Cimarron River Fly Fishing Report 05/25/2002
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.
Conejos River Fly Fishing Report 05/24/2002
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.
Rio Grande Fly Fishing Report 04/25/2002
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.
Cimarron River Fly Fishing Report 04/25/2002
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.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 03/25/2002
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.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 02/25/2002
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.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 12/25/2001
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.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 11/25/2001
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.
Rio Grande Fly Fishing Report 10/25/2001
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.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 09/25/2001
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.
Rio Costilla Fly Fishing Report 09/25/2001
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.
Cimarron River Fly Fishing Report 09/25/2001
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}.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 08/25/2001
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.
Rio Costilla Fly Fishing Report 08/25/2001
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.
Conejos River Fly Fishing Report 08/25/2001
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*}.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 07/25/2001
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.
Rio Costilla Fly Fishing Report 07/25/2001
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.
Cimarron River Fly Fishing Report 07/25/2001
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.
Conejos River Fly Fishing Report 07/25/2001
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.
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.