New Mexico Outdoors Blog
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″.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 02/25/2001
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.
Red River Fly Fishing Report 12/25/2000
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″
Red River Fly Fishing Report 11/25/2000
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″.
Rio Grande Fly Fishing Report 10/25/2000
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.
Rio Costilla Fly Fishing Report 09/25/2000
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″
Cimarron River Fly Fishing Report 09/25/2000
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.
Rio Costilla Fly Fishing Report 08/25/2000
In early August flows were back up around 100cfs on weekdays and fishing was good with Hopper-dropper combos and Caddis dries later in the day. Low flows were about 40cfs and consequently fishing was better on weekends than in July despite increased fishing pressure. Later in the month high flows were around 60cfs and Caddis patterns produced well all day but better late.
Cimarron River Fly Fishing Report 08/25/2000
Lots of fishing pressure on the Public Water made fishing tough but on the Cita it was much better with Moth or Hopper and dropper rigs. Flows remained at 30cfs most of the month.
Conejos River Fly Fishing Report 08/25/2000
We fished the Hamilton lease on 8/5 and the Rocky Mt. Angler lease on 8/6. We had a good day on on the Hamilton lease and started at 8am to minimize the effect of high afternoon temperatures. We started later the next day on the Rocky Mt. lease and didn’t do as well as this section is just above the Rainbow Trout Lodge and here temps were in the high 60*s by 2pm. On 8/24 and 8/25 at 40cfs from Platoro we fished above the Pinnacles and clouds kept the temps in the low 60*s both days and fishing was good most of the day. No big fish but a bunch of 13-16″ Browns on D&D rigs.
Rio Costilla Fly Fishing Report 07/25/2000
Flows fluctuated wildly between weekdays and weekends and in mid July flows got up to 125cfs on high flow days and down to 10cfs on weekends. The high flow was better fishing Stimulator #12 on the edges, pockets and any slower water. These high flows get the better fish more active and we took some nice fish on high flow days..Best an 18″ Cutbo.. We fished a dropper behind a #12 Stimulator on high days. Weekends were tough as flows were around 10cfs and fishing pressure was intense.. Later in the month flows were around 80cfs during the week and still around 10cfs on weekends. Caddis patterns worked well especially late in the day..PMD patterns worked best on weekends.
Cimarron River Fly Fishing Report 07/25/2000
In July flows remained around 30cfs for most of the month and fishing with Caddis with a Caddis larva or cased Caddis dropper produced well. No rain to speak of this summer and the farmers downstream were demanding water for irrigation and flows remained steady at 30xfs.
Conejos River Fly Fishing Report 07/25/2000
On 7/1 and 7/2 we fished the Pinnacles at 100cfs from Platoro. This is about the highest flow you can navigate in the Pinnacles but it also keeps out the less adventurous anglers. The fish in this pocket water stretch don’t rise like they do on the lower river and a dropper is essential. You need a large dry that floats well with Beadhead dropper {Prince-Copper John-Caddis emerger}Best fish was a 19″ Cutbo but the main attraction here are Browns 13-17″ and we got a bunch of those. On 7/12 and 7/13 we had fair days at 80cfs that ended early due to the onslaught of summer afternoon monsoon conditions which muddied up the flow. You need to bring rain gear as you are often quite a distance from shelter. Another must have item is mosquito repellant as the bugs get bad especially on dark days. Later in the month flows were down to 30cfs from Platoro and the best fishing was in the Pinnacles and above. Water temps in the lower river were near 70* on suuny days and fishing was poor. . In the Pinnacles and above water temps got into the high 60*s by mid afternoon and fishing predictably slowed down.
Cimarron River Fly Fishing Report 06/25/2000
On 6/1 the flow was 56cfs and we did see a few Stoneflies on the Cita { private water in Ute Park} but the fish were more responsive to our droppers fished behind a Stimlator #12. Dropper was a cased caddis pattern #14..This flow would be too high to fish a lot of the Public Water but on the Cita its much more open and meadow-like this level is excellent. By mid June the flow dropped to 30cfs and fishing in the Public Water greatly improved on Stimulator #12.