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Tuesday, August 28th, 2012
Hi Everybody,
Sorry it has taken so long for us to get this newsletter out but
we have been on the rivers and streams much more than in front of the computer
these days. We have been having some great fishing recently and, as fall gets
closer, the fishing should get better and better. The "monsoon
season" rains finally arrived and flow levels are starting to come up and
the water is starting to cool down. A couple of mornings ago it was cool and
crisp and we felt the first small hint of fall's arrival. It won't be long
before the large brown trout start to turn on!
We hope you all have had a good summer and are getting ready for a
great fall fishing season. Enjoy the newsletter.
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The picture above: Netting a nice brown that fell for a hopper pattern in the late afternoon last week, on the MK Ranch.
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 Fishing Report
The Fishing Report pictures were taken within the last 4 weeks...
CHAMA & LOWER BRAZOS: The Chama River above Heron dam all the
way up into Colorado has been very low and warm. It is just starting to cool
down a bit and, with the rain, the water levels are starting to come up to
fishable levels. Fishing in this section should be good starting in September
and get continually better into October and November. The sections below Heron,
El Vado and Abiqui dams are still running high and off color with 600 cfs plus
releases coming out of all of the dams. Apparently the flows are going to be
reduced very shortly which should give us some great late summer and early fall
fishing. The Brazos has been fishing very well. We have been using smaller
nymphs and dries, with lots of nice bows and browns being caught on every trip.
Picture: Fighting a fish on the upper Chama River.
ABEYTA RANCH: The fishing on the Abeyta Ranch (on the Conejos) is excellent
and well worth a trip up there. Though the best fishing has been with
sub-surface flies (mostly stones and mayflies), we have been getting some great
dry fly action in the afternoons with big hoppers. Right now, we are catching a
good mix of browns and rainbows. As the fall progresses, the larger browns
should start to get aggressive and become more prevalent. In the fall, when all
the cottonwood's leaves turn yellow and gold, the Abeyta ranch becomes one of
the West's most gorgeous rivers to fish.
Picture: 27" Abeyta Ranch rainbow - way to go Chuck!
BRAZOS RIVER RANCH: The August fishing up on the Brazos River
Ranch has been nothing short of epic. All the fish are eating large hoppers and
dries on top - how about a 24" rainbow on the surface? There are still a
few open days left in September up at the ranch. Give us a call if you are
interested in making a fishing trip up there this season.
Picure: Kevin W. with a nice rainbow - on the hopper!
QUINLAN RANCH: The fishing on the lakes at the Quinlan Ranch has
slowed down quite a bit with the warm August weather. This should all change as
the summer wanes and both the air and water start to cool. We are anticipating
great fishing on the lakes by the middle of September, which should continue though until
the end of November.
Picture: One fish on and one in the net - on Don's Lake.
SAN JUAN: A few days ago, the flows on the San Juan were raised up
to the 1,000 cfs range. The fishing has been fair to good throughout the whole
"Quality Waters" stretch. There are no baetis at all but they should
be starting to show up within the next few weeks. The best bet for success
right now is to use small (size 24 and 26) midges. Sight fishing to rising fish
with large hoppers and ant patterns on the surface is still bringing some big ones
to the net.
Picture: A nice San Juan rainbow, on a size 26 midge.
RIO GRANDE: The flows on the Rio are still very low which is making
the wading and fishing very easy. The issue has been off color water due to
run-off from the rains. When the water is clear, we have had some great days
using nymph rigs and a few good fish have been caught on the surface. The
fishing above Taos has been the best bet.
Picture: Letting one go in the Pilar stretch.
PECOS: The Pecos is fishing fairly well these days with plenty of
action on both dries and nymphs. The size run of fish seems to be pretty small
but there are lots of them. After Labor Day weekend the river should be a lot
less crowded and the bigger fish should start to become less wary and easier to
catch.
VALLES CALDERA NATIONAL PRESERVE (VCNP): Nothing has really
changed out on the VCNP since our last report. The fishing on the Caldera has
been spotty to good, depending on where you are fishing. We have been using dry
flies exclusively and the fish are hitting them hard! There aren't as many fish
as before the Las Conchas fire last year but the fish we have been catching
have been a bit larger than usually and quite fat and healthy. There have been
some heavy rain storms that have blown out the San Antonio but it has been
clearing up quickly and the water clarity returns to normal in short order.
Call us for up to date water conditions.
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Karluk River Trip for Alaskan Steelhead
Shane is going to be guiding steelhead
trips up in Alaska on the Karluc River for a month this fall. If you ever
wanted to catch large numbers of steelhead, this is the trip you should take. There are still three openings available for
the trip of the week of October 13 through October 20th. The middle part of October
is the best and most productive part of the steelhead run on the river. If you
have never been steelhead fishing, the Karluk will spoil you for all other
spots; if you have already experienced steelhead fishing, you will wonder why
you have not been to this river before.
The Karluk River, located on Kodiak
Island in Alaska, is one the world's best steelhead locations. It also has good numbers
of large silver salmon, artic char and dolly varden, along with a scattering of
rainbows and a few late run sockeye. This is likely the best steelhead fishing
in the world in terms of numbers of hook-ups. There are more grabs per angler in a
day on the Karluk than most British Columbia rivers produce in a week. In a
typical season, an angler can expect to hook 5 to 15 steelhead per day. In
addition to the great steelhead fishing, fishermen usually land 3 silvers for
every steelhead. Essentially all fishing is with floating lines -
8 weight rods are generally the rod of choice for the steelhead and silvers. The
river is relatively small and can be adequately covered with a single handed
rod. Another great part of fishing on the Karluk is that almost all
of the river is easy to wade.
The lodging for this trip is right on
the river and there is a full-time camp manager and cook on-site at all times. The
chef prepares simple and hearty meals. The menu includes everything from fresh
grilled silver salmon to steaks and barbequed brisket. The camp is located just
about in the middle of the 22 mile length of the river and is accessed by float
plane. The Karluk has vast quantities of
local wildlife including Kodiak brown bears, silver fox (3 color
phases), bald eagles, tundra swans, deer, otters, beaver and ermine.
Fishermen sometimes get so caught up in viewing the wildlife they can’t
seem to put the camera down and pick up the fly rod.
Trips are limited to a maximum of 4 anglers per week with 2 anglers per
guide. The trip is a total of six days and seven nights with up to 6.5 days of
fishing.
If you are interested in this trip, please contact us a.s.a.p. for more
information and pricing.
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Tips & Skills ~ The Barrel or Blood Knot
Many of the folks that fish with us have asked us the best way to
attach their tippet to their leaders and/or how to make tippet to tippet
connections. We almost exclusively use the barrel/blood knot to do this. It
is a bit more complicated to tie than a surgeon's knot but in the long run it
is stronger, cleaner and wastes less material than the surgeon's knot does.
Below are some directions on how to tie a barrel knot. Take some old
monofilament line and practice it a few times. After a few tries and a bit of practice, it will become easy to
do.
Step 1: Cross both pieces of your tippet and/or leader material in an “X”,
leaving at least 3″ of overlap. You can hold the 2 pieces in either your left
or right hand to start, whichever is easier for you.
Step 2: Wind one end around the standing part of the
other piece five times and pass the end on the other side of the “X” formed by
the intersection of the two pieces. In essence, stick the end between it’s
standing part and the other tag end.
Step 3: Now hold the “X” and the first tag end together with your thumb and
index finger. Then, with your free hand, wind the other tag end around the
standing piece in the opposite direction (of the first winds) five times. Pass
this tag end through the same loop at the “X”, as the first tag end. Make sure that you go through the loop in the
opposite direction from the first tag end!
Step 4: Lubricate and hold both ends together while pulling on the standing
parts to tighten (one way to keep the ends from slipping through is to hold
them in your teeth). Don’t put any pressure on the tag ends while pulling. Once
the knot is a little snub, you can let go of the tag ends and tighten it
completely by pulling on the standing lines. Trim the tag ends close to the
knot with your clippers.
For more fishing tips and skills, please go to the "Fishing Tips & Skills" page on our website. Click on the link below to check it out:
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Well that’s all for now. Give us a call anytime for up to date fishing and weather conditions or just to say hi and "talk trout". We hope to see you this fall - the big browns will be waiting for you!
For all of us at Land of Enchantment Guides...
Stay Well,
Noah Parker
Land of Enchantment Guides
(505) 629-5688 or (505) 927-5356
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