(505) 629-5688  or  (505) 927-5356

 

All of the pictures were taken in the last 2 to 4 weeks...

 

CHAMA: This is the time of year we wait for
to fish the Chama river. The water has cooled and the flows below the dams are at the best levels for fishing. With the drop in temperatures, the lower stretches of the river are starting to get good as well. The fall is when the bigger browns to start to become more aggressive as they get ready to spawn. Fish that would be very hard to catch throughout most of the year often seem to throw their caution to the wind and attack a wide variety of fly patterns. The rainbows have spread out in the river and seem to be very plentiful in most spots as well. We have caught some real beauties in the last few weeks.

Picture: Nice Chama rainbow - Way to go Melainie!

 

SAN JUAN: Right now the fishing on the San Juan is excellent and the flows coming out of the dam are being held steady in the 500 cfs range, where they should stay throughout the fall and winter. The fish are starting to really turn on and the baetis and blue-winged olives have shown up in fine form. Fishing throughout the quality waters has been very consistent, with many nice rainbows and browns to be caught. As well, the fish seem to be biting all day long. We have been over on the San Juan 4 or 5 days in the last couple of weeks and both float and wade trips have been successful for us. We have had good luck fishing at all depths in the water column. There has been good action on midges in the early morning and then it is baetis patterns throughout the rest of the day. As well, if we can find some rising fish, there has been some great surface action on smaller bateis emergers and dries. This is the best time of year to fish the San Juan. The heat of the summer and the crowds are gone and the fish are biting well.

Picture: Jeff with a nice one in the driftboat.

 

BRAZOS: The lower sections of the Brazos are still fishing quite well but even though the water temperature has really fallen. The best fishing seems to be from mid-morning through the afternoon, once the sun has got on the water. It sure is pretty up in the canyon stretches right now and the fishing should hold up at least through mid-November.

 

ABEYTA RANCH: Like the Brazos, the water temperatures have dropped significantly but the fishing is still good. The water is very clear and the fishing has become a bit more technical. The fish are hitting very quickly so you have to be right on your hook setting. This being said, we still have been consistently catching some very nice fish on the ranch.

 

RIO GRANDE: The Rio is holding true to form and the fishing is on and off, as is usually the case. The water looks great and the flow levels are good but we’ll have a great trip one day and then a slow trip the next. As close as it is to Santa Fe, the Rio Grande is still a good spot for a half-day trip with easy access.

 

OTHER SPOTS: The Pecos is still fishing well and the summer crowds have gone. Most of the smaller high mountain streams have slowed down a bit with the water cooling off. The Valles Caldera is closed for the season. The fishing is still spotty in the Jemez drainage streams, which is probably due to the effects of the Las Conchas fire.

Watch Where You Walk In the Rivers! 

The Fall is when the brown trout spawn. If you keep your eyes out in shallower water which has gravel bottom, some current and oxygenation, you often can see pairs or groups of fish spawning. During this time of year we try and be more careful of where we walk, especially in areas that look as though there could be spawning beds or gravels. When the female trout gets ready to lay her eggs, she will scout out a shallow, oxygen-rich piece of sandy gravel river bed to deposit her eggs into. She will then carve out a small trench called a “redd” by scooping out the gravel and sand with her tail. Once the redd is complete, the female will deposit her eggs and wait for a male to fertilize them with his sperm. Upon completion of spawning, the female will cover the redd with loose gravel and sand as it swims away, providing the future

hatchlings with shelter. Redds look like areas where the river bottom has been swept or cleaned and often the gravel in the redd is a slightly different color and finer than the surrounding bottom. Typically they will be from one to three feet long and often have a slight depression to them, though this is not always the case.

The picture to the right/above is of a redd on the upper Chama. It was taken about two weeks ago.

 

As you are wading in the rivers this Fall, watch out for redds and try to avoid walking through them. Disrupting them will harm the trout's eggs and hurt the future of the bio-mass. A good rule of thumb while wading is to try to avoid walking through spots in a river that might make good spawning beds (i.e. smaller, sandy gravel bottom; shallow, oxygenated; riffling water; the tail ends of large flat pools; etc.) or any area where you see small pieces of the bottom that look as though they may have been disturbed. If you don't fish directly for spawning fish and avoid disturbing redds, you will be helping to protect the future of the fishery for everyone.

Orvis Endorsement 

 

We are pleased to announce that Noah has become an Orvis endorsed fly fishing guide.

Tips & Skills ~ Covering The Water 

When you fish a pool or run, you need to try and get your flies to go through every part of it, especially the best holding water. If you look at the illustration to the right, the dotted lines show where the fisherman has made each cast. From where all the casts land, the flies are then dead-drifted downstream well past where the fisherman is standing. At the end of each drift, they are picked up and cast again to the next location in the run.

 

The run in the illustration has been divided up into five sections (A thru E). The first cast was made in section A; the next cast in section B and so on across the river. You always want to fish the water closest to you first and then work your way across the river. This is so you don’t scare any fish that are closer to you by casting over them towards the far bank, before fishing for them directly. In sections C and D the holding water and structure looked better so more casts were made there than in sections A, B and E. Before you start fishing any type of spot in a stream or river, divide it up visually and make your casts and drifts so you get your flies to go through all of the water.

 

 

 

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 Brazos River Ranch 2012