Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} New Mexico Fly Fishing

[Fly Fish]

Matthew:

 

I think a 3.5 to 4 hour drive from Santa Fe will put you at the San Juan River Tailwater.  It is located in the NW corner of New Mexico.  The San Juan is one of the premier trout fisheries in the world in my opinion.  It is common to get into fish exceeding 20 inches.  If you are interested, check Abes Motel and Flyshop, the rooms are very basic, they cater to fishermen.  They have a website.

 

I have been there several times and I have always had a great experience.  The river can get crowded but there are so many trout it does not matter.  I have always gone in Oct/Nov but as a tailwater it is probably decent year round.  Definitely call Abes before going to make sure there is not a planned water release from the Dam that will impact fishing.

 

I have not fished close to Santa Fe there could be good opportunities there too.

 

Feel free to sidebar if you want more info.

 

Charlie

On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 1:08 AM, Matthew Longley <matthew...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all, I'm new to the group, and back from a long fly fishing hiatus.  Dan suggested I give the group a shoutout to see if anyone had any experience fishing in New Mexico.

My buddy is getting married in Santa Fe this weekend, and I'm planning to get away for a few days to get some fishing in.  I spoke to a park service ranger, who recommended checking out either Cowles on the Pecos River (in Santa Fe National Forest) or Cow Creek.  Has anyone fished anywhere in this area?  Any recommendations about, well, anything?

If I manage to land a fish this trip, it will be my first on a fly in about a decade, so I'm quite excited.  Hopefully when I get back I'll get a chance to meet more of the group for some more local fishing.

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[danflyfish]

Matthew,

I second Charlie's recommendation. I've been to the San Juan several times in the last 30 years -- always in late-September through mid-October. Think long leaders, two-fly rigs with small flies (18-24), small strike indicators, and quartering downstream presentations. A longer rod is helpful to control drifts. And although many casts are quite short, you should try to maximize the length of our drift in those long pockets, runs and pools. I usually fish a 9' 4wt. or an 8'3" 5wt. when I expect a little wind. (The river runs in a broad canyon, and it can be quite windy at times.) Moreover, in low-water conditions, the algae Growth makes the river bed very slick, so a wading staff can be very important, even in shallow water. [57-year-old voice of reason and experience here.)))]

There are a couple of very helpful websites devoted to fly fishing on the San Juan. They also provide stream updates.

Good luck!

Dan
Erie, PA

[Vince]

Absolutely agree with other posts...have fished the Pecos and it is nice, but the San Juan is definitely worth the drive!  If you can/want to afford a guide, I highly recommend John Tavvener (http://www.sandstoneanglers.com/)...a really good guide for that river.

[Matthew Longley]

Thanks for the recommendations!  I don't quite have the time I'd like to have--I get in late Thursday, am camping Thursday night and fishing up until Friday early afternoon when I have to head to Santa Fe for the rehearsal dinner.  Then I have from Sunday morning until a late afternoon flight on Monday to do some more fishing/hiking.

I think I'm going to do the Pecos for the first leg, because it will only take me 2 hours from the airport and is an hour from Santa Fe (my flight gets in at 9pm, hoping to have my tent up on site by 11:30).  Four hours might be a bit much, but if I can squeeze it maybe I'll head to the San Juan on Sunday morning.  I do really like the idea of getting two rivers in.

[Art Friedlander]

Can only confirm the great fishing on the San Juan anytime of the year. Even better in the winter when the crowds are thinned. Abe's Fly Shop will get you squared away on everything. Think small. This is one of the places where you can actually get to fish size 28-30 midges for 20 inch rainbows. Unfortunately some fish will have been caught multiple times.
It's worth the drive if you haven't experienced it before.

Art
--- On Tue, 8/28/12, Fly Fish <cagl...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Matthew Longley]

Copying this over from a reply to the digest in case others are interested:

Re New Mexico fishing out of Santa Fe, Cow Creek is a lovely piece of water and only an hour or so away by car  Unfortunately, some of the best stretches run through two private ranches which charge hefty fishing fees.  Cow Creek Ranch is an all-inclusive lodge experience.  The Bar X Bar ranch (I think that's the name)  has day fishing but requires (at least it used to) the use of a guide (at least for the first day.)  Maybe this late in the season, the Bar X Bar would allow some self-guiding. Patterns on Cow Creek are not complicated because the fish aren't generally picky. The usual dry assortment works fine: Adams, blue-wing olive (cloudy or rainy days), terrestrials,  olive, brown and black caddises; attractors like Humpy, Irresistible, Stimulator, Royal Wulff etc. and for nymphs, pheasant tails and Hare's Ears plus caddis larva are fine.

Jim Greene
-- 
Jim Greene. President and CEO
Waterwisp Flies   <www.waterwisp.com> 

[Matt Sheedy]

If its a Sunday morning DIY, I would suggest parking at the Texas Hole lot and heading towards the damn.  I had some success at the Kiddie Hole, but its combat fishing.  The closer you get to the dam, the less anglers you'll see.  Last year we stayed at Fisheads, across the street from Abe's.  All the folks at Fisheads know the river, the bugs, the spots, and will offer to help get you rigged up.  Pretty cool to catch 20inch fish on size 20 flies.

Good luck.

[blee]

I live back in Albuquerque now for the last two years.  I still read TPFR and thought I would help.  Hope it's not to late.  My recommendation is to go straight to High Dessert Angler in Santa Fe and check with them.  There is plenty of fishing and camping within one or two hours drive of Fanta Se to keep you busy.  Its tough and challenging fishing.  Your shortest rod might be as wide as the stream in some places.  I've enjoyed the quality waters of the Rio Pueblo near the Sipapu ski area just to name one.  

The San Juan is obviously a popular place, but you will spend more time driving than you will fishing.  Good luck.  Its a beautiful time to be here.  

[Cgloeck]

blee:

Have you been up above the San Juan into Colorado to streams like the Animas?  if so, is it worth going as part a three day fishing trip to the san juan?  so a flight in and out of albuquerque on day 1 and 5 with 3 days of solid fishing.  any other streams near the san juan that you.  recommend?

Thanks,

Charlie
Sent from my iPad

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[Nick Swingle]

Charlie,

There is a lot of good fishing around Durango, CO, to include the Animas.  Buck, Tom and the rest of the guys at Duranglers can help you with stream levels and related info. Sept and Oct are great months to pull some big browns out of the Animas with nymph rigs, although many folks throw streamers year-round. The Ute section can be very productive for DIY if you're willing to pick up the extra license (~$17).  For 3 days of fishing, you could hit the Animas, San Juan near the dam, and get up to the high country if there's enough water, all w/in 1 hr drive of Durango.  However, if you haven't spent much time on the Juan and your trip is focused on that, I'd recommend spending all 3 days there. It can be crowded, but you've got better odds at more big fish there than on the Animas.

--Nick

 
 

[Fly Fish]

Thanks Nick.  I have had several great trips to the San Juan and have been tempted to bounce up to the Animas.  Like you said, its tough to divert from the San Juan because the fish are plentiful and huge.   I have had great luck on the San Juan swinging big streamers when the surface activity slows.

 

Charlie

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[Matthew Longley]

Thank you everyone for the advice!  New Mexico was amazing!  Also hilarious that everyone there complains about the heat, but with no humidity at all it could have been 150 degrees and I'd still be in heaven.

I ended up not having as much time as I would have liked due to wedding events, but I managed to get some good time in at the Pecos River near Cowles (about an hour north of Santa Fe).  The first morning I had some early luck with some pond-stocked rainbows, but my luck ran out when I hit the river.  I spent the first morning casting size 8/10 salmon egg and grasshopper patterns into the river (was a bit more of a stream, blee you were right about the challenging casting conditions).  Turns out these were way too big, and when I returned a few days later I moved to size 18/20 nymphs, and even tested out a two-fly midge and nymph rig (which I've never done before).  Luck still was dry, but I did catch a 3inch brown trout which I was actually quite happy about, as its the only native (non-stocked) fish in the river so it was good to see, and its actually my first brown trout ever.

All in all, was an amazing weekend.  There's a saying that fishing without fish is still great fishing, and it was completely true for this weekend.  Standing knee deep in a cool river is a blast even if all you are catching is trees.  And I caught a lot of trees...  The best thing about the weekend, though, is that it was a great reintroduction to flyfishing for someone who hasn't done it since they were about 15.  I'm re-addicted, and looking forward to meeting more of you in some of the group outings.  Hopefully I can pick up one or two things...

Thanks again for all the advice!  -Matt