Another day on the Pecos; another day of seeing new water emerge from the ice and snow. On this trip Michigan Jonah from Outside Magazine came long. This was Jonah’s first trip out on western waters. While he has been known to seek out giant Steelhead in his home state of Michigan this would be his first introduction to Western waters.
Who knew he would score a Trifecta while he was out?
As we cruised up the canyon we stopped at a trusty spot just before MM13. It had recently cleared it’s last thin layer of ice so I thought it might be good to see what we could get out of it. Jonah took the deeper section first and I hit a section just above where the riffle met the pool. After a few casts a little brown decides to take the Gold Ribbed Hairs Ear I had dropped off the usual Uncased Caddis I have been using.
I hooked up with a little Rainbow just after that couldn’t have been more than 4 inches. They both hit on the Gold Ribbed Hairs Ear. That got me thinking about what they were saying at the Reel Life about Mayflies starting be present in the river. So I searched a few rocks in the riffle above the pool and there it was.
Not having any action after that we moved up to another section. Jonah worked one pool with out any luck so we kept moving farther up. We reached a go to spot which borders private land and always seems to produce decent fish. Jonah started working his way through it as I re rigged my line from an earlier casting disaster. I have to remember to look behind me before I start screaming the line out. So there is a tree along the bank of the Pecos that is now decorated with two of my flies and a strike indicator.
It’s very festive on the Pecos this time of year.
Well, right in the middle of my rigging Jonah hooked up! He got it in quick and netted it no problem. This is where the Trifecta comes in. This was his first Western Tout, his first German Brown, and the largest fish of the day.
Nice work!
I managed to pull another small Rainbow out before we left.
So the day was good. The fishing will only be getting better from here on out that is for sure. I really can’t wait for the dry fly action to start kicking in. I love the challenge of getting the fish out of this river nymphing in the winter time but it’s time for a change.
I did drive up to the confluence of the Mora on Saturday and I actually saw some small pieces of water through the snow! I also saw a slew of spinners and baiters out battling for any section they could toss their crankbait into. I almost forgot what this river was like in the warm season while I basically had it all to myself through the winter.
I don’t want to sound elitist towards bait fisherman but you have to walk a few hundred yards in this water to know my frustration. Let’s just say a lot of these types of fisherman have zero respect for this wilderness.
It kills me…
Tags: brown trout, cutthroat trout, fishing, Fly Fishing, new mexico, Northern New Mexico, Pecos, Pecos river, rainbow trout, rio grande river, San Juan river, Taos, trucha
The Pecos continues to open as the weeks progress. We have a few snow storms that try and bully us around but their bark seems worse than their bite. It will snow with intensity for a few hours off and on but once it stops the temperature cannot support it.
I was extra excited to get out on the water this weekend because of two things. 1) I have brand new line on my reel and 2) I will be using a furled leader for the first time.
The furled leader I came across was at the Reel Life’s garage sale. They were two bucks a piece so I couldn’t pass them up. I have always heard about them and now I would finally see what all the hoopla was about. The leaders I bought were unithread in a green color and 7 feet in length. Now I usually fish with a 7.5 foot leader so the first order of business was taking a couple feet off them. All I did was go from large end to small end and tie a perfection loop then snip off the excess of the large end. Easy, now I have a 7 foot furled leader.
I put anywhere from 3-4 feet of tippet on that day. I started with 3 and moved up to 4 as I moved into a deeper pool. I was fishing one of my Green Rock Work (Caddis Larva) Patterns with various droppers. They always seem to hit that Larva though but I did get a taker on a red bead head midge. I had been throwing various colors of midge out for the last few trips on the pecos and I have to assume this is related to them also liking very small red San Juan Worms.
The first fish of the day wiggle off but I could see he was on the Larva. The next fish was the motivator that took the red midge. He was small but obviously hungry.
His spots were small and he didn’t have the usual look of the Browns in that river.
I kept working this pool from a good distance as I could not find my hippers for some reason. I was wearing my knee high insulated North Carolina Specials so I was limited to where I could go. Well, pretty much all I could do was step off the ice into the water and that was about my max depth. It was right on the edge and a couple of times a little water spilled over into the boot.
So I was throwing long casts that I am not necessarily used to. I even conjured up visions of the turbo spey casting videos I watched the other day and practiced that a bit. I felt a couple of them do their thing but I was unsuccessful at getting any type of consistency.
I got the line where it needed to be and pulled in a nice looking Brown who was also hungry for some green larva, who can resist? They actually look really soft and bugggy when they are wet.
So I need to mention how the leader performed. It was excellent. I loved how it rolled out the tippet with ease. I even tried a little dry fly action and it presented excellent. Much better that any tapered mono leader I have used.
I think this will be a new staple for me. The only thing I will do next is get my hands on a furled leader made of mono and see how that stacks up to the unithread leader I had.
I also want to say that the leader made the fight a bit easier. I tend to see a lot of fish wiggle off my line but not today. Only one fish popped off and in my book that is an improvement. I will have to get out for a full day with the leader and see what ratio I have after a dozen or so fish.
All in all though I think I am a changed man…
Tags: Fly Fishing, furled leader, new mexico, Pecos river, Rio Chama, Rio Grande, san juan, santa fe, trout, trucha
The plan was to go to the Rio Chama this morning but the couch was just a bit too confortable after waking up. So I quickly talked myself into a day on the Pecos. I knew there would be some more river open since the last week has been brilliant weather.
The wind was kicking up a bit but you can never tell how it will be in the canyon. I could imediately see that a lot of the river has opened up. I thought that even if I did not catch anything I would still be happy to get into some new sections of the river. Hotting the same three spots all winter was getting old fast.
I won’t say much about the first pool. The only action I had there was catching the bait fishermans birds nest that had been anchored on the bottom. It didn’t take long to call that one.
The next spot I was hoping would be open is Mile Marker 13 or at least that is what I call it. As I rounded the corner I could see up the river to the Private Property Cable (PPC) and sure enough it was nice and open. I didn’t change rigs from what I first had on, a Green Rock Worm with a small red San Juan Worm dropper. I made my way to the first section I would hit before heading the the PPC.
Maybe two casts? I don’t remember but I certainly felt the strike, which has no been common throughout the winter here. I got him in and it was a nice looking small brown.
After I let him get back to whatever business he was up to it didn’t take but a few more casts and got another fairly aggressive bite. I got this guy close and he wiggled off as I reached for him. I kept working this section and then got the most aggressive bite of the day. It kind of shocked me a bit. This one didn’t stay on too long, I did get to see that it was another brown of similar size.
They all were hammering the Green Rock Worm I had on. Nothing I put as a dropper even phased them it seemed. I figured that was enough in that section. I moved up to the PPC. It didn’t take long here either until I felt another strike.
This time it was a rainbow and he loved that worm as much as the browns below him.
This is the fly of the day. They were hitting this and only this with some serious intensity.
I figured that was enough for the day. I didn’t want to hit my other go to sections today. I might want to get their again tomorrow if time permits.
The action is picking up now and I can’t wait until the smaller tribs start clearing. It has been so long since I have caught a nice Rio Grande Cutthroat.
I must have patience…
Tags: brown trout, cutthroat trout, fishing, Fly Fishing, new mexico, Northern New Mexico, Pecos, Pecos river, rainbow trout, rio grande river, San Juan river, Taos, trucha
If anyone is still keeping up with this blog I am sure you are getting a bit tired of hearing about the Pecos and the Rio Grande. Well, get ready! I put feet in new water this weekend.
The Rio Chama just below Abiquiu dam is where I found myself on Sunday. This trip was with a few people from High Desert Angler. This isn’t a paid function it is just something they do every now and then. I think they were going to cancel it since I was the only who showed any interest in going but luckily I made a quick stop by the shop Friday night after work and a couple of the guys were in there and we made some plans.
So, on Sunday we all showed up at 9:00 AM and headed towards the river. The Rio Chama is located about 45 minutes NW of Espanola. The drive is very nice and I have been by the lake before after riding some of the FSR on my DR650 Dual Sport bike. This particular trip dropped us down the backside of the dam. After a few switchbacks you are there. The river surroundings are very scenic. It is a nice small canyon that twists along for a good little clip then opens up into your typical High Desert valleys you see all over this region.
The river is a major tributary of the Rio Grande and flows at around 80-100 cfs. Where we fished was very slow moving water with deep pools and large submerged structures, mainly large boulders that were successful in making it all the way into the river from the cliffs above.
It didn’t take long to hook up and as I pulled the first fish close I was sure it was a rainbow but as I got it closer it definitely had a browns spotting but the color of the fish was rainbow all the way. Either it is the lightest skinned brown I have ever seen or it is a hybrid of some sort.
The fish I caught that day were all about this size. Mr. Norman Maktima, a 13 year senior guide with High Desert Angler, managed to pull out a few good sized fellas.
Here is a distinguished member of the future of NM Fly Fishing. I forgot his name but he had to be around 13 or 14 years old. Just about the age when I started. He has some years behind him though.
Some of the slow sections we fished.
I only stayed for a couple hours but this will be my next trip as soon as I get a day off. I want to get a whole day in here. There is so much more to explore.
Over…
Tags: abiquiu, brown trout, cutthroat trout, fishing, Fly Fishing, new mexico, Northern New Mexico, Pecos, Pecos river, rainbow trout, Rio Chama, rio grande river, San Juan river, Taos, trucha
I went out this last weekend to the Rio Grande near Pilar NM at the Toas Junction Bridge to try my luck at the elusive Trucha de Invierno, once again.
This isn’t easy fishing and I got skunked for the 2nd time out of 4 trips on this river this winter. I am thinking I just need to rig up for the pike which seems to be what everyone else is fishing for anyway.
But here are a few pictures just so you can get an idea of the lay of the land. I also took a small foot trip up a smaller feeder river, the Pueblo, looking for a nice looking hole but the banks were steep, muddy, and still had snow on them so I passed on sliding down into the canyon for now.
It is supposed to be really good Brown fishing on that smaller river.
This is where I always kick my day off on the Rio:
This is the trail that climbs up the canyon alongside the Rio Pueblo
This is one good section I will hit here as soon as the ground dries up a bit:
_________________
Tags: brown, cutthroat, fish, fly, fly fish, new mexico, pilar, rainbow, Rio Grande, rio pueblo, trout, trucha
River: Pecos River, Pecos NM
Date: 2010-01-31
Conditions: Sunny but cold, still a lot of ice on the river with some small openings. Look for any slow moving water and deep pools.
Today I finally landed a fish on one of the flies I had tied. The fly was one I planned on using later in the year but since I was having luck with the San Juan Worms I figured I would give a go. The fly is a Green Rock Worm. This is a Caddis larva (Rhyacophila).
Green Rock Worm (Rhyacophila)
So the first rig of the day is Green Rock Worm with a small red San Juan Worm dropper. I did a bit of hiking from the Willow Creek day use area and found a really nice pool flowing up against a large boulder. It looked good, the best spot I had seen so far this winter given the limited access.
So I hiked down river a bit and made my approach upstream. First cast into the pool just at the trail of the riffle leading into it. I float it right through the heart of the pool and BAM! First cast and I had a fish on the line but not for long. He wiggled off fairly quickly.
After that I had a few more indications of bites but nothing then I hooked a really nice fish. He was a lot larger than any fish I had on my line all winter. I fought him for a few seconds and got him close to my legs right then he wiggled off. Damn, he was nice sized. I know it was a brown, I got him that close.
I figure I have spooked this pool now but I try a few more times and I got another on the line. This time I got him on the snow.
After that I hiked up the river hitting what slow water I came across but I would have no more action on this day, well, sort of. One thing about fishing this river this time of year is the ice along the sides. I was really careful the first few times walking out to the river but after a while I got a bit complacent. As I walked out to get to another section of the river I strolled on out towards the edge and planned on just jumping in.
Well, the ice almost took me down. The ice broke off before I expected it to. Luckily I have good reflexes.
I surfed ice for a second…
Tags: brown trout, cutthroat trout, fishing, Fly Fishing, new mexico, Northern New Mexico, Pecos, Pecos river, rainbow trout, rio grande river, San Juan river, Taos, trucha
River: Pecos River, Pecos NM
Date: 2010-01-31
Conditions: Sunny but cold, still a lot of ice on the river with some small openings. Look for any slow moving water and deep pools.
Well, another day on the water.
I thought I would start a little earlier today. I don’t think it made that much of a difference.
I started out using your basic GR Hare’s Ear and a small black Midge dropper. I didn’t have a lot of luck with that so I just added another dropper off the midge. This was a small red San Juan Worm.
At least one fish seemed to like it:
He looks worried but he has nothing to fear from me. I like my eatin’ fish a bit larger and of the salt water variety. I am, for the most part, strictly a catch, scare the **** out of, and release dude when it comes to trout.
So he goes back home to the same slow moving section I took him from:
Another good day hunting La Gran Trucha…
Tags: brown trout, cutthroat trout, fishing, Fly Fishing, new mexico, Northern New Mexico, Pecos, Pecos river, rainbow trout, rio grande river, San Juan river, Taos, trucha
I went out again today with some more newly tied flies. I didn’t get anything but can you beat being on the river with a box of flies you tied on a day like this?
__________________
Tags: brown trout, cutthroat trout, fishing, Fly Fishing, new mexico, Northern New Mexico, Pecos, Pecos river, rainbow trout, rio grande river, San Juan river, Taos, trucha
Time for a new approach on the river. Remembering back to the last time when the fish were striking my orange thingamabobber I thought I would go with a large orange salmon egg and an orange San Juan Worm after a discussion with the gents at the Reel Life in Santa Fe.
I Honestly don’t know why I did not do this before but I was too focused on bugs and not bait. It makes sense now that I think about it. I would have never put on the worm in the Pecos but as you will see, it was the only thing that produced on this day.
I hit the usual hole first above the Tererro bridge:
I worked this area well. It took a long time playing around with depth. I started shallow and went lower. Once I got near the bottom I pulled a little guy out on the Worm.
After that I moved to a new section of river I had spied a while back but never hiked to.
There were a couple nice slow pools but I did not get any interest in the Worm or the Egg. This was a quick trip and that was all I brought with me so that ended this day on the Pecos…
If you have Google Earth this is the location of that bridge …
Tags: brown trout, cutthroat trout, fishing, Fly Fishing, new mexico, Northern New Mexico, Pecos, Pecos river, rainbow trout, rio grande river, San Juan river, Taos, trucha
It was time to hit the Pecos River again and try out my newly tied flies. The river had melted a lot since my venture out on the first of the year so that was good. I even saw a couple other fisherman on the water which is rare this time of year.
I intended to fish this stretch of water but I took a little while getting everything setup and by the time I walked over to get in those two guys I saw before had moved in. It was semi-Ninja like on their part, nice moves!
So I hit the pool above the old bridge.
With a large Beadhead Hares Ear and a smaller Hares Ear trailer I hit the pool. First cast, I saw a fish rise and strike my indicator! 2nd cast nothing. 3rd cast I felt it, Strike! I had him on for about 5 seconds then he shook loose. Oh well.
Seeing as that hole was pretty much spooked after that I moved up river to another section. As I made my way to the river I kept seeing small piles of black fluffy feathers and as I rounded a small group of trees I found the source.
Seems a wildcat or dog had a Turkey lunch
I ended collecting a really nice bundle of Turkey feather. I don’t know if I could use all of this in a lifetime.
After gathering and stashing I kicked through the ice and worked this small stretch of river. I was working the stream from one side to the next but no action. Then, I got my rig to run right along the ice shelf on the side, and damn it if another fish didn’t shoot out from under the ice and strike at my indicator.
Well if they want big orange bugs I will help them out. I re rig using the largest attractor pattern I got that is the same color as the indicator. I tie a small Hares Ear dropper and go to work. Not another bite the whole time. So I moved back to the original hole I started in above the old bridge with this same plan. No takers on the attractor but I got another fish on the hares ear but failed to land this one as well.
Well, my flies got bites and I got enough turkey feathers to last a lifetime. So, all in all, not a bad day for me!
Tags: fly, fly fish, fly tying, new mexico, Pecos, trout, trucha
