It's Dry Out There

Sorry about the delay in a post.  I was wrapping up another school year, which was made a bit more exhausting because I'll be teaching in a new district next year and had to deep clean my classroom.  I'll be off to new adventures next year, including being closer to the fishing around Enchanted Circle!

There was an article in the Albuquerque Journal recently regarding the plight of the state's rivers and streams with our current drought.  I worry about fish die off this summer--nearly every river is much lower than it's supposed to be at this time of year.  Hopefully last week's rainstorm is a sign that we'll get some early monsoons.  Otherwise, fish and fisherman are not going to have a great summer here in Northern NM.  

But, for now, there's some good fishing to be had.  I had some good luck on the Jemez River proper, but it's obviously being heavily fished.  Fenton was good in the evening with parachute Adams.  Otherwise, it didn't seem like anyone was catching much.  

The Guadalupe is a river I'm very fond of, mostly because the hike down into it keeps a lot of other anglers away.  It was on fire...but very low.  I scared many a trout, but it was fun to have the challenge of being forced to be stealthy.  If you give it a try, give every little riffle a cast.  Some of the best fish I caught were in 1-2 feet of water right next to or behind rocks.  The larger deeper pools are actually more challenging because as soon as you startle a fish, they run up the pool and scare all of the fish.  In those cases, cast long and cast to risers.  You only have a couple chances, if that.

The Cimarron would be a good bet right now--since it's actually a tailwater, the flow will be more consistent all summer.  I had some great fishing there last weekend. 

Monastery Lake is at the point where you can sight fish and show off a bit in front of the "bait dunkers."  It's fun fishing when you get there early in the morning and leave when the crowds really start to get there (and the fishing slows down too).  

I was allowed an hour and a half of fishing at Hopewell Lake (I was on the way home from Pagosa Springs), and it was good, especially when the clouds rolled in.  At first I tried a nymph about four feet down under a strike indicator, and I got a few bites and lost a big 'un.  But, the recently stocked rainbows seemed to like a nymph only about two feet under a stimulator better.  If you get a brookie there, please release them.  I've been catching fewer and fewer there the last few years.  I think the lake has gotten more popular, and I think many of these colorful little guys have been harvested...  

We saw an antelope in the middle of the road on highway 64--I had no idea that area was part of their range!  Scared the living daylights out of him...

I haven't gotten out there yet, but everyone is telling me that the Rio Grande is good.  It's at an ideal flow for fly fishing, so give it a whirl! 

Anyway, that's what I've got now.  It's summer break for me, so I hope to get out a little further on some overnight trips so I can get some more variety in these reports.

Tight lines!