Taylor’s fishing forecast for July 9, 2014

Weather in New Mexico is generally pleasant this summer with moderate amounts of rain and temp topping out in the 80s.

Flows are always a very big issue and we are fortunate to have a couple of tailwaters that are somewhat immune to low summer flows.

These waters are the Cimarron and the Costilla. The Cimarron is running at 40 cfs out of the dam. This is a good summer flow and guide Jason Sides had a good day with clients there yesterday. He was fishing the lower portions of the stream and did well with a golden stone nymph (Copper 14).

The Costilla (Valle Vidal) is open now and flows are good there too. This is very much a summertime fishery and great choice for beginners and we have people up there catching their first-ever trout about every day. The larger fish there are often taken on dry flies fished on a very short line in the little foam eddies. The little Yellow Sallie Stone fly brings the larger fish up. These insects are about the color of grass so u often don’t notice how many of them are about—but the trout do…

Rio Grande Cutty

The downside of fishing there is the high usage. We try to take our weekend guide trips someplace more quiet and we know a number of small streams that are gentle places to fish. (My book Fly Fishing NM says “they are too delicate to be mentioned here”. These places usually require a hike of a mile or so.)

We are also having some great results up on the Trinchera Ranch. Ron Sedall just had a great trip up there. As not only do the clients get 5 Star foods and accommodations—but the guide does to! (guide quarters are really just 4 Star but well above standard guide quarters--back of his pick up. And I almost forgot to mention the fishing—big rainbows in a small stream setting and some ponds with really big rainbows. Then there are the miles of creeks to fish for brookies and Rio Grande Cuts. Our old friend Tom Martin is running the fishery operation and Tom knows guiding and fly fishing inside and out and he is making sure that no stretch gets overfished and the quality stays high.

Fishing among the critters on the Trinchera

Rio Grande is pretty high and warm and it will be awhile before it is fishing well. (There is often a sleeper period for the Rio that can be very good—a week or two of cool weather in august when the upper Rio fishes very well.)

The Conejos has produced some very good trout lately. Make no mistake the Conejos is big game fishing! 20 inch plus trout—often caught on dry flies—are BIG TROUT anywhere in the Rockies (in Argentina for that matter.) The window for the really good fishing—the big hatches—should last a couple more weeks and then it will slow a lot. There are miles of public fishing on this beautiful river but you got to be a good hand with the rod and if you are on the public consider one nice fish a day to b good. On the several private sections we use there are usually a lot more opportunities. We have several guides who know this water very well.