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Fly Fishing Report & News
Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado fishing report, current local water, weather and fishing conditions along with some general fly fishing news and trout fishing information.
Fishing Report ~ September 20th, 2022
We have had a very wet summer and early fall here in northern New Mexico which has helped to set up for phenomenal fishing for the remainder of the year. As the weather begins to cool, look for fish to begin to get more aggressive as they pack on weight for the winter. One bit of great news is that the Pecos River has just been reopened by NM State Parks and the Santa Fe National Forest. Since this area has opened up, the fishing has been very good and it appears that there was only a minimal “fish kill” from the ash and run-off from the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire - thank god for small miracles.The video is of a monster Pecos River rainbow Rishi S. landed last week with the help of his guide Shane - WOW!
As always, don’t hesitate to call us for up to date information, if you have any questions and/or would like to book a trip. Even better, stop by our new fly shop, The Fly Fishing Outpost, we just opened in Santa Fe. We have all the fly patterns and gear you will need for a successful fishing trip in our area (See the article below for more information and directions).
Chama River & Alpine Tributaries:


The upper free stone section of the Chama has been epic all summer long. Terrestrial and caddis patterns have been very productive in this stretch. Dry dropper rigs will continue to pick up fish well until the first major frost of the year, typically in mid-October. As we move into the fall season please remember to respect spawning fish and don’t walk on the redds/spawning beds!

UPPER PICTURE: Beautiful freestone Chama brown landed by Robert L. last month - very nicely done sir!.
MIDDLE PICTURE: The browns have been plentiful and willing participants in the Chama this late summer.
LOWER PICTURE: Brown-gold-butter from the lower Brazos last week; landed by Susan R.
Canones Creek Ranch


The Canones Creek Ranch offers 1½ miles of the Chama River just upstream from the La Barranca Ranch. With excellent stream improvements, beautiful scenery and easy access, the Canones Creek Ranch is an absolute gem. To learn more about the Canones Creek Ranch or any of the other private water we guide on, go to this page of our website: Private Water
UPPER PICTURE: Kurt W. giving a two thumbs up to this big Canones "football" of a rainbow he landed - Score!
LOWER PICTURE: Not to be outdone, Brenda W. landed a bunch of nice ones too. Great job fighting this one!.
The San Juan River:


UPPER PICTURE: Just before the afternoon deluge, this beautiful brown ate a midge cluster on top for Bill M. - yea buddy!
LOWER PICTURE: Guide Shane showing of a nice rainbow the Robert M. landed on a size 26 dry. Good job esquire.
The Conejos River:

PICTURE: Rachael G. and her guide Matt are all smiles over this awesome Conejos River brown (caught on a dry fly no less).
The Pecos River:

PICTURE: So you think there are only smaller fish in the Pecos? Tell that to Rishi S. - dang homie!
The Valles Caldera & Jemez Area Streams:

PICTURE: George L. casting hoppers to the banks. San Antonio Creek on a late August afternoon.
The Shahan & MK Ranches:

PICTURE: Dry-dropper rigs and wet wading in early September on the MK Ranch. Well done Tim D.
The Bar X Bar Ranch:

PICTURE: What an amazing dry fly take on the long lake at the Bar X Bar and what a great hookset made by Steve T. - well done!
Corkin’s Lodge:

Corkin’s Lodge is one of the most beautiful places to stay while fishing the Chama area. A collection of 10 well outfitted individual cabins nestled under the 1,000 foot Brazos cliffs; you just can’t beat this spot for a great base to fish from while in the Chama area. Look at staying at Corkin’s Lodge next time you’re planning a trip to northern New Mexico - check them out at: Corkins Lodge
PICTURE: One of the most beautiful Rocky Mountain fishing spots there is...
The Rio Grande & The Red River:
The Rio Grande this summer has been consistently high and off color due to all of the rain. Over the last couple of weeks the water temperatures have started to cool and the flows have dropped (currently they are 316 cfs) and fall fishing has begun to really take off. Heavy nymph rigs have been productive and will continue to entice fish through the fall and into the winter. Crane fly larvae, sparkle worms, 20 Incher Stoneflies and other large attractor nymphs will all be productive. We are still seeing a fair number of rising fish so don’t be afraid to try casting smaller mayfly and/or caddis dry fly patterns to them. As with most of our larger rivers, the fall on the Rio Grande is a great time to fish streamers for bigger fish. As well, it is getting close to pike season on the Rio - we’ll keep you posted.Flows on the Red River are currently at about 40 cfs which is a great water level to fish on this river, especially down closer to the confluence with the Rio Grande. In the summer we had great success fishing single dry flies here; mostly smaller terrestrials and elk hair caddis patterns. When the water levels have been up, we have had good luck swinging small woolly buggers in the deeper pools. Expect decent fishing on the Red River through the fall and into the winter - cut-bows starting in December?
The Oso Piccolo Ranches:
The rains that we have had this summer really helped to keep the La Barranca and Wolf Creek Ranches in great shape. As we move deeper into the fall season it should be prime time for big browns! Water levels on the Chama River are perfect, setting up for an epic fall season! We are continuing to look for hatches and rising fish as this freestone section of the Chama can offer productive dry fly fishing well into the fall. As the terrestrials start to wane and the water temps drop, we start to fish larger nymph rigs, Warden’s Worries and smaller streamers, typically in the deeper holes. An egg pattern is always a good bet for this area in October and November.Comprised of two sections of water on two separate rivers, the Oso Piccolo ranches offer anglers the opportunity to fish on both of these completely different fishing locations in one day. The first ranch, known as La Barranca, has 1.5 to 2 miles of the upper Chama River and the second ranch (the Wolf Creek Ranch) has 3 miles of a gorgeous, high mountain tributary of the Chama called Wolf Creek.
The Quinlan Ranch:
This summer the Quinlan Ranch lakes have been hit or miss; they were quite good early but as the water warmed up into July the fishing slowed down a bit. Damsel fly dries were the hot fly early on and more recently we have had the most success with indicator rigs and streamers. As it begins to cool off, we will be looking for the bigger fish to start cruising the banks. All sizes of leech patterns and larger streamers should be effective throughout the fall until the winter season really cools things off. All of the boats are in the water - there are five ClackaCraft drift boats spread out between the five lakes we fish on the ranch. There is very limited availability this time of year with our all-inclusive fishing packages at the Quinlan Ranch as elk season is now in full swing.The Quinlan is a great place to base out of to fish northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Please check out the "Fishing Packages" page for more information.
The Fires Are Out!

The only areas that are still closed to public access and entry are the Pecos-Las Vegas District of the Santa Fe National Forest and the Pecos Canyon NM State Park. This means that the only fishing location that we are still unable to go to is the Pecos River and its drainages. These areas are still closed due to risks of flooding from heavy rains in the burn scar of the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire. Hopefully this area will be reopened within the next few weeks.
The Cero Pelado fire, which was in the Jemez area directly along the southern border of the Valles Caldera, is now listed as “98% contained” and almost all of this area is completely open to the public and for us to fish in. The only portion of this location that remains closed is directly in the burn scar which doesn’t affect any of the fishing areas. The cause of the Cero Pelado fire is still listed as “unknown” and this fire burned a total of 45,605 acres.
The Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire, which was on the east side of the mountains due east of Santa Fe is currently listed as “93% contained” even though local reports indicate that it is at almost 100% containment. This 341,735 acre fire was the result of two prescribed fires by the Santa Fe National Forest that escaped control. One was a broadcast burn that crossed control lines during a strong wind. The other originated from slash piles that were ignited in late January that continued burning for months. In mid-April one or more of the piles became very active and began spreading and merged with the other escaped fire on April 22.
These fires (especially Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire) have devastated many communities here in northern New Mexico. Close to 16,000 people had to evacuate their homes and there have been over 900 houses and structures lost and the devastation isn’t over yet. If you would like to help by making a donation to the victims of these fires, you can do so at either of the links below - the folks who have been affected could sure use a helping hand.
We've Opened a Fly Shop!

We have lots of great gear, flies, rods & reels, clothing, New Mexico fishing and hunting licenses and much more...
Please come by and say hi and check it out. Our hours are 9 to 5, every day. We’ll be looking forward to seeing you!





Fly Tyer Magazine Article Profiles Shane Parker-Kast

We are very proud to announce that Shane, one of our guides, has been featured in an article in the most recent issue of Fly Tyer Magazine (Autumn, 2020). Many thanks to Fly Tyer editor David Klausmeyer who wrote the piece. You can read a printout (.pdf) of the article by clicking the link below:
Fly Tyer is the best publication on the market on all types of fly tying and materials. Though primarily a magazine on all things concerning fly tying, it is an equally good source of many fishing skills and techniques. We highly recommend that you pick up a copy at your local fly shop and/or consider getting a subscription. Check out their website: www.flytyer.com
Fly Tyer Magazine Article about Land of Enchantment Guides

The Autumn, 2017 issue of Fly Tyer Magazine did an article on Land of Enchantment Guides featuring 16 of the custom fly patterns that Shane, Jesse and Noah tie. Many thanks to Fly Tyer editor David Klausmeyer for thinking enough of us to do the article - we are very flattered. You can read a printout (.pdf) of the article by clicking the link below:
Fly Tyer is the best publication on the market on all types of fly tying and materials. Though primarily a magazine on all things concerning fly tying, it is an equally good source of many fishing skills and techniques. We highly recommend that you pick up a copy at your local fly shop and/or consider getting a subscription. Check out their website: www.flytyer.com