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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.
Spring fishing has been in full force here in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado with our rivers and lakes producing many nice fish. Recently, our guides have been doing lots of trips in the Chama area and on the San Juan River and have had great success. We have been facing some closure issues due to the fires in NM (see second article below) but luckily, we have multiple different options for fishing and continue to have quality days on the water. The fish in all of the locations we go to seemed to have weathered the winter well and are fat, healthy and hungry. Run-off from the snow melt appears to have peaked in many of our rivers and streams and is just now starting to back off which makes for some of the best water conditions of the year.
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 third article down for more information and directions).
Chama River & Alpine Tributaries:

The area below El Vado Dam has been very productive on our recent trips and we have brought some solid browns to the net here. Fishing below El Vado is dependent on the flow levels being released out of the reservoir so check to see if they have bumped before going fishing - anything much higher than 600 cfs is a bit dicey. If you are going to fish in the El Vado section, we would suggest using brightly colored nymph patterns, mop flies, squirmy-wormies and stoneflies. Stripping bigger streamers and buggers is also a good bet in the slower water. Depending on the releases from the dam and the water levels, you will have to adjust your weights and fly depths accordingly.

UPPER PICTURE: The indomitable Bruce B. (a.k.a. "The Streamer Master") with a nice early April Chama brown trout.
LOWER PICTURE: El Vado gave up this rainbow for George R. a few weeks back ~ well done!
The San Juan River:


UPPER PICTURE: How about a 25 inch San Juan brown trout? Awsome job Karen S.!
LOWER PICTURE: Heavy winds late last month didn't stop Mike A. from landing this 26 inch brute!.
The Oso Piccolo Ranches:


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.
UPPER PICTURE: A La Barranca butter ball brown trout came to the net for Tom F. ~ Nice!
LOWER PICTURE: Robert M. fishing a softer edge seam at the La Barranca Ranch last week.
The Rio Grande & The Red River:

PICTURE: A Taos Junction Bow landed on the Rio last month ~ Nicely done Tom L.!
The Bar X Bar Ranch:

PICTURE: Alyssa A. with a beautiful Bar X Bar Rainbow last month ~ you go girl!
The Quinlan Ranch:

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.
PICTURE: An early April fatty on Don's lake ~ Well done Jose A.!
The Conejos River:

PICTURE: Adult salmon flies doing their thing...
The Shahan & MK Ranches:
It is still a bit early to be fishing these two properties as they are tucked up into the upper end of the Chromo valley and the Navajo River, where we fish here, is running pretty high and cold. In the next few weeks, we will start scouting both properties and hopefully begin fishing them by early June. The Shahan Ranch, due to being at a bit lower in elevation, usually starts to become fishable before the MK Ranch. Both ranches are great options to fish and continue to blow our minds at the quality of trout that live in this river system.The Pecos River:
The Pecos, like the Bar X Bar ranch, is inaccessible right now due to the SFNF and NM State Park closures. The fishing was very good before the run-off with both healthy browns and rainbows eating nymph rigs. When the river was low and clear the fish were selective and wanted to eat small midges and mayflies trailed behind an egg or larger attractor fly. As the water bumped worms and stoneflies seemed to turn more fish and flashier mayflies and prince nymphs got the attention of more picky eaters. We are hopefully going to have less wind in the next few weeks and with fingers crossed the fire will be able to be better contained. Please call the shop to find out up to date information regarding the access to the Pecos River and when it is open again to the public.The Valles Caldera & Jemez Area Streams:
The East Fork of the Jemez has been fishing well but due to the Cerro Pelado fire, we have not been able to fish up in this area. As of now the Valles Caldera is closed to the public, but we are eager to get out on their spring creeks as soon as it opens up again.Fly Fishing and the Fires in New Mexico

There are currently three major fires in northern New Mexico, two of which are still very active (the Cerro Pelado fire and the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire) and one that is very well contained (the Cooks Peak fire). The fires that are affecting some of our fishing locations are the Cerro Pelado fire and the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire. The fire conditions here have been very bad over the last few weeks which has allowed these two fires to grow quickly and get out of hand.
The Cerro Pelado fire is in the Jemez area directly along the southern border of the Valles Caldera. As of this evening (5/12/22), its size was 43,887 acres and was 11% contained. Currently the Valles Caldera is completely closed as is approximately 20 miles of Route 4. This means there is no access to the upper ends of the public water in the Jemez area.
The Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire, which is on the east side of the mountains due east of Santa Fe, is a massive fire. As of this evening (5/12/22), its size was 270,447 acres and was 29% contained. This fire has caused the closure of the of the Pecos and Las Vegas districts of the Santa Fe National Forest and the Pecos Canyon NM State Park. These closures mean that we are unable to fish the Pecos River and/or access the Bar X Bar Ranch.
The good news for anglers that are fly fishing in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado is that the Chama area, which got a lot of snow this past winter, is a long way from where the fires are (100± miles) and the conditions there are great. Closer to Santa Fe, the options are a bit more limited due to the fires, but the Rio Grande has not been affected and Santa Cruz and Nambe lakes are also great spots to try. The San Juan River, which is even further from the fires, is always a good bet. Check out the map below to get a better idea of the location of the fires and their proximity to the areas we fish. Call us at the shop anytime for current information and updates on the closures and the fires.
These fires, especially the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire, have devastated many communities here in New Mexico. To date, over 16,000 people have had to evacuate their homes, there have been over 300 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