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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.
December 2025 Class Schedule
Our free classes are coming back to the Fly Fishing Outpost! Our classes will cover everything from introductory fly fishing classes, entomology to fishing locations around northern New Mexico.
Fishing Report ~ November 18th, 2025
What great fishing we've been having so far this fall! We have had wonderful weather and the trout have been really biting. We should start to see some colder temperatures over the next couple of weeks. This cold weather should actually help the fishing on the lower sections of the Chama and on the San Juan. We are looking at good fishing on the Chama through mid-December and great fishing on the San Juan throughout the winter. Needless to say, we are starting to think about wearing thermal gear under the waders but it still isn't bitter cold yet. The water temps aren't too cold for the fish to stop eating well and they are thinking about fattening up for the winter right now. Good fishing with less people on the water - this is one of the best times of year to fish in the "Land of Enchantment".As always, don't hesitate to contact us for up to date information, if you have any questions and/or would like to book a trip. To learn more about all of the private ranches we guide on check out the "Private Water" page.
CHAMA & LOWER BRAZOS: Over the last few weeks, the fishing on the Chama has as gone into full-on fall mode, with the fish really starting to put on a big feed. As well, the brown trout are beginning to spawn which makes them quite aggressive. This year it appears that the spawning cycle has been more spread out over a longer time frame. It seems that the browns are not all "doing their thing" at once, in a short time period, as is often the case. Maybe this is due to the warmer fall we have had so far; hopefully this will also mean that we will have good fishing later into the year. Please be careful not to walk on the brown trout redds (their spawning beds that look like areas of cleaned gravel) and try not to fish on actively spawning fish. We need to give them a chance to be successful in spawning and laying their eggs. Recently the best fishing the sections of the Chama have been below the El Vado and Abiquiu dams. The releases out of El Vado and Abiquiu dams have been holding steady in the 50 - 100 cubic feet per second (cfs) range for the last few weeks making for easy wading. With the colder weather, the water is clearing up nicely and the visibility should steadily improve. The next four to six weeks should continue to offer up great fishing opportunities in these sections of the river. The fishing on upper part of the Chama (above El Vado reservoir) has slowed down quite a bit in the last week or so and with this cold snap, these areas would not be our first choice of a fishing location.
The water in the lower Brazos is very low, cold and clear and the fishing has slowed down for the season. This being said one could still have a decent day if it is warmer and sunny. The fish are bunching up in the deeper pockets and runs for the winter. If you target these types of water on the river with a well presented nymph rig the odds will be in your favor.
The MK RANCH: The MK Ranch, which is at a substantially higher altitude and colder looks to be done for the year. With the shorter days and the mountains and trees blocking the sun until mid-morning, the river is not getting much of a chance to warm up and the fish are not biting well and are pretty lethargic.
SAN JUAN: The "Juan" is fishing very well right now and the crowds are starting to thin out. We are primarily doing wade trips these days as it seems that many of the bigger fish are above the Texas Hole (this area is not accessible by the boat). As always, the standard array of larva, pupa and midge patterns are working. The baetis and blue-winged olives are starting to make their usual presence known and the odd egg patterns are working as well. As has seemed to be the case throughout the late summer and early fall. We still seem to be having better success with smaller sizes; we're mostly fishing size 20 and 22 flies. With the lower flows right now and the sediment in the lower section of the Quality Waters, wade fishing may be a bit better choice than fishing out of the drift boat. The late fall and winter is our favorite time of year to fish on the San Juan - very often in January and February we won't see many other anglers and the fishing can be off the charts.
PECOS: The Pecos has still been fishing well recently but it does seem that the fish are starting to bunch up in the deeper spots in the river. The Pecos canyon is at a pretty high altitude and doesn't get a lot of sun in certain spots so sunny days will be the best choice to be on the river this time of year.
RIO GRANDE: Where is all this water coming from? Right now the lower/Pilar stretch of Rio Grande is flowing in the 650 - 700 cfs range which is way too much water to fish comfortably. The river had started fishing well at the beginning of October but the flows have been increasing and the fishing dropping off since then. Once the flows drop back to 300 - 400 cfs levels, the fishing should pick up. Give us a call for an update.
BAR X BAR RANCH: The Bar X Bar is pretty much finished for the season and won't be worth it until ice-out in the early spring; great time to think about the Bar X Bar again.
New Fly Patterns for 2025
We have been getting in some terrific new fly patterns for the 2025 fishing season, all of which we have tested on the water and boy, they sure do work! You can find full descriptions and large pictures of the new flies on this page of our online store: New Flies For 2025. Even better, if you are in the area, swing by our fly shop in Santa Fe and check them out in person.
Cow Creek Ranch
We are happy to announce that we are now doing both multi-day, all-inclusive fishing packages and guided day trips at Cow Creek Ranch. This amazing private location has over 3 miles of stream and 7 lakes, all of which are full of four different species of trout and, there are some real lunkers! We have been guiding anglers and fishing at Cow Creek Ranch off and on for almost 20 years and feel that it is arguably the finest fishing property in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Please feel free to give us a call if you would like more information about guided day trips or all-inclusive packages. You can also learn more about our all-inclusive packages at Cow Creek Ranch here: Fishing Packages
Our Fly Shop:
We have lots of flies, rods & reels, waders, vests and packs, fishing clothing, cool hats, New Mexico fishing 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 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
