Fly Fishing in Northern New Mexico

Fishing Time: 9:00 to 4:00 PM

Weather: Warm, windy, T-70s

Moon Phase: 2% Moon

Location: Chama River, New Mexico

Best Bait: Black wooly bugger

Who Went: Dunc

Sick of researching and reading about the epic rivers in northern New Mexico while I sit in southern New Mexico where water doesn’t exist was getting old.  I headed north to Albuquerque for the weekend to check out the balloon festival and decided to travel a bit further north up to the Chama River.  I encountered a 16-mile dirt road that was navigated in my Toyota Camry rental car, and at the end was El Vado Reservoir and a small little mountain town that looked like heaven.  The weather was cool, and the leaves were turning colors.  Much more my style in comparison to the hot barren desert found in southern New Mexico.  As I drove over the dam I stopped briefly to look down at the Chama River.  It was beautiful, and I couldn’t wait to explore its banks the rest of the day. 

My research placed me at a good access point and from there I started hiking down river to check it out.  The water was murky, but I was told this is normal and shouldn’t affect the fishing.  I spent the entire day wandering and covering a lot of water.  The scenery was gorgeous, but the wind was strong and made casting difficult. 

My first fish of the day was a yellow perch caught on a nymph rig.  It caught me off guard, but then I remembered reading online that perch had breached the El Vado Dam and were now in the Chama River below.  I kept on hiking to find more stretches of river and by 3:30 pm I was exhausted.  I must have hiked 2-3 miles through some very rugged terrain and didn’t have one trout to show for it.  Frustrated, but still happy with my day, I found a deep hole on my way back up river and stepped in to try it out.  I ran a streamer through the deep water and connected with a small rainbow.  Three casts later produced another bite and this fish had some shoulders.  It was another rainbow around 16-inches.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any photos as I was waist deep in a fast-moving river with no net.

The two rainbows made my hike back to the car much more enjoyable.  Northern New Mexico is amazingly beautiful, and I love the fact that there aren’t many people.  Reminds me of growing up in Utah before the population exploded.  Ah to go back in time.