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2003 Red River Fly Fishing Report Archives
The Red River comes off of the backside of Wheeler Peak and flows thru the town of Red River and down the canyon to Questa. Below Questa it enters a 600' gorge at the Red River Fish Hatchery and some large spring join the natural flow and increases the flow by 30cfs. This constant 55* water warms the water and makes for good fishing all year. Above Questa the river is dead because of pollution from the Moly mine but in the canyon fishing is consistanly good for Browns {8-14"} and in the Fall large Browns come up from the Rio Grande to spawn. In December Cutbos do the same and remain in the lower Red until runoff. Best months are February and March and October and November but fishing is good most months when the water is clear.
January: I fished alone on 1/7 and broke the tip on my bush rod going in. I fished anyway and caught a few fish..Water temp 48-52* over the day. On 1/17 I fished close to the Hatchery and temp was 53* and fishing fair on D&D combo.. On 1/20 I saw some Mayflies and a few spawners but water got muddy in the afternoon and later I drove up above Questa and saw that Molycorp was doing some backhoe work near the stream and causing discolored water in the canyon..On 1/28 we had the best fishing since November...Very good Mayfly hatch and the emerger worked well as a dropper..Browns 10-13" and a couple of Cutbos 16"..On 1/31 it was not as good as 1/28 but fish were looking up..It slowed later in the day..
February: On 2/3 I fished with a client and he fished nymphs for spawners on a cold and blustery day. He got 2 nice fish, an 18" Cutbo and another 17". Temps were 48-53*...On 2/17 I fished alone and the river seemed dead so I walked upstream and discovered a friend fishing ahead of me..We fished up together and it was great. Lots of caddis and Mayflies..Fish very active.. Best day so far this year..On 2/24 I fished alone on a cold and windy day..Not many bugs and fishing only fair..
March: On 3/3, the first sunny day in aweek, water temp was 51* at 11am and fishing great all day..D&D early and dries later [Caddis]..On 3/6 we fished lower in the canyon and temp was 49* at 10am and fishing was fair with long dry spells...On 3/7 I fished closer to the Hatchery and water temp was 55* at 11am and fishing was excellent all day..Small Prince nyph worked well as a dropper..On 3/13 I had a real good day. Water temp 50-58* ..Lots of 10-12" Browns..I fell and banged my knee and it got infected which kept me off the stream for a couple of weeks..On 3/31 I fished with a client and fishing was good and there were lots of bugs..Fish weren't everywhere but there were enough..
April: Rio Grande- Caddis hatch..
May: No runoff again-no reports
June: No reports..
July: Rita is back from Spain and the fish were glad to see her. We fished on 7/12 and flow was 21/51 and tems 64-66*....She had about 75 hookups, Browns 10-12" and a few to 14"..Moth-Caddis...D*D.
August: No reports
September: I fished alone on 9/18 and flow 25/55cfs and 57* at 11am. Water was murky from big rain a few days ago and fishing slow...On 9/23 I fished with Rita, 20/50cfs and 54-62*..Good day but not great.. Water still off-color from big rain..
October: 10/21 with Joe and Rita..Conditions excellent but fishing was slow...Best fish Joe's 14" Brown..With clients on 10/30 conditions again great, 15/45cfs and 54-60* but fishing slow..
November: On 11/5 I fished alone by the Hatchery for a few hours.I saw some big Browns spawning..On 11/17 I fished with Sam and we got into some nice fish. He got 2 Browns,18" & 20" and some good residents 12-14"...
December: The only day I fished this month was 12/4..Water was low and clear and 52* at 1pm. Lots of Cutbo spawners but they seemed to have lockjaw..I did get one 18"er and a couple of Browns to 14" on droppers.
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New Mexico Fly Fishing Report Archives
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