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Ed Adams
575.586.1512
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2002 Rio Grande Fly Fishing Report Archives
Historically the Rio Grande fished best in the Fall{September-October} and maybe 2 years out of 10, when runoff was low or later than usual we have the Caddis Hatch which starts in mid to late April. The mild dry winters of the late 90's have made this an almost annual event and we have been seeing the first bugs in the first week of April. In September our summer rains subside and with the end of the irrigation season in Colorado flows stabilize and fishing is the best of the year on the Rio.
Spring: Another dry year and when the first Caddis was spotted on 4/6 the flow was 100cfs {State Line}. In April the fishing around Pilar was good from 3pm til dark on Caddis dry #14. Best fishing was sight casting to rising fish. The Box was also excellent in April, May and early June until water temps got into the high 60*s.. On 5/26 I had my best day ever on the Rio Grande and counted 86 hookups, 5 or 6 nice Cutbos {one 20"er that took a dry}and 6 Browns over 17"..The flow was 59cfs and temps 64-66*. Lots of rising fish..I used a Moth with a Caddis larva dropper. We had a few good days in early June also and it is exceedingly rare to be able to fish the Rio Grande at this time of year but maybe not so rare if the drought continues.
Fall: On 8/2 the flow was 47cfs {State Line} and Rita landed a 22" Cutbo in the Box that weighed about 6lbs. Water temps were 64-66* and it was cloudy with a light rain. The flows this Fall are lower than I have ever seen and altho fishing was great I am concerned about long term effects on the fish especially the Cutbos which are more sensitive to habitat changes.. Fishing remained great thru Oct and success didn't seem to depend on pattern or method of fishing. We fished mostly D&D {dry and dropper} this Fall as low flows brought the better fish closer to the surface.Anglers who fished nymphs didn't do any better and you can't fish some of the smaller pocket water with those rigs. Fishing pressure was less than last year but still a problem. Croosing over to the west side was again a good idea.
Rio Grande Fly Fishing Reports
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