Friends and fellow
anglers, After a very dry winter we are having a
fairly wet spring. A weekly storm has been blessing us with some
snow and rain and hopefully that will continue thru April and May. The
snopack will be on the lean side but the fire danger will be lessened
if this trend continues.
Fishing has been picking up thru March and most
resevoirs are in good shape thanks to better conservation by the
ranchers and farmers. Fishing should be good at least thru July.
The Caddis Hatch on the Rio Grande has started a bit early this year
and the river is running at 250cfs in the Box and 400cfs in Pilar with
very good clarity. The fish we have been getting are all healthy and
have soft fat bellies. The surface action should pick up any day. There
is also a rather prolific BWO hatch and most of the surface activity
are on these small [#16] mayflies. This is the earliest I've seen
Caddis and the best BWO hatch I've seen on the Rio in over 30 years.
The Red River has had hatches of Caddis, Stones [small brown] and the
usual Mayflies. Fishing has been spotty with the best days being sunny
and mild. The top water action here has been good the past 2 weeks.
They just opened the Dam at Eagle Nest so fishing should be on the
improve there also. Flows on the Cimarron in dry years are usually
pretty good as downstream water users call for their shares. We should
be using the Cimarroncita a lot this year. Don't forget the annual
Stonefly Hatch that starts around June 1.
The Rio Grande Cutthroat Restoration Project on the Costilla is still
in the public debate stage. It looks like they are going to do it but
fishing won't be effected this year. Discussion on where to put the
fish barrier to prevent stocked Rainbos from migrating upstream and
what method to use to remove all the fish from the river before
restocking with pure Rio Grande Cutts may take a few years. They don't
have much snow in the Costilla drainage but the Resevoir is in fair
shape as the water managers have been conserving after the disaster of
'03 when they ran out of water in August. Last year flows never got
over 90cfs or under 30cfs during the irrigation season.
We still have access to Culebra Creek in San Luis, Colorado and have
been going there a lot this spring. This private fishery fishes best in
spring before it gets hammered and again in the Fall after the crowds
of Trophy Hunters depart.
My daughter , Rita, is going to be Jon Harp's top guide this year at
Conejos River Anglers.
I'll be able to guide over there too and have access to Jon's private
water. We are expecting the Conejos to fish well early, stoneflies in
June and Green Drakes in July.
I hope this finds you all well and I'm looking forward to catching up with you streamside this year.
Tight Lines,
Ed and Rita Adams
