Fishing Reports

Basic small creek fishing.  Run the basic dry flies, attractor to imitative, big to small.  If you must nymph, consider unweighted stuff, as you will snag the bottom less.  I'm ready for the Pueblo to begin fishing in the gorge.  Here's to the end of irrigation season.

Very cold nights are resulting in nice dry fly fishing throughout the day.  You are actually better off starting later.  Small mayflies are filling the air around midday, but my August fallback for the Jemez is always ants, small green Stalcup's hoppers, and small Patch Adams.

Well it was excellent yesterday, but you know how the Cojones can be.  It could be crappy tomorrow.  Flows are at about 300 now, so the canyon pockets will be hard to fish.  Rewarding though; it's heartbreakingly gorgeous right now and solitude is in ample supply.  If you fish the heavy water, expect to lose some flies as the weight required to get it into the zone will hang you up a lot.  The meadows and braids are fishing well though, so why go through the trouble. Fish a turd, a jackal, #20 red or copper john, lime trude, brown worm or poundmeister.  Red worms will work too.

The Pecos is very low, and very crowded on weekends.  That said, fishing remains pretty great.  If the fishing slows down, it will probably be in response to the weather, the hot and bright variety.  If it's midday and fishing is starting to stink a bit, hit the shady spots, the faster water, and deeper stretches.  They're coming out in the later hours, eating some red quill looking mayfly, among other things.  A #16 Patch Adams might be all you need, though I would have an elk hair or two with me until the spruce moths are over with.

They're getting educated from all the two legged livestock they've been seeing in the meadows.  So if you're thinking a #14 caddis, make it #16 or #18, or fish a quill winged version instead of elk hair, or a slow swinging pupa.  Same with mayflies, smaller sizes, emergers.  A sunken ant will work when a floater might not.  Longer and lighter tippets.  You get it: tone it down.

They're not all the way wise yet, so enjoy one of the prettiest trout streams in the world.  Small elk hairs and stimmies, cluster midges (which are nice beetle and ant imitations), micromays, and serendipities will do just fine.  Small purple nymphs too. 
And as I always say, tune your trigger finger.  Those fish are there and gone in a blink.  Figure out if you're hitting to slow (likely) or too fast (possible).  Don't ignore the bank seams either.  There are some big ones there.