New Mexico Trout?

[Tabasco-Joe]

I'll be spending three weeks next fall in the Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque area.
Valle Vidal is on my list but I'm looking for suggestions on additional streams.
The Pecos seems to be worth consideration.
Any others?

 

[Broodstock]

Rio Chama has several dams with tailwaters below. I’ve never been there, but I’ve read about them. It’s an interesting river.

 

[GoldenRfly]

I'll be spending three weeks next fall in the Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque area.
Valle Vidal is on my list but I'm looking for suggestions on additional streams.
The Pecos seems to be worth consideration.
Any others?

My cousin spends a lot of time in Santa Fe. He’s retired and spends weeks at a time visiting his parents who settled there. He helps them a lot, but also does a lot of successful fly fishing on The Pecos.

I’ll message him about any other suggestions.

 

[dryflyguy]

I once spent a week on the San Juan River
Pretty interesting place
Large, cold trout stream surrounded by desert

 

[Tiogadog]

We spent several days in New Mexico in 2019. We camped at the Rio Santa Barbara campground and fished the stream of the same name. That stream mostly featured brown trout that were willing to eat attractor dries. We did go the Valle Vidal for what was supposed to be two nights but blew two tires (one vehicle, one on the camper) and cut it short. We did catch Rio Grande cutts there. The Valle Vidal streams were purposely poisoned as few years back to kill off invasives.

From Taos, you are not too far away from the Conejos River valley in Colorado. The Conejos River is worth a trip if you can make it.

I hope you like to eat because New Mexican food is delicious. Michael's and Garcia's in Taos are both great and the Dutch Mill in Antonito, CO is fantastic.

 

[GoldenRfly]

My cousin spends a lot of time in Santa Fe. He’s retired and spends weeks at a time visiting his parents who settled there. He helps them a lot, but also does a lot of successful fly fishing on The Pecos.

I’ll message him about any other suggestions.

Message from my cousin- good info followed by a link to a book he recommends:
“Other than the Pecos I have fished the Rio Grande, Chama River, and the Cimarron River. The Rio grande and Rio Chama fish best in the late fall thru early spring. They get too warm and murky in the summer. The cimmaron is a small tailwater river that comes out of the Eagle Nest lake. Taylor Streit is a guide and he has a great NM fly fishing book that covers the best rivers and streams. I tied my first cased caddis nymphs this morning.”

Fly Fish: Taos, Santa Fe

Taylor returns with his unique perspective on fishing the lakes and rivers in the region. You will want this book on the seat next to you as you explore the wat

shop.taosflyshop.com

 

[Tabasco-Joe]

Message from my cousin- good info followed by a link to a book he recommends:
“Other than the Pecos I have fished the Rio Grande, Chama River, and the Cimarron River. The Rio grande and Rio Chama fish best in the late fall thru early spring. They get too warm and murky in the summer. The cimmaron is a small tailwater river that comes out of the Eagle Nest lake. Taylor Streit is a guide and he has a great NM fly fishing book that covers the best rivers and streams. I tied my first cased caddis nymphs this morning.”

Fly Fish: Taos, Santa Fe

Taylor returns with his unique perspective on fishing the lakes and rivers in the region. You will want this book on the seat next to you as you explore the wat

shop.taosflyshop.com

Thanks. That book flew under my radar.

 

[SmittyTheSquatch]

Fished the San Juan in New Mexico two times last year by myself. Caught some really nice fish. Super weird place tho. Didn't have the most amazing day, but the fish i caught were really nice.

 

[Dr.J 1952]

Fly Rod Chronicles had a real nice episode on the San Juan River a couple weeks ago. Check out the website.

 

[Tabasco-Joe]

I got the book Fly Fish: Taos, Santa Fe.
Has great info.

Thanks again.

 

[Zipper]

Fly Rod Chronicles had a real nice episode on the San Juan River a couple weeks ago. Check out the website.

That river looked like a free buffet line. Wall-to-wall fishermen.

 

[Worth723]

I’m looking to vacation to Taos with my wife in late summer. Here’s one of the DIY outings I’m going to attack with a few details:

- Rio Grande del Norte National Monument by way of Big Arsenic Trail.
- Public land with well maintained trail down to the river, however prepare yourself as it’s a commitment.
- Brown, Rainbow and Cutthroat trout inhabit the this section of river, density in that order.

Look it up on YouTube, there’s some cool videos to give you any idea of the type of water and landscape you’d encounter.

 

[Tabasco-Joe]

I’m looking to vacation to Taos with my wife in late summer. Here’s one of the DIY outings I’m going to attack with a few details:

- Rio Grande del Norte National Monument by way of Big Arsenic Trail.
- Public land with well maintained trail down to the river, however prepare yourself as it’s a commitment.
- Brown, Rainbow and Cutthroat trout inhabit the this section of river, density in that order.

Look it up on YouTube, there’s some cool videos to give you any idea of the type of water and landscape you’d encounter.

At this point Valle Vidal and the Peco Wilderness are two on my list. Possibly the Rio Grande at John Dunn Bridge.

I'd love to tackle the Big Arsenic Trail but age and medications probably prohibit. Not to mention altitude.

 

[Worth723]

At this point Valle Vidal and the Peco Wilderness are two on my list. Possibly the Rio Grande at John Dunn Bridge.

I'd love to tackle the Big Arsenic Trail but age and medications probably prohibit. Not to mention altitude.

I’ll have to look into the areas you’ve mentioned. The John Dunn bridge stretch is on my radar as well.

 

[Tabasco-Joe]

I’ll have to look into the areas you’ve mentioned. The John Dunn bridge stretch is on my radar as well.

I'd check local fly shops on the safety at Dunn's Bridge before you go. One YT I watched mentioned some unsavory characters hang out there. There is a road down to the river there which flanks Rio Hondo which also holds trout. This is east side of Rio Grande. Maps show a road in from the west but recent reports say the road is out.

The book GoldenRfly mentions above, Fly Fish Taos, Santa Fe is a great resource.

If you are flying ut you might want to rent a 4x4.

In my case I'm driving with an offroad outfitted F250.