All of the Fishing Report pictures were taken within the last 4 weeks...

CHAMA & LOWER BRAZOS: The Chama River is fishing very well, depending on what section you go to. The flows below the dams are a bit high but still very fishable. We have been on the Chama a fair number of days in the last month and had some great trips. All the fish look very healthy and, mostly in the afternoons, seem very willing to bite. Another pleasant surprise is the number of large rainbows we have hooked into. The upper Chama and Lower Brazos are both running pretty hard with the snowmelt, but are still fishing quite well. The water is off color but still has pretty good clarity. Fishing with big bugs under an indicator has been the most productive set-up, producing some pretty voracious strikes!
Picture: Nice Chama River brown trout - Way to go Ben!


ABEYTA RANCH: For the last month or so, the fishing on the Abeyta Ranch has been really, really good, especially on the sunnier calm days. We have been catching about 10 browns for every rainbow and mostly really nice sized fish in the 16 to 20 inch range. There have been a few even larger ones in the 20+ inch size with the biggest brown so far this season being 24 inches; measured. The only issue is that on cloudier, windy days, the fish are hitting very lightly which makes setting the hook a bit more challenging. Big stonefly nymphs have been our best producing fly patterns - almost exclusively. The flows are still very low and the water has been very clear. As soon as the runoff starts to pick up and the water becomes a bit off color, the fishing should be epic.
Bray B. with a nice Abeyta Ranch bow.

PECOS: The Pecos is fishing very well throughout. We have had some great trips on both the lower and upper sections. Though the fish aren't very big (usually in the 8 to 12 inch range), our clients have had some days with incredible action and many fish landed. Both rainbows and browns are hitting equally well on smaller nymphs. Great fun! The stream-flow is still very fishable in the 50 cfs (cubic feet per second) range. This may jump up a bit if we get a prolonged warm spell but there isn't a lot of snow left up high so there probably won't be to many days this spring that are blown out from high water conditions.

We as anglers often unknowingly carry Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) on our wading and fishing gear when we move from one fishing location to another. The whirling disease parasite (myxobolus cerebralis), New Zealand mud snails and Didymo filamentous algae commonly hitch a ride on a fisherman’s wading shoes, waders and nets. Unfortunately, there is no safe and simple, universal, one-size-fits-all, silver bullet solution for neutralizing these various invasive aquatic flora and fauna  So, what can one do? The most workable solution is to simply inspect, clean, and whenever possible completely dry your fishing gear when moving between fishing locations, especially when moving from waters where ANS are known to be present. Below are few simple steps one can follow.

Check: Before leaving any waters you are fishing in, remove clumps of algae and sediment from your wading gear and fishing equipment.

Clean: Soak and scrub all wading shoes and waders for at least 1 minute in a 2% by volume solution of household bleach or a 5% solution of salt. The cleaning solution should cover all surfaces of the gear that was exposed to the water you were fishing in. Water-absorbent equipment should be soaked to ensure that it is not infected. A soft brush is useful when cleaning the boot seams. If you chose to use a bleach solution to wash your gear, here are some easy formulas/ratios to mix up, which will give you a 2% solution:

1/3 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water
1.6 cups bleach to 5 gallons of water
3.2 cups bleach to 10 gallons of water

Dry: If you thoroughly clean and then completely dry all of your gear for at least 48 hours, even without using a salt or a bleach solution, your gear should be ANS free - but it needs to be completely dry!

If fishermen take just a little extra time to perform these relatively simple tasks, they’ll be doing their part to help prevent the spread of Aquatic Nuisance Species and “Hitchhiking Invaders”. You can find more information on ANS and other methods to protect your gear at either of these websites:
http://www.orvis.com/invasivespecies
http://www.protectyourwaters.net/

For more fly fishing tips and skills, please check out the "Fishing Tips & Skills" page on our website. It is primarily excerpts from the literature we use in the fly fishing classes we give. Hopefully you will find some things that will help to make fishing more fun and enjoyable! Click on the below link to check it out:

FISHING TIPS & SKILLS

Enjoy!!!

There are only a few days left open for fishing trips up at the Brazos River Ranch. If you would like to go up to the ranch this year, don't wait too long before making your reservations.