My Stream – A New Feature in the Truchas Newsletter
My Stream is a new feature in our Truchas Newsletter, and we encourage submissions from members about fishing on their favorite streams.
Please use this first installment as an example of what we will publish—details about getting there, flies to use, and types of fish you may catch. Feel free to share any fishing story about your experiences chasing trout.
Please send your articles to Jeff Weber, Truchas Chapter newsletter editor, at [email protected], preferably with 1-3 photos. We can publish 2-3 per quarter. (Don’t worry about giving up spots— the Rio Grande and Pecos get all the pressure. If it requires a hike in, most fishermen won’t bother!)
On a sunny, warm day in June, I was lucky to fish the Rio Vallecitos with my wife, Jill.
The best public stretch of this river is north of Ojo Caliente:
- Take a left on Highway 111
- Proceed 20 miles to Canon Plaza
- Turn left on FR274 (unpaved) for 3 miles until the river crosses the road under a bridge—park here
You can fish upriver right there, but I typically hike in about a half-mile (path on the right going upstream) until you see a large 100-ft cliff in front of you. Above that, the fish are more numerous, and their average size is larger.
Fish & Flies
The Rio Vallecitos holds mostly aggressive brown trout, which frequently hit large dry flies like a stimulator (yellow or orange body). I fish a dry-dropper setup with a mayfly imitation nymph (both copper johns and prince nymphs worked well) 18-24 inches down, depending on the river water level. Fish may hit either the dry or wet fly.
- Brown trout (7-12”) are fairly common, but I have seen browns up to 14-16”
- Occasional wild rainbow trout (I caught two that day)
- Brook trout have been caught in this stream, migrating down from the Hopewell Lake headwaters
On this warm June day, there were lots of macroinvertebrates flying around, and the browns were rising periodically. Between my wife and me, we landed over 20 brown trout and had just as many exciting surface strikes that did not result in a hooked fish.
The fish were located in:
- Gravel riffles
- Pools behind rocks
- Under small waterfalls
- Shallow sunny spots near the bank
As you hike upstream, cast to all likely spots and keep moving if 2-3 casts are unproductive. Most browns that are missed get spooked and will not usually strike again. Generally, the fish get a little bigger the deeper you hike upstream away from people.
Stealth & Solitude
This very clear freestone stream requires more stealth the lower the water level. The best part? After 10 trips, I have only seen another fisherman past the ½-mile mark once.
I wish you good fishing on this beautiful northern NM stream!
— Mike Jozwiakowski, Amateur Fly Fisherman
