Post by mirvc17 on Mar 31, 2018 14:22:52 GMT -6
The purpose of this trip was to run the Baatan Death March (again) at White Sands Missile Range with my mother and her friend.
Since there are some fishing spots on the way, I decided to try the Rio Peñasco river near Mayhill, NM. I'm not 100% sure if there are public access points, but I was able to obtain permission from a rancher who has 5 miles of this pristine spring creek on his land.
I was out the front door of my parent's house at 5am sharp with a strong cup of coffee and some snacks. The 1:45 drive was uneventful and thankfully I only saw a few deer this time and no fairly close calls. I arrived on the property just before dawn. I greeted the rancher and he told me I could go wherever I please. A horse came right up to my truck and gave me some company as I suited up.
I wasn't quite sure what I should start off in terms of flies so I rigger up a big attractor dry and a midge dropper. I couldn't make out how clear the water was at this point so I knew I would be blind fishing for about 15 minutes. As soon as the light was good, I could see just how deep the water was and that I should be able to sight fish all day. What I didn't expect was how deep many of the pools would be (5-6'+). I cut off the dry/dropper rig and went to a pair of nymphs--a size 18 Zebra and a size 22 soft hackle dropper.
The water was 56 degrees and gin clear. The stream felt a lot like DePuy's in Montana, but in the high(ish) NM mountain desert. I spotted some nice looking fish along a seam and started working them. I pulled 4 out of here with the biggest about 15" and the rest in 13-14" range. The fish fought hard with spectacular jumps and runs. Around 9am, what I thought was a good midge hatch in progress turned out to be dark colored mayflies. I'm pretty sure one I caught had 3 tails so this should make them some flavor of Tricos...size 22-24.
I moved upstream to a very deep/slow pool. 15-16" fish were patrolling this area. Over the next few hours I caught fish on dries, emergers, midge pupae, small nymphs and even soft hackles at the top of the run. The only thing they wouldn't take were woolly buggers. In the run, I had a blast swinging hankinsfly's soft hackles until an aggressive take broke them both off. Hank, I may need a couple more of those size 16 funky Gaelic stout hooks you've got......Also in the run there were nearly a hundred baby rainbows. This is great for this fishery. While the owner does have his own small hatchery, it's reported that fish do spawn here and that these fish are wild. I did see some gravel spots that appeared to be redds. The owner also said there are browns in the stream, but I didn't see or catch a single one. No monsters either unfortunately, but there's always next time.
After lunch, I got in my truck and headed east towards "the canyon". I didn't have much time left and explored a quarter mile of river just before the canyon. Much more vegetation in this area, and I didn't spot a single fish. The water appeared to be stained at this point as well. I got back in my truck, went back to the fish and spent another hour catching more rainbows before I had to drive to White Sands Missile Range...
All in all, this was a great experience and a better alternative to the Rio Ruidoso or the Rio Bonita near Ruidoso where all you'll find are hatchery fish. I had the entire 5 miles of stream to myself. The fish were not indicator shy, seemed eager to eat anything, didn't spook easily, and there was a mega hatch of tricos. What more can you ask for?
Since there are some fishing spots on the way, I decided to try the Rio Peñasco river near Mayhill, NM. I'm not 100% sure if there are public access points, but I was able to obtain permission from a rancher who has 5 miles of this pristine spring creek on his land.
I was out the front door of my parent's house at 5am sharp with a strong cup of coffee and some snacks. The 1:45 drive was uneventful and thankfully I only saw a few deer this time and no fairly close calls. I arrived on the property just before dawn. I greeted the rancher and he told me I could go wherever I please. A horse came right up to my truck and gave me some company as I suited up.
I wasn't quite sure what I should start off in terms of flies so I rigger up a big attractor dry and a midge dropper. I couldn't make out how clear the water was at this point so I knew I would be blind fishing for about 15 minutes. As soon as the light was good, I could see just how deep the water was and that I should be able to sight fish all day. What I didn't expect was how deep many of the pools would be (5-6'+). I cut off the dry/dropper rig and went to a pair of nymphs--a size 18 Zebra and a size 22 soft hackle dropper.
The water was 56 degrees and gin clear. The stream felt a lot like DePuy's in Montana, but in the high(ish) NM mountain desert. I spotted some nice looking fish along a seam and started working them. I pulled 4 out of here with the biggest about 15" and the rest in 13-14" range. The fish fought hard with spectacular jumps and runs. Around 9am, what I thought was a good midge hatch in progress turned out to be dark colored mayflies. I'm pretty sure one I caught had 3 tails so this should make them some flavor of Tricos...size 22-24.
I moved upstream to a very deep/slow pool. 15-16" fish were patrolling this area. Over the next few hours I caught fish on dries, emergers, midge pupae, small nymphs and even soft hackles at the top of the run. The only thing they wouldn't take were woolly buggers. In the run, I had a blast swinging hankinsfly's soft hackles until an aggressive take broke them both off. Hank, I may need a couple more of those size 16 funky Gaelic stout hooks you've got......Also in the run there were nearly a hundred baby rainbows. This is great for this fishery. While the owner does have his own small hatchery, it's reported that fish do spawn here and that these fish are wild. I did see some gravel spots that appeared to be redds. The owner also said there are browns in the stream, but I didn't see or catch a single one. No monsters either unfortunately, but there's always next time.
After lunch, I got in my truck and headed east towards "the canyon". I didn't have much time left and explored a quarter mile of river just before the canyon. Much more vegetation in this area, and I didn't spot a single fish. The water appeared to be stained at this point as well. I got back in my truck, went back to the fish and spent another hour catching more rainbows before I had to drive to White Sands Missile Range...
All in all, this was a great experience and a better alternative to the Rio Ruidoso or the Rio Bonita near Ruidoso where all you'll find are hatchery fish. I had the entire 5 miles of stream to myself. The fish were not indicator shy, seemed eager to eat anything, didn't spook easily, and there was a mega hatch of tricos. What more can you ask for?
