We are going to Santa Fe the first of July and want to go fly fishing. We have never fly fished before. Any guide recommendations or help would be appreciated.

I tried a search but nothing came up. Sorry if this has been beat-in to a pulp.

I've never been up there either, but let me give you advice on something you didn't ask about: find a Certified Casting Instructor (CCI) in your area and take at the very least one lesson. You'd much rather be fishing than learning the basics of fly casting once you're on the water. Learn here, fish there.

There are two fly shops in Santa Fe, The Reel Life and High Desert Angler. I have fished with good guides from both shops. Most recently I had two great days in March with Jesse Lee from The Reel Life.

If you plan to fish there in July, there are two factors to be aware of. The first is that they have had very little snow there this winter, so runoff will be short, stream levels low and water temps warm. Second is that it will be during there "monsoon season," so expect short cloudbursts nearly every afternoon.

Thanks guys for the info. I was looking into High Desert and will look into the other place also.

High Desert has a better-stocked fly shop and access to more private water, but The Reel Life is owned by old family friends, so I usually end up there.

If you can make a day or (overnighter)of it and don't mind driving a couple of hours, I would seriously consider heading up to the Conejos just across the CO state line.

That drainage has a lot of fishable water and beautiful scenery and you'll be there at what I consider the optimal time. There should be blue drakes hatching somewhere up through there which are enjoyable to toss due to their visibility. And when the fish are hitting them on top, they smash them.

If this sounds appealing, you might give Conejos River Anglers a call and see if they stoke your interest. I've never gone out with them but have encountered them on the streams a time or two and they looked knowledgeable.

We were up there last summer ( I think it was late June but don't recall) and the drakes were coming off around 10:30 in the mornings about halfway in to Platoro. Fortunately, this was adjacent to the cabin we were staying in so some very fun fishing was had with very little effort.