My wife and I are heading up to the Questa area this week for some fishing. We are beginner stream fly fishers and I am looking for some advice on where to fish.

We are planning on camping at the Wild River Rec. Area unless someone has a better idea for us.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

For ease of access I would consider the Red RIver near the hatchery. For adventure the La Junta trail will take you WAY DOWN to the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Red. Either can be fun to fish upstream from the confluence. Big fish potential on the grande side. My favorite place to fish is at the John Dunn bridge closer to Taos. I can do the big water thing on the Rio Grande. If I'm in the mood for small stream stuff the fish in Rio Pueblo usually cooperate. I expect the fishing to be slow on the Rio Grande so i can be surprised instead of disappointed. :-)
You might also ask the local fly shops about conditions on Rio Santa Barbara. There is a nice campground above Penasco that leads to good fishing and spectacular scenery, but water may be too low. Enjoy the fresh Hatch chili!
Dale

PM SENT

Rio Castilla Park. 522 north to Castilla to 196. East on 196 through Amalia. 196 becomes a dirt road. Keep going. Once inside the park grounds, find a place to park and start fishing. You can find large meadows with lots of bends in the creek with some deep holes.

The flow out of Costilla Reservoir is usually cut off in September. Looks like that happened a couple days ago. Best flow for fishing is 30-50cfs. Probably oughta check flows no matter where you go.

Fishing from the confluence up the Grande side is excellent. I caught Native Browns on BH Olive Wooly Buggers. One of the most beautiful places to fish...a favorite of mine. Highly recommend the hike down into the gorge. There is a rest area and camp site near the confluence and trail all the way up along the 6 miles of BLM access of the Rio Grande.

Thanks,
Brent

Ran into the guy that controls the flow. He opened it up last week. I don't know how long he had it open, but it was open all of last week.

Flows dropped to near nothing as of Sept. 30. They should stay at that flow throughout the winter.