Pecos River Fly Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies: Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
We have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes that make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone
Species
Rainbow Trout (Stocked with some
holdovers)
Brown Trout (Wild)
Cutthroat
Cut Bows (hybrids)
Size
Small to medium
Location
North Central New Mexico
Nearest Towns
Cowles
Tererro
Santa Fe
Season
Year-round
Access:
Good but hiking required to reach
most areas
Non-Resident License
State of New Mexico
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
The Pecos River trout fishing season runs year-round.
Spring:
Fly fishing the Pecos River is good just before and after runoff which ends in May.
Summer:
Fishing is good from the end of the runoff in May through the summer months.
Fall:
Fall fishing is good trough September and sometimes
into October.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing the Pecos River New Mexico
New Mexico’s Pecos River begins on the western slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It’s a 926 mile long tributary of the Rio Grande River. Just over twenty miles of the Pecos River, from the headwaters to Tererro, is designated as a National Wild and Scenic River. Fly fishing the Pecos River requires some hiking to get to the best water.
The headwater streams flow together near Cowles to form the main stem. From there it flows through two canyons and consist mostly of fast, pocket water. The upper canyon is called the “box”. The lower canyon is just downstream of the small Willow Creek tributary.
State highway #63 follows along nearby the stream but hiking is required to reach the canyon sections. Both the small tributary headwater streams and the canyon sections have populations of smaller size rainbows and browns. The rainbows are stocked but the browns are wild, stream-bred trout. The tiny headwater streams have a few Rio Grande Cutthroats for those willing to hike into the Pecos Wilderness area.
Fishing begins in April but runoff affects the first part of the season. It usually starts in late March but can last well into May depending on the snowpack. The fishing last through September and into October but low water can be a problem in the late Summer. The season is year-round but it’s almost impossible to fish the higher elevations in the winter months.
The Pecos River has a good population of stoneflies including the large Salmonflies and Golden Stoneflies. There’s also plenty of mayflies and caddisflies. Terrestrial imitations are popular flies during the summer months.
Fly fishing the Pecos River during the stonefly hatches can be very rewarding. The big Salmonflies start hatching in late May and continue through mid June. The Golden stoneflies start about the time the salmonfly hatch ends and last into the middle of July. These are very prolific in the canyon section.
March Browns and Dark Red Quill mayflies start hatching in late June and last into the first of August. Pale Morning duns can hatch from June into the month of August. Blue-winged Olives hatch twice a year, in the spring and early fall. Tricos hatch in the slow sections of the river in July and August.
Little Black Caddis hatch in May. Several species of Spotted Sedges and Green Sedge Caddisflies are both very plentiful starting in late June and hatching into September. There are other species of caddisflies.
There are two areas on the Pecos with Special Trout Water regulations. It is “catch and release, single barbless hooks only” in the Pecos Wilderness above Pecos Falls. Only two trout, 12 inches long can be take from the “Box” from 1/2 mile above the confluence of the Mora-Pecos upstream 1.5 miles to 1/4 mile above Cowles bridge. All other sections are under the normal New Mexico trout regulations.