The Beautiful Chama River in Northern New Mexico is one of the authors favorite locations for rest, and relaxation. Not to mention that way out in the middle of no way, lay some of the most beautiful brown trout the state has to offer up. While this river does not have the concentration of trout seen in the San Juan, you definitely won't be disappointed. If you love beautiful mountains, wonderful hiking, and rustic settings, northern New Mexico will deliver.
The chama river originates in the mountains of northern New Mexico and flows down and through the chain of lakes in the northern part of the state. The first major lake the river flows into is Lake Heron. Heron is an absolutely beautiful resevoir, located just 25 - 30 miles from the popular hunting destination known as Chama, New Mexico. Lake Heron holds some extremely large lake trout and has a very nice salmon population. Many fisherman enjoy a day on Heron and find that catching their limit is reasonably easy to do. The second lake in the chain is El Vado resevoir. This body of water is primarily used as a holding pool for drinking water used to supply the lower part of the state. There are lake trout, a handful of salmon and many lake huge carp in this lake. You will see people fishing and catching in this lake, but truthfully the corp of engineers drains it so low at times the fishing is compromised by late summer and fall. The last lake in the chain is the Abiquii resevoir. This lake is definitely utilized as a holding pool for drinking water. You can fish and there are trout, but your best bet is higher up in the mountains.
The Chama river, presents your best opportunities for fishing between El Vado Lake and Abiquii Resevoir. You will definitely be out in the woods, without access to many of lifes amenities, but worth the effort to camp out and experience this beautiful river. The red rock canyons surrounding the river present some incredible vistas that will produce some great photos opportunities. You might even want to consider and float trip to get the full experience the area has to offer up. There are bears in the area. Be sure to plan a bear safe camping expedition. Store your food properly and keep the camp fires to a minimum due to the high risk of forest fire the arid, dry conditions of the region produce.
If you do take a trip to northern New Mexico, please share your experiences and photos with us. We will probably bore you guys with our photos of the area, but it is a favorite hang out for the author.
Please share you photos and videos of your favorite locations. This blog is dedicated to sharing the beauty that is the planet earth we all live on. Send your emails, comments, videos and outdoor fishing adventure stories to flylinesearchmarketing@gmail.com and we will see that they are included in this earth record. One for the books as we fisherman like to say!
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