The Conejos has a great stonefly hatch starting around June.
American Whitewater is the primary advocate for the preservation and protection of whitewater rivers throughout the United States and connects the interests of human-powered recreational river users with ecological and science-based data to achieve goals within our mission. The forecast for the Conejos River system is 290,000 acre feet, of which 102,000 acre feet are obligated through the Rio Grande Compact. In the afternoon/early evening there are great caddis hatches as well. This area is a mecca for outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking and hunting.
During pilot implementation in 2016-2017, winter flows on the Conejos River and upper Rio Grande were some of the best in recorded history—this led to improved habitat for fish, greater certainty for irrigators, and important groundwater recharge. The Conejos River, which flows into the Rio Grande River, goes through southern Colorado and its San Juan Mountains. In my opinion Conejos River brown trout are pound for pound some of the hardest fighters, that I encountered in my many years of fly fishing.
Landing fifteen healthy battling Conejos River brown trout in high flows without the benefit of a green drake or pale morning dun hatch was a significant achievement. Anglers brave enough to tackle a tough hike through Pinnacles Canyon are rewarded with trophy brown trout.
Pat Blankenship first met the Conejos River where it flows through Trujilo Meadows at 6 years old with a fishing pole in his hand.
Conejos River: This stretch of river below Platoro Reservoir holds larger fish than the headwaters and is mostly flies and lures only. Cotten reported that the Conejos River was higher through June over last year’s flows during that time period but this month is a fair amount lower than last year and significantly lower than average. He has been an avid fly fisherman for thirty years sticking to northern New Mexico in his formative years, but heading a little further north as soon as time allowed.