The New Mexico Game Commission on Thursday will consider limiting the special trout stretch of San Juan River below Navajo Dam to catch and release, eliminating the one-fish-per-day limit.

Anglers have expressed concern that the river water is degrading and the fish aren't as big as they used to be, said Marty Frentzel, Department of Game and Fish spokesman. "People feel like the fishing has declined. I don't think our statistics bear that out," Frentzel said.

Toner Mitchell, a guide with The Reel Life in Santa Fe and an advocate with the New Mexico chapter of Trout Unlimited, thinks catch and release only is a good idea. "It streamlines things for the wardens," Mitchell said. "It allows them to crack down and simplify enforcement with limited staff."

The catch-and-release designation is one of 27 agenda items for the commission's meeting Thursday in Albuquerque, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the State Bar of New Mexico auditorium, 5121 Masthead N.E.

The proposal came after anglers and others said at public meetings, in a survey and in written comments that they thought the quality of fishing had declined. Currently, one small portion of the river below the dam is catch and release only. On 3.75 miles of the river, anglers can keep one fish 20 inches or larger in a day, and are supposed to stop fishing after the catch.

Some anglers say people take advantage of the one-fish rule by keeping a 20-incher until a bigger fish comes along, and then tossing the smaller trout in the bushes.

The San Juan River is a top fly-fishing spot in the state, attracting thousands of anglers yearly from all over the world.

A report produced by the Department of Game and Fish in July claimed 75 percent of anglers surveyed were happy with their experience. The 20-year catch average on the river is a little more than one trout per hour.

According to the San Juan River fisheries management plan, attempts to manage river flows for endangered species have led to "unprecedented changes" in water releases from Navajo Dam. Flow changes can impact fish and anglers. Those changes are likely to continue as climate change, drought and water withdrawals for irrigation and drinking water projects impact the river.

Among other items the seven-member commission will consider at Thursday's meeting:

• Proposed changes to elk-hunting unit boundaries and elk-hunting authorizations for private landowners in the Jemez Mountains.
• Changes to deer-hunting licenses.
• An update on the transfer of the state's off-highway vehicle program from the state Tourism Department to the state Department of Game and Fish.
• A report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Mexico's plan to release Mexican gray wolves into northern Mexico and implications if those animals move into New Mexico.

The full agenda, detailed agenda-item briefings and other information are available on the Department of Game and Fish Web site, www.wildlife.state.nm.us or by calling 505-476-8008.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.