Rule would limit flies on quality waters

Karl F. Moffatt | For The New Mexican

1/30/2008 - 1/31/08

In an effort to reduce inadvertent damage and deaths to fish, state game commissioners are slated to consider adoption of a rule which would limit anglers to the use of just two flies on quality waters.

The rule targets anglers who fly fish and applies to areas where anglers are restricted to the use of flies or natural lures and harvesting is reduced or eliminated to improve fishing quality.

Anglers who use bait would be unaffected by the proposed rule change.

There is no restriction on the number of flies that an angler can use while fly-fishing and some say that's a problem on quality waters such as the San Juan River, the state's blue-ribbon trout fishery below Navajo Dam.

"I don't see how anyone who loves this river can be opposed to this," said T. J. Massey, 32, of San Juan River Outfitters. "It's about conserving the fishery so my kids and others can experience it like I have."

Massey says the practice of stringing three, four or more flies on a line to improve the chance of catching a fish is harming the San Juan River's trout population and doesn't provide fish with a sporting chance.

"I just cringe thinking about it," Massey said.

Fish easily become entangled and wrapped up in multiple fly rigs, are much more likely to become foul-hooked and appear to be dying more often from these kinds of encounters.

Guides and anglers on the San Juan have reported seeing more injured and dead fish on the river in recent years and they find it disturbing. Many lay much of the blame on the use of multiple flies.

Massey has been a driving force behind an effort to adopt the limitation, which he claims enjoys considerable support among many other guides, anglers and state Department of Game and Fish staff.

But while Massey's petition in support of the rule boasts some of the best-known names in the business, at least one guide who also works the San Juan River opposes it.

Jude Duran, 28, of Flora Vista, is an independent guide with six years of experience on the river.

"I just question whether it's even necessary, hardly anybody even uses them," Duran said of the multiple fly rigs.

Duran said he'd rather retain his right to use the questionable rigs than lose it and noted there's no evidence to prove more fish are being injured and killed by multiple fly rigs.

Duran said he'd rather see the state spending the same time and money on enforcing the prohibition against the use of barbed hooks which he suspects cause more damage than the use of multiple flies.

"Enforce that rule and do more catch-and-release education, that would be more helpful than this," Duran said.

The state Department of Game and Fish's fisheries biologist on the San Juan River, Marc Wethington, said he hasn't done a specific study to determine the impact multiple fly rigs or barbed hooks might be having upon the trout population.

Anecdotal evidence, such as fish inspections conducted during frequent and routine electro shocking, reveals almost all trout in the quality waters show signs of having been hooked or injured by anglers.

Wethington, who has worked on the river for 13 years and holds a bachelor's degree in environmental science, suspects most fish in the quality waters will die from some form of angler-induced mortality.

Common sense dictates that anything that can be done to decrease harm to the river's trout population will help increase the quality of the fishing experience there, he said. And while most fly-fishing anglers are law abiding and use barbless hooks as required, many have experimented with multiple fly rigs because there is no rule prohibiting them.

Wethington said he supports the rule adoption. He would also like to see more guides and anglers consider quality, not quantity, when gauging their experience on the San Juan and to act accordingly.

So far the majority of comments received by the Game and Fish's Albuquerque office seem to support just that, said Rick Castell, state Department of Game and Fish's fisheries manager for the Northwest Area, which includes the San Juan River below Navajo Dam.

"A lot of this is aesthetics too," he said.

People are just sick and tired of seeing so many dead and maimed fish on the San Juan River and they want to do something about it, he said.

Castell said he wouldn't expect any problem from the fly-fishing community in enforcing the rule, as they tend to police themselves well.

Those interested in commenting on the proposed rule can use the e-mail link under the public comment section of the department's Web site at www.wildlife.state.nm.us.

The proposed change goes before the state Game Commission for consideration at a Feb. 21 meeting in Santa Fe at the state Capitol in Room 322.

For more information, just look under the commission tab on the Department's site.

The San Juan is one of the West's top trout waters, a legendary, trophy-class trout fishery fueled by consistent flows and clear, cold water. The river's quality waters are home to an estimated 75,000 trout.

The first quarter mile of the river below Navajo Dam is strictly catch and release and the remaining four miles have a bag limit of one trout over 20 inches with the angler required to stop fishing once they have taken a fish of that size, that day.

The use of barbless hooks on flies is required in the quality waters but the number of flies on a single line is currently not restricted.

Below the quality waters, anglers can use bait and the normal bag limit is in effect on public access to another 3.5 miles of the San Juan River River including the Cottonwood Campground area.

Anglers spend about 250,000 hours a year fishing on the San Juan River below Navajo Dam and contribute an estimated $20 million to $30 million to the state’s economy annually, according to Wethington.

Karl Moffatt can be contacted through his blog at www.outdoorsnewmexico.com.