Freestone · Volcanic · New Mexico, US

Rio Grande — Lower Box / Racecourse (Pilar)

Rio Grande — Lower Box / Racecourse (Pilar) terrain map
Prime · Brown Trout
Parachute Adams · 16-20
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River steady at a fishable height. On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.72 mLast reading 1h ago
  • Water temp10.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Parachute Adams
Parachute Adams16-20
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.72 m
Last reading 1h ago
Water temp10.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather19°C
WindW 9 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead5.7 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
10.4°Cideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — conditions well-balanced, with water temperature particularly in your favour.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 21 Uhr

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 8 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Brown DunHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2
Mahogany DunHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Fly box · Brown Trout
SD
Sex Dungeon
2-6 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Open all year; verify Orilla Verde / Racecourse reach rules against NMDGF and BLM
  • A Habitat Stamp is required to fish USFS/BLM land and waters in New Mexico
  • The roadside access makes this the approachable Rio Grande reach, but flow and monsoon colour still govern the day.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Rio Grande — Taos Box
8.0 km
85
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Cutthroat trout
Red River (lower)
47 km
87
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Cutthroat trout
Rio Chama below Abiquiu
57 km
81
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Pecos River (upper)
60 km
88
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Cutthroat trout
Cimarron River below Eagle Nest
60 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Rio Grande (Embudo Creek to Rio Pueblo de Taos)' (NM-2111_12), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Turbidity. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · NM-2111_12

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 87 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity76 × 12%9.1
Conditions total= 86
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts