The lower Red River runs down through Questa toward its confluence with the Rio Grande in the Wild Rivers country, and it's a good northern New Mexico option in the shoulder seasons. It's a freestone with some spring influence, holding browns and rainbows and the odd cutbow, and it fishes best when the bigger water is too cold or too high. The headwater story includes historic mining-recovery and native-fish work, so treat any cutthroat with care and don't over-promise. It's a small-water dry-dropper river once snowmelt clears, with a winter window down near the confluence when the high country is shut. Check the public access — some of the corridor is straightforward, some less so.

• Volcanic