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Cimarron River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Cimarron below Eagle Nest Dam: wild brown trout water through Cimarron Canyon State Park, with a 1.4-mile catch-and-release reach.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
20 cfs
Air / High
67 / 68 F
Wind
SSW 14 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07206000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Cimarron River fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 20 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 14 mph, rising pressure near 1008 hPa and a high of 68. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:38 AM-11:38 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 52 F with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

New Mexico requires a fishing licence from age 12, from $49.00 for residents. What a New Mexico licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing brown trout here? Check the size and bag limits with NMDOW before you keep anything. The season dates for New Mexico, read off the agency, are on the New Mexico seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Cimarron River below Eagle Nest Dam.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07206000.

5111720 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 76 years of October 23

At 20 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 07206000 (Cimarron River below Eagle Nest Dam) is at the 51st percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 76 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 20 cfs; the highest was 111 cfs and the lowest 0 cfs.

p10 0median 20p90 36

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 07206000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp67 F
High / Low68 / 45 F
WindSSW 14-28 mph
Pressure1007.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 46%
Sunrise / Sunset07:14 / 18:13
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Cimarron River this week

The best day on Cimarron River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:38 AM-11:38 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM
Minor period
4:01 AM-5:01 AM
Sun
07:14 to 18:13
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 15 mph
Rain chance
46%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Cimarron River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Cimarron River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Cimarron River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 16 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 16 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 13 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

New Mexico requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

A New Mexico fishing license is required. Red Chile Water from the east end of Tolby Campground 1.4 miles down to the first US 64 bridge: catch-and-release, artificial fly or lure with a single barbless hook. Elsewhere the statewide trout limit is 5 a day (NMDOW 2026–2027 Fishing Rules and Info).

Access

Cimarron Canyon State Park on US 64 east of Eagle Nest: Tolby Free Angler Access, Perryville and Horseshoe Mine day-use areas. A park pass, HMAV stamp or hunting, fishing or trapping license is needed to park at several sites.

About this water

The tailwater of Eagle Nest Dam through Cimarron Canyon State Park, Colfax County, New Mexico.

Fishing Cimarron River: the full guide

The river below Eagle Nest Dam

The Cimarron River leaves Eagle Nest Lake and runs east through Cimarron Canyon State Park along US 64, a narrow, forested canyon at the center of the Colin Neblett Wildlife Management Area. The park brochure counts about 8 miles of stream inside the park, between 7,500 and 8,000 feet of elevation. NMDOW's 2026–2027 fishing rules name the Cimarron below Eagle Nest Dam among New Mexico's wild brown trout waters.

The Red Chile reach

From the east end of Tolby Campground downstream 1.4 miles to the first US 64 bridge, the Cimarron is Red Chile Water: catch-and-release only, fished with an artificial fly or lure on a single barbless hook. Outside that reach the statewide trout limit in the same booklet is 5 a day and 10 in possession.

Access in the canyon

The park brochure marks the Tolby Free Angler Access near the Tolby Campground entrance, river access from the Perryville Day Use Area, and beaver ponds reached from the Horseshoe Mine Day Use Area. Across from the Palisades Day Use Area stand the Palisades Cliffs, which the brochure describes as 300-foot crenelated granite formations; climbing is not allowed. Parking at several trailheads requires a park pass, an HMAV stamp, or a hunting, fishing or trapping license.

Flows and camping

Flow in the canyon depends on what Eagle Nest Dam releases, and USGS gauge 07206000 just below the dam reports it in real time: check it before the drive. The park has four campgrounds with 94 developed sites; the brochure notes that restrooms and potable water are shut off from September 15 to the second weekend of May.

Common questions

Where is the catch-and-release water?

From the east end of Tolby Campground downstream 1.4 miles to the first US 64 bridge. NMDOW classes it as Red Chile Water: every trout goes back, and only an artificial fly or lure with one barbless hook is allowed.

Are the brown trout wild?

Yes. NMDOW's 2026–2027 rules list the Cimarron below Eagle Nest Dam with the state's wild brown trout waters.

Do I need a pass to park?

At several park trailheads and day-use sites, yes: the brochure asks for a park pass, an HMAV stamp, or a hunting, fishing or trapping license, so a valid New Mexico fishing license qualifies.

Is fishing good at Cimarron River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Eagle Nest Lake12 miRio Grande39 miTrinidad Lake49 miPecos River75 miAbiquiu Lake85 miConchas Lake91 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 07206000 β€” Cimarron River below Eagle Nest Dam
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.5300, -105.0300 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.