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Rio Grande Fishing Report, New Mexico

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

The Rio Grande in the Taos gorge: an 800-foot canyon in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, reached on foot.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
322 cfs
Air / High
62 / 63 F
Wind
SW 11 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08276500, 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Rio Grande asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 322 cfs, on the rise. Today brings cloud cover, wind SW around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 63. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:41 AM-11:41 AM and 10:09 PM-12:09 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°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.

Smallmouth bassGood

Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 55 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 →

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 →

Chasing rainbow 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 Rio Grande below Taos Junction Bridge near Taos.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08276500.

197279360322 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 101 years of October 23

At 322 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 08276500 (Rio Grande below Taos Junction Bridge near Taos) is at the 50th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 101 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 320 cfs; the highest was 1,970 cfs and the lowest 154 cfs.

p10 215median 320p90 753

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 08276500; 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 temp62 F
High / Low63 / 47 F
WindSW 11-19 mph
Pressure1009.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain81% cloud, 57%
Sunrise / Sunset07:17 / 18:16
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 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Rio Grande this week

Today is the pick of the week on Rio Grande, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:41 AM-11:41 AM and 10:09 PM-12:09 AM
Minor period
4:04 AM-5:04 AM
Sun
07:17 to 18:16
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 16 mph
Rain chance
57%

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

Species guide

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

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

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 50°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.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

When to come: the Rio Grande 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
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
Smallmouth bass
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 Rio Grande 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. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 21 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 19 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 11 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

New Mexico fishing license (license year April 1-March 31). Colorado state line to the Taos Junction Bridge (NM 567): Xmas Chile Special Trout Water, 2 trout a day, any legal tackle. Smallmouth bass in the Rio Grande in Taos and Rio Arriba counties: no minimum size; black bass bag 5 a day (2026-2027 rules).

Access

BLM Wild Rivers Recreation Area, reached by NM 378 north of Questa (Zimmerman Visitor Center, 1120 NM-378), with the Little and Big Arsenic Springs trails into the gorge; Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center at 2873 NM-68. Inner-gorge primitive campsites have no restrooms.

About this water

The Rio Grande gorge within BLM's Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, Taos County, New Mexico.

Fishing Rio Grande: the full guide

A river in an 800-foot gorge

BLM describes the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument as a high-desert landscape where the Rio Grande runs through an 800-foot gorge at the edge of the Taos Plateau. The monument stretches from the Colorado border to the village of Pilar, covers about 243,000 acres and includes more than 50 miles of Wild and Scenic River on the Rio Grande and Red River; BLM lists fly fishing among its activities.

Trout rules in the upper gorge

New Mexico's 2026-2027 fishing rules list the Rio Grande from the Colorado state line downstream to the Taos Junction Bridge at N.M. Highway 567 as Xmas Chile Water, a Special Trout Water with a two-trout daily bag and any legal tackle. The same booklet sets no minimum size for smallmouth bass in the Rio Grande within Taos and Rio Arriba counties. Its fish consumption table covers brown trout, rainbow trout and smallmouth bass taken from the Rio Grande between Embudo Creek and the Rio Pueblo de Taos.

Getting down to the water

At the Wild Rivers Recreation Area, BLM routes hikers to the river and the Red River confluence by the Little Arsenic Springs and Big Arsenic Springs trails; an archived BLM notice closed the La Junta Trail until further notice, so confirm its status with the Taos Field Office. BLM warns that the canyon may flood during and after storms, and its Wild Rivers page says no water is currently available at the campgrounds. Pets are not allowed on the Big Arsenic Trail.

Which gauge this page uses

The flow shown here is USGS gauge 08276500, Rio Grande below the Taos Junction Bridge, in the gorge; the Embudo gauge (08279500) sits about 30 km downstream.

Common questions

How deep is the gorge?

About 800 feet from rim to river, according to BLM's Wild Rivers Recreation Area page.

How many trout can I keep?

Two a day between the Colorado line and the Taos Junction Bridge, where the river is Xmas Chile Water and any legal tackle is allowed.

Is the La Junta Trail open?

BLM closed it until further notice in a notice now archived; it sends visitors to the Little or Big Arsenic Springs trails instead. Check with the Taos Field Office before you go.

Is fishing good at Rio Grande right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Eagle Nest Lake27 miCimarron River39 miAbiquiu Lake46 miHeron Lake55 miPecos River63 miCochiti Lake67 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 08276500 — Rio Grande below Taos Junction Bridge near Taos
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.4799, -105.7323 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 8, 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 8, 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.