The High Desert Angler will be going to our fall through spring hours starting Tuesday September 4th. We will now be open from 10:00 AM till 6:00 PM Monday through Saturday and 11:00 AM till 4:00 PM on Sundays.
Saturday September 29th is National Hunting and Fishing Day. On Saturday, any angler regardless of residency or age can fish without a New Mexico Fishing License. All bag limits and tackle restrictions in place will apply. Anglers fishing on Indian Reservation water may still need a permit to fish. Please contact the individual Pueblo or Nation on their policies. New Mexico Game and Fish officers will be looking for anyone not abiding by tackle restrictions or bag limits, and also have road blocks collecting data on hunter harvests and game and fish violations. For more information, please contact New Mexico Game and Fish at 505-476-8000. To report a violator, call 800-423-4362.
Many thanks to those of you who could make the Upper Pecos Watershed Association's stakeholders meeting on Wednesday September 26th. It consisted of presentations on the Pecos Canyon Recreational Use Planning Initiative. William D. Graves, Planner Director, NM Department of Game and Fish, gave an Update on the Pecos Canyon Recreational Use Planning Initiative. Charlie Jankiewicz, Interagency Resource Coordinator for TEAMs Planning Enterprise, of the U.S. Forest Service, will conduct the initial phase of the Pecos Canyon recreational use planning initiative. The Pecos River is an economically important recreational resource to our area and we were glad to see the support and interest in the Upper Pecos Watershed Association.
Limited angling opportunities for Gila trout began July 1, 2007, in select streams in southwestern New Mexico that have been closed to fishing since 1966, when the Gila trout was first listed as a federal endangered species. The State Game Commission approved the changes at its March 2007 meeting in Las Cruces, based on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to downlist the Gila trout from endangered to threatened. The new regulations allow the Department of Game and Fish to open angling opportunities for Gila trout and open select streams that previously have been closed to all fishing. Limited angling will be allowed for Gila trout in Black Canyon Creek from July 1 through September 30 as a Special Trout Water. Fishing will be catch-and-release only with artificial flies or lures and a single barbless hook. Everyone who fishes in Black Canyon and Iron Creek must have a Gila Trout Permit along with a valid New Mexico fishing license. Permits are free and will be available June 1 on the "Buy licenses online" feature of the Department website, www.wildlife.state.nm.us.
Lastly, a commercial announcement. Sage Manufacturing and Scott Fly Rods have both announced discontinuations of their SLT line and S3 and S3s lines respectively. We have some left and are offering them at 30% off of 2007 retail prices or buy one at regular price and get one free. Simms and Cloudveil have also announced discontinuations in their Gore-Tex wader lines and will be discounted at 30% off of 2007 retail prices or buy one at regular price and get one free. Please call the shop for details at 505-988-7688.
