Rio Grande below Elephant Butte Dam Fishing Guides and Conditions, New Mexico

About the Rio Grande below Elephant Butte Dam

Below Elephant Butte Dam the Rio Grande enters a short, intensely managed reach that runs about twenty-five river miles south past Truth or Consequences to the head of Caballo Reservoir. It is a warmwater tailwater rather than a coldwater one — releases come off Elephant Butte at temperatures that suit bass and walleye rather than trout — and the whole character of the fishing is dictated by the irrigation calendar. During the delivery season the river runs full and pushy; outside it, releases drop away and the river shrinks to a series of connected pools and riffles that can be waded across.

The fish are largely pushed through from the reservoir above or resident in the deeper holes. White bass are the most reliable and most fun target, schooling and feeding hard on the current seams below the dam. Walleye come through the gates and hold in the deeper runs. Largemouth and smallmouth bass work the rock and the eddy lines, and the catfish fishery is excellent, with channel, blue and flathead catfish all present and flatheads reaching serious weight in the deep bends. Striped bass occasionally come through from the reservoir and are a genuine bonus fish. Longnose gar patrol the slower water.

Access is straightforward and mostly bank-based. State Highway 51 and 187 parallel the reach, and there is public access below the dam, through Truth or Consequences, and at several crossings on the way to Caballo. Small boats and kayaks work when releases are running; at low release the river is a wading and walking fishery. Because flows can change substantially and quickly when the gates move, checking the release before committing to a wade is not optional.

The gauge below the dam reports releases directly and is the single most important reference for this reach. It tells you not only whether the river is fishable but which style of fishing the day will be.

Access

Elephant Butte Dam tailrace — bank access immediately below the gates, the prime white bass water.
Rock Canyon and the dam access road — pull-offs along the upper tailwater.
Truth or Consequences riverside parks — town access with parking and easy bank fishing.
Highway 187 crossings — road access through the middle of the reach.
Williamsburg area accesses — lower tailwater bank fishing.
Caballo Lake State Park north end — access at the bottom of the reach where the river enters the reservoir.
Percha Dam State Park — below Caballo, an extension of the same managed river system.

Seasons

Spring: white bass and walleye concentrate below the dam as releases begin; the best fishing of the year.
Summer: full irrigation releases make for pushy water; catfish dominate and bass hold on the eddy lines.
Fall: releases taper and the river drops; wading becomes easy and bass fishing improves through October.
Winter: low, clear and slow, with catfish and the occasional walleye in the deeper holes.