Rio Chamita

Type
Freestone river, New Mexico (West)
Designation
Special-regulation trout water
USGS gauges
None listed
Guides
None listed
Shops
None listed

Today on Rio Chamita

No live reading for this water
Why there is no reading

Nothing live is published for this water, so there is no reading or verdict today. The readings section below says what we checked.

Regulations & access Guides & shops

Rio Chamita is a freestone river in New Mexico, listed as Special-regulation trout water by New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

More about Rio Chamita

Updated · Sources: Green Chile Water (two-trout bag limit, artificial fly or lure with single barbless hook)

Representative photograph of similar water; not a photograph of this place.
Representative photograph, not this water.
Where it is

Rio Chamita is a freestone river in New Mexico.

No real-time gauge

No real-time gauge on this water. We found no active USGS gauge on Rio Chamita or on its stream system within about 25 miles, and no dam operator publishes data for it. A missing gauge says nothing about the water itself. Find the gauges nearest Rio Chamita

About these readings

Nothing live is published for this water; the note below says what we checked.

Where to fish

About this

Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Restrooms near Rio Chamita

Restrooms near Rio Chamita

Restrooms within 2 miles of Rio Chamita in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.

Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

More water near Rio Chamita

  • The San Juan River tailwater below Navajo Dam, clear water and green banks beneath sandstone bluffsCatch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Nabor Creek
    Photo credit

    The San Juan River between Navajo Dam and the community of Navajo Dam, New Mexico. Photo: Phil Slattery, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Nabor Creek.

    Nabor Creek

    New Mexico · about 3 mi

  • The Cimarron River at Springer, looking upstreamSpecial-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Sixto Creek
    Photo credit

    The Cimarron River at Springer, New Mexico, looking upstream. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Sixto Creek.

    Sixto Creek

    New Mexico · about 5 mi

  • The Pecos River in Pecos National Historical ParkCatch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Rio Chama
    Photo credit

    The Pecos River in Pecos National Historical Park, New Mexico. Photo: SonoranDesertNPS from Tucson, Arizona, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Rio Chama.

    Rio Chama

    New Mexico · about 19 mi

  • The Rio Grande winding through a broad valley near South ForkCatch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Canada Tio Grande
    Photo credit

    The Rio Grande near South Fork, Colorado. Photo: Kevin Stroup, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Canada Tio Grande.

    Canada Tio Grande

    New Mexico · about 24 mi

  • The Piedra River flowing through willows and autumn brush toward a mountain, seen from a bridgeSpecial-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Rio de Los Pinos
    Photo credit

    The Piedra River in Hinsdale County, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Rio de Los Pinos.

    Rio de Los Pinos

    New Mexico · about 24 mi

  • The Los Pinos River running between cottonwoods and pines, seen from a road bridgeCatch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Rio San Antonio
    Photo credit

    The Los Pinos River in La Plata County, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Rio San Antonio.

    Rio San Antonio

    New Mexico · about 27 mi

Regulations

About this

Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.

Official designation: Special-regulation trout water

Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.

The water on the map

About this

Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.

Length
18.3 mi (12.9 in NM)
Drains
46.1 sq mi
Drop
1,435 ft · 78.6 ft/mi
Flows into
Rio Chama
Watershed
Rio Chama

Public land along it

About this

Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

8.1 of 16 mi on public land

  • Edward Sargent Wildlife Management AreaState Fish and Wildlife · 8.1 mi · restricted

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Guides and shops near Rio Chamita

About this

Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

Guides

No guide within 40 miles yet.

Shops nearby

No shop nearby yet.

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Shops: fly shops first. A distance is shown when the shop’s website gives its location (within 60 miles); otherwise the shop is in one of the towns within 25 miles of the water.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Species and hatches

About this

The hatch and season chart for this water's region.

When the bugs come off

Regional hatch months: Southwest and Colorado
About this chart

1 hatch charted for the region, not measured on this water. From Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

  1. January: no charted hatch
  2. February: no charted hatch
  3. March: no charted hatch
  4. April: no charted hatch
  5. May: no charted hatch
  6. June: 1 charted hatch
  7. July: 1 charted hatch
  8. August: no charted hatch
  9. September: no charted hatch
  10. October: no charted hatch
  11. November: no charted hatch
  12. December: no charted hatch

Green drake (June to July)

Plan a trip here

About this

None of our destination hubs is within 40 miles in a straight line. The trip planner builds a trip around the water itself: the guides and shops listed within 40 miles of it, its gauges and its nearest towns and airports.

No hub within 40 miles

Gear checklist

About this

A wade-fishing checklist for big western trout rivers: a 9 ft 5–6 weight outfit, nymph, dry and streamer setups, waders, boots and a wading staff, with estimated prices by tier and where to buy.

A woman in waders and a sun hat wades a broad river and casts, bluffs on the far bank

Big western rivers (wade fishing)

9′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating line · Rainbow and brown trout, whitefish

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (5)

Watch: reading a trout stream

About this

Seams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • How I Learned to Read Water (Fly Fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Mad River Outfitters · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • How To Read The Water with Tom RosenbauerEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Reading the Water to Successfully Locate TroutEmbedded from YouTube · Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on reading water

Watch: nymphing basics

About this

Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • 90° Nymph RigEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Casting with an Indicator & Better Nymphing TechniquesEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on nymphing

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Rio Chamita.

No stories from here yet.

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 8 sources and dates

A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: a point on the mapped channel of “Rio Chamita”, halfway along its length in New Mexico, from the USGS high-resolution hydrography (NHDPlus HR), read 4 Nov 2026. It marks the water, not a particular access or reach. Water type is our own classification.