There are many metrics for the success of a habitat project. Did it reduce erosion? Restore function? Add habitat? All of these are the right question to ask and ideally answer, but for a fish habitat project at a popular day use site should the question be, “Does it fish?”.

Testing this could be accomplished using electro-shocking or snorkel surveys, but doesn’t just fishing it make the most sense? Plus if I’m gonna drive six hours to do the final project walkthrough I might as well get some fishing out of it!

The Pecos River in New Mexico has all the looks of a high elevation rocky mountain stream but with easy accessibility along it’s length. People come from all over and I know why. It is beautiful with some very fine fishing! As with anything it can easily be loved to death. To the point that the reason people come is degraded. Luckily for this river it is also well loved by a host of advocates and public agencies. We were hired by the Upper Pecos Watershed Association to provide increased habitat for trout while also improving access and reducing bank erosion. This project had the additional feature of creating an off channel rearing pond for juvenile fish. A dream project and why I got into this work, to make fishing better and undo a little damage on a river in a magical watershed with native Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout.

The final project walkthrough finished (and everything installed correctly, bonus!) It was time to test this thing out. While I realize that just a few days between excavator in the river and fishing wasn’t a recipe for success it was time to try. The first heavy freeze of the season and 25 degree temperatures would also be something to consider, but again I was at a river with a fly rod.

The first structure I fished was a cross vane weir which had created a wonderful two foot deep pool with great feeding lanes on either side. After a few casts the indicator dipped and it was fish on! And quickly off.. That fleeting moment of two silver flashes and a jump revealed the stout little rainbow and a sign of project success. They were already here and it had just been a few days!

I made my way through, fishing the new pools and under the rock overhangs. Along the new log structures and under the willows along the banks. I finally landed a fish in a small pool on the outside of the bend. Incredible what a few more pools and some structure will do in a river. I’m looking forward to returning in the next few years to see it all grow in and naturalize. Hopefully to the point that it is hard to tell anyone ever did anything and people just see it as some fun fishing.