It's raining as I write this. It has been raining nearly every day for three weeks. For the past five years we have averaged 5 to 6 inches of rain annually where I live in southwestern New Mexico. The town's official weather keeper and his government-issued rain gauge tell me we're at nearly 12 inches, with four months to go. Months ago I said something to the effect that it would have to rain until we all get sick and tired of it to have any impact on reversing five hard years of drought in this region of the state. And hallelujah, people have started to complain. I pray for more.

It can just keep on raining the rest of the year, so far as I'm concerned. Without rain there are no mountain creeks near home, lakes run dry, there are no trout to cast flies to. Let it rain. The whiners will just have to get used to it.

Dare I say the drought is over? I have lived in New Mexico long enough to risk declaring an end to drought after a single wet year. This is a dry state in which rain and snow are never a sure thing. The drought may not be over, but at least the angling year is saved, with trout waters running full, lakes and ponds receiving a flush of replenishing runoff. This should help bring back some old favorites, and make those that have remained productive during dry times super-productive this season.

Each region of the state has its own personality and water types, its various dependence on local moisture. These are the standouts for the 2005 trout-fishing season.

NORTHWEST
The northwest is largely a land of tailwaters, including some of New Mexico's very best trout waters. Among these, the San Juan River below Navajo Lake ranks as the state's -- some say the nation's -- very best.

Since becoming a greater concern in the larger Colorado River system and the many bureaucracies it supports, the San Juan has become the center of endless legal battles. Despite these difficulties, the river continues to pump out the state's very best trout. Lower-than-average snowpack in Colorado's mountains means water flows have remained somewhat stable, as the Bureau of Reclamation has not had the water to play with as in past years of extremely high Navajo Lake levels. This has made summer wading access better throughout the busy season. With increased moisture this could change, giving them more water to send to downstream users.

These high summer flows did provide the positive benefit of flushing sediment from many of the SJ's graveled shoals, and an increased productivity of many popular hatches. The entire river's fall and spring blue-winged olives have come back strong, and July's pale morning duns and caddis flies were seen in greater numbers in 2004 than in other recent years. Increased moisture also brings a greater likelihood of summer flying ant falls, which have the potential of turning every trout in the river into an eating machine.

Guides on the river tell me they have continued to do well on the river's fat trout. Average catches, including rainbows and the occasional brown, are in the 16- to 18-inch class, with a few 20-inch-plus fish showing daily. In past years it seemed impossible to catch a little trout on the SJ, but more recently your catch is likely to include many more pan-sized stockers migrating up from bait-fishing sections on the lower river where anglers are allowed to keep fish.

The best periods should remain the September-through-October and March-through-April BWO hatches, mid- to late July PMD, caddis and flying ants, or challenging spring to summer midging. Winter fishing has remained productive using small larva and nymphs in sizes 24 to 20, or with San Juan Worms of about size 10.

The Jicarilla Apache Tribe has spent considerable effort improving habitat in many of its reservation trout lakes. In addition to Stone Lake, which has traditionally produced 10-pound-plus rainbows, many other lakes can now be looked to for trophy trout. These include La Jara, Enbom, Horse, Dulce, Mundo and Stinking lakes.

These trout normally fall for big damselfly, dragonfly and leech patterns, sized 8 to 2. The Navajo River north of Dulce could be worth looking at this summer for fun creek fishing and dry-fly action.

Higher water flows can make the El Vado section of the Rio Chama more difficult to fish, as flows above 500 cfs often put the river's huge browns and fat rainbows off their feed. The river also tends to run more clear during low waters. To succeed in high waters, try flashy spinners and sinking Rapala plugs, or large streamer flies with lots of flash fished under a sinking line.

The lower Rio Chama, below Abiquiu Dam, needs high waters to keep it productive. This section is marginal trout water and needs the high flows to keep silt flushed from the system. The durable wild browns found in this section deserve respect and should be released when possible; opt for rainbow stockers should you have a trout dinner in mind.