The Lower River is fished by both bait fishermen and fly fishers and provides a parking lot on the east side of the river just north of Aztec Bridge. This is a popular area for bait fishermen as NM Game and Fish stocks this area with catachable size Rainbows. Browns spawn naturally in this area of the river so there are also Browns of various sizes including a few very large Browns. An additional parking area is provided at the boat ramp a little downstream of Brown's Corner by following CR 4277 south from NM 173.
This is the lower end of the Public Water on the San Juan River and NM Game and Fish maintains public access to the river. Downstream of this area is primarily Private Water.
The water temperatures in this area of the river support a large and diverse insect population including Midges, Mayflies, golden stoneflies, caddis, and Aquatic Worms. If you like fishing dries you can have some great action on this part of the river if there is a hatch on and you are able to match the hatch.
The image on the left is from the Pumphouse area and the image on the right is from the Aztec Bridge on highway 173 looking downstream. Both of these areas are popular with fishermen.