12/17/17: Well, let's get right to it. Last week I promised some
details on the upcoming construction project that is now set to start
on Monday, December 18th for the lower San Juan River. To begin with,
we'll start with the obvious, more self-explanatory parts of the project
then move on to the more esoteric, arcane details of the what and why,
concerning the rest of the venture. First, the area affected—from the
wash at Simon Canyon down to Crusher Hole where the boat takeout is, is
scheduled to be closed to both boat and foot traffic from December 18,
2017 until March 1, 2018. The rest of the river will not be under any
restrictions, so you'll still be able to fish everything not included in
that area, although anything below it is probably going to be a bit
murky once the heavy equipment starts working in the river. For boaters,
there will be a temporary boat take out established at the Munoz day
use area until the work is completed. From March 1, 2018 until April 15,
2018 there will be fewer restrictions, but still limited use of the
river in the area. One of the more obvious parts of the project will be
the construction of a new boat ramp/take out at Crusher Hole, that has
been long overdue. There will also be a new boat ramp constructed next
to Rainbow Lodge, commonly referred to as the Village Take Out, as well
as improvements to the parking area there. I apologize, but at this time
I'm not sure when the closures to that particular area will take place,
but I'll try to find out and get back to you on that.
In addition to all that, here's a rundown on
the latest fishing on the Juan. The present flow is at 387 cfs and the
water clarity is still good. There will most likely be no changes to the
flow level anytime soon, despite the work being performed on the river.
Fishing has been good and the weather has been cooperative, although
quite chilly in the mornings and evenings. The best fishing has been
from around 10 am till around 3 pm when the temperatures have been
warmest. There have been some good midge hatches river-wide with the
heavier part of the hatch occurring from noon till 2:30 or 3:00 pm.
Nymphing with larva and pupa patterns in the earlier and later parts of
the day have been productive and emerger patterns are working best
during the mid day hours. There are a lot of small fish in the river
right now and they are in a lot of places. If big is your thing, the
most efficient way I have seen to get at those fish has been with
streamers, both on the dead drift and adding a little twitch or a strip
from time to time. Black buggers and leeches seem to work best and it
helps to be at or near the bottom. There's not a lot of folks out there,
so if you come you can have a lot of water to yourself right now. If
you would like more information or need to book a guided trip, give us a
call at 505-632-2194.
12/11/17: It's been a while since I've been on the water and I miss it. First, there was the week leading up to Thanksgiving that was filled with all kinds of difficult travel planning, where the logistics became so difficult it made Einstein's theory of relativity look like child's play. Then there was the actual trip itself back to Virginia where I needed to work out the details of seeing friends and family, some of which I hadn't seen in nearly fifteen years and needed to allocate enough time for each one so it wouldn't be another fifteen before they asked me back. And finally there was the trip back home, which was two-and-a-half days in a rent-a-car, because I'd picked up a seven week old puppy while I was there, along with a terrible cold that kept me sidelined for a week after I returned. I'm not even gonna go into the details of the difficulty of driving in the non-stop traffic of the busiest travel weekend of the year (something I had failed to factor in, but soon learned firsthand) when my co-pilot had to stop every two hours of so to go to the bathroom. But, overall it turned out to be fun and adventurous; although, by the time I crossed the Texas/New Mexico border I felt like getting out and kissing the ground. It's good to be back home—I really could have done without that cold, though. With the new pup, I know that my time on the water will likely be limited this winter, most likely confined to rare two hour periods on my days off, which is about the maximum time I can keep him kenneled up, without feeling pangs of guilt. It'll all be worth it and by spring he'll be big enough to accompany me for some much needed river training; in the meantime, he's been a true joy and as much as I love to fish, I won't regret the sacrifice in exchange for his company.
11/19/17: In case you ever wondered if people take this fly fishing thing serious or not, consider this: In late January of this past year, someone broke a window of a Chevy Silverado parked outside of Flannigan's restaurant in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood and stole the cremated remains of legendary Florida Key's fly fishing legend, Bill Curtis. The thief ignored a laptop computer, a $400 pair of sunglasses, and valuable camera equipment, and snatched the box of Curtis' ashes from beneath a stack of books, and sped off in a black pickup truck. For those who may not be familiar with Curtis, he invented the poling platform for skiffs, the Bimini twist and Curtis knot, and guided the likes of Jim Harrison, Jimmy Buffett, Carl Hiaasen, Ted Williams, and Thomas McGuane on a regular basis, and was the inspiration for one of the fictional Keys fishing guides in McGuane's, "Ninety-Two in the Shade." When asked why anyone would do such a thing as stealing an urn of someone else's ashes, McGuane replied, "My theory is that it was a poor fisherman who knew what it was and thought that by sprinkling it on his Wheaties that someday he would be a better angler." The things some fishermen will do to try and gain an edge, which I guess explains why $1,000 fly rods are becoming more a thing of the norm these days.
11/12/17: There's not a lot of things that I'm particularly good at; like some guys, who seem to have been born with that innate MacGyver instinct and can fix about anything around the house with a little bailing wire and a roll of duct tape or pick up a musical instrument for the first time and be able to play a song from start to finish in a matter of minutes like they've practiced on it since childhood. But there are a few things I do well and fighting and landing fish is one of them, which may sound a little braggadocious until you factor in the consideration that I've been practicing it a lot for the past thirty years and the claim sort of loses a little of its luster. Anyway, I think it was Dizzy Dean that said, "It ain't bragging if you can do it." The most difficult part of it all; for me anyway, is explaining to other people how to do it, probably because I'm a really poor teacher, which explains why I never gravitated toward the guide aspect of the sport. Another part of it is, that it seems to be more of a natural "feel" kinda thing that just seems to develop over time and putting that all into words would probably leave Ol' Will Shakespeare struggling for the correct nomenclature. I think the best description of it that I have ever seen in print, came from a friend of John Gierach's, who explained what to do once you hook a fish as, "When he's doing something, you do nothing and when he's doing nothing, you do something." That, in a nutshell, pretty much sums it all up. Without getting too dramatic, I'll try to expound on that a little bit. First of all, don't panic—you hooked a fish—isn't that what you were trying to do? It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. Second, and I think this is the most important aspect of the whole process, get the fish under control right away, every second is critical here. Strip any slack line if you need to, to come tight to the fish—don't obsess about getting him on the reel right away, that can come later when you've got the fish where you want him. Get, and always maintain, tension on the line, between you and the fish— if you're comfortable with how your rod feels and works, you'll know when enough is enough, if not, you'll learn it over time; unfortunately, probably the hard way. I like to trap the fly-line against the handle with the index finger of my casting hand, leaving my other hand free to reel up slack, once I "feel" what the fish is going to do. If he runs, you gotta let him go, but just loosen that finger enough on the fly-line to keep it from being a free-for-all. Keep the pressure constant—over time you'll learn how your rod and the limits of 5x,6x, and 7x tippet work in tandem. Right away, clear the decks—make sure there's no slack line wrapped around your boots, rod handle, lanyard, etc. or else it'll all be over faster than it started. Keep the rod tip up, this is no time to try any of those fancy side to side moves, leave those to the bass fisherman with the big treble hooks and the barbs on the ends. Your end goal is to get the fish's head out of water and the way to do that is to keep the rod straight up— you control the head, you control the fish. Now here's the point where some folks are going to disagree with me, but I'm not one of those "old just let 'em run around until they get tired and reel 'em in old boys. " No sir, I from I'm from the give 'em maximum pressure from the get go till the end don't let 'em get into the current if you can help it, school, kinda guys. My theory is the longer the battle goes on, the more time elapses for something to go wrong, which favors the fish, which usually doesn't take a whole lot of time when a number 24 or 26 hook is being sawed back and forth in a fish's lip. If the fish is below you, reel in slack when you feel any give in his resistance, strip if he comes at you fast, do whatever you need to keep that line tight and be prepared to give a little if he tries to peel away. Try to bring the fish directly below you in your wake using as much upward pressure as he will stand, the sooner that head comes out of the water, the closer you are to having him licked. You'll be surprised how much your legs and body reduce the current behind you, even in faster water. If he runs past you, don't worry, it is actually a good thing. As soon as he slows, apply a little pressure to turn him and the current will help with the rest as long as you stay tight to the fish the whole way through the process, stripping and trapping line as needed. Finally, keep that tip up and lift that rod, reaching your arm back as far as you can get it and his head will come up and you can slide the net under him, and it's game over. Trout are efficient swimmers, but take note on how much that efficiency diminishes when their head is out of the water. If I impart nothing else to you, that alone will be worth the time you spent to read this.
9/24/17: I had a friend back in college named Bob Keene. Bob was one of those interesting, gregarious types— the sort of person that is often referred to as eccentric, a term that is often used as a euphemism or just a nicer way to say that someone is a certified nut-case. He was different, outgoing, and had never met a stranger, and everyone liked Bob. During my sophomore year, my roommate (Russell Bryant) and I, went to Daytona Beach on Spring Break and by sheer happenstance ran into Bob on the street down there. Sometime later, we all ended up in the bar of the hotel where Bob was staying. There was a three- piece, all girl band playing to a packed house and they were really good. After a couple of beers, I left the bar to find the bathroom that was down the hall towards the lobby and when I returned Bob was up on stage with the girls, strutting around with the microphone like Mick Jagger and belting out the lyrics to "Rambling Man" from the Allman Brothers. I don't know how it all came about that he ended up on stage that evening because I was down the hall when it all transpired, but the boy really put on a show and brought down the house with a standing ovation at the end of "Rambling Man." The oddest thing about the whole deal was that I never even knew the guy had the talent, which just goes to show that you should never underestimate a man, or anything else for that matter—unless you really like surprises. Bob and I are both a little older now, which is to say we both qualify for all those AARP discounts you can use at some hotels and for cheaper car insurance rates, but Bob's still rocking and playing gigs around my hometown with his band "Gomer and the Three Pyles"—no joke—check it out on YouTube if you don't believe me.
8/27/17: I was reading a story the other night by Guy de la Valdene where he was describing his tarpon fishing days in Key West with Russell Chatham, Jim Harrison, Richard Brautigan, and Thomas McGuane, and it got me to thinking about how much fun it would have been to have been a fly on the wall, listening to some of the conversations on one of those skiffs, never mind the opportunity to fish for behemoth 100 pound plus game fish with a group of guys that pursued the sport with such unbridled passion. It also started me thinking about how I also came to be an admirer of the individual works of these guys, long before I knew about their relationships to each other dating back to the late 60's and early 70's. My first exposure to any of them came along in the late 70's when I picked up a copy of McGuane's The Bushwhacked Piano in a little bookstore called Books, Strings, and Things, just off the Virginia Tech campus, where I spent my time between classes reading excerpts from it and writing the page numbers where I'd left off into my English 101 notebook, returning to the bookstore, until I'd read the whole damn thing. I loved the guy's writing, long before I knew he was a serious fisherman and long before I knew he had any affiliation to the rest of this group of artistically talented misfits, whose work I came to appreciate later, including Jimmy Buffett, of who I was a fan at the time, not knowing he was part of this Key West Mafia and would eventually end up to be McGuane's brother-in-law. The fact that I read a couple of books by an author without actually buying any of his work, bothered me for a while, but over the years I've purchased everything he and his friends have ever written (some of them multiple times) so, I guess all is forgiven. Anyway, the odd thing about all of this is that I discovered and came to love the works of all of them individually, McGuane first, Harrison later, Chatham through his art work on Harrison's books, de la Valdene for his work on McGuane, Brautigan, and Harrison's movie Tarpon—and Buffett—well, Buffett was always Buffett, although he did do the soundtrack for the movie that was released in 1973, and finally, the author Peter Mattthiessen once I learned he and Harrison liked to float the Madison together. The upshot of all this is, is that I was struck by the peculiar way one is drawn to those who have like- minded passions in this old world—mine being fishing, hunting, love of the outdoors, good food and drink, and an ability to laugh at myself occasionally, not unlike the authors, painters, and musicians, I admire and revere. More often than not, I think that it is more of their compelling emotion for these things and their ability to convey it to others that stirs my approbation, rather than the actual commonality of the thing itself.
Secondly, the rest of the project will be aimed
at accomplishing two major goals in the area from Simon Canyon down to
Crusher Hole, the first being the mitigation of silt buildup in that
area from the wash located at Simon, and the second being habitat
improvement for fish in that area, not that the two are mutually
exclusive. What we are supposed to see when all is said and done is an
excavation of the floodplain bench to allow some of the river to access
the bank vegetation and deposit less silt in the river and more in the
vegetation during high water events; as well as, a deepening of the
channel in some sections and the addition of boulders in the river to
increase the velocity of the water, so that most of the silt that does
enter the river will be washed downstream. The area immediately below
the canyon known as The Chute will undergo some reshaping and see the
addition of some excavated deeper pools and in-stream structures which
should aid in depositing less silt downstream, not to mention improving
the aesthetics of the area that now resembles an irrigation ditch. As
far as the habitat improvement part, for those of you that have fished
the area in the past few years (especially those Durangler's Corner and
Last Chance aficionados) and have seen the effect of the silt on the
vegetation in the river and thus the decreased bug life and the exodus
of fish in that section, this will be a welcome reprieve. Another
byproduct of this work being performed will be added habitat and holding
water for fish when the river is undergoing future low flows, along
with the addition of young cottonwoods to help replace the old growth
trees in that area, and added wetland areas for waterfowl. The temporary
closure, while a bit inconvenient for the short term, seems a small
price to pay for the long term benefits we stand to gain from the
project.
12/11/17: It's been a while since I've been on the water and I miss it. First, there was the week leading up to Thanksgiving that was filled with all kinds of difficult travel planning, where the logistics became so difficult it made Einstein's theory of relativity look like child's play. Then there was the actual trip itself back to Virginia where I needed to work out the details of seeing friends and family, some of which I hadn't seen in nearly fifteen years and needed to allocate enough time for each one so it wouldn't be another fifteen before they asked me back. And finally there was the trip back home, which was two-and-a-half days in a rent-a-car, because I'd picked up a seven week old puppy while I was there, along with a terrible cold that kept me sidelined for a week after I returned. I'm not even gonna go into the details of the difficulty of driving in the non-stop traffic of the busiest travel weekend of the year (something I had failed to factor in, but soon learned firsthand) when my co-pilot had to stop every two hours of so to go to the bathroom. But, overall it turned out to be fun and adventurous; although, by the time I crossed the Texas/New Mexico border I felt like getting out and kissing the ground. It's good to be back home—I really could have done without that cold, though. With the new pup, I know that my time on the water will likely be limited this winter, most likely confined to rare two hour periods on my days off, which is about the maximum time I can keep him kenneled up, without feeling pangs of guilt. It'll all be worth it and by spring he'll be big enough to accompany me for some much needed river training; in the meantime, he's been a true joy and as much as I love to fish, I won't regret the sacrifice in exchange for his company.
That said, here's the latest on the river. First of all, it got
cold here. For the biggest part of November we were blessed with some
wonderful weather, but this past week we saw nighttime lows in the teens
and some days with the highs in the low forties—hard to take when
you're used to sunny sixty-five degree days. On the upside, it has sure
put a damper on the traffic on the river; which, while not good for
business, is great news if you're a fisherman. This coming week looks
like we will see a warming trend along with very little of that scourge
of the fly-fisherman known as the wind. As far as water conditions go,
the flow is at 391 cfs and the water clarity has just begun to turn a
bit, no doubt due to those cold nighttime temperatures, but it's still
in good shape and shouldn't hurt the quality of the fishing any. For
hatches, it's mainly midges out there, occurring as early as 10 or
10:30, but better during mid-day with even some clusters appearing on
most days. For the early part of the hatch, I like Morgan's Midges when
most of the rises are mainly to emerging insects, then switching to Fore
and Afts as they target more of the adults, then on to the Sprout Midge
if the hatch is heavy enough to produce clusters. Although the water
clarity is still off a bit, it's not enough to abandon 7x tippet for the
dries. On the nymphing side, stick with larva (especially red) and
midge pupa in the mornings—Mono-Midges and Blings, the smaller the
better. 6x fluorocarbon helps. Later, lighten up on the weight and fish
the upper water column with some emerger patterns like Crystal Flash,
Ju-Jus, and Foamwings. This will be a good week to be out on the
water—the weather will be nice, the human traffic will be low, and the
water clarity is still good for now, although I think that is on
borrowed time, so don't wait around especially if you like fishing the
drys. Beginning on the 15th the lower river from Simon Canyon to the
takeout at Crusher Hole will be closed to fishermen due to work being
performed on the boat ramp and a habitat improvement project in that
area. The takeout for drift boats will now be at the side channel of
Munoz/Baetis Bend, until the project is completed in early March and the
area will also be closed to foot traffic, as well, until that time.
I'll try to get into more of the nuts and bolts of the project next
week—right now, the pup's saying he needs to go outside and that can't
be ignored. If you would like more information or need to book a guide,
give us a call at 505-632-2194.
11/19/17: In case you ever wondered if people take this fly fishing thing serious or not, consider this: In late January of this past year, someone broke a window of a Chevy Silverado parked outside of Flannigan's restaurant in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood and stole the cremated remains of legendary Florida Key's fly fishing legend, Bill Curtis. The thief ignored a laptop computer, a $400 pair of sunglasses, and valuable camera equipment, and snatched the box of Curtis' ashes from beneath a stack of books, and sped off in a black pickup truck. For those who may not be familiar with Curtis, he invented the poling platform for skiffs, the Bimini twist and Curtis knot, and guided the likes of Jim Harrison, Jimmy Buffett, Carl Hiaasen, Ted Williams, and Thomas McGuane on a regular basis, and was the inspiration for one of the fictional Keys fishing guides in McGuane's, "Ninety-Two in the Shade." When asked why anyone would do such a thing as stealing an urn of someone else's ashes, McGuane replied, "My theory is that it was a poor fisherman who knew what it was and thought that by sprinkling it on his Wheaties that someday he would be a better angler." The things some fishermen will do to try and gain an edge, which I guess explains why $1,000 fly rods are becoming more a thing of the norm these days.
As for
things here on the San Juan, we are enjoying an extension to the
wonderful fall weather we saw through October that is keeping quite a
few people on the water. The flows have been stable around 433 cfs and
the water clarity is great. There are fish feeding to midges throughout
the entire day and, on occasion, some decent BWO hatches from 1:00 till
3:00 pm, especially on overcast days. I have had some good dry fly
fishing using Morgan's Midges in size 24 during the earlier and later
part of the midge hatch when the fish are keying in on emergers, then
switching to a size 24 black Fore and Aft when they are targeting the
adult bugs, around mid-day. Most of the baetis activity I have observed
has been confined to the lower section of the Quality Water and I have
been using size 24 and even 26 Olive Comparaduns for my imitations. 7x
tippet is required for the dries. As far as nymphing goes, it seems that
smaller is better these days and if I had to pick one fly that would be
the top producer, as of late, I would have to say it would be a size 26
black Crystal Flash emerger. Other patterns to consider would include:
mono midges, blings, foam-wing emergers, small brassies, and RS2s,
rootbeers, and fluff baetis—the latter, especially true, anywhere from
Texas Hole and below. 6x fluorocarbon would be a good idea. I imagine
the fishing will remain pretty solid, right up until the lake turns
over, which probably won't happen until we see much colder weather that
hangs around for an extended period of time. All the more reason to make
the best of the time we have remaining.
On another note, according to the New Mexico State Parks, there
will be a closure for both boat and wade fishermen on the lower river
from Simon Point to Crusher Hole beginning December 15, 2017 to March 1,
2018, due to construction of a new boat ramp at Crusher Hole and a
stream improvement project through the Simon Point to Last Chance area.
In order to accommodate the float trips on the upper portion of the
river there will be a temporary boat take out at the Munoz day area. The
upper river access will not be affected, and according to one source I
have spoken with, there are no plans to lower the water level to
all-time lows, as has been rumored, to complete the work. We will keep
you posted on any new information.
11/12/17: There's not a lot of things that I'm particularly good at; like some guys, who seem to have been born with that innate MacGyver instinct and can fix about anything around the house with a little bailing wire and a roll of duct tape or pick up a musical instrument for the first time and be able to play a song from start to finish in a matter of minutes like they've practiced on it since childhood. But there are a few things I do well and fighting and landing fish is one of them, which may sound a little braggadocious until you factor in the consideration that I've been practicing it a lot for the past thirty years and the claim sort of loses a little of its luster. Anyway, I think it was Dizzy Dean that said, "It ain't bragging if you can do it." The most difficult part of it all; for me anyway, is explaining to other people how to do it, probably because I'm a really poor teacher, which explains why I never gravitated toward the guide aspect of the sport. Another part of it is, that it seems to be more of a natural "feel" kinda thing that just seems to develop over time and putting that all into words would probably leave Ol' Will Shakespeare struggling for the correct nomenclature. I think the best description of it that I have ever seen in print, came from a friend of John Gierach's, who explained what to do once you hook a fish as, "When he's doing something, you do nothing and when he's doing nothing, you do something." That, in a nutshell, pretty much sums it all up. Without getting too dramatic, I'll try to expound on that a little bit. First of all, don't panic—you hooked a fish—isn't that what you were trying to do? It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. Second, and I think this is the most important aspect of the whole process, get the fish under control right away, every second is critical here. Strip any slack line if you need to, to come tight to the fish—don't obsess about getting him on the reel right away, that can come later when you've got the fish where you want him. Get, and always maintain, tension on the line, between you and the fish— if you're comfortable with how your rod feels and works, you'll know when enough is enough, if not, you'll learn it over time; unfortunately, probably the hard way. I like to trap the fly-line against the handle with the index finger of my casting hand, leaving my other hand free to reel up slack, once I "feel" what the fish is going to do. If he runs, you gotta let him go, but just loosen that finger enough on the fly-line to keep it from being a free-for-all. Keep the pressure constant—over time you'll learn how your rod and the limits of 5x,6x, and 7x tippet work in tandem. Right away, clear the decks—make sure there's no slack line wrapped around your boots, rod handle, lanyard, etc. or else it'll all be over faster than it started. Keep the rod tip up, this is no time to try any of those fancy side to side moves, leave those to the bass fisherman with the big treble hooks and the barbs on the ends. Your end goal is to get the fish's head out of water and the way to do that is to keep the rod straight up— you control the head, you control the fish. Now here's the point where some folks are going to disagree with me, but I'm not one of those "old just let 'em run around until they get tired and reel 'em in old boys. " No sir, I from I'm from the give 'em maximum pressure from the get go till the end don't let 'em get into the current if you can help it, school, kinda guys. My theory is the longer the battle goes on, the more time elapses for something to go wrong, which favors the fish, which usually doesn't take a whole lot of time when a number 24 or 26 hook is being sawed back and forth in a fish's lip. If the fish is below you, reel in slack when you feel any give in his resistance, strip if he comes at you fast, do whatever you need to keep that line tight and be prepared to give a little if he tries to peel away. Try to bring the fish directly below you in your wake using as much upward pressure as he will stand, the sooner that head comes out of the water, the closer you are to having him licked. You'll be surprised how much your legs and body reduce the current behind you, even in faster water. If he runs past you, don't worry, it is actually a good thing. As soon as he slows, apply a little pressure to turn him and the current will help with the rest as long as you stay tight to the fish the whole way through the process, stripping and trapping line as needed. Finally, keep that tip up and lift that rod, reaching your arm back as far as you can get it and his head will come up and you can slide the net under him, and it's game over. Trout are efficient swimmers, but take note on how much that efficiency diminishes when their head is out of the water. If I impart nothing else to you, that alone will be worth the time you spent to read this.
Now that I have climbed down off my soapbox, here's the latest
skinny on the San Juan. The flow is around 500 cfs and the water clarity
is good. This past week I had some of the better dry fly fishing I have
had for quite a while here, and the river was not crowded—at least
during the weekdays when I fished it. There were fish rising to midges
from about 10:30 till 1:00, then a good BWO hatch that started around
1:00 and lasted until about 3:00 until the wind came up. I assume that I
could have probably fished to some more rising fish for about another
half hour, had the wind not started blowing. This week I would expect
more of the same, although you'll have to adjust the hatch times by an
hour to correspond to the end of daylight savings time. That should
throw all those fishermen from Arizona who are always looking at their
watches and asking me what time it is, for a loop. Anyway, I had good
success with fore and afts in size 24 for the midge risers and olive
comparaduns in size 26 for the BWOs, both fished on 7x tippet. Yes, the
BWOs are that small. Earlier in the day, it's pupa and larva time with
midge patterns in the upper river and a mix of baetis patterns as you
move down river. There is some good emerger activity just before both
hatches get going, as well as after the last one ends, and there are
lots of fish working the subsurface for midge emergers right up until
dark. The weather looks like it will be nice, but cooler, with a good
chance of rain on Tuesday, which should be great for a strong BWO hatch.
Hope you can make it out. If you need more information or would like to
book a guide, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
9/24/17: I had a friend back in college named Bob Keene. Bob was one of those interesting, gregarious types— the sort of person that is often referred to as eccentric, a term that is often used as a euphemism or just a nicer way to say that someone is a certified nut-case. He was different, outgoing, and had never met a stranger, and everyone liked Bob. During my sophomore year, my roommate (Russell Bryant) and I, went to Daytona Beach on Spring Break and by sheer happenstance ran into Bob on the street down there. Sometime later, we all ended up in the bar of the hotel where Bob was staying. There was a three- piece, all girl band playing to a packed house and they were really good. After a couple of beers, I left the bar to find the bathroom that was down the hall towards the lobby and when I returned Bob was up on stage with the girls, strutting around with the microphone like Mick Jagger and belting out the lyrics to "Rambling Man" from the Allman Brothers. I don't know how it all came about that he ended up on stage that evening because I was down the hall when it all transpired, but the boy really put on a show and brought down the house with a standing ovation at the end of "Rambling Man." The oddest thing about the whole deal was that I never even knew the guy had the talent, which just goes to show that you should never underestimate a man, or anything else for that matter—unless you really like surprises. Bob and I are both a little older now, which is to say we both qualify for all those AARP discounts you can use at some hotels and for cheaper car insurance rates, but Bob's still rocking and playing gigs around my hometown with his band "Gomer and the Three Pyles"—no joke—check it out on YouTube if you don't believe me.
Anyway, I thought about all this the other day
after offering suggestions for fly choices to a couple of customers in
the shop. I set them up with the small midge and baetis patterns that
all the guides and other fishermen were having success with and they
left to hit the water. Later that evening I saw them again down at the
fly case, poring over the streamer selection, so my interest was piqued.
I asked them how their fishing had gone that day, to which they
replied, "Okay. We caught a few on the flies you suggested, but we ran
into a guy that was fishing one of these with a weight and and an
indicator and he must have caught 30 fish." They held up a green woolly
bugger. Ah, the woolly bugger, the most recognizable, and likely the
most commonly fished streamer ever tied—who would have thunk it. I've
had success dead-drifting them before, but it was something I had
overlooked when making my suggestions earlier in the day—an
underestimation on my part. There you go, when it comes to fly choices,
never assume, never underestimate, you gotta be flexible and willing to
experiment if what you're doing isn't working and you're not catching
fish. The San Juan is a great trout stream, but the fish here are
anything but pushovers and can be fickle at times. What worked great
yesterday, may not work today. It can drive you a little batty at times,
but it is what keeps this river still interesting to me after over 20
years of fishing it.
That said, here's my take on the upcoming week.
To begin with, the water level was recently dropped from nearly 800 cfs
down to 635 cfs and the clarity is very good. I really like the flows
here from 500 to 600 because I fish a lot of dry flies and those flows
seem to offer more dry fly opportunities because the water has more
character created by rocks and other structure. You can also see the
fish a little better, and for some reason, unknown to me, it seems like
we have better hatches when the level is a little lower, so all of this
is a good thing. Secondly, there's been a change in the weather. There's
always that one day in September where it rains and drizzles all day
and after that the temperature drops, and suddenly, overnight, it's not
summer anymore. That day was this past Saturday. This week will be much
cooler with the likelihood of rain from Wednesday through Saturday—great
weather to kick off some good baetis hatches, offering some good
opportunities to give some Comparaduns and Adams patterns a good
workout. In the meantime, standard small midge patterns in dark colors,
size 24 and 26 are working well. Anywhere in the lower section of the
river, baetis patterns like rootbeers, RS2s, Johnny Flash, WD40s, and
Fluff baetis are good go-to flies. Apparently, streamers, especially
dead drifted should not be underestimated, as well. The big stuff like
hoppers and ants that I love to fish here are on their way out, much to
my chagrin, and if you want to play the dry fly game, were're getting
back to small midge and baetis patterns, best fished on 7x tippet. The
midge hatches haven't been much to make a fuss about lately, but now
with the lower flows and the changes in the weather, I thinking we are
going to see them pick up in the coming days. Hope you can get out to
get in some great fall fishing. If you would like to book a guide or
need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
8/27/17: I was reading a story the other night by Guy de la Valdene where he was describing his tarpon fishing days in Key West with Russell Chatham, Jim Harrison, Richard Brautigan, and Thomas McGuane, and it got me to thinking about how much fun it would have been to have been a fly on the wall, listening to some of the conversations on one of those skiffs, never mind the opportunity to fish for behemoth 100 pound plus game fish with a group of guys that pursued the sport with such unbridled passion. It also started me thinking about how I also came to be an admirer of the individual works of these guys, long before I knew about their relationships to each other dating back to the late 60's and early 70's. My first exposure to any of them came along in the late 70's when I picked up a copy of McGuane's The Bushwhacked Piano in a little bookstore called Books, Strings, and Things, just off the Virginia Tech campus, where I spent my time between classes reading excerpts from it and writing the page numbers where I'd left off into my English 101 notebook, returning to the bookstore, until I'd read the whole damn thing. I loved the guy's writing, long before I knew he was a serious fisherman and long before I knew he had any affiliation to the rest of this group of artistically talented misfits, whose work I came to appreciate later, including Jimmy Buffett, of who I was a fan at the time, not knowing he was part of this Key West Mafia and would eventually end up to be McGuane's brother-in-law. The fact that I read a couple of books by an author without actually buying any of his work, bothered me for a while, but over the years I've purchased everything he and his friends have ever written (some of them multiple times) so, I guess all is forgiven. Anyway, the odd thing about all of this is that I discovered and came to love the works of all of them individually, McGuane first, Harrison later, Chatham through his art work on Harrison's books, de la Valdene for his work on McGuane, Brautigan, and Harrison's movie Tarpon—and Buffett—well, Buffett was always Buffett, although he did do the soundtrack for the movie that was released in 1973, and finally, the author Peter Mattthiessen once I learned he and Harrison liked to float the Madison together. The upshot of all this is, is that I was struck by the peculiar way one is drawn to those who have like- minded passions in this old world—mine being fishing, hunting, love of the outdoors, good food and drink, and an ability to laugh at myself occasionally, not unlike the authors, painters, and musicians, I admire and revere. More often than not, I think that it is more of their compelling emotion for these things and their ability to convey it to others that stirs my approbation, rather than the actual commonality of the thing itself.
Having said all that, de la Valdene's story
went on to express his opinion that his pleasure in tarpon fishing comes
more from seeing the fish, judging where to cast, managing the strike,
and witnessing the first couple of jumps, that is where fly fishing for
tarpon begins and ends for him. To quote the author, "For me the finesse
of the sport ends a hundred yards from the boat." To a certain extent,
I'd have to agree. I love the stalk, the challenge of making the proper
presentation, and of course, the take, but I also still love the ensuing
fight, the test of my abilities against those of the fish—maybe I have
yet to graduate to that higher plane attained by others of different
stature. Maybe someday that, too, will come—but I have my doubts. If you
are of this ilk, then you are going to love fishing the San Juan right
now. The water is clear and at 700 cfs, there are plenty of
opportunities to sight fish to some really healthy piscatorial targets.
Lately I have been able to pick out and target fish with larger
terrestrial patterns, which is the pinnacle of fly fishing in my
opinion. If nymphing is your thing, then there's plenty of that too, and
being able to pick out a certain fish and work him, and see the take,
is much more rewarding, if not a more productive way of fishing, as
well. Whatever method you decide to choose (streamers included) you'll
find some good fishing on the Juan this week. There's some midges
showing up around mid-day and plenty of fish working the upper water
column. Earlier in the day, stick with larva and pupae patterns, then
add some emergers once you see the fish start to work. Gray and black
are the prominent colors in sizes 24 and 26. For the dries, I've been
going with ants and hoppers earlier in the day and later in the evenings
when the fish aren't all focused on the tiny midge stuff. During the
hatch, small Griffith's Gnats, Fore and Afts, and Dead Chickens if the
bugs are thick, have been working for me. If you fish anywhere in the
lower section of the river be sure to include some Baetis patterns like
RS2's , Rootbeers, and Foamwings. There have been a few BWO adults on
the water on some days (especially overcast days) but the hatch has been
generally short in duration, if, and when, it happens. Finally, the BOR
is planning on switching the release gate from the power plant side, to
the spillway side on Friday Sept. 1, so this will probably kick up some
moss and sediment for a day or so and move some fish around a bit. That
will probably be a good time to fish some bigger, brighter stuff, and
streamer patterns, based on past experiences. Everything should clear up
pretty quick, though. Hope you can make it out this week and be
prepared for a little bit of company—it's Labor Day Weekend. If you
would like more information or would like to book a guided trip, give us
a call at 505-632-2194.
8/12/17: It's
a whole different world out there at dark, in the Land of Enchantment.
There's an eerie quiet just as darkness falls, punctuated by the
occasional cannonball sound of a beaver slapping his tail, off in the
distance a blue heron squawks, unseen in the willows— bats strafe by,
wings fluttering, in search of insects, a solitary raccoon silently
wades along the edge of the water looking for his next meal, somewhere
up the canyon a single coyote lets go a lonesome wail that is followed
by the yammering of the rest of his pack, a mosquito buzzes in my ear,
the noise soon drowned out by the swish of fly line through the night
air and the sound of the wind as it passes across the tapestry of
ancient canyons and buttes where the resounding resonance of native
drums echoed a millennia ago— off to the southeast, the moon begins to
rise, accentuating the craggy darkened face of a rocky bluff—the night
world is coming alive and I am becoming part of it. I am staying for
that last cast, that last fish. I am a die-hard. Through the slate
blackened refraction of twilight's last glow on the water, I can barely
make out the silhouette of my fly on the mirrored surface of this river
and I know there still remains that remote chance of the day's final
fish, the one that will signal a completeness that reaches clear down to
my soul. I am consumed by this water, this night world.
I have two days off from work each week. Unless there is some
type dire emergency that needs to be attended to that would bring about a
cataclysmal end to life as I know it —should it be ignored, I'm going
to be fishing somewhere, on both of those days. During the summer, when
the days are longer, I'm usually out there for eleven or twelve hours.
One day, a couple of weeks ago, I did a full day float starting at 7:00
am, then came back and changed into my waders and went back out again.
While I was taking off my boots on the back porch that night, I looked
at my watch and it was 9:15 pm. I always pack a sandwich for my lunch,
but I usually eat it as I'm walking to a new spot, so I'm not wasting
valuable fishing time. If there are rising fish, sometimes lunch can be
postponed for hours. Somehow, all that still never seems to be enough.
Somehow, I always find myself at the end of those days, wishing I just
had one more hour of daylight. That explains why that tan 4 Runner is
usually the last vehicle you're likely to see, when you leave any
particular parking area here. In reality, my passion for this sport is
both a blessing and a curse—especially if you care about what others
think about the current state of your mental condition.
So call me crazy if you will, I don't care. They said the same the
same thing about The Son of Sam and The Unibomber. Anyway, if you get
the chance to fish the San Juan this week whether it's for twelve or two
hours a day, things are good here. As far as conditions go, the flows
are around 480 cfs and the water clarity is now very good. The
fishing, in my opinion, has been great. Generally speaking, August, is
often a little tough here. By now, these fish have seen every fly known
to mankind and there seems to be something about the change of the
weather during the monsoon time that tamps down the hatches and the fish
seem lethargic, bored, even. Lockjaw, is how I've heard a lot of guides
describe it. But, not so this year—at least not yet. Now, while the
hatches (mainly midges right now) aren't prolific or earth-shattering,
they're still good enough to keep the fish looking up and the dry fly
fishing, interesting. My m.o. has been terrestrials earlier in the day
(a mini version of a Chernobyl ant) size 12, sight fishing to fish in
skinny or frog water. They don't have to be rising fish. In fact, I
think it's better if they're not. Once they start rising to midges, fore
and afts or small Griffith's Gnats will do the trick. When the hatch
get really going, a size 10 dead chicken has been my go to dry pattern
and I think I've caught more fish on this pattern this year than any
other time I can remember. For nymphing, size 26 Bling and Monomidges
have been great producers. Around 11:00 am you'll start to see a lot of
fish working the surface film and size 24 and 26 Crystal Flash emergers
and Ju-Jus in black and olive, fished just under the surface are the way
to go. Lately, the fish just become more active as the day goes on,
which is why I've been out there with the mosquitoes until dark each
night. From Texas Hole and below, you'll want to have some baetis nymph
patterns like Rootbeers, CDC RS2s, and Foamwings in your repertoire.
There have been some BWOs on the water in the lower river on some
afternoons, especially on overcast days, but they really haven't been in
significant enough numbers to label it a "hatch" although you'll pick
up a few fish on a small Adams or Comparadun on some select fish. The
main emphasis with the dry fly fishing seems to be terrestrials earlier
in the day, and midges later in the afternoon. To sum it all up, this
week looks like great weather and great fishing on the San Juan, so I
hope you can make it out. If you would like to book a guided trip or
need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
7/16/17: Good
intel is invaluable in the world of fly-fishing. It can cut down your
learning curve dramatically and occasionally make or break a fishing
trip. It is one of the primary reasons people book a guide when visiting
new water for the first time or when they are returning to familiar
waters that they haven't had the time to recon on their own. If there is
one thing that is an absolute certainty when it comes to the nature of
rivers and the fish that inhabit them, it is that they are constantly
changing, and having the latest, up-to-date skinny on what's happening
day to day is an indispensable tool for a fly-fisherman, so the key word
in this intel business is "good." Talking to your friend that fished
this river last year might be a good starting point, but it ain't gonna
cut it if you're planning on fishing this river next week—there's just
too many variables involved, to rely on old news.
One of the perks of working in a fly shop for five out of the seven
days of the week, is that I get a lot of intel about this and other
rivers. Some of it is great, some of it is good, and some of it ranks
right up there with on-line dating profiles—descriptive, but not so
accurate, or as my friends in the legal profession like to refer to it—a
total misrepresentation of the facts. I'm fortunate, in that, over
time, I've come to know who I can, and can't, trust for my information.
Last week, I had three reports from three separate, reliable
sources about a particular piece of water that normally doesn't receive a
lot of of attention. There were bugs and lots rising fish there, they
said. Big fish that would willingly eat dry flies, they said. I should
check it out, they said. Thursday night I didn't sleep well. I woke up
at 4:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep. Maybe I was thinking too much
about all those rising fish my acquaintances had told me about, maybe
it was just from the insomnia I occasionally suffer from, maybe it was
from eating too much, too late in the evening as I have been known to
do. Whatever the reason, I plied myself with an overabundance of coffee
and gathered up all my stuff and was on the water at 7:15 am. I didn't
see a single rising fish. I walked around for quite some time and I
didn't see a fish, rising or otherwise. Conspiracy theories started
rolling around in my head. Suddenly, all this news of big, rising fish
started sounding like it was too good to be true. I mean, all these guys
knew each other, okay, and all of them knew I was a sucker for fish on
dries—and I began to think that I'd been played like a fine
Stradivarius. I pictured them all standing around the boat ramp with
their clients, sipping their coffee, taking turns telling their version
of how they had sent me on a wild goose chase—laughing like a pack of
wild hyenas, at my expense. Just then, I saw a small dimple on the other
side of the river, where all fish are known to rise, and then I saw
another. I hurried over there and I waited. Then, another rise, twenty
feet out from the bank I was standing on. I tossed a foam hopper four
feet above the rise ring and the fly floated directly over where the
fish should have been, and nothing. I glanced upriver for another riser,
and as my fly dragged in an arc in the current at the end of the drift,
I looked back to see the giant head of a brown trout appear from the
depths, in an attempt to inhale my fly. I panicked and yanked it right
out of his mouth. My heart was pounding, and for a minute there, I
thought I was going to have to change my waders. The next two casts were
both hookups to fish that took me immediately into backing and this
went on for about another hour, until I finally had to force myself to
quit in order to get to work on time. On my way back to the car, I
remembered that I had forgotten to ask any of these guys what time of
day all this great fishing was taking place, but hey, now I know.
If you are coming out to the San Juan this week, here's the latest
intel I can offer. I'll start by saying the fishing is good, really
good. The present flow is at 484 cfs and the water has become much
clearer—not gin clear, but dramatically clearer from where it previously
was. In the nymphing world, the fish are back on the buggy stuff and
not so much on the "junk" flies used during high water. Size 24, dark
midge patterns like mono-midges, blings, zebra midges, and red larva
have been good producers in the mornings and evenings, before the fish
move higher into the water column (around 11:00) for emergers and dries.
Crystal flash and ju-jus in size 24 and 26 are good choices when you
start to see fish working the emerging midges. The midge hatches have
been good and you should start to see rising fish at about 11:00 and
this has been increasing in intensity and lasting into the late
afternoon, with clusters on the water even as late as 5:00 and 6:00 pm
in some places. I've been able to take a lot of fish on larger
imitations like size 10 dead chickens during this time, although I don't
know how much longer these fish will act stupid, before they become
wise to that game. But for now, it's working and it's great to fish a
dry fly on the San Juan that you can see. Also, on the dry fly game,
I've been able to bring up quite a few fish on ant and hopper patterns,
before and after the hatch starts— during the hatch, these same flies
get totally ignored in favor of the midges. If you're nymphing anywhere
in the lower river, be sure to have some chocolate and gray foam-wings,
root beers, and CDC RS2s. Expect some company if you come, there seems
to be a lot of pent-up demand to fish the Juan after the water has gone
down, but don't worry, I can't think of a single place on the river that
isn't fishing well right now, so you'll have plenty of places to fish,
if you're willing to walk a bit. Bring lots of water, sunscreen, and bug
spray—it's hot and the mosquitoes are bad, but the fishing is worth it.
If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a
call at 505-632-2194.
7/9/17: The
other morning I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep; I
couldn't get back to sleep because I kept thinking about all these big
fish that magically appear after high water, in a couple of secret side
channels that I discovered years ago. I've spent days down in that
swampy jungle tossing Chernobyl ants, foam hoppers, and even damsel
flies, to big trout that ate them with reckless abandon. Normally I
don't go out on the mornings when I have to work later in the afternoon,
because it makes for a really long day, but for special occasions such
as this one, I'll make the rare exception. So, I grabbed up all my stuff
and headed down there. Now I'm not a superstitious man, but I do
believe there are omens in fly-fishing that we would all benefit from,
if we just paid better attention to them, and this particular morning
was just one of those times. It all started with the mosquitoes —I mean,
I knew they were bad down there, but come on. Then, came the rest.
After spending ten minutes wandering around in the muck without seeing a
fish, I finally spotted one. My first backcast went right into some
willows behind me and my fly snagged right into the tallest one in the
bunch. I beat through the muck and the mosquito infested bushes to
retrieved it. I should have turned around right then and there and gone
home. I didn't; I retrieved my fly, and as I did so, I felt a little
wind knot in my tippet. One of those omens told me to change it out, but
I didn't listen. Instead, I did what most overanxious fly-fisherman
do—I went into that old internal monologue where you tell yourself it'll
be okay because it's 5x and all, and everything will just work out
fine, when you know all the time, that, that just ain't so. Anyway, when
I walked back to where I'd came from, that fish was gone. I spent
another ten minutes slogging through the muck, before I saw the next
one. I didn't flub the next cast, in fact, it was about perfect and the
fish just cruised over and ate that big foam ant like he didn't have a
care in the world. When I set the hook, the fly popped off and
disappeared with the fish. I pulled my line back and looked at my tippet
that had broken right at that wind knot—another omen. A few seconds
later my fly popped up from the depths of a big green pool and sat on
the surface mocking me. I really should have gone home then, but I
didn't. I didn't because I'd fished here on other years, after high
water, and there were always big fish in there—so I spent the next
hour-and-a- half looking for them. They weren't in there and the weren't
in the next channel over that I slogged through, either. All in all,
besides hooking a few small fish, the whole morning was pretty much a
bust.
I tell this story, because as fly-fishermen, we are all subject to
the influence of our preconceived notions about fish behavior and
fishing conditions. We are a hard-headed lot that rely on past
experiences as our guide, often to our own peril. We assume, sometimes a
little too often, that the past is a direct prediction of the future.
Nothing could be further from the truth, especially on this river. Just
when you think you know all there is to know, just when you think you've
got this river all wrapped up in a nice little bow and in your back
pocket, it'll hand you a case of humility that can't easily be
forgotten. Although there are some generalities you should always use as
a guide, don't assume just because things were a certain way in years
past, they're gonna be that way for all time. I'm finding this out more
and more these past few weeks, when I'm looking for fish, where fish
always used to be, only to find them elsewhere in places where I've
rarely seen them before. This year, the rules of fish behavior don't
seem to apply as much anymore.
That said, you're gonna have to work a little harder to find them
for the next little while. You're gonna have to walk and look, and walk
and look some more till you find them. Don't worry, they're out there; I
just think they've been pushed around by all these changing flows, so a
lot of them aren't just where you'd think they should be just yet.
You'll find them, and when you do, they'll eat a fly right now without a
lot of hesitation. The flows here are right around 500 cfs, and while
the water is a bit clearer than it was, it's still not San Juan gin
clear. I'm having trouble spotting fish below three feet of depth, so
I'm targeting those fish in skinny water or the ones holding higher in
the water column, with terrestrial patterns, with pretty good results.
It helps when you can find rising fish and there's plenty of those in
the afternoons, if you look around a bit. I have found that once they
start rising to the midges, they'll totally ignore the terrestrial
patterns, but they'll eat midge cluster patterns really well and a lot
of them will eat big imitations, like dead chicken patterns. As for the
nymphing, these fish seem to have made the transition from the big, junk
stuff of high water, back to small bugs, pretty quickly. Leave those
size 18 red larva in your box until this winter when the lake turns over
again and try them in smaller sizes—more like 24. Standard midge pupa
patterns like zebras, mono-midges, and bling midges in size 24 and
smaller should be go tos, especially earlier in the day. Think midge
emergers, like crystal flash and scintilla midges around 11:00 when you
start to see more fish active in the subsurface. You can get by with 5x
tippet, especially where fish are holding deeper, but I can't help
thinking that you may gain a little advantage if you switched over to
6x. It sure couldn't hurt. Anywhere from Texas Hole and below, throw in a
few baetis nymph patterns, like rootbeers, foam-wings, and cdc RS2s.
Overall, the river is fishing good right now and as you do your homework
and locate where the fish are, it's just going to improve over the next
couple of weeks. It's an exciting time to be on the San Juan right now
and a lot of these fish are pretty gullible after not seeing a fly for a
month-and-a-half, so get out if you can, before they smarten up soon
and we're back to 7x tippet and size 28 flies. if you would like to book
a guided trip or need more information, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
5/15/17: Endorphins, those small peptide hormones released by our body that bind and interact with receptors in our brains creating pleasure or a sense of satisfaction. Scientific study has shown that in addition to consuming such foods as chocolate or hot peppers, or engaging in vigorous exercise, listening to music, and participating in activities we enjoy, the mere thought of partaking in any of these actions can produce similar effects. While I'm not a doctor, I assume this explains; at least in part, why I'm always happy when I'm fishing or on my way somewhere to go fishing. It all starts with the packing and preparation stage, which normally is a dreaded task if you are traveling anywhere, for anything other than personal enjoyment. I used to travel a lot for business in my previous career, and I can't ever remember a feeling of euphoria while packing a suit and a pair or dress shoes in my bag, like I do when I stow away those waders and wading boots before I hit the road toward some river. Then there's the actual trip itself, hours of what should be mind-numbing driving, magically converted to endorphin-releasing eager anticipation, like a kid on Christmas Eve. Of course, there's always the water along the way—whether it's an irrigation ditch, a farm pond, a creek you could easily step across, or some big rambling river, my eyes are automatically drawn to it, my head on a swivel attracted toward liquid, like the needle of a compass pointing to magnetic North. Sometimes I'll see a dimple of a rising fish; most often, not, but it never stops me from looking, always looking—it is an act that comes as natural as breathing for me, and I doubt I could stop it, even if I tried.
I suppose I'll be doing a little more of this than usual, in the
month to come. My home water, here on the San Juan is presently running
around 4,400 cfs and will increase to 4,800 on Monday, then 5,000 cfs on
Wednesday. I'm mainly a wade fisherman and unless I can catch one of my
guide friends on one of their rare days off and in the mood to row me
around all day, there's not a whole lot of options here when the water
is that high. Hopefully, one of them will eventually volunteer, because
asking is a whole lot like running into your doctor in the checkout line
at the grocery store, lifting up your shirt and soliciting an opinion
on some annoying rash you've recently developed—it's just not proper
etiquette. In the meantime, just know that if you decide to come out
during this high water episode, the fishing can be quite good. Once the
water reaches these higher levels, the fish tend to push out of the
stronger currents and congregate in numbers towards the banks and
eddies, and a higher concentration of fish in a smaller area makes for
easier fishing. You'll also get a chance to access some new water in the
side channels by boat that just wouldn't be possible during normal
flows. The key to all this is that you are going to need a boat and at
5,000 cfs it pays to have someone that's familiar with this river, on
the oars. Add in the fact that these fish tend to get a little quirky
about where they hold during this time, and that all translates down to
booking a guide that's done this a time or two. Bear in mind that the
demand for boats will be at a premium during this time, so if you're
thinking about fishing the San Juan during high water, call ahead and
book a guide. Outside of that, if you want to wade fish you're just
going to have to wait until the water starts to go down sometime around
the end of June or early July, which is great time to be here with
fantastic weather, and big, healthy, strong fish that haven't seen a fly
in a long time. Other than telling you that the guides are boating a
lot of fish right now and that the fishing will probably only get better
once the flow peaks at 5,000 cfs and stays there a while, there's
really not much I can add for a fishing report, so unless something
dramatic happens to change all that, I most likely won't update this
every week like I have in the past. If you are a wade fisherman, take
heart, I will do my best to keep you apprised of the release schedule,
once the water begins to drop. For the time being, I'll be looking for
that endorphin rush of planning, packing, travel, and fishing new water;
that is, until one of my good friends volunteers their boat for the
day. If you have any questions or would like to book a guide, give us a
call at 505-632-2194.
5/7/17: I once had had a girlfriend who, early into our relationship, called me a "closet redneck." If I remember correctly, this came just after I had loaned her my car for a day. I assume she saw all my camo clothing and turkey calls I kept in the back seat, because it was in the spring. That, and all those Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson CDs in the glove compartment, which she had no business looking into, in the first place. Looking back, I can now understand how she arrived at the term, since she had only seen me in a coat and tie, at work, up until then. At the time, I thought she perhaps meant it as a term as endearment—now, I'm not so sure. That was all a long time ago, so I'm a little foggy on the details on how that relationship finally ended; but more than likely, it probably had something with too many out of town hunting and fishing trips. That's just an assumption on my part; an extrapolation from the way a lot of the others ended, so it's not solely based on fact—all this coming from a guy that once tried to write a love story based on past experiences, that ended up sounding more like a Stephen King novel and had to be scrapped. If the shoe fits, I guess you gotta wear it.
Apparently, you can only expect so much from someone that was raised in the Appalachian coal fields. I have a good friend from there that went on to become a Virginia Supreme Court Justice, but I know for a fact that, that girl has eaten squirrel gravy and biscuits on more than one occasion. Anyway, after a long, circuitous career route that led though a lot of America's major cities, I ended up here in Navajo Dam, which isn't a big stretch from where I started out, and it has finally allowed me to drop the "closet" part from that derogatory appellation of years ago. Now, our roads may really suck, but there's great hunting and fishing here, and I'm a stone's throw from one of the world's greatest trout streams that many people have to travel for days or hours to reach. In all things, I feel truly blessed.
Enough about me, let's get on to more important and interesting topics. The big news around here is what's happening with the spring flows. As of this past Thursday, the flow on the San Juan was increased from 500 to 1,000 cfs. Despite what I had anticipated, the clarity of the water didn't really decrease; in fact, it may have actually improved just a bit, and perhaps, so did the fishing. Bigger, brighter stuff, like San Juan worms, eggs, red larva, and sparkle worms, teamed up with flashback pheasant tails, big macs, midgemasters, mono midges, and RS2s seem to be the ticket. Don't overlook streamers with trailers of red larva and sparkle worms in size 18, as well. As far as future increases go, here's the story from the BOR—on May 3rd there will be another increase to reach 1,500 cfs. After that, reaching 2,200 cfs on May 4th, 3,200 on May 5th and holding at that level over the weekend, followed by a 400 cfs bump every other day—with weekends being the exception—until 5,000 cfs is reached, where it will remain for approximately 35 days. The release will begin decreasing on Friday, June 23 rd., reaching 500 cfs on July 6th. As far as wading access goes, of course it will diminish somewhat as the water level raises, but there is access even at 3,200 cfs if you use great care where you wade, especially if you know the river well. The San Juan is quite broad in spots, so if you're on foot, target those areas where an increase in flow doesn't equate to a radical rise in the depth of the water. If you are a decent wader, there is still plenty of wadeable water up to 1,500 cfs. At 2,200 cfs, you'd better know the river really well, or fish with someone that does. Use a wading staff and know the depth and speed of the water you plan to wade—the water isn't clear enough yet to see the bottom in most places. Don't risk crossings, no fish is worth dying for. At 3,200 there's still some accessible water as long as you know the river like the back of your hand, if not, hire a guide that does, or better yet, get a boat. All of this applies to the levels once the water begins to drop, as well. If you are planning on being in the area during the peak release of 5,000cfs, bear in mind that it still fishes very well from a boat. The wade access is nonexistent during that time, so if you want to fish, you'll need a guide and I would book it ASAP, since there's only a limited number of boats around and everyone is gonna need one. Other than that, you'll have to wait until the water returns to wade friendly conditions, which can offer some of the best fishing of the year, in my opinion. Hope this all helps—remember you'll need a lot more weight than normal for your nymph rigs and streamers and check and clean your flies often. You can leave the dry flies at home for a while. Be careful out there. If you would like more info or need to book a guide, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
4/30/17: Well, let's get right to it. No "mucking about," as the Brits say. According to the latest e-mail we have received from the BOR, their preliminary plan is to increase the flow here on April 27th to 1,000 cfs and maintain that level until the spring release begins on May 3rd. On May 3rd, they will begin incrementally ramping up the flow over the next 16 days until they reach 5,000 cfs and maintain that level for up to 35 days. If the ramp-up takes 16 days and all 35 days at peak are utilized, the release will begin decreasing on Friday, June 23, reaching 500 cfs on Thursday, July 6th, where it will remain until further notice. So there you go. Bear in mind, that this could change slightly, over the long run, but I think those initial start dates on April 27th and May 3rd are a done deal. The one thing that could possibly change, I think, would be the duration of the peak release, if flooding downstream is encountered, and they have to dial back the 5,000 cfs flow, which would result in a longer release time to dump all the water they have to, to make room in the lake for runoff from Colorado. There's no way to know that now, until they actually start approaching that 5,000 cfs level. We'll keep you posted.
Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, what does that all
translate to for fishing the San Juan? Here's my take on the whole thing
based on past year's experiences—First, for a couple of days after a
bump in the release, the fishing gets a little tougher due to more
"stuff" being churned up by the increased velocity of the water—there is
a lot of moss and didymo to gum up your flies and the visibility is
compromised by silt being stirred up from the bottom. This is especially
true when the increase is a greater percentage of the amount of water
already in the river, i.e., a 500 cfs bump in flow when the level is at
500 cfs, is going to be a more noticeable change than a 500 cfs bump
when it's already flowing at 4,000 cfs. That said, if you plan to fish
it during the first couple days after a release, think streamers in
white, black, and olive, with a big bright trailer like a size 18 red
larva, or annelid trailer, and add on some extra weight. Check and clean
your flies often. After a few days, the water and the fish generally
settle down a bit and you can get back to business as usual with some
real bugs, but that streamer/trailer thing still works pretty well,
especially when the flows get over the 1,000 cfs mark.
At present, the water clarity isn't really that great. If you get
the chance to get out, I think your best days this week are going to be
before Thursday, before the water goes up. Red larva, OJs, and annelid
patterns make good lead flies and drop off a smaller midge pattern
underneath, like a size 24 mono-midge, or zebra midge. RS2s, fluff
baetis and rootbeers are good choices anywhere from the Texas Hole and
downriver. And don't overlook streamers. There hasn't been much in the
way of rising fish and with the bright sunshine in the forecast and the
water clarity being what it is, I wouldn't expect that to change anytime
soon. Once this first increase takes place, things will get a little
tougher for a few days, normalizing for a bit around the 1st and you'll
have a short window until the 3rd, when the water is raised and again
and the whole process repeats itself. Expect this to go on with the
increases, until it reaches around 3,000 cfs and the wading gets a
little too dicey. To sum it all up, the fishing here gets tougher as the
water is on the rise, but generally after it reaches 5,000 cfs and
stabilizes after a few days, it starts fishing really well, but your
only access is from a boat, since wading at that level is just too
dangerous. Once the water level starts to drop, it's a whole new
ballgame out there and the fishing is generally phenomenal. The fish are
in the best shape of the year, unpressured for a couple months and
fattened up from eating lots of big protein during the high flows and
the water is clear with a beautiful cobbled stream bottom. 3,000 cfs is
still pushing the envelope a bit for wading, especially if you're not
really experienced with the river or a strong wader, but around 2,700
cfs you can start accessing a lot more water and is more of the sweet
spot to still get into some great fishing without super dangerous
wading. If you're planning on fishing during the peak runoff time, it's
probably a good time to start finalizing you plans and booking your
guide as soon as possible, since there's a limited number of boats
available and everyone that plans to fish during that time is going to
need one. Give us a call at 505-632-2194 to book your trip or if you
have any questions.
4/16/17: Sometimes you are just a small split shot away from glory and you don't even know it. I left town last week to fish some different water; I needed something to get the endorphins flowing again. The challenge of new water and new fish generally do the trick for me. After about ten minutes of walking the banks, looking for fish, I spotted three nice cutthroats holding at the bottom of a deep pool. It was a tricky spot for a good drift, close to the bank with fast water at the top, dropping off sharply over a shelf where the water slowed and deepened at the end of the run and piled up in front of a couple of big boulders; all three fish were hugging the bottom a few feet in front of the boulders. To top things off there was a big bush growing out of the bank halfway down the run that I was going to have to keep my flyline from tangling in, in order to get my flies down to the bottom end of the pool. Now, I'm not crazy about nymphing, but I'll do it if it's the only way I'm gonna catch fish. I figure I spent about the first twenty years of my fishing career primarily fishing nymphs—that's about enough. After studying it a bit, I pinched on two, number- six split shots, a foot above my top fly, adjusted my indicator for the depth of the pool and made a cast to the top of the run into the faster water. Halfway through the drift, I lifted the rod to negotiate the line over the bush and attempted a downstream mend for the slower water of the deep end of the tailout. In an effort to keep my eye on the fish, my flyline snagged one of the limbs of the bush and I watched my indicator stop just short of the fish and my flies drift toward the surface. No doubt the fish thought this was hilarious. Sometimes I think they intentionally pick these ridiculous holding spots for their own amusement in frustrating fishermen. Well, it took the about three more attempts before I hooked and landed one, so I guess any good joke can backfire on you sometimes. After things settled a few minutes later, I made another drift and saw that telltale white "wink" from the mouth of the second fish and set the hook, but after a few head shakes he came unbuttoned and that was the end of that. I stood there another ten minutes or so, but I never saw that third fish again, so I moved upriver to a new spot.
I think it's human nature for all for all of us to look for the
easy way; fly fishermen are no different. It's probably why I like
fishing dry flies so much—there's less work involved than that nymphing
business—you just tie on one fly and you're done, none of that adjusting
weight and indicator business, messing with a second fly, wondering
what's going on down there where you can't see, is my drift right,? etc.
It's a lazy way to fish, which suits me. Anyway, when I moved up to the
next pool the water was different, faster, and you couldn't see the
fish, although I just knew they were in there. The lazy part of me said
just keep the same set up, it'll work, and although all my experience
has taught me different over the years, that's exactly what I did—for
about twenty passes over the same stretch of water without so much as a
touch from a fish. Sometimes seeking confirmation for your own theories
becomes more important than experimentation and can often lead you down
the wrong road, or as Mark Twain once said, "It ain't what you don't
know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just
ain't so." Being stubborn and hard-headed won't get you into fish, it's
an axiom I know to be true, yet seem to do my best to dispel every time
I'm on the water. Finally frustration got the best of me and I reeled in
and pinched on another spit shot between the first and second fly, an
adjustment that took me all of about one minute. On my first cast with
this "major" new adjustment I picked up a nice rainbow at the end of the
drift, then later a small brown, followed by a beautiful, buttery
looking cutthroat. Sometimes you are just a small split shot away from
glory and you don't even know it. All this may sound like a lot of
superfluous rhetoric just to get to a simple point, but when you distill
it down, occasionally the difference between average fishing and great
fishing is just a minor adjustment and the willingness to take the time
to make it. Lee Wulff probably said it best when he said, "The last
thing to change is the fly."
4/2/17: Ahhh...springtime in the great American West—that time of year when all outdoorsmen desire to cast aside the gray doldrums of winter for the green, warm promise of brighter days to come. The great rebirth or reawakening of all things natural, or as many of us refer to it out here—Mud Season. To be honest, I've come to view spring in the Rockies with guarded optimism. I've been around long enough and had my hopes dashed on many a fishing trip during this time of year to keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, knowing that there's a likelihood that you can possibly see the weather of all four seasons on any given day. Over time you learn to take the best of it when it's offered and just roll with the punches on the rest—which means you could be nursing a sunburn on one day, only to wake up to a foot of snow on the next. In the words of the poet T.S. Eliot, "April is the cruellest month..."
Still, hope springs eternal in the human breast, despite how
often our yearnings may be dashed upon the rocks at the dispensation of
Mother Nature. Through faith we know that it will come, and the sign of
that new single blade of grass, the warble of some unseen songbird,
augurs well in our cause. One cannot wish into being, a fact that
sometimes can make the waiting all that more brutal and the payoff all
that more sweet. As I said, you have to learn to take the good with the
bad.
This coming week here at the old 87419 zip code, it looks like
we're gonna see some more of that unsettled spring weather, with the
earlier part of the week looking a little more like winter and the
latter part changing back to more true springtime conditions, with a
little bit of that old fisherman's nemesis—the wind—thrown in from day
to day for good measure. As far as the fishing conditions go, the water
clarity is down to a foot or less; which doesn't bode well for great
fishing. There are years when the lake turns over during the winter and
tends to clear up considerably by this time of year, and others when it
just stays the same old pea soup green until the big spring water
release. Unfortunately, I think this year is going to be remembered as—
that year when the water stayed murky until the release. Still, if you
plan to fish it, you're going to catch some fish, just come with your
expectations in check, and don't assume it's going to be as great as it
can be when the water is a lot clearer. As far as fly choices go, and
this may sound like a broken record, big and bright like red larva and
o.j.'s for attractors and midge pupae like ufos and bling midges for
droppers. In addition, in light of the recent spur of baetis activity, I
would add some rootbeers, fluff baetis, and RS2s to my repertoire,
especially in the lower sections of the river. There have been some BWO
adults showing up on the overcast, cool afternoons and I actually had
two hours of unbridled dry fly nirvana last Tuesday, fishing a size 22
olive comparadun to a bunch of rising fish. I would think that this
coming Monday and Tuesday would be your best bet for a repeat on
anything like that —providing the wind cooperates enough not to put the
fish down. If it happens, it's going to take place around 1:30 or 2:00,
so don't get caught taking a nap, or leave the river for lunch—the next
hour or two could make your day. Small streamers on a dead drift with a
big bright annelid or larva trailer should not be overlooked throughout
the day.
I know a lot of folks are looking for information on the dates
of the springtime high water release and the best I can offer is that
the BOR has a meeting scheduled April 5th and will put forth a forecast
of their water release plans. I'll try to post them to our site, once we
receive them on the 6th. Bear in mind that it will be a forecast and
there have been a few years in the past where I have seen them fluctuate
on the lease date, by a week or two because the peak of runoff from
Colorado is weather driven. That said, I would expect to see some bumps
in the water level in the next two to three weeks, since the lake is now
above 86% of capacity and there is still a lot of snow in the high
country. The big stuff is likely to follow a short time later—just my 2
cents, we'll know more after Wednesday. Anyway you slice it, the days of
the end of wade fishing the Juan for a while are drawing nigh, so you
better get here while you can. If you would like more info or would like
to book a guide trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
3/19/17: "Mamma Tried"—Merle Haggard. Despite what I am about to tell you about how the fishing is going on the San Juan, it has become glaringly obvious to me— based on the increased traffic of Spring Break fishermen here, that most of the people that read this column will read it and draw their own conclusions and decide to fish it anyway. And there is certainly nothing wrong with that. My job is not to try and dissuade anyone from fishing, my job is to try and provide the best up-to-date information possible to help in your decision process. If anyone understands the desire to fish, it's probably me, and when you've spent a long winter with too many days cooped up inside, 70 degree temperatures and warm sunshine are a clarion call too strong to ignore. If you're a fisherman, you're going to be on the water somewhere and a little murky water, and less than stellar fishing is not gonna stand in the way. And truth be known, the San Juan, even when it is under performing compared to it's normal outstanding reputation, generally fishes better than a lot of other places you could choose to go.
That said, here's my take on how things are going. Compared to
conditions about a week ago, the visibility here has increased a little
bit. A recent switch on the release gate from the 4x4 on the spillway
side to the power generation side which draws water from a different
level in the lake, resulted in the visibility improving from near zero,
to about a foot- and- a- half. Now, some people may tell you it's better
than that—that it's more like three-feet, and there's a little bit of
truth in that. It's true that you can make out some larger structures
like maybe a boulder, or large rocks down to three feet, especially from
a higher vantage point like from a drift boat, but from a wader's
perspective, the ability to accurately distinguish a fish from some
other form on the bottom at three- feet, is still quite difficult—
unless it moves. Anyway you slice it though, it's an improvement and
we'll take it, and it has resulted in improving the fishing somewhat,
and that's all that really matters.
As far as fly choices go, the bigger, brighter stuff still seems
to be the better way to go. Red larva, OJs, Princess nymphs, and Desert
storms have been the biggest producers. There are some fish that are
starting to trend back to actual traditional nymph patterns in recent
days; as well, and teaming up a Red larva or annelid pattern in size 18
to 22 as a point fly along with a smaller pupae pattern like a UFO, in
olive or tan, are putting fish in the net for some folks. I would not
overlook the streamer fishing, if that is your thing, with black buggers
and bunny leeches being my first choice, followed by olive, and white
as backup choices. For dries, there still isn't a whole lot going on at
this point in the way of rising fish, although there's a few fish coming
up in the shallower stuff where the fish can still get a decent look at
things, later in the afternoon. But in all truth, I don't think the dry
fly fishing will become a significant way to put any real numbers in
your net, until the water clears considerably and the hatches get much
heavier than what we have been seeing in the past couple weeks.
If I could offer any other advice that could perhaps be helpful
with these conditions, I would suggest that you would probably be
better served to put a little more time into the thought process on the
locations you choose to fish. Normally, when the water is much clearer
here, it's a no brainer where the fish are or aren't because they are
easy to spot, but when visibility becomes a problem, you've got to think
more like a fish. Based on my recent trips— where they aren't— (which,
by process of elimination helps to determine where they are) is in the
shallows. That leaves the deeper stuff where you can't actually spot
them. Right now, that includes a lot of water, but if you start thinking
like a fish—when it's tough to see, you're probably gonna migrate to
where the heaviest concentration of food is and those areas tend to be
where the current funnels food right past your face where it's close
enough that you can actually see it. Trout are efficient eating machines
and innately know the dynamics of caloric intake versus the energy
expended to retrieve it. When conditions dictate a scarcity of food,
like not being able to see very far, they are going to go where the food
conveyer belt is, and to where they don't have to fight a lot of strong
current and burn up a lot of energy to find a meal. This generally
translates to the slacker water along current seams where they can hold
without a great deal of effort, yet reap the rewards of a lot of food
still being moved through the system. This holds true for places like
tailouts where the conveyer belt dumps out and scum lines along eddies.
Those are the places I would target right now and where I think you are
going to find fish. Start at the edges, work your way into the thalweg,
and if wading permits, cross to the other side and repeat. I know I
kinda got a little carried away and a bit verbose on the report this
week, but things have been a little tough for some folks out there
recently and I want to do all I can do to help out and possibly make
things a little easier if I can. Hope this helps. If you would like more
information or would like to book a guided trip, give us a call at
505-632-2194.
3/12/17: Several years ago in late April, my friend Andrew and I did a day hike into Beartrap Canyon on the Madison River in Montana to fish. We'd caught a big break on the weather that week and things were about as nice as you could ever hope for in Montana, for that time of year, as we camped and fished or way through the state, on our way to our final destination in Alaska. Anyway, we were picking up a few fish here and there as we worked our way downriver, encountering only a few early season kayakers and not a single other fisherman. We'd probably only gone about a quarter-mile when we came to a big, long, sloping sandstone barrier—slickrock, I believe it is called, that protruded out into the water at the bottom and hung about ten or twelve feet from the surface at the top. I could see fish rising behind a big boulder in the middle of the river on the other side. I walked down to the water's edge hoping to find a way around the thing; I really needed to get at those rising fish, but the water was too deep and fast to even think about it. After sizing up the situation, I decided the only way to get to where I needed to be would be to cross that sandstone slope that was about twenty feet wide. I found a spot where I could climb onto it about thirty feet up from where it dropped off into the river, held the cork grip of my rod in my mouth, got down on all fours, and basically started to belly crawl across the monster. About half-way across, I came to the realization that I had underestimated the slope of the thing, as my boots slipped a bit every now and then on the sandstone and I could rear the water roaring below. I thought about trying to turn around and head back, but realized it would now be impossible to attempt such a dangerous maneuver and from the higher vantage point that I now had, I could actually see those fish holding and rising on the other side, and there were lots of them. I kept inching way across, holding my breath and made it to the other side. I tied on an elk hair caddis and started catching fish, like no tomorrow.
Sometime after my fifth or sixth fish, Andrew yelled from the
other side. Apparently, things weren't going as well over there on the
fishing front; and although he couldn't actually see me, he could see my
flyline and my fly and was witnessing those hookups. I guess it was too
much to stand. He wanted to come across and I yelled back instructions
about how to get it done. I do distinctly remember that my last words
were, "Whatever you do, be careful, it's kinda dangerous, and slick." I
walked back up on my side to coach him across, emphasizing the
importance of using all fours for traction, that he ignored as he began
duck-walking across the slope with his rod in his hand. About midway I
heard an, "Oooooh!" and all of a sudden he started heading down the
slope, still in a crouch, toward the water, picking up speed as he went.
Amazingly, he stayed tucked in that crouch until he reached the end
where the rock stretched out over the water, then launched like
Jean-Claude Killy going for the gold on the Olympic downhill, still
holding on to the rod and landing feet first in the water below. If it
hadn't been so scary, it would have been funny. Fortunately, he wasn't
hurt and managed to sidestroke a time or two, to a shallow spot where he
could stand in the water. I remember a long discussion about how he was
going to get back to shore, with me in favor of a short, easy swim—he
was already wet—and him insisting that the should jump—saying all the
time that he knew he could make it, despite my warnings against a
possible dangerous landing. Finally I acquiesced and he let go with a
jump landing on the rocks near the shore, badly twisting his ankle.
Despite my strong urge to say, "I told you so, " I kept my mouth shut.
He was my friend and my fishing partner, and sometimes there's no need
to go there and add insult to injury. He managed to make it an hour or
so longer with the fishing, until the pain became too much to bear and
we crawled back across that rock—on all fours this time, and I helped
him back to the parking lot. He hobbled around on that wounded foot for
several days later, but he was a trooper and we didn't lose any fishing
days. I don't think the swelling went down completely until a few weeks
later when we finally reached Alaska.
If you decide to come to the San Juan this week you probably
won't have to risk life or limb here to fish, but you are going to have
other obstacles to overcome. The fishing is what I would call "tough"
right now, about as tough as it gets by San Juan standards. I guess
there's any other number of euphemisms I could invoke here; as well, to
describe that— like "slow," "a bit off," etc., but I think you get the
picture. In my opinion the water is murkier than it has been all winter,
and I think, therein lies the problem. Again, I guess I could refer to
it as "off color," but that's just parsing words and probably not an
accurate presentation of the facts. The flow is around 520 cfs which
makes the river very wadeable, boatable, and fishable, despite the fact
the water's not very pretty. As far as fishing methods go— it's pretty
much nymphing or throwing streamers at this point, since the water
clarity along with some very sparse hatches, rules out the dry fly
method. For fly choices—red larva, OJs, annelids, Princess nymphs, and
eggs, along with buggers and bunny leeches in black, olive and white.
Dead-drifting leeches with a brightly colored trailers has been
effective, but I haven't heard of anything that has been an actual magic
bullet as far as that goes. All said, you're going to catch some fish
if you come, just keep your expectations in check and don't expect it to
fish like it does at other times when the water is clear, like say,
from June to November.
3/5/17: Several years ago in late April, my friend Andrew and I did a day hike into Beartrap Canyon on the Madison River in Montana to fish. We'd caught a big break on the weather that week and things were about as nice as you could ever hope for in Montana, for that time of year, as we camped and fished or way through the state, on our way to our final destination in Alaska. Anyway, we were picking up a few fish here and there as we worked our way downriver, encountering only a few early season kayakers and not a single other fisherman. We'd probably only gone about a quarter-mile when we came to a big, long, sloping sandstone barrier—slickrock, I believe it is called, that protruded out into the water at the bottom and hung about ten or twelve feet from the surface at the top. I could see fish rising behind a big boulder in the middle of the river on the other side. I walked down to the water's edge hoping to find a way around the thing; I really needed to get at those rising fish, but the water was too deep and fast to even think about it. After sizing up the situation, I decided the only way to get to where I needed to be would be to cross that sandstone slope that was about twenty feet wide. I found a spot where I could climb onto it about thirty feet up from where it dropped off into the river, held the cork grip of my rod in my mouth, got down on all fours, and basically started to belly crawl across the monster. About half-way across, I came to the realization that I had underestimated the slope of the thing, as my boots slipped a bit every now and then on the sandstone and I could rear the water roaring below. I thought about trying to turn around and head back, but realized it would now be impossible to attempt such a dangerous maneuver and from the higher vantage point that I now had, I could actually see those fish holding and rising on the other side, and there were lots of them. I kept inching way across, holding my breath and made it to the other side. I tied on an elk hair caddis and started catching fish, like no tomorrow.
Sometime after my fifth or sixth fish, Andrew yelled from the
other side. Apparently, things weren't going as well over there on the
fishing front; and although he couldn't actually see me, he could see my
flyline and my fly and was witnessing those hookups. I guess it was too
much to stand. He wanted to come across and I yelled back instructions
about how to get it done. I do distinctly remember that my last words
were, "Whatever you do, be careful, it's kinda dangerous, and slick." I
walked back up on my side to coach him across, emphasizing the
importance of using all fours for traction, that he ignored as he began
duck-walking across the slope with his rod in his hand. About midway I
heard an, "Oooooh!" and all of a sudden he started heading down the
slope, still in a crouch, toward the water, picking up speed as he went.
Amazingly, he stayed tucked in that crouch until he reached the end
where the rock stretched out over the water, then launched like
Jean-Claude Killy going for the gold on the Olympic downhill, still
holding on to the rod and landing feet first in the water below. If it
hadn't been so scary, it would have been funny. Fortunately, he wasn't
hurt and managed to sidestroke a time or two, to a shallow spot where he
could stand in the water. I remember a long discussion about how he was
going to get back to shore, with me in favor of a short, easy swim—he
was already wet—and him insisting that the should jump—saying all the
time that he knew he could make it, despite my warnings against a
possible dangerous landing. Finally I acquiesced and he let go with a
jump landing on the rocks near the shore, badly twisting his ankle.
Despite my strong urge to say, "I told you so, " I kept my mouth shut.
He was my friend and my fishing partner, and sometimes there's no need
to go there and add insult to injury. He managed to make it an hour or
so longer with the fishing, until the pain became too much to bear and
we crawled back across that rock—on all fours this time, and I helped
him back to the parking lot. He hobbled around on that wounded foot for
several days later, but he was a trooper and we didn't lose any fishing
days. I don't think the swelling went down completely until a few weeks
later when we finally reached Alaska.
If you decide to come to the San Juan this week you probably
won't have to risk life or limb here to fish, but you are going to have
other obstacles to overcome. The fishing is what I would call "tough"
right now, about as tough as it gets by San Juan standards. I guess
there's any other number of euphemisms I could invoke here; as well, to
describe that— like "slow," "a bit off," etc., but I think you get the
picture. In my opinion the water is murkier than it has been all winter,
and I think, therein lies the problem. Again, I guess I could refer to
it as "off color," but that's just parsing words and probably not an
accurate presentation of the facts. The flow is around 520 cfs which
makes the river very wadeable, boatable, and fishable, despite the fact
the water's not very pretty. As far as fishing methods go— it's pretty
much nymphing or throwing streamers at this point, since the water
clarity along with some very sparse hatches, rules out the dry fly
method. For fly choices—red larva, OJs, annelids, Princess nymphs, and
eggs, along with buggers and bunny leeches in black, olive and white.
Dead-drifting leeches with a brightly colored trailers has been
effective, but I haven't heard of anything that has been an actual magic
bullet as far as that goes. All said, you're going to catch some fish
if you come, just keep your expectations in check and don't expect it to
fish like it does at other times when the water is clear, like say,
from June to November.
When do I think it will clear up? I don't really know, but if I
had to guess, I would say it might clear up some later in April, if we
have an extended period of much warmer weather. Until then, it is what
it is. As far as flows go, I would think that it will stay in it's
present range until early or mid-April, when we could possibly see a
bump up to 1,000 cfs, or so in preparation to make room for runoff as
the weather starts to warm and the inflow into the lake increases. The
big releases to 5,000 cfs are most likely to take place around early
May, depending on how soon it begins to warm enough to start the real
runoff in the mountains. We should have a better timetable on that by
mid-April when the snowpack reaches its peak and the BOR comes out with
their release schedule. If you would like to book a guided trip or need
more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
2/19/17: It
beats a sharp stick in the eye. Well, the sun finally came out and the
temperatures have moved into the 40's with forecasts for the mid to high
50's later in the week, and now the phone is ringing off the hook with
everyone wanting to know how the fishing is. Given the past couple of
weeks of snow and cold, there's a lot of pent up demand out there;
people are anxious for spring and anxious to fish— I can't say that I
blame them.
So how is it, really? Let me start by saying that I've always
tried to be a straight shooter when it comes giving the most accurate
representation of what's going on out there. I live and work here, and I
work in a position that puts me face to face with a lot of folks that
read this column—I'm not about to send a bunch of people packing for a
drive across county for "incredible fishing" only to have them look at
me disappointedly later, like I don't know what I'm talking about. It's a
credibility thing and having been on the other side of it from time to
time, I know and appreciate the importance of good intel when it comes
to fishing—I've logged my fair share of miles to many a fishing
destination based on info that someone gave me, because they told me
what I wanted to hear, only to be told, "Well, you should have been here
yesterday." And I can hear it in the voices of the calls I receive,
there's something about it in the tone; that certain searching
hopefulness to a question asked in a manner that is more of a longing
for validation of what you would like; or had hoped to hear, rather than
the truth. I don't know how I got started off on that rant, maybe
because it always easier to be the bearer of good news than just okay
news and if you hear disappointment enough times in your answer, it
starts to wear on you a bit. Hear it enough times and there's the
inclination to fudge things a bit, so you're not always seen as the
goat, but facts is facts, and then there's that reputation thing, too.
Anyway, here's the most authentic take on things that I can
offer. But, first let me preface things by saying that the San Juan is
an outstanding trout fishery. Like any river, there are times when the
fishing is so good here that it's borderline ridiculous—other times—when
it can be downright tough. A ton of factors come into play: flow
levels, water clarity, weather, water temperature, insect activity or
the lack thereof, just to mention a few. At his particular point in
time, I would say that the quality of fishing here falls right in the
middle of those two;above mentioned, parameters. It's not the best I've
ever seen it, but it ain't the worst either. I'd have to say it's about
what you'd expect for early February, but I'd take it hands down over a
lot of other rivers I know. The flows are right at 500 cfs, up from 350
cfs, a week or so ago. The water clarity has improved slightly, in my
estimation, to about a foot, to possibly a foot and a half. I've had
people tell me that it's way better than that in the last couple days,
and that it's more like three to four feet. I'm not so sure I'm gonna
buy that one, some people see what they want to see sometimes and my
eyes ain't what they used to be, but I'm not blind yet either. Anyway,
it has improved, and I'll take that. Hopefully, it's a trend, because
the fishing is only going to improve as the water clears, but that's all
nature and weather driven, and I know enough from past years to stay
away from predictions on that one. This past week, I didn't see the
midge hatches we were having when the water was at 350 cfs. I was out on
1/22/17: "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown." That quote from one of my favorite movies came to mind this past Tuesday as I reeled up, placed my fly in the hookkeeper and headed towards the car, thinking all the while that this river is going to give you only what she feels like giving you on any given day. You can do your best, but that's only gonna take you so far—to a large extent, you're at her mercy. For the past two weeks I've gone out on Monday and had some phenomenal dry fly fishing, only to return on Tuesday with the same expectations and be sadly disappointed. One day there's rising fish everywhere, the next day—same place, same conditions— not so much as a dimple on the water and I can't buy a fish. Part of the allure of fly fishing is that it's always a challenge that requires you to use that gray matter between your ears—you're supposed to observe, learn, adapt, adjust. Lately it seems that all I have learned is— don't fish on Tuesdays. I even went prepared this time, taking along an extra rod rigged for streamers. Now I've had some great days on this river fishing streamers, especially in the winter when the water is off color, but this past Tuesday wasn't one of them. I'll be the first to admit that perhaps I'm a little rusty at it; it's been a while, but I gotta think my techniques couldn't have been all that bad. I did manage to catch a few fish—good fish, and that solid streamer take, that unmistakable initial jolt, was a great adrenaline rush, but it just didn't seem to happen often enough. What I didn't do was switch over to a nymph rig—sometimes just the sight of an indicator on the line is enough to send shivers up the spine of a hardcore dry fly fisherman. As I have said before, sometimes I am my own worst enemy.
This
week on the Juan, you're gonna have to earn your stripes, if you want
to catch fish. The first few days are supposed to bring winds of over 20
mph, then it's gonna get cold. Cold, like a high of 17 degrees on
Friday. Saturday, the warmest day on the forecast, looks to be a balmy
30 degrees. Far be it from me to ever discourage anyone from fishing,
but if I was ever going to suggest a week to skip, this would probably
be the one. If you do come, the flow is presently at 357 cfs and the
visibility is around 6 to 8 inches. There are sporadic midge
hatches—sporadic, meaning great on some days with lots of midge
clusters, and non-existent on others. I would think that Monday and
Tuesday would not be the days to go looking for rising fish, if the wind
lives up to the forecast. Probably your best bet at taking fish right
now, given the sporadic hatches and decreased visibility, is going to be
fishing some brighter patterns like red larva, annelids, Princess
Nymphs, Desert Storms, egg patterns, etc., under a nymph rig. I'm not
giving up on the streamer thing just yet; experience has taught me that
it can work great here during the winter and one bad day does not a
season make. I plan to try it a few more times before I pass judgement,
maybe vary it up a bit like fishing it under an indicator on a dead
drift with a trailer like a big red larva or annelid pattern. We'll see,
but it's probably not going to happen this week. I know that sometimes
you gotta fish when you can and the opportunity presents itself in your
schedule, weather be damned. If this is your week, do it, one thing
you're likely to experience here is some solitude on the water. If you
would like more info or need to book a guided trip, give us a call at
505-632-2194.
1/15/17: Wintertime,
San Juan River—A Love/Hate Relationship—sounds like a great title for a
book, or at least, a chapter. Or, perhaps, to borrow a another title
from Ernest Hemingway— it is a Big Two-Hearted River—one heart, kind and
forgiving; the other, occasionally cold and cruel. If you truly love
her, you must be willing to accept all of her moods without reservation
and willingly acquiesce to the hand you've been dealt. At times, it can
be a bitter, humbling pill to swallow.
This
past Monday I went out to one of my favorite spots on this river. It
was an phenomenal day, casting big dry flies to rising fish throughout
the larger part of the afternoon. I didn't mind the murky water that I
typically don't care for this time of year, I was catching fish, the
river was being kind to me—very kind, and the fish were more than
willing to play my type of game. I left with a big smile on my face,
satiated by a great day of wintertime fishing, I couldn't wait to get
back tomorrow. Tuesday came and the conditions were the same—same
temperature, same slightly overcast skies, same visibility, same place. I
stood and the bank and waited for the first sign of a rising fish. I
waited, and waited, and waited. I checked my watch from time to time—was
it 11:00 or 11:30 yesterday when everything began to happen, 12:00,
12:30? I was getting antsy, I walked around, tried a few different
places, gave up on my spot eventually and headed downstream to find new
water and new fish. One rising fish, perfect cast, perfect drift, and he
ate, and I farmed him, broke off after setting the hook like some
overzealous bass tournament fisherman. I walked around some more looking
for rises. Was this even the same river I fished yesterday? It was like
I had been dropped somewhere on the moon. I caught a couple more little
guys over the next hour and kept checking my watch, the murky water
flowed by, it's surface as flat as glass without so much as a dimple
from a working fish. The watch again, too late for the long walk back to
the car and the drive home for the streamer rod. I didn't even have my
streamer box, which would have done me little good anyway, with the 3wt.
noodle I was carrying. I called it quits at 3:00, reeled up, drove home
and made myself a double margarita. After 25 years of fishing this
river, sometimes I don't know as much as I think I do, about her.
Sometimes, I'm too stubborn for my own good, great at giving advice,
terrible at following it.
If
you are a one trick pony, then you better have a good trick. I like
fishing dry flies, sometimes to my own detriment. I'm hard-headed in
that regard, and at times, I become my own worst enemy. If you want to
catch fish with more consistency with the present conditions we are
experiencing on the San Juan, stick to nymphing or throwing streamers.
The visibility is only about six to eight inches, the flow around 350
cfs. Sight fishing is nearly impossible, unless you target your casts to
rise rings, if and when, these fish decide they want to do that on any
given day—don't count on it—one day could be great and the other, well.
My advice is that until this water clears, that if you want any
regularity to the catching part, bust out the junk, like eggs, red
larva, princess nymphs, annelids, and desert storms—think bigger and
brighter, and think streamers like black and olive bunny leeches, and
buggers. Since you can't see the fish, target the thalwegs and the
current seams, the superhighways of food distribution where the fish are
going to hang out. For me, that's a different kind of fishing, although
that tug of a streamer take, can be just about as addictive as watching
a size 10 hopper disappear into a giant set of jaws. They say it takes
21 days of repetitive behavior to break a habit, I might as well get
started on that.
If you're
looking for a little solitude and an opportunity to wet a line, this
would be a good week to visit the San Juan. This past weekend was a bit
busier than most, with Monday being a holiday for a lot of folks. There
were more lines in the Texas Hole than on Tommy Lee Jones' face. This
week should be much quieter and the weather doesn't look all that bad,
either. Bring it all if you come—dries, nymphs, and streamers. No two
days seem to fish the same right now, so having it all and being
flexible and willing to adapt will help. I plan on working on the
willing part this week. If you would like more info or would like to
book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
I have been attacked by a mountain lion, nearly run over by a
charging bear, and almost stomped to death by a crazy cow moose. In
Florida, I narrowly escaped an attack from a 10-foot alligator that
would surely brought about my end. I have been stabbed once and chased
around a kitchen table another time by someone wielding a butcher knife.
I have had two loaded guns pointed at me on different occasions, by two
separate people who had their fingers on the triggers. I rolled a car
one time—end over end, then side to side three times and crawled out
while it was on its top with gasoline pouring in, with only a bruise on
my shoulder. I have a metal spike that was driven 5 inches into my femur
by a hammer, that now functions as one of my hip bones and a piece of
plastic mesh in my groin where muscle and sinew used to be, that holds
my guts in. I have had the mumps, chicken-pox, whooping cough, rheumatic
fever, the flu, and had my heart broken a time or two. Some folks call
me lucky, but I believe in God and know that he will eventually take me
at a time when he sees fit. I fish every chance I get, like it might be
my last day on the water.
Today is the beginning of a new year and a time when a lot of folks
reflect on— just what the hell happened with the last twelve months of
my life? How did that go by so fast? What did I do that was memorable?
It is also a time for resolutions—a vow or vows to do things
differently—an occasion to make better use of your time, a conscious
effort for creating more of the memories that matter at the expense of
those that don’t. For me that is pursuing my passion, fly fishing, with
more vigor. A more concerted application of my efforts to expend my time
left on this planet, doing the thing I love most. Selfish? Hedonistic?
Perhaps, but the last time I checked, the guarantee of tomorrow did not
exist, and in the words of that famous fly fishing author Sparse Grey
Hackle, “There are no fish rising in the graveyard.”
If you share my passion for the sport, then this week would be an
easy week to blow off a fishing trip to the San Juan. The temperature
here isn’t supposed to reach the 40-degree mark for the remainder of the
week. It’s supposed to rain and snow on several of those days. The
water is a bit off color from the lake turning over and the visibility
is down to about two feet. And there’s that Christmas tree that you
still gotta get rid of. You gotta get caught up on all those important
things you pushed aside for the holidays. Don’t do it. Don’t find
excuses—don’t look for the reasons you can’t do it—look for the reasons
you can. All that stuff, will still be there when you return, it never
goes away.
If you’re out, the fishing is still good despite the decreased
clarity of the water. There are some fish rising to midges during the
middle part of the day, although it’s best to target the ones in the
shallower water so they’ll get a better look at your fly. If you’re
nymphing, now’s the time to try some of the bigger, brighter stuff like
small egg patterns, flashback pheasant tails, princess nymphs, desert
storms, and I’ve heard good reports on red larva, and scintilla midges.
There’s a lot of little stockers out there right now, so if you’re
looking for better fish, target the areas that are further away from the
parking lots where the stocking truck has access. Don’t overlook
streamers, especially when teamed up with a trailer like a red larva.
Sure, there’s better times to fish the Juan, you could wait until it’s
80-degrees and sunny, but all that time in those months in between, is
time that you will never see again. Do it—there will be no regrets— this
is the year of Revolution, not Resolution, take no prisoners. If you
would like to book a guided trip or need more information, give us a
call at 505-632-2194
12/12/16: I once asked a famous photographer friend of mine to write a foreword for a book I had written. He wrote in there that my obsession for fly fishing; in a certain sense, somehow makes me "not quite right" in the head. I don't know if I should have been offended by that statement, I suppose I should have been, but I was not. I guess I took it as some sort of back-handed compliment in a way because after I thought about it for a while; I realized it was true, and, this guy's always been pretty blunt in his opinions—I should have expected nothing less. This past Tuesday, I spent the day on the water, when it ended, if I had ever had any ambivalence about that statement, it all ended there.
To
begin with, I went against my better judgement and my own advice and
stayed out past 3:00 when the sun had already dropped behind the mesa
where I was fishing. In fact, when I finally looked at my watch as I was
headed out the trail to the car, it was 4:00. A quarter of the way out
the trail I made the mistake of looking back, downriver, to the flats.
The sun, which had been absent all day, was shining on the water there.
To top things off, the wind had stopped and the water was as flat as a
sheet of glass. Now, I've read the Bible and I know what happened to
Lot's wife, and I've fished enough in winter here to know what happens
to the temperature once the sun starts to set, but that little bit of
sunshine and that glassy water drew me back like a moth to a flame. I
turned around and headed back, I couldn't help myself.
Sometimes;
well, actually most of the time, when you've had a pretty good day and
caught enough fish to satisfy any normal person, and you call it a
day—then you should call it a day. If you go against good judgement and
try to push it, you risk the chance of spoiling a good experience by
being greedy and when that last hour— or hour- and- a- half— doesn't
turn out so great— you end up leaving the water focusing on the part
that didn't go so well, robbing yourself of the joy in the part that
did. Occasionally; but rarely, it goes the other way. Tuesday, it did.
Tuesday, I went back and started seeing rise rings on that glassy water
and made long casts with big dry flies to fish that ate them with
reckless abandon. It made a decent day of fishing, a great day of
fishing. When I finally started for the car, it was completely dark. As I
skated across ice covered ponds on my cleated boots and the willows
whipped and stung my frozen face, I looked up at the snow covered trail
to the parking lot and the moon was shining down through the clouds, and
I thought about those words of Danny Lyon, that, "I wasn't quite
right," and I had to laugh. He was right—I am a little crazy.
If
you decide to fish the San Juan this week, you won't have to endure the
same scrutiny about your mental state-of-being, should you decide to be
the last car in the parking lot, past dark:30. For one thing, it should
be at least ten degrees warmer than last week, which should dispel a
good amount of those, "What the hell could that guy still be doing out
there in the dark," comments from those who drive by and see your car.
The temperature alone, should be enough of a reason to extend your
normal fishing hours. In addition, the flows have been bumped back up to
375 cfs from 250 cfs opening up more water to get some better drifts.
The water is still clear, although we are approaching the typical time
when the lake turns over, so I say take advantage of that while it
lasts. The midge hatches are still going strong enough to have a good
deal of fish up on the feed from around 11:00 till 3:00, although I'm
not seeing a lot of large clusters, like a couple weeks ago. Still, you
can target a lot of rising fish with small midge dries like Morgan's
Midges and Fore and Afts. Believe it or not, I also had a lot of fish
eat a smaller version of a Chernobyl ant (size 12), especially in the
last few hours before dark. For nymphing— 24 and 26 Bling Midges, Mono
Midges, Crystal Flash, and Gray Foamwings. If you're a streamer guy or
gal, take heart, some big fish are being taken on dead-drifts and the
swing, especially on anything that resembles a small rainbow. It's still
7x for the small dries and 6x for the nymphs, and at least 3x for the
streamers. All in all, this should be a great week to fish the Juan,
with day time high temperatures near 50 degrees on most days. If you
would like more information or need to book a guided trip, give us a
call at 505-632-2194.
12/5/16: Well, it had to happen sooner or later—winter, and no doubt about it, it has arrived. After an unusually warm October and November that extended the fishing season here, it's finally cold. Gone are the days of mid-60s temperatures and along with it, are the crowds, the clamoring early morning masses in the fly shops, the rush of pickups with drift boats in tow headed to the Texas Hole boat ramp, RV lots and motel rooms filled to the brim, replaced now by an occasional tumbleweed rolling down Main Street, Navajo Dam. If you were here during the last two months, you'd swear it was a different town, if you saw it now. It's an amazing transformation that happens every year, but the stark contrast in this place when the weather changes, never ceases to amaze me. One day you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off and the phone is ringing off the hook; and the next, total silence.
The good news
about all this, is that if you are able to endure a little cold weather,
there's still some great fishing to be had on the San Juan right now,
and you'll be able to do it with a good deal of solitude on most parts
of the river. The water is still clear and we are beginning to see some
better hatches, especially of midges, that have a lot of fish up on the
feed during the hours of about 11:00 till 3:00. That's right up my
alley—great dry fly fishing, right during the warmest part of the day on
sections of the river I can have all to myself. For the larger part of
this week, the flow here has been reduced to 250 cfs due to some work
being performed downriver. It will most likely return to 350 cfs toward
the end of the week, or early next week, once the work is completed.
This will make for some skinny water for a few days if you're planning
on floating it, but it's still doable and hasn't affected the quality of
the fishing any.
As far as fly
choices, the usual San Juan small midge patterns in dark colors are
still working well, along with a mix of baetis nymphs and dries, and
smaller egg patterns, as you head downstream. Expect to see some good
midge hatches during the mid-day hours, with some clusters forming as
the hatch intensifies, giving you an opportunity to fish some bigger
Griffith's gnats, sprout midges, and even dead chickens, once the fish
start going for the clusters. It will be cold here, especially Wednesday
and Thursday, so layer up. There's really no need—unless you are a
glutton for punishment—to be on the water at the crack of dawn, during
this time of year. Your better fishing is going to be during the warmer
mid-day hours and once the sun drops behind the mesa here around 3:00,
the thermometer begins to take a dive with it. I'm thinking that with
these real cold nights we have on the way this week, the lake turnover
can't be far behind as the temperature in the reservoir starts to drop.
Once that happens, it's gonna be a whole new ballgame here on the Juan,
so if you like fishing the clear stuff, you best make the most out of it
now. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us
a call at 505-632-2194.
11/16/16: One of the added benefits of working in a fly shop on one of the nation's top trout streams, is that you get to meet a lot of really cool people that share your passion for the sport. I've been around here for a bit and I've fished here much longer, and met a bunch of folks, years back, that I still see from time to time, today. We're all getting a bit older now and some more than others, but I take heart in seeing the guys and gals that are now into their 70s and 80s that keep coming back; keep at it, packing and traveling, getting out there after those fish, still enjoying the pursuit of trout, despite their age. They are my inspiration, as I approach yet another birthday in a couple of months and my thoughts occasionally drift to the fact that I'm headed down the same road. I just hope I keep the heart, keep that burning passion for the sport, for the remainder of my days; notwithstanding, the incipient creeping of time.
It's all a bit strange sometimes, how certain things can trigger a man's thoughts toward his own mortality. One came just the other day when I clicked on an e-mail and saw that Tommy James and the Shondells are on tour, and tickets are now on sell for their upcoming show in Albuquerque. For those of you that may be a bit younger, that is "the" Tommy James and the Shondells that had the No. 1 hits, "Hanky Panky" and "Crimson and Clover" (that last one being a song that I never understood and still don't until this day—but I like, nonetheless) in 1966 and 1969, respectively. Anyway, seeing that e-mail started me thinking—"Jeeze, these guys gotta be ancient by now, but they're still out touring and rockin,'' which then led me to the thought that, "Hey, that makes me pretty old, too." All of this came full circle and I started thinking about how these older fishermen still have that sparkle in their eye when I ask them about their day on the water, about how; despite any number of aches and pains, they still love the sport and are determined to do it, until it's just not possible any more. I take encouragement from that; I take encouragement, that guys like Tommy James are still out there rocking it.
Alright, as for what's going on this coming week on the San Juan—it's still a small midge game upriver, with some baetis in the mix, downstream. The flow here is presently at 375 cfs and will likely stay in that range for at least the short term. The water remains crystal clear, but there's a good deal of moss and didymo out there, so check and clean your flies often, especially if you're nymphing. The activity of the bugs; and thus the fish, seems to be mainly centered around the hours of 10:30 am to about 3 or 3:30 pm. Expect to see lots of fish feeding in the surface film, on emergers, during that time. There is some dry fly action on small midge patterns and even some BWO activity downriver, but most of the fish seem to prefer the emergers right now. I have had good results on these fish with a Morgan's midge and I have to think that little trailing shuck on the back makes all the difference in my dry fly selection. As for nymph patterns, the smaller the better, and black seems to be the go to color. Size 26 mono and bling midges, and size 26 crystal flash and ju-jus are good choices. Foamwings, especially chocolate in size 24, are also working well. Monday looks to be the best day to go looking for a good BWO hatch with the increased cloud cover that is forecast. That could produce a good hatch in the lower river and you could do well with some olive bodied BWO patterns in size 24 and 22, if the wind doesn't spoil things. Finally, dead drifting some olive, gray, and black bunny leeches has been producing some fish; as well, so that's one more tip that may get you into some fish if things taper off a bit. We've still got some great weather for being on the water with temperatures in the high 40s to low 50s this week, so get out if you can. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
11/06/16: It is the epitome of hope, that iconic image of a dry fly fisherman standing mid-stream, fly in hand, staring at a long slick of glassy water, waiting for a fish to rise, waiting for—the hatch. Wishing, with expectations and aspirations centered where faith and desire collide, that it's gonna happen. Maybe in a moment, when that cloud blocks the sun, maybe when the temperature drops another degree or two, maybe when the wind dies down, maybe, just maybe. There is never a lack of hopefulness for his ilk, as long as a shred of daylight still remains; only wishfulness, for what may be. I too, belong to this clan, this band of brothers who refuses to give up, refuses to give in; who as of late, has adopted St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, for our convictions. Build it, have patience, show up, and they will come; it's the thing that keeps deer hunters on a freezing stand for those long hours, it's the same thing that keeps the dry-fly guy or gal suiting up another day with only a small box of fur, feather, and a tube of Gink in their pocket. We are; without doubt, a group of crazies.
Lately, it's the Blue Winged Olive hatch, that's
had me going; or perhaps, the lack thereof. I know we're getting into
that right time of year. I'm checking the temperature outside, I'm
watching the cloud cover on the weather radar, I'm going to the places
where I know they'll be, I'm watching the water. There's one, there's
another, it's happening, it's happening. No, no, no it's not. Okay, come
back tomorrow, come back next week, check again. I'm like a
six-year-old waiting for Christmas at Thanksgiving. I want those bugs.
In the meantime, I fish the tiny stuff, the little midges, the Fore and
Afts, the Morgan's Midges, while visions of size 22 Olive Comparaduns
dance in my head, hoping, praying to St. Jude, that nature will soon
provide.
It's not all gloom and doom out there, there's
lots of feeding fish, although most are on midge emergers for the larger
part of the day. There are occasional heads appearing, sporadically,
for dries. Enough, to keep me into the game. Without doubt, your better
fishing would come from fishing midge larva and pupa patterns earlier in
the day, and rigging up shallow to fish emergers from about 11:00 to
late evening. In fact, I feel pretty confident that you could have some
fantastic results with some size 26 and even 28 black emergers with just
enough weight (like a size 8 or 9 split shot) to get it just under the
surface. Think Ju-Jus, Crystal Flash, and Scintillas.
The water is still crystal clear and the flow is
right around 400 cfs. Expect to see dorsal and caudal fins for the
larger part of the day. These are some emerger loving fish right now and
they seem content to make those lazy emerger rises just under the
surface, eating a seemingly endless supply of tiny, dark, midges that
are in their must vulnerable stage to feeding fish. Most, are not gonna
move very far to chase down a bug, they don't have to, so your drifts
need to be spot on with the leader and fly line upstream out of sight.
Look for the feeders that are holding in a bit of current, it'll give
them less time to inspect your imitations, than those fish in the slow
stuff that take for ever and are as about as picky as they can get. 6x
fluorocarbon is a good idea for the nymphs and 7x is a must for the
small dries. Check and clean your flies often, there's a lot of moss and
didymo out there and none of these fish are going to eat your fly when
it's covered in crap. If you plan on fishing from the Texas Hole and
downriver, have some RS2s and chocolate, and gray foamwings, as the
baetis nymphs are present; although it still remains to be seen when
we'll see a substantial hatch of adults.
Maybe tomorrow's the day. If you would like more
information or would like to book a guided trip, give us a call at
505-632-2194.
10/23/16: The curtain time of the year, that's how the writer Timothy Egan describes it. Each day I see another subtle, small change signaling the changing of the seasons. Cooler nights and mornings; sunlight, softer now as it comes through my window at the start of each day, the leaves of the giant cottonwoods turning from gold to brown, all harbingers of the inevitability of nature. It's a short season here, fall, but it is; no doubt, one of the most beautiful. I only wish it could last a few months longer. The only recourse, it seems, is to make the most of each of these days we are blessed with, to get out, push all else aside at the expense of immersing ourselves into the macrocosm of the outdoors. Live it, breathe it, feel the cool wind on your face, the warmth of the sun on your back, and hear the sound of water, liquid life, as it passes your wadered legs; hurriedly, toward its final destination. It is yet a moment in time, that cannot be recaptured, unequivocally precious.
If
you are looking at making a trip to the San Juan this week as part of
your foray into autumn, you are going to be blessed with some beautiful
weather. The daytime highs will be in the 70s with lots of clear skies
and sunshine. As fall weather goes, you can't beat it. The fishing?
Challenging, but good, meaning there are lots of feeding fish out there,
but they're not going to just jump into your pocket. First of all,
you've got crystal clear water conditions, with flows around 450 cfs.
Great for wading just about anywhere you want to go, but also conditions
that tend to make the fish a little more wary of brightly colored
indicators, and fly lines, and leaders. Bear in mind, too, that these
fish have seen more pressure over the past month than probably any other
time over the entire year. Therein, lies the challenge. Your
presentations will have to be your best, no room for sloppy casts, or
poor drifts. Use everything available to you for an
advantage—fluorocarbon leaders and tippet, small, white, or muted
colored indicators. 6x for nymphs, 7x for dries. No lining fish, keep it
across and down.
As
far as hatches go, they're not prolific, but they're not non-existent,
either. Expect to see midges become active around mid-day, until late
afternoon or evening, river wide. There are some BWOs coming off around
the same time, with most being concentrated in the lower sections of the
river. The intensity varies from day to day and the duration of the
hatch doesn't last as long as the midges. For nymph selections, red
larva and small midge pupa and emerger patterns in gray and black. Sizes
24 and 26 for the pupa and emergers. The baetis nymphs are becoming
more active from Texas Hole downriver, and RS2s, chocolate and gray foam
wings, and fluff baetis are working well. If you are seeing heads,
it'll be pretty easy to determine if they are rising to midges or
baetis, as the BWOs; although small, have that unmistakable profile on
the surface. I like fore and afts in gray and black, size 24 and 26 for
the midges, and olive Comparaduns or an Adams in size 24 and 22 for the
baetis.
The
river has been busy over this past month, but the crowds are now
starting to taper off, especially during the earlier part of the week.
Hope you can make it out while we still are experiencing this wonderful
fall weather. Give us a call at 505-632-2194 if you would like more
information or would like to book a guided fly fishing trip.
10/16/16: Sometimes, it pays to wait. I used to elk hunt with a guy named Vern. Vern has gotten older now and he doesn't hunt the unforgiving rough landscape we used to; the place I call No Country for Old Men, he's found some different country, a place with rolling hills, less of those steeper rocky draws and canyons without all those seemingly impassable blowdowns and rough, dark timber. I hunt alone back there now, but it won't be many years and I'll be looking for my own place like my old friend. I miss his company, miss the entertainment of his endless supply of stories, delivered in that clipped Scandinavian accent he picked up from his ancestors in Wisconsin. Vern was a talker, and boy, I mean, a real talker.
A few years ago we'd started out well before daylight and I'd gone around the side of the mountain and set up at the edge of a deep saddle to watch a travel route that the elk used to like, because it led down to the creek where they watered. Vern, was going to come across the top of the mountain and we'd meet up later for lunch. By 11:00, I was stiff and cold, sitting deep down there in the saddle where the sun never shines, and hadn't seen as much as a pine squirrel, when I heard Vern cow call from well above me. I called back, then stood up so he could see where I was at, and he made his way down into the saddle.
We chit-chatted a bit about our uneventful morning and I leaned my gun
up against a tree, and dug a sandwich out of my pack. We walked about
fifteen yards further into the saddle so we could stand in the sun and
warm up a bit and then Vern launched into one of his stories about his
grandpa used to hang those Wisconsin swamp-bucks, out in his shed and
they'd just go out there all winter and slice off a chunk of meat, when
they wanted dinner. Halfway through my sandwich, and through the story;
because I'd already heard it about a dozen times before, I looked across
the saddle and said, "Elk."
There they were, about a dozen of them, headed down that trail I been
watching all morning. Before I could drop my sandwich, Vern had already
emptied an entire magazine from his Sako 75 Deluxe, like Chuck Connors
from the Rifleman, and was starting to reload. On my way back to that
tree fifteen yards away where I'd left my gun, I heard him start blazing
away again. It sounded like The Guns of Navarone back in there. Elk
were running everywhere and the biggest part of the herd, panicked and
charged us, with three spike bulls in the lead. It was a stampede, like
the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. I heard Vern yell, "don't shoot
the spikes," which I hadn't planned on doing anyway, since we had
either-sex tags, but spikes weren't legal. I didn't matter, I couldn't
pick up any of those running elk up in my scope for a shot.
When the rifle smoke and the dust cleared, I saw the last of the elk disappear out of sight about 800 yards away, down at the creek bottom. The air reeked of the smell of gunpowder; the ground was littered with spent brass. Having never fired my rifle, I lowered the barrel, and something across the saddle caught my eye. The big white rump of a cow elk was facing me about 200 yards away and she was looking down into a finger canyon that led into the draw to the creek. I couldn't see anything except that rump. I'll admit, the thought crossed my mind to take what we refer to around here as a "Texas Heart Shot," but I was raised a Christian, I knew right from wrong. Instead, I found an old stump to steady my rifle, and waited. Finally, she turned her head to look toward the creek where all the other elk had headed, exposing her entire neck, and I sent a 180 grain across the saddle and she folded up like a lawn chair, where she stood. Like I said, "Sometimes, it pays to wait."
If you have waited until now to make your pilgrimage to the San Juan, then you're in for a treat. The flow is presently around 400 cfs, with very clear water conditions. The fishing is good. There is a bit of drifting, didymo present, as the sunlight diminishes and this stuff starts to die off—annoying, at times, but not a game changer, just check and clean your flies often. There are decent midge hatches daily and we are starting to see the appearance of BWO adults, especially on overcast days. Small, dark midge patterns in size 24 and 26 are still the way to go for pupa, emerger, and dry patterns. You can go a bit larger on the larva patterns (red and cream seem to work the best, and are a good go to in the morning hours.) In the lower sections of the river, you should have some baetis nymphs like Rootbeers, Johnny Flash, WD 40s, and RS2s. Be prepared to see some BWO adults in the afternoons—I like olive Comparaduns, Sparkle Duns, and Adams patterns for my imitations in size 22. 6x for the nymphs and 7x for the dries. The fall colors are splendid right now and the daytime highs are in the low 70s, with nighttime temps down in the low 40s. You couldn't ask for a prettier place to catch trout. Expect some company if you come, although there's still plenty of water to fish without being elbow to elbow with other fishermen, especially if you're willing to walk out of sight of a parking lot. Give us a call if you need more info or would like to book a guided trip, it's going to be a bit busy here until November.
When the rifle smoke and the dust cleared, I saw the last of the elk disappear out of sight about 800 yards away, down at the creek bottom. The air reeked of the smell of gunpowder; the ground was littered with spent brass. Having never fired my rifle, I lowered the barrel, and something across the saddle caught my eye. The big white rump of a cow elk was facing me about 200 yards away and she was looking down into a finger canyon that led into the draw to the creek. I couldn't see anything except that rump. I'll admit, the thought crossed my mind to take what we refer to around here as a "Texas Heart Shot," but I was raised a Christian, I knew right from wrong. Instead, I found an old stump to steady my rifle, and waited. Finally, she turned her head to look toward the creek where all the other elk had headed, exposing her entire neck, and I sent a 180 grain across the saddle and she folded up like a lawn chair, where she stood. Like I said, "Sometimes, it pays to wait."
If you have waited until now to make your pilgrimage to the San Juan, then you're in for a treat. The flow is presently around 400 cfs, with very clear water conditions. The fishing is good. There is a bit of drifting, didymo present, as the sunlight diminishes and this stuff starts to die off—annoying, at times, but not a game changer, just check and clean your flies often. There are decent midge hatches daily and we are starting to see the appearance of BWO adults, especially on overcast days. Small, dark midge patterns in size 24 and 26 are still the way to go for pupa, emerger, and dry patterns. You can go a bit larger on the larva patterns (red and cream seem to work the best, and are a good go to in the morning hours.) In the lower sections of the river, you should have some baetis nymphs like Rootbeers, Johnny Flash, WD 40s, and RS2s. Be prepared to see some BWO adults in the afternoons—I like olive Comparaduns, Sparkle Duns, and Adams patterns for my imitations in size 22. 6x for the nymphs and 7x for the dries. The fall colors are splendid right now and the daytime highs are in the low 70s, with nighttime temps down in the low 40s. You couldn't ask for a prettier place to catch trout. Expect some company if you come, although there's still plenty of water to fish without being elbow to elbow with other fishermen, especially if you're willing to walk out of sight of a parking lot. Give us a call if you need more info or would like to book a guided trip, it's going to be a bit busy here until November.
10/9/16: Sometimes, it pays to wait. I used to elk hunt with a guy named Vern. Vern has gotten older now and he doesn't hunt the unforgiving rough landscape we used to; the place I call No Country for Old Men, he's found some different country, a place with rolling hills, less of those steeper rocky draws and canyons without all those seemingly impassable blowdowns and rough, dark timber. I hunt alone back there now, but it won't be many years and I'll be looking for my own place like my old friend. I miss his company, miss the entertainment of his endless supply of stories, delivered in that clipped Scandinavian accent he picked up from his ancestors in Wisconsin. Vern was a talker, and boy, I mean, a real talker.
A
few years ago we'd started out well before daylight and I'd gone around
the side of the mountain and set up at the edge of a deep saddle to
watch a travel route that the elk used to like, because it led down to
the creek where they watered. Vern, was going to come across the top of
the mountain and we'd meet up later for lunch. By 11:00, I was stiff and
cold, sitting deep down there in the saddle where the sun never shines,
and hadn't seen as much as a pine squirrel, when I heard Vern cow call
from well above me. I called back, then stood up so he could see where I
was at, and he made his way down into the saddle.
We
chit-chatted a bit about our uneventful morning and I leaned my gun up
against a tree, and dug a sandwich out of my pack. We walked about
fifteen yards further into the saddle so we could stand in the sun and
warm up a bit and then Vern launched into one of his stories about his
grandpa used to hang those Wisconsin swamp-bucks, out in his shed and
they'd just go out there all winter and slice off a chunk of meat, when
they wanted dinner. Halfway through my sandwich, and through the story;
because I'd already heard it about a dozen times before, I looked across
the saddle and said, "Elk."
There
they were, about a dozen of them, headed down that trail I been
watching all morning. Before I could drop my sandwich, Vern had already
emptied an entire magazine from his Sako 75 Deluxe, like Chuck Connors
from the Rifleman, and was starting to reload. On my way back to that
tree fifteen yards away where I'd left my gun, I heard him start blazing
away again. It sounded like The Guns of Navarone back in there. Elk
were running everywhere and the biggest part of the herd, panicked and
charged us, with three spike bulls in the lead. It was a stampede, like
the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. I heard Vern yell, "don't shoot
the spikes," which I hadn't planned on doing anyway, since we had
either-sex tags, but spikes weren't legal. I didn't matter, I couldn't
pick up any of those running elk up in my scope for a shot.
When
the rifle smoke and the dust cleared, I saw the last of the elk
disappear out of sight about 800 yards away, down at the creek bottom.
The air reeked of the smell of gunpowder; the ground was littered with
spent brass. Having never fired my rifle, I lowered the barrel, and
something across the saddle caught my eye. The big white rump of a cow
elk was facing me about 200 yards away and she was looking down into a
finger canyon that led into the draw to the creek. I couldn't see
anything except that rump. I'll admit, the thought crossed my mind to
take what we refer to around here as a "Texas Heart Shot," but I was
raised a Christian, I knew right from wrong. Instead, I found an old
stump to steady my rifle, and waited. Finally, she turned her head to
look toward the creek where all the other elk had headed, exposing her
entire neck, and I sent a 180 grain across the saddle and she folded up
like a lawn chair, where she stood. Like I said, "Sometimes, it pays to
wait."
If
you have waited until now to make your pilgrimage to the San Juan, then
you're in for a treat. The flow is presently around 400 cfs, with very
clear water conditions. The fishing is good. There is a bit of drifting,
didymo present, as the sunlight diminishes and this stuff starts to die
off—annoying, at times, but not a game changer, just check and clean
your flies often. There are decent midge hatches daily and we are
starting to see the appearance of BWO adults, especially on overcast
days. Small, dark midge patterns in size 24 and 26 are still the way to
go for pupa, emerger, and dry patterns. You can go a bit larger on the
larva patterns (red and cream seem to work the best, and are a good go
to in the morning hours.) In the lower sections of the river, you
should have some baetis nymphs like Rootbeers, Johnny Flash, WD 40s, and
RS2s. Be prepared to see some BWO adults in the afternoons—I like olive
Comparaduns, Sparkle Duns, and Adams patterns for my imitations in size
22. 6x for the nymphs and 7x for the dries. The fall colors are
splendid right now and the daytime highs are in the low 70s, with
nighttime temps down in the low 40s. You couldn't ask for a prettier
place to catch trout. Expect some company if you come, although there's
still plenty of water to fish without being elbow to elbow with other
fishermen, especially if you're willing to walk out of sight of a
parking lot. Give us a call if you need more info or would like to book a
guided trip, it's going to be a bit busy here until November.
9/26/16: A guy walks into a fly shop carrying an umbrella and asks, "Has anyone been looking for this?" Guy behind the counter looks up and says, 'Hey, don't open that thing in here." Sounds like the beginning of a joke; I know, except that it happened. I saw it a couple weeks ago, with my own two eyes. The guy carrying the umbrella has been a frequent customer of ours for some time now. I know him to be a normal, fairly grounded individual; otherwise, I probably wouldn't have believed the story he told.
Seems
he was fishing one of the deeper areas in Pumphouse Run, when his
indicator stopped mid-drift. He set the hook, but nothing happened.
Thinking that he had snagged the bottom, he applied more pressure in an
attempt to free his line. All of a sudden, line and indicator begin to
move steadily downstream. He tries some side pressure, to move the fish
out of the current, but it continues to move downstream, gaining more
line. Realizing he can't turn the fish, he begins the chase downstream,
sometimes losing, sometimes gaining, line. The fight is on, it's gotta
be a big brown, that's the way they fight, just take you to the bottom
and try to dog you out—use their weight and power, try to wear you down
until the hook comes out or they break you off. He knows he's got
to work this fish into the shallower, calmer water, if he's ever going
to have a chance to land it. He chases, further downstream, stumbling
over rocks, slipping now and then, but still holding on, sweating now.
Finally, the line swings out of the main current, into the calmer water
below him. Knowing this is his chance, he reels like mad and closes the
gap to the indicator with his net at the ready, anxious to get a look at
this behemoth brown trout and looks down to see—you guessed it—the
umbrella, open, red and white, big as day, attached to his line.
And just when I thought I'd heard them all.
If
you're headed to the Juan this week, you probably don't have much of a
chance at catching an umbrella, but you do have a pretty good chance of
hooking a good brown or a rainbow. The flow is presently at 469 cfs with
super- clear water conditions. The weather this week looks to be
fantastic, with highs in the mid 70s and lots of sunshine, with the
exception of a 30 per-cent chance of rain on Friday. The cottonwoods are
beginning to change colors, which only adds to the dramatic backdrop
for some great fall fishing. We're still seeing some good midge hatches
beginning around noon each day and now some BWOs starting to show up in
the afternoons, downriver. For the nymph patterns, red larva and pupas
in the earlier part of the day, adding emergers like crystal flash,
scintillas, and ju-jus when you start to see fish working the upper
water column. As the water warms and the hatch starts to kick off,
you'll start to see heads and midge dries in size 24 and 26 will get you
into fish. For Texas hole and below, the baetis are becoming more
active, especially on cooler, overcast days and I would work some baetis
patterns into the mix, like RS2s, Johnny Flash, WD-40s, and Foamwings.
Be on the lookout for BWO adults in the afternoon. I like CDC
Comparaduns with olive bodies in size 22 for my choice of dry
imitations, although other patterns like Cut-Wing Baetis, or a small
Adams will also work. The fishing is good right now, although still a
bit technical. With the clear water conditions, I would suggest using
every technological advantage available, like fluorocarbon leaders and
tippet, and smaller, less brightly- colored indicators. Expect some
cooler temperatures in the mornings and pack an extra layer if you plan
on going out early. Also expect to see some other fishermen, although
it's definitely not shoulder- to- shoulder, and there's still plenty of
places to fish, especially if you're willing to walk a little farther
from the parking lot. If you would like to book a guided trip or need
more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
9/19/16: My friend Henning and I fished a lot together that year; the year before he ran off to California and started raising a family. One of the places we eventually frequented a lot was the Frying Pan, up in Colorado. I say eventually, because it really didn't start out that way, until we got the place figured out and started to catch a lot of fish there. On our first trip together, I actually did pretty well; pretty well, for fishing someplace I'd only been to a time or two before. I can't remember now if he'd ever been there by himself, before we did that trip. That was a long time and a lot of rivers ago. Anyway, I had gotten sorta dialed in on things that day, Henning, not so much. He was one of those guys that would go off on his own and you usually wouldn't see him again until it was time to leave for the day. He was a fly tyer, too, loved it, used to drive me crazy because he try one of his patterns, catch a few fish, clip it off, then try something new. I didn't tie flies; never have, just never got into it. I bought all mine in local shops, then went through them until I found what worked and stuck with it. I wasn't into experimenting much, I just wanted to catch fish.
Well, that evening I needed to re-up my fly arsenal, so we stopped down at one of the shops in town. The real fancy one that has a lot of stuff in there that the average fisherman doesn't really need and probably couldn't afford, anyway. Henning followed me in. I was going through the fly boxes and Henning, never one to meet a stranger, decided to strike up a conversation with the guy behind the counter that hadn't even looked up after we'd walked in, because he'd probably seen us coming from out in the parking lot and knew we weren't candidates to by a new Filson vest or a Simms wading jacket. But Henning didn't care, he'd talk to anyone that might listen. So he started in on the guy with questions about possible ideas about why he wasn't catching fish. As best I remember the conversation went something like this:
"Hey, I kinda had a hard day and was wondering if you could make some recommendations?"
The guy looked up, annoyingly, from the vise where he was tying, and gave him a smug, "Well, what were you using? Henning, rattled off about a dozen patterns, most of which, should have worked, by my estimation. "Well, are you seeing fish?" the guy asked. "Yeah, some." "Well, I don't cast unless I see a fish." "My buddy here did pretty well out there, and I was just wondering if maybe you had guidance or advice for me." The guy just looked him dead in the eye and said, "Well sometimes it's the Indian and not the arrow." I'd had enough. I paid for my flies and told Henning, "Come on, we gotta go. Out
in the Jeep, Henning looked across the console and asked, "Sometimes
it's the Indian and not the arrow, What does that mean?" I told him. His face got red like it always did when he got mad. "I ought to go back in there and kick that old geezer's ass." I didn't want any part of it; I just started the Jeep and headed back to our campsite.
I
thought of that story the other day, because this is the time of year
on the Juan, things can get a little tough out there. The water is
crystal clear and kind of low and these fish have seen their fair share
of fishermen and flies, by now. They're out there, they're eating most
of the time, but they ain't pushovers. You gotta bring your A game on
your drifts, your mends, your whole presentation. You gotta use the tiny
stuff, because that's what they're eating right now. You gotta use the
best technology has to offer, like fluorocarbon leaders and tippets.
You gotta keep adjusting your weight and your depth, until you get it
dialed in just right. You gotta experiment with some different patterns,
until you find out what is working. My advice is worry more about
proper presentation though, and less about fly choice. The Indian, not
the arrow.
To
get you in the ballpark, here's some patterns that I know will
work—small red larva, size 24 and 26. Red larva with micro tubing, in
size 24. Mono midges and bling midges in 26. Crystal flash and ju-jus in
26. RS2s, foamwings, and rootbeers for anything in the Texas hole and
below. 6x on all the nymphs. For
dries, fore and afts and Morgan's midges in 24 and 26, and single black
adult midges in 26. Sprout midges in 22s when you see clusters. 7x for
all your dries. Expect to see fish eating dries and emergers from 12:00
till about 5:00. Play
around with it, have fun, enjoy the challenge. Don't get stressed,
you'll catch fish. Expect some company on the water out there, it's
gonna be a bit busy from now until about mid-November. Hope you can make
it out, the weather is splendid here. If you need more info or would
like to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
9/12/16: There's nothing more redneck than coon hunting, except; possibly, possum hunting and I've done both. I was raised in rural Appalachia, have eaten squirrel, beans and cornbread, a ton of bologna sandwiches on white bread, and sometimes even an occasional groundhog. I've cut tobacco, bailed hay in the hot Virginia sun, ran barefoot through cow pastures in the summer, worn overalls, drank spring water with a dipper from a galvanized bucket, and drank moonshine from a Mason jar; hell, I've even smoked rabbit tobacco in a corncob pipe out behind my grandpa's barn with my cousin Billy, back when we both still in elementary school. So, I guess; technically speaking, you could say I'm a redneck. I still like the sound of a fiddle and banjo on old Ralph Stanley and Bill Monroe tunes and that probably offers further credence to the fact that once you're a redneck, you're always a redneck. But I'm alright with all that, because one of things I've garnered from my hillbilly ways is my appreciation and love for the great outdoors, and it's stuck with me through adulthood. This all goes back to the times when I started toting a single shot .22 rifle that was almost as long as I was tall, for squirrels, rabbits, and groundhogs. I goes back to when I used a cane pole there on the old Clinch for bluegills, sunfish, perch, and bass, before Tenkara was even cool. It all goes back, or as we used to say there—even in matters concerning our love lives—it's all relative. So, although it has been a long evolution, all that backwoods upbringing has; no doubt, been the seed for why I ended up here—living along the banks of yet another river, a fly fisherman; no less, and a hunter for both elk and mule deer. It's a life that I wouldn't trade for all the lights in New York City. We've all got our own stories about how we came to be flingers of fur and feather in this gentleman's sport, and although mine is a little more rudimentary than most, as John Gierach likes to say, "There's an old black cast iron skillet hidden somewhere in about every fly fisherman's closet." It's enough to keep even the most high-minded, grounded when you really think about it—even for those snobby, purist, dry-fly fishermen, like me. Like grandpa used to say, ‘Don’t get above your raisin’ son. I don’t know how I got started on all this anyway, so let’s just get on with the fishing report part. To begin with, the river looks great. The flow level is just around 500 cfs and the water is gin clear. If the rest of this sounds a lot like last week’s report, it’s because things haven’t really changed much since then, as far as fishing conditions go. Small, dark midge patterns still reign supreme—larva and pupa patterns earlier in the day and emergers in the afternoon. I was surprised to see that I could raise a lot of fish to a larger ant pattern before the midges started really coming off. After that, I had to go to Morgan’s Midges and Fore and Afts on 7x to keep myself into fish. Once the clusters started forming it was the Sprout Midge that got it done for me. In my recent experience, the best hatches have been in the upper sections of the river. The weather looks to be great this week with highs in the 70’s and cool mornings, although we have been getting some wind in the afternoons, which can make the dry fly stuff a bit tough. If that happens, and you want to continue the dry game, try going with same large ants and hoppers. Overall, the fishing is great, the weather is beautiful and there is already some change in the colors of the cottonwoods—a great time to be on the water here in Northern New Mexico. This week looks to be about the last quiet week, people wise, before the fall crowd arrives, so it would be a great week to check out the Juan. If you need more info or would like to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
If you are planning a trip to the San Juan in the near future, expect
to see some of the best this river has to offer. To begin with, the
weather looks to be spectacular this week with that quintessential late
summer climate that New Mexico is famous for—bluebird skies, cool
mornings and evenings, and warm, sunny days. We have been experiencing
some late afternoon thundershowers, although the chances look to be
about 20 percent for the rest of the week, but it's a good idea to pack a
rain jacket, just in case. The river is in great shape, with flows
presently around 500 cfs and crystal clear water conditions. From a dry
fly fisherman's perspective, I found the conditions; especially in the
earlier part of last week, to be a little tough. Admittedly, there was a
increase in the flow change and a marked change in the temperature that
coincided just before I went out on Monday and I'm not sure if one or
the other; or both combined, were the reason for suppressing the midge
hatches that I had been experiencing in earlier weeks, but I sure didn't
see a lot of bugs, or rising fish. However, along with the drop on
Thursday down to 500 cfs the hatches have now intensified and I'm
getting good reports that there's a lot of snouts out there, starting
mid-day and lasting into late afternoon. I wish I knew more about how
that works (although I have a bunch of theories) but the more important
thing is reporting when it happens and not necessarily how, since you
can't do anything to change it anyway. For the dry fly fishing it's been
Morgan's midges earlier in the day on those emerger rises, fore and
afts and adult black midges just a bit later when they switch to picking
off the individual adults, then Sprout midges when you start to see
clusters. As the hatch tapers off, you'll need to go back to the Morgans
and fore and afts to keep yourself into fish. Ants and hoppers are
still bringing up some fish before the hatch starts, if you can find
fish in the shallows.
For nymphs, it's still mostly a midge game. Think tiny (size 26) and
black. Blings, monomidges, and zebras are all good choices, along with
some small larva patterns, before you start to see the fish working the
upper water column. Once you start to see those fins roll, mix in some
emerger patterns like ju-jus, crystal flash, and scintillas and start
working a shallower rig with less weight. 6x will get you into more
fish, fluorocarbon is also a good idea, and keep your indicators small,
white, is a better color choice. From Texas Hole and below add some
rootbeers, foamwings, and those CDC RS2s.
Hope you can make it out this week to check things out. Fall guide
trips and room accommodations are beginning to book up already, so if
you are thinking about a trip to the Juan, give us a call soon at (505)
632-2194.
8/21/16: I used
to be a basketball player. Well, back in the day I used to be a
basketball player. I know that may sound odd to some folks who have only
come to know me in my "golden" years and I don't blame them; it's hard
to imagine that a 5'7" old, gray-haired guy was ever much of a baller.
But, in my high school and college days I was actually pretty good at
it. In fact, the high school team that I played on won some
championships. On one particular year, we were in the Regional final
game, one victory away from going to state, and we ended up playing the
team of the school that was hosting the playoff. They had home court
advantage and they were good. As often happens when two good teams meet,
the game was close. They had a guy, a guard named Steve Ball, that is
now a dentist, that was a state champion scorer. He was a guard and I
was a guard. I was lucky that I didn't have to go one-on-one against
him, except for the times when we switched to a zone defense. Anyway, we
were up by a point in the last few seconds of the game and they threw
the ball to Steve, who; of course, sank a 30 foot jump shot and put them
a point ahead. Mind you, this was so long ago, that we didn't have the
three-point shot yet in high school, which means I probably wouldn't be
telling this story. Our coach, whose nickname was "Flea" because of his
size and had been on a State Championship team at one time himself,
immediately jumped to his feet and called a time out with about 3 or 4
seconds remaining.
All of us headed to the bench and huddled around as he crouched in
the center and the crowd was roaring. We huddled in closer, we huddled
in closer to hear his instructions, expecting to hear a strategic plan,
a master play that was going to give us that last good shot and our
pathway to the State playoff. Flea scanned the eyes of the five
sweating, nervous players that had worked their asses off all season
just to get to this moment, five boys that had endured practice after
practice, drill after drill, countless laps up and down the court for
conditioning, "suicides" we called them—running to every line on the
court and back until you had gone from baseline to baseline, then doing
it all again and again to the shrill of the coache's whistle. Flea
stared into the eyes of each of us and uttered these immortal, strategic
words, "Boys I don't know what to tell you, just go out there and win."
Now, perhaps in his defense, it was his attempt at a "Gipper" speech,
meant to inspire the boys that had trusted him to get us to the point we
were now at, knowing; or thinking, that we had the skill and
discipline, to go out and execute some miraculous stratagem on our own.
Instead, I remember walking away from that huddle and staring into the
same blank faces of my four other teammates that didn't have a clue
about what we were supposed to do now. So the whistle blew and the
referee handed Danny Garrett the ball, which he tossed to me and I
brought it up court, and tossed it to someone else who took a crappy
shot that missed both the backboard and the basket, and the buzzer
sounded, and we lost.
My point, which I have finally, laboriously, arrived at, is: If you
expect to win at anything, it helps to have a game plan. That's true
with fly fishing, too. When I go out, I know where on the river I want
to fish. I have a pretty good idea of what flies I plan to use. I know
what the flow is, I know the water clarity. I've even checked the
weather for the day for things such as cloud cover and wind. I walk
around a lot, see what the fish are doing. I gotta think that doing your
homework on things like that help to give you an advantage, versus
going out willy-nilly and casting to the first spot you come to with the
same flies you had on from the last time you fished. I gotta think that
helps, as does calling a time-out from time to time, and adjusting your
strategy, if what you are doing isn't working. So here's where reading
fishing reports and talking to fly shop employees and other fishermen,
become important. You may not get the entire gospel truth that will turn
your entire day around, but; at least it won't be some inspirational
speech that will leave you without substance, from which to form a
plan. And here's what I've got for you for the coming week—crystal clear
water conditions with flows around 600 cfs., temperatures in the 70s
with overcast skies and a good chance of rain on Tuesday and Friday.
Expect to see some good midge hatches beginning around mid-day and
lasting until late evening, with some midge clusters forming around 3:00
pm, especially in the upper river. If you're nymphing, keep 'em small
and black, size 24 and 26. Anywhere from Texas hole and below, add in
some rootbeers, and gray and chocolate foam wings to your arsenal. 6x
for the nymphs, 7x for the dries. Don't be afraid to try some
terrestrials like some bigger foam ants and PMXs earlier in the day,
especially before the hatch gets going strong. Bring bug spray—the
mosquitoes will carry you away on some parts of the river if you have to
get anywhere near the willows on the bank. The Juan is still fishing
very good right now and things will have settled down from the 200 cfs
bump in flows we saw earlier in the week. Expect to do a little
reconnaissance to begin with to find fish from the last time you fished
it, if that was at 400 cfs, a lot of those fish will have moved to
different spots with the flow change, but they're still out there.
Overall, it should be a great week to be on the water. If you would like
to book a guided trip or need more information, give us a call at
505-632-2194.
8/7/2016: It all starts with the rain; that's how it starts. One day it's blazing hot summer and then sometime around the first or second week of August it rains. I'm not talking about a passing thundershower, I mean one of those slow, steady, soaking rains that can last for 24 hours. The kind where you never see the sun for the entire day. It rains and the temperature drops ten degrees and never makes it back again, and the light now now becomes more softer, the sun less harsh. I rains like that and you know that summer is on it's way out; the seasons have begun to change and there is reflection on how you have spent those days, and regret if you have squandered any of them. There is a renewed sense of urgency in man, beast, and nature for accomplishment before it changes yet again. For me it is a clarion call to spend more time on the water as the geese begin their flight, honking with a different resonance, a more insistent tone of purpose that reflects transition, as the chamisa blooms to cast about it's seed to propagate its species, as the elk and mule deer form their bachelor groups before the next season arrives and they become mortal enemies- all of us feeling, knowing, there is an imperativeness in our needs. So with a renewed sense of purpose I go fishing as each day grows shorter; if only by seconds, each one counts more to me now, somehow. If you're planning on spending some time here on the San Juan you can expect to reap some just rewards for your efforts. The flows have been lowered to the 400 cfs range and the water is crystal clear. There are some good midge hatches that start around mid-day and last throughout the late afternoon and evening. With the decrease in flows expect to see more water open up for sight fishing opportunities, when the deeper runs where fish have been holding become shallower, exposing more targets. August generally translates to the more technical aspects of fishing the Juan. Most of these fish ave been fished over quite heavily by now and the bugs are small which means those fish aren't the easy pushovers they were earlier in the season with higher water, more cover, and less pressure. Still, they can be had with lighter tippets, smaller flies, better presentations, and smaller indicators. I like it because it becomes more of a challenge to my skill set. If you're looking for fly advice, think larva and pupae in the mornings in size 24, around 11:00 in most parts of the river you'll start to see some emerger activity pick up that will last throughout the rest of the day and you'll want to add ju-jus, scintillas, and crystal flash midges in size 24 and 26. Once you start seeing snouts and the fish are on the dries, try fore and afts and Morgan's midges in size 24 and black adult midges in size 26-7X tippet helps tremendously. Unless we get a cool, overcast day, I wouldn't expect to see BWOs become any part of the dry fly equation any time soon, although the nymphs are present and shouldn't be overlooked, especially if you are fishing anywhere from the Texas Hole and below. Hope you can get out and experience the remaining part of summer and remember that fall is also a great time to fish the San Juan. If you have questions or need to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
7/31/2016: Wow, August already. How did that happen? I suddenly get the feeling that summer is slipping away and I haven't fished enough. Maybe it had something to do with that hiatus during the late spring/early summer high flows on the Juan; maybe a longer than normal runoff in Colorado, when I usually get away to fish different waters— work, life, who knows how it really happens? Now I see myself cringing when those back to school sale ads come on, or hear people already talking about football season. Summer is my favorite time of year here on my home waters, I plan to do everything I can to salvage the rest of it and be the fishing maniac I was meant to be. There is nothing worse than regret in life for not pursuing your passion. The good news is that the river is in great shape right now with flows around 800 cfs, crystal clear water conditions, and the fish are fatter, stronger, and healthier than I have seen in years. There's good midge hatches that start around 11:30 or 12:00 and last until it's too dark to see a fly anymore. There are reasons, many reasons, to fish. If you're planning on joining me in the next couple weeks here's what you can expect. Although, the quality of fishing on the big terrestrial patterns like hoppers, ants, and PMXs (that I so dearly love to toss during this time of year) is not what it was during the drop of the high water, there are still lots of opportunistic fish out there that will eat a big dry, just don't expect to stand over a run and catch fish after fish, like you can when you're nymphing. To be successful at it, you'll have to adopt the old Muhammad Ali tactic of stick and move, stick and move. It's a combination of hunting and fishing, looking for fish that are holding in shallower water or higher in the water column, or cruising in frog water or back eddies, waiting for an opportunity to crush a big meal. It's a hard thing to explain, really, but after you do it for a while, you'll be able to tell which fish are most likely to fall for it before you even make the cast. Anyway, you're probably not gonna put as many numbers on the board during the course of an average day, but seeing a big set of jaws slowly close around a size 10 dry fly is something you won't soon forget. Once the midge hatch gets really going around mid-day and you're seeing risers, you're living in a parallel universe if you think you're gonna get these fish to continue to eat the big stuff. If you don't want to change your fly choice you're going to have to move and find some fish that aren't sipping size 24 and 26 midges. If you stay, you'll have plenty of eats on fore and afts, and size 26 black adult midge patterns with 7x tippet. If you are seeing clusters and the fish are on them, you'll be able to bring some fish to hand with some Griffith's gnats in sizes 22 and 20. For the nymphers out there, it's pupa and larva patterns in the earlier part of the day with special emphasis on darker colors on the pupas—the smaller, the better. Around 11:00 expect to see some fins and tails on the surface, and then it's time to go to your emerger patterns like scintillas, crystal flash, and ju-jus. Keep 'em small 24s and 26s and go light on the weight and move that strike indicator down to keep your flies in the upper water column. 6x for your tippet size will get you into more fish, and I don't have the time here to go into the big debate over fluoro vs. mono, so I'll just say this: It's just like chicken soup for a cold—it may or may not work, but I want every possible advantage working in my favor. If you're too cheap to spring for the extra 10 bucks for a spool of tippet after dropping all that extra money on a fishing trip, or spending 800 dollars on a fly rod, then you probably deserve what's coming to you. Okay, that's enough about that, summer is flying by, get out there and fish. If you would like more information or would like to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
7/21/2016: Latest from the BOR (Bureau of Reclamation) on the San Juan Flow Schedule.
"As a result of increasing river flows and a forecast wet weather pattern in the San Juan River Basin, the Bureau of Reclamation has scheduled a decrease in the release from Navajo Reservoir from 800 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 650 cfs on Friday, July 22nd starting at 4:00 a.m. Releases are made for the authorized purposes of the Navajo Unit, and to attempt to maintain a target base flow through the endangered fish critical habitat reach of the San Juan River (Farmington to Lake Powell). The San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program recommends a target base flow of between 500 cfs and 1,000 cfs through the critical habitat area. The target base flow is calculated as the weekly average of gaged flows throughout the critical habitat area
The San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program recommends a target base flow of between 500 cfs and 1,000 cfs through the critical habitat area. The target base flow is calculated as the weekly average of gaged flows throughout the critical habitat area. "
07/17/16: Gin clear water, bluebird skies, fat, healthy trout, rising fish, and hatches that last throughout the larger part of the day. If that sounds like the perfect recipe for a fisherman, then the San Juan is the place to be. Currently we are experiencing consistent flows around 800 cfs and with the hot, dry weather, those flows are likely to remain at that level for the near future. If you haven't fished the San Juan recently, you're going to notice a few changes on your next visit. Changes that have made a great river, even better. Those high spring flows have done wonders for the health of these fish—they are noticeably heavier, more muscular, and full of fight when you hook them. And the river itself looks more like the San Juan of old, like back when we had these spring releases on a consistent basis and we had a beautiful cobbled bottom, and all the silt, and didymo weren't around. It's like fishing a whole new river, and I'm loving it. As for the "how's it fishing?" part; well, it's great. I'll begin with saying that when it was between 3,500 to about 2,000 cfs the quality of fishing on big terrestrials like ants and hoppers was off the charts good. That method of fishing; at least for me, has slowed a bit since the drop down to 800 cfs. At those higher levels we weren't seeing the kind of hatches we are seeing now and the fish seemed to be much more aggressive on the big dries. Now, I'm seeing some fish in the earlier part of the day that are willing to play that game up until around 11:30 or 12:00, but when the midges get going, it's all about the small stuff. If you're out there, you're going to start seeing fins rolling around mid-day and that's the time to go to your emerger patterns like ju-jus, crystal flash, and scintilla patterns, and fish the film. A couple hours later, you'll start to see some snouts and you can switch to small midge dries like single, black adult midges, Morgan's midges, and fore and afts in sizes 24 and 26. 6x for the nymphing and 7x for the dries, helps, since the water is crystal clear right now. Later when the hatch intensifies, you can use some cluster patterns like the sprout midge or Griffith's gnats, but the clusters haven't been all that large, so I wouldn't go bigger than a size 22. The earlier part of the day, before you start to see these fish rolling on emergers, is gonna be the time to fish your pupa patterns like mono midges, blings, and big macs. If you are fishing from Texas Hole and downriver, throw in a few baetis patterns like root beers, RS2s, and foamwings into your mix, since there are some active nymphs in there. There are a few slate colored BWOs coming off in the lower portion of the river, even on these bright sunny days, but it's not a blanket hatch, by any stretch of the imagination, but you can probably get a few fish to eat a comparadun or small Adams, if you start seeing enough adults on the surface. The big deal right now is the midges that are plentiful and hatching from mid-day right up until dark. So there you go, good fishing, great weather, what else could you ask for? If you come you'll want to pack lots of water—it's hot—really hot. And don't forget the bug spray— the mosquitoes are getting fired up, especially in the evening hours. If you would like more info or need to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
07/03/16: 3,230 cfs, that's where we are right now. The ramp down that was originally scheduled for the 23rd, then changed to the 29th, actually happened on July 1st. But at least it happened, and now we are about 1,100 cfs below the peak that the BOR finally settled on, after much drama and angst. The goal is to have the water level back to 500 cfs by the 12th. This is just speculation on my part, but the big drop of 1,100 cfs on Friday was probably due to the fact that the ramp down began at the start of the Fourth of July weekend and no one was going to be around to gradually adjust the drop each day that would be necessary to nudge it back to 500 by the 12th. I don't imagine anyone is going to be around on Monday; either, so we're probably not going to see any further adjustments until everyone returns to work on Tuesday. Anyway, 3,230 opens up a little more water for waders, but not much. If you're planning on being out there during the first part of the week, be careful. Even at 2,000 which is about where it should be next weekend, wading is still a bit tricky in places, so keep that in mind. As far as flies go in the meantime, most of these fish should start adjusting back off the junk and start focusing more on the usual San Juan diet of midges and baetis nymphs, so larva, pupa, and emerger patterns should work just fine. We did have a good ant fall yesterday and there were some fish up on them, but with the water being high and fast, it didn't translate into the epic dry fly fishing we are accustomed to seeing with that event. It is my experience that you can still get some fish to eat ant imitations for a few days after the actual fall, but the issue now is finding water shallow enough to give them a good look at your offering, since they aren't coming up from six feet of water to eat a dry no matter how good it looks. If you can work some of the skinnier stuff or the banks, you will probably pull up some fish on ants and hoppers, though. What you are likely to see in this coming week are a lot of fish moving around adjusting to the change in flows as they drop. Already, there are some fish that are beginning to move off of the bottom feed more actively. From now and after the level reaches 500 cfs, you're going to find some really healthy fish that haven't seen a fly in a long time and it's going to be a good time to be on the Juan with some super clear water and a much prettier river than we've seen in the last four years. It's been a long time coming, but it is going to be well worth the wait. If you would like to book a guide trip or need more information, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
06/26/16: It's painstakingly slow—like watching paint dry, or grass grow, or waiting for a Sunday sermon to end when you're seven years old and the wooden pew is hard, and all your friends are already back home playing, because their parents don't go to church; or if they do, their preacher isn't as long-winded. But it's like that, it really is, watching the snow slowly melt off the mountains of Colorado in the distance, looking for a new rock today that wasn't visible yesterday, a sign, any sign, that run-off is coming to it's end, because you want to, no— have to, fish. It should have been a productive time, but it wasn't. I should have painted the house, worked on the car, written a book, but I didn't do any of those things. I didn't do any of those things because I was in a funk—a no fishing-stare at the mountains-watch the snow melt-are we there yet?, funk. But it's coming to an end soon, they tell me. It'll all be over, and I'll be able to wade the river, fish to my heart's content, eat my lunches again on goose-poop covered islands and swat at mosquitoes and life will be good once again, and all my friends and co-workers will be happy too, because I can fish and I am no longer the grumpy old guy they have to avoid and endure. With my life restored, who knows, perhaps I will find my muse again, the water, the fish. Perhaps, I'll be inspired to write again; perhaps I will dance, I know I will dance at least a little jig of happiness, because now I can fish. According to the last word I received from the Bureau of Reclamation, they plan to start reducing the flow here on the 29th of June and over the following 12 days; that means by July 4th the flow should be somewhere around 2,200 to 2,000 cfs and I can begin accessing some water on foot again. Let's hope they keep their word. Angels are smiling in heaven.
05/15/16: "Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more," William Shakespeare, from Henry V. The next two days here will be the final hurrah for quite a while for many folks to have a shot at fishing the Juan. On Wednesday at 1:00 am the BOR will begin its ramp up over the following five days to a 5,000 cfs flow that will last approximately 31 days, with a twelve day ramp down to 500 cfs. Acqua alta the Italians call it—(high water) although that phrase is a term used in Venice to describe the exceptional tide peaks in the northern Adriatic Sea, combined with prevailing winds known as the sirocco which produces flooding in the Venetian lagoon. I digress, but you get the picture. It will dramatically change the character of this river as we know it now, in the short term, but at least we won't be walking around the town of Navajo Dam with our pant legs rolled up to our knees for the next month, or so, I hope. As a fisherman, I have mixed emotions about Acqua alta, the selfish side of me will miss being able to wade almost anywhere I want, casting about for trout; the more sensible side of me knows that it's a necessary evil and in the long term it's going to do wonders for the aesthetics of the river, and the health of the fishery. Once the dust settles at 5,000 cfs and the water clears, I'll probably visit a couple of spots I know I can still access by foot, maybe fish out of the boat with a couple of guides I know. There'll be a few trips up to the lake to toss poppers to smallmouth, perhaps a trip or two up to Colorado to visit some water up there that I haven't seen since last year. It'll be okay, I'll get through it, and when the water starts to drop again, I'll have a whole new river to fish, a better river, a prettier river, with lots of hungry fish in places I haven't been able to fish in four years. It's a good trade-off. In the meantime, we've got a photo contest going on here at Abe's with some great prizes for the top five submissions. You can check out the details on our Facebook page and submit your entries of your favorite shots of the river, or fish, to: photos@sanjuanriver.com. Contest ends June 10, 2016. Please bear in mind that we emphasize the utmost concern over the proper handling of all fish and advocate that you always use the best practices when taking photos and releasing fish. Done properly, your fish should always be kept in the net, in the water, until you are absolutely ready for the shot— always wet your hands, gently lift the fish with plenty of support underneath it, snap a picture and get it immediately back into the water. The entire photo part should only take a second. These wonderful creatures are our livelihood and our passion and each and every one demands your utmost respect. Once the water reaches 5,0000 cfs, there are still opportunities to fish here, and although the wading part is limited, the fishing from a boat with an experienced guide can be very good. If you would like more information or would like to book a guide, please give us a call at 505-632-2194
05/08/16: It's coming—the high water—5,000 cfs of it. The latest word from the BOR has the scheduled release date of May 16th at a 30 percent likelihood and the date of May 23rd at 70 percent. There will be a 5 day ramp up to reach 5,000 cfs where it will remain at that level for approximately 31 days with a ramp back down to normal levels over a 12 day period. If you've never fished here during high water, your first question is probably—can you do it? My answer is yes, with a few caveats. First of all, the time during the ramp up and for a few days after it hits the 5,000 mark offer the biggest challenge. As you can imagine, as the volume and the speed of the water starts to rise, it's going to churn up a lot of junk in the water, and I mean a lot. After a few days at 5,000 things start to level out and although the water is much higher, the visibility improves dramatically, along with a decrease in most of the larger detritus like sticks, weeds, leaves, you name it. It also gives the fish a little time to figure out what is going on and find their new holding lanes in this new environment. From a wading standpoint, it's still fishable in some places, the trick is knowing where those places are and unless you are very familiar with this river, you're better off booking a guide to show you around, even if it's only for a half day. Otherwise, if you decide to go it alone and you don't know the water, it's downright dangerous. In my opinion, it's best fished from a boat when it's at 5,000 cfs., and that's best accomplished by an experienced guide that knows how to navigate it at that level and also knows where the fish are going to hold. With that in mind, it can fish really well and there are plenty of places where the fish are stacked up in big numbers. Outside of those two scenarios, once the river hits about 2,000 cfs on the drop it fishes extremely well all the way to, and including when, it reaches it's normal level, although you still need to be careful with your wading. In my opinion, you'd be hard pressed to find better fishing on the Juan than during this time. The fish are fat and healthy form all the increased protein sources in the water and have received less pressure from fishermen over the last month, the water is that gin clear quality that we all love, and the river just looks prettier with all the cobbled bottom without the silt, moss, and didymo we had before high water. Anyway, that's what all the high water thing is about. In the meantime, the river is fishing pretty good right now, with some decent midge hatches, along with some BWOs especially on the overcast days. The present flow is around 400 cfs and the visibility has increased to about 3 to 4 feet. As far as patterns go, midge larva in red, cream, and tan, along with pupa and emerger patterns are still your best bet. Anywhere from the Texas Hole and below, you'll want to have some baetis nymph patterns like RS2s, foam wings, rootbeers, and fluff baetis. There are some dry fly opportunities in the afternoons when the wind isn't bad and my favorites are fore and afts in size 24 and olive comparaduns in size 22, fished on a 7x tippet. If I was a betting man, I'd probably put my money on the 23rd for the start of the ramp up, given the cooler weather we're likely to see over the short term that will most likely hold off the Animas runoff for a bit longer. Stay tuned for updates. If you would like more info or would like to book a guide, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
04/24/16: Back many, many years ago when I would make my annual pilgrimage out West to fish, I would invariably pull the trigger too early and wind up battling the elements, cursing myself, cursing because I knew better. I knew better, but the next spring, I’d do it again. Too many months of enduring winter weather back East, looking at weather reports, watching for a day when the thermometer topped 40 degrees in Wyoming, Montana, or Colorado drew me like a moth to a flame, and I’d pack rods and gear and head out. Occasionally I’d get lucky and the weather would hold out; but more often than not, I remember most of those trips involved snow in some varying degree of intensity. On one particular outing, I had just finished up a big plateful of chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes with gravy at a little diner in Pinedale, Wyoming and was headed out to a series of high mountain lakes in the Wind River Range to pursue the elusive golden trout, that up until that time; and remaining so to this day, is a species of trout that I had never managed to catch. It all started out pretty well, the chicken-fried steak was good, and the weather was cool and overcast but pretty nice for early May, especially for Wyoming. Ten minutes out of the restaurant parking lot an apocalyptic hail storm rolled in and by the time I got to the trailhead and put my backpack on, it started snowing. A quarter-mile in, I was walking in a full-on blizzard and just being able to see the trail was becoming damn near impossible. Halfway to the summit where the first lake was located, I was post holing up past my knees in wet spring snow. Unable to see the trail anymore, I hurriedly pitched my tent, stripped out of my wet clothes and crawled into my sleeping bag. I awoke the next morning to two feet of fresh snow and bushwacked my way to the summit to find the lake with all those beautiful golden trout I been reading about in magazines for months. The lake was there and probably so were the trout—under a layer of ice and two feet of snow. I waded back down to the tent in thigh deep snow, packed up and wrote off golden trout and the Wind River Range for springtime vacation spots I wanted to return to. The point of sharing this little story here is that planning a springtime fishing trip in the West is just like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates—you never know what you're gonna get. That's why I'm thankful to the good Lord above, for my home waters, the San Juan. Yeah, there's still a possibility that you can encounter days here in the spring where you can experience all four seasons and it's a given that the wind is going to blow (the only question is how hard) but for the most part, you can rule out those game-changer conditions like two foot snows and sudden warm spells that trigger sudden runoff in freestones that can turn crystal clear mountain water to chocolate milk in a matter of hours. Anyway, here's what you can expect for the coming week. First of all, the flows are right around 400 cfs and the visibility is good, but not great, at about two to two-and-a half feet. There have been sporadic midge hatches that start around noon and last sometimes until 3:00 pm on some days, but they are not consistent enough to say you're going to see them every day. There have also been some decent BWO hatches in the lower section of the river that have afforded some good dry fly fishing, especially on days when it is overcast and cooler here. You can expect to see these around 2:00 pm and last from anywhere from less than an hour, up to a couple of hours. You'll have to also factor the wind into the equation for your dry fly opportunities, because those afternoon hours are just about the time the wind comes up here and can put the fish down. The more consistent fishing method on the Juan at this time is sticking to the good old tried and true nymph rig with midge larva, pupa, and emerger patterns. If you are fishing anywhere from the Texas Hole and below, you'll want to include some baetis nymph patterns like RS2s, rootbeers, fluff baetis, and foamwings. The best bet on the dries is to be prepared, if and when the opportunities arise with small fore and afts, Griffiths gnats, and BWO patterns like comparaduns and small parachute Adams patterns. Monday and Tuesday look to be the windier days of the week and the rest of the week should be cool and overcast with some moderate winds in the afternoon, but nothing like the 40 and 50 mile-per-hour stuff we saw this past Saturday. On the longer term water forecast, the latest word from the BOR still has the target date for the 5,000 cfs release starting around mid-May and maintaining that level for 30 days, with a two week ramp down back to normal levels. Aside from the wind at the earlier part of the week, this should be a good week to be on the water here. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
04/04/16: The sporting world lost one of it's legendary writers last week with the passing of Jim Harrison. Harrison was an author of monolithic proportion, with a work ethic that remains the envy of today's literary world. He wrote the entire text to probably his most recognized work— Legends of the Fall, over the period of nine days while holed up in a snowbound Michigan cabin and changed only one sentence, before it went to print. He has said of writing, that unless you plan to give your entire life to it, it can't be done otherwise. His way of looking at the world was comedic at times, which in my opinion, is a good way to view it in order to keep your sanity intact. He died a "poets death" as his good friend Phillip Roth said, with his pen in his hand as the line to the poem he was working on at the time, wandered off into a scribble, and his heart gave out. His unapologetic zest for life; often to excess, came through in his poetry as well as his prose, with a wit that will likely go unmatched for long years to come, perhaps forever. With the sporting world in mind, it's time to talk about fishing for a while. For the past few days, we've had a slight reprieve from the wind, which has been a blessing in and of itself. This week, with the exception of Tuesday, looks to bring us more of the same, along with some warmer temperatures. It also appears the quality of the fishing has picked up, with the appearance of some BWOs in enough numbers to bring some fish up in the afternoons, especially in the lower section of the river. The present flow of 453 cfs will likely stay in place right up until it is ramped up to 5,000 cfs in early May and the water clarity is still around 2 feet or so. Nymphing with red and cream larva along with midge pupa patterns seem to be the hot ticket and mixing in some baetis patterns like rootbeers, RS2s, and chocolate and gray foamwings is a good idea if you are fishing anywhere from the Texas hole and below. The midge hatches have been sporadic, appearing on some days between 11:00 am till 3:00 pm and non-existent on others, likewise with the BWOs, who seem to prefer the overcast days and cooler temperatures, but this past week there were a couple of days where they were out in enough numbers to have quite a few fish up on the feed for an hour or two starting at around 2:00 pm. So, the dry fly fishing has been anything but consistent and you're just going to have to come prepared and take advantage of if, and when, the opportunity presents itself. If it does happen, you'll want to have some size 24 fore and afts for the midges and size 22 comparaduns and Adams patterns for the baetis. Overall, things are good here on the Juan and getting better, but the clock is ticking before the water gets bumped up and your fishing is going to be limited to fishing from a boat or finding a back channel you can still wade safely. If you would like more information or need to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
03/27/16: Buckle in friends and neighbors, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. We've got about one month left of fishing here, before the water goes to 5,000 cfs for the big spring release that will start sometime around early May. This interim period is going to be fraught with all the foibles that normally come with early spring weather in the Rockies which create less than favorable conditions, much to the chagrin of fishermen. It's just the way it goes, no amount of complaining or whining about it is going to change Mother Nature. You don't necessarily have to like it, but the time has come to "shut up and fish." The wind is going to blow and the water is a little murkier than it was a couple weeks ago and it looks like those two things aren't going to take any dramatic changes toward improvement any time soon. If the San Juan is your destination, you're going to have to make some adaptations. The conditions I'm referring to are double digit wind speeds every day for as far as my weather app can see into the future and water clarity that has dropped down to about two feet, possibly due to more runoff entering the lake, and a consistent chop on the water, caused by said wind. That said, the best times to fish in the upcoming days are going to be during the earlier part of the day before the wind comes up and the best method to catch fish is going to be with nymphing techniques and dead-drifting small streamer patterns. Conventional wisdom would suggest that the brighter, flashier stuff should work a little better right now, due to the decreased visibility, and most of the fishing reports I am hearing seem to bear that out. This means a size 22 or 18 red larva or a princess nymph, trailed with a cream larva or a pupa pattern like a bling midge. There will be some opportunities to go to some smaller emerger patterns fished in the film on some days, when the wind permits, especially around mid-day when the bugs have become more active and you start to see some fish rolling on the surface. Fortunately, the hatches have begun to pick up in intensity, even to the point that there are some midge clusters out there, but this has generally happened from noon till about three o'clock when the wind hits it's peak, so the dry fly fishing has been a bit tough for the past couple weeks. Lest I sound like it's all gloom and doom out there, just know that it ain't so. There are still plenty of fish being caught, it's just that this unsettled spring weather isn't going to be your friend and make things easy. The good news is that even on the worst of days, the San Juan generally fishes better than most rivers in the west, this time of year. That, and it's likely to be about 10 to 15 degrees warmer here, than anywhere else you could go. If you fish this river a lot, then you know that there are days when things seem almost too easy. I imagine if it were always that way, then I'd consider this whole fishing business thing, less than challenging and probably become bored with it. All waters have their less than stellar moments, where paying your dues from time to time is required, and really, I wouldn't want it any other way. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more information, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
03/20/16: Look at that—the first day of spring, and only a few weeks ago, we thought it would never get here. It's been a long, tough winter—we're ready. For the next couple of weeks, this river is going to see some increased pressure from more fishermen. Spring break and temperatures that are 10 to 20 degrees higher than what our neighbors to the north are experiencing, are gonna drive some people out of the woodwork with the San Juan as their intended destination. You can't blame them. Factor in the start of a little runoff in some of those freestones up there and they aren't left with a lot of choices. It's okay, we've got enough water and enough fish to go around for everyone. As far as conditions go, flows here are in the 400 cfs range and are likely to stay at that level for the near future. The visibility is three feet-plus, which is about as good as it gets for this time of year. If you're coming in the next few weeks, expect the company of the wind, it's also that time of year again, as well. More than likely, that's going to last right up until we see high water in May, it's just an unfortunate by-product of spring in New Mexico. The quality of the fishing is what I would call average to good, with the majority of fish being taken by nymphing and dead-drifting streamers. The hatches haven't been anything to brag about for sometime now, consisting mainly of a few midges around mid-day that produce a few rising fish on days where the wind isn't too bad to put those fish down, and those sort of days have been far and few lately. Ordinarily, this is about the time of year when we start to see some BWOs start to show up, but so far they've been about as scarce as hen's teeth. I imagine all these bluebird skies we have been experiencing, hasn't helped their cause. I'm not writing that one off, just yet, and I'm still carrying a few olive bodied comparaduns around in my box, and will continue to do so for the next month. For the rest of your fly selections, your first choices should be larva patterns in red, orange, and cream. You'll also want to have a few pupa patterns, like mono-midges, bling-midges, and zebra-midges in size 24 and 26. I wouldn't hesitate to throw a few small egg patterns into the mix, as well. Small streamers, in black, olive, and tan with a larva or pupa pattern as a trailer can also be effective. In the event that you do catch the conditions just right and find some rising fish, you'll probably find that they are pretty selective feeders right now, probably due to the scarcity of bugs on the surface. Size 24 fore and afts work most of the time, but I have had to resort to size 26 black adult midge patterns for the really tough ones. 7x is a must for the dries. Well, hope you can make it out soon. Expect some company on the water, especially on the weekends and some wind that can get downright ugly on some afternoons. Still, the San Juan's not a bad place to be compared to a lot of other places you could fish this time of year. If you would like more information,or would like to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
03/13/16: Well, we are getting closer to the official first day of spring and along with it, is gonna come the wind. Sorry, it just happens that way. As far as advice on fishing and the weather goes, if you're looking to fish during the calmer part of the day, it's best you target the early mornings, before the wind gets up and makes things a bit more difficult. Aside from that, you're just going to have to soldier on, and get through it in the afternoons. It's a pesky nuisance and I don't like it anymore than you do, but it's a fact of life here in the great Southwest that happens every March and April. Things could be worse, you know. At least we've got clear water, and the fishing has been pretty decent. At present, the USGS website shows our flow at 428 cfs, although the BOR issued an e-mail on Wednesday saying they were dropping the level of the river to 350. Now, either they missed their 350 cfs target and decided that 428 was close enough, or the gauge is off (which has happened before) and the flow is actually at 350 cfs, so the truth lies somewhere in between. It's close enough for government work; as they say, and a 78 cfs discrepancy really does't make that much of a difference anyway. If you've been following these reports for the last several weeks, then what I'm about to tell you about the fishing here is going to sound like a broken record, because not much has changed. Overall, the quality of the fishing rates about average to good, as far as what you would expect for this time of year. Not summertime or fall fantastic, like this river can be, but not bad, either. If you're coming, expect to nymph and fish streamers a lot. The hatches have picked up a little, but they are pretty much midge only and they are occurring during the hours between 11:00 and 2:00, which is also about the same time the wind picks up, so the dry fly fishing hasn't been that great. As far as fly choices go, red and cream larva patterns in sizes 22 and 24 have been the big producers. You'll also want to have midge pupa patterns like black mono-midges and bling midges in size 24. Around mid-day when the fish become more active, add an emerger pattern like a crystal flash or ju-ju to your offering and shorten up your rig to work the upper part of the water column. Small leech patterns in olive, brown, and black, fished under an indicator, on a dead-drift, will also get you into fish. It's also a good idea to add a trailer, like a red larva, behind the leech, at say, 14 to 16 inches. Well, there you go, that's all I got for you this week. If you're thinking about making the trip, the fishing is worth the drive, and it's only going to get better as we head further into spring, so I say don't let a little wind scare you away. If you would like more information or need to book a guide trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
03/06/16: Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's hard—this writing thing. It comes easier when you have a great story to tell, not so much when you don't. Average is a tough thing to try to make exciting and you can only put so much lipstick on a pig, before it starts to look a little ridiculous. To remain true to the craft of wordsmithing, you gotta remain true to yourself, lest everything you put on paper comes out sounding contrived and everyone who reads it sees it for the transparent hack job that it is. If you fish the San Juan a lot and have fished it recently, then this is all going to make a whole lot more sense to you, or so I hope. If you haven't been here in a while or anywhere else to fish, for that matter, or you're coming here for the first time, then it won't matter. What I'm trying to say here is that the quality of your experience here during this early part of March is going to be determined by your perspective. For me, the fishing here right now is just something to do until until it gets really good, which begins in late spring and early summer. But I'm jaded, I fish here all the time, I know the potential of this river when it's at it's best, which makes anything else just a little harder to bear. I'm just plodding through until then, but I'm spoiled. I'll look at a weather forecast and if it looks like the wind is going to blow or the temperature isn't to my liking then I'll find something else to do. It's not fair to treat a river that way, you ought to be able to take the great, with the not so great, and earn your stripes, show your respect. That said, here's how I see things for the coming week. The present flow is at 495 cfs and will most likely stay at that level for a while. The water clarity is good, especially so for this time of year, with the visibility easily at 3 feet, possibly more. As far as the bug activity, there's still not a whole lot going on. There are a few midges active around mid-day which have some fish up on the feed, but the dry fly fishing hasn't been anything to crow about lately. Factor in a little wind that is common for this time of year and it can make that type of fishing downright tough. On the other hand, the nymphing has been pretty good. Not on-fire-best-you'll-ever-have good, but pretty good. The best producers have been red and cream larva, and dark pupa patterns. Sometime around noon, you'll start to see more bug activity and the fish will become more active and it's a good time to try your emerger patterns and target the upper water column by reducing your weight and moving your strike indicator closer to your fly. Most of the fish I am seeing are holding in deeper water in the thalwegs and I think that all has to do with the inactivity of the bug life right now. There just seems to be more food in those areas, especially midges in the larva and pupa stage, which appears to be what these fish are keyed into. It is also worth mentioning that small leech patterns in black and olive are working quite well when they are fished on a dead drift under an indicator. So to sum it all up, I'd say that the river is fishing about as good as you can expect for this time of year, maybe even slightly better than other years when we have had a hard turnover on the lake and the water wasn't as clear as it is now. As a side note—the BOR just issued a non-official update to their spring water release plans and the most likely scenario will be a quick ramp up over a three day period to a 5,000 cfs flow and hold at that level for approximately 40 days, and then decrese the level back down over a two week period. The release is scheduled for early to mid-May to coincide with the peak of runoff in the Animas, so the actual date of the release remains flexible at this point. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more information, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
02/28/16: "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day," Shakespeare, from Macbeth. If you are a dry fly fisherman, that quote could sum up your feelings about the San Juan right now if you are waiting for rising fish. Tomorrow; or next month for that matter, can't come soon enough. It has been over a month since there have been any bug activity in appreciable numbers, and thus rising fish. From the looks of things, it's probably gonna be a while longer before that changes. In the meantime, the fishing has been pretty decent, as long as you are willing to change your approach. If you want to catch fish here, you'll have to play the hand you've been dealt and it's going to have to involve one of those dreadful "bobbers" that I detest so much, and some lead. Now, I'm not one of those purist snobs that will only fish a fly if it floats, and look down my nose at others who subscribe to other methods. Close perhaps, but not a total purist, and I have a multitude of fly boxes and other fishing accouterments in my possession, to prove otherwise. It's just not my favorite way of doing things. That said, here's the deal. The flow level here is around 450 cfs and will likely stay in that range for the near future. The visibility is around two-and-a-half feet, which isn't that bad for this time of year. In my estimation of things, the inactivity on the part of the bug life, as of late, has led to a lot of the inactivity of the fish. In short, I just don't see a lot of fish moving around any great distances, to scoop up bugs moving through the water column, because not a lot of bugs seem to be moving through the water column. There are definitely fewer fish scrambling to take emergers in the film, and they are virtually nonexistent on the surface. There's certainly a food source out there though, and these fish still gotta eat, otherwise they'd all die out— which leads us to fly choices and methods that will effectively catch fish. Think larva, pupa, small leeches, and even eggs, right now—all on the best dead drift your skills can muster. It's gotta move at the right speed and look realistic, and be at the right depth and hit 'em right on the nose, or it isn't going to get eaten. Just as importantly as fly selection, and perhaps even more so, you're going to have to play around with your set- up and adjust your weight and depth, until you get it just right, which requires a little more work than you are accustomed to, when the bugs, and thus the fish, are moving around everywhere on this river. It's classic wintertime fishing, and despite the fact that the thermometer says sixty degrees, my calendar still says February on the page I'm looking at, at least for a few more days. The night-time temperatures are still down into the twenties, and you can bet that the water that is coming from way down from the bottom of the reservoir and makes up the flow of this river, is what most of us would still classify as chilly. If there's any doubt about that, just look at the temperature chart on the USGS page for the San Juan. Those higher water temperatures as the day progresses, help to explain why the fishing is better at mid-day, when the bugs and the fish become more active. Overall, things could still be a lot tougher. We've got decent water clarity, which helps. It's way better than some years, when the water has looked like pea soup all the way up into early May. Just know that it's not going to be no-brainer easy and you're going to have to work a little for your fish for a while longer. If you plan to come out during the earlier part of the week, expect some pleasant temperatures for this time of the year, but you're going to have to deal with some wind through Wednesday. Expect some company on the weekend from all the other folks that are experiencing cabin fever, just like yourself. Other than that, I still think the Juan is one of the best bets you can make for winter fishing and it's worth the trip if you are thinking about making the drive. If you would like more information or need to book a guide, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
02/14/16: A week of sixty degree temperatures and bright sunshine after the kind of winter we've been through is definitely a reason to celebrate. Of course it's still only mid-February, so there's no real way to know if this is actually the beginning of any early spring just yet, but it sure feels nice not to have to look at those three-foot long icicles that were hanging from my front porch for the last two months, anymore. I won't be missing them. At least, a few weeks of weather like this, can give us hope until the real thing gets here and makes another cold snap or two a little easier to bear, should winter try and reappear before we're officially done with the season. And while we're on the subject of weather, I guess now is as good a time of any to talk about the BOR's most recent forecast for a spring water release here on the San Juan. Probably the most important takeaway from the entire forecast; in my opinion, is to realize that at this point, it is only that—a forecast. In reality, the snowpack level which drives the whole mechanism in the first place, doesn't typically peak until early or mid April. That still leaves a lot of time for things to happen, or not happen, to effect the final outcome. In simplest terms, it all comes down to what kind of weather we have from today forward, until around April 15th. If we get decent snow in the mountains between now and then, we'll have a big release. If it get unseasonably warm and dry weather, and the present snowpack dwindles away, then they'll likely dial back the release. Right now, their model is to most likely ramp up the flow in late April over a four week period, until they reach 5,000 cfs, hold it at 5,000 for three weeks, and then drop it back down over a two week period. Bear in mind that the late April target date is highly dependent on what the Animas river is going to be doing at that time, as the goal is to time the peak of the release here, to coincide with the peak of runoff in the Animas, so that could vary by a couple weeks. Complicated, highly unpredictable, totally weather driven, and speculative on what Mother Nature will do over the next two months. I wouldn't start buying airline tickets, just now, if you're planning a spring fishing trip. If it helps any, I'd wait until the BOR makes a final decision in early April and go from there and keep in mind that the river typically doesn't fish well on the rise, is too dangerous to fish at 5,000 cfs unless you do it from a boat with an experienced guide, and can start fishing extremely well on the drop once it reaches 2,500 to 2,000 cfs. In the meantime, we have present flows of 469 cfs. In my estimation the visibility is about 2 feet or so, down from 3 to 3 and a 1/2, feet, before the recent flow increase. Still, it's not bad compared to what we've seen in past winters. The bug activity has been minimal, with very few midges lately, and only a BWO here and there. The dry fly fishing has been virtually non-existent for the past couple weeks. Perhaps this warmer weather will get things stirred up, but right now, it's a nymphing and streamer game out there. Since the bump in the flow, my observation is that a lot of fish are holding in deeper runs, hugging the bottom. There doesn't seem to be a lot of movement (perhaps due to the lack of bugs moving in the water column) so the best bet seems to be fishing the main currents and getting your flies down to where the fish are. Red and cream larva are hot tickets right now along with small dark midge patterns—24 and smaller. The afternoons and early mornings have been a little slower, with good results coming from dead drifting small leech patterns and dropping off a larva, egg, or worm pattern. Depending on where you fish, there are a lot of small stockers out there right now, if you're looking to avoid them, your best bet is burn a little boot leather and get as far as possible from any place that a stocking truck can access. The good news is that little fish become big fish and come this summer there should be a lot of healthy fish out there. Overall, I would say the river is fishing good to average, if you factor in the lack of dry-fly opportunities, which for me is a real downer, but I'll live through it, I guess. It really wouldn't hurt me to brush up on my nymphing skills anyway and you cant beat mid-60s weather in February. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
02/07/16: It's been a long time since we've had a hard winter here, like this one. We've had snow on the ground since just before Christmas and lots of days where the high temperatures never broke the freezing mark. For those who enjoy outdoor activities, like us fly-fishermen, a tough season like this can be a little hard to take. Normally by February, you've had your fill of it, and you start looking for signs, any sign, that it's on its way out. The first robin, a green blade of grass, a bud on a tree, can give you hope. You'll cling to the slightest gesture from nature, longing with with desire for the expectancy for spring. You'll study the weather report like a college student cramming for a mid-term, looking for warming trends or shifts in the jet-stream, anything that will bolster your spirits and get you through until warmer weather arrives. There's a certain danger in doing all that as early as February. A short warming trend, may leave you with a false expectation that you've made it, you've weathered the worst, just to have all that come crashing down with the arrival of the next cold snap or snow storm, and you'll be left with dashed hopes and a worse case of cabin fever than you began with in the first place. No, you've got to take the good with guarded optimism, enjoy it when the occasion exists but don't get too caught up in it as early as February, or it will leave you with a collapse like a Red Bull wearing off and make the arrival of the real thing seem that much farther off. Hang in there, take heart in it, but don't lose your perspective. That said, here's a little dose of optimism— on Monday the high here will reach 37 degrees and by Thursday we will begin to see highs in the mid-50s that will last throughout the weekend. Great weather to fish the Juan. As I write this, the flow here is increasing today to 500 cfs, where it is likely to stay for the short term, in anticipation of a good spring runoff out of Colorado. The visibility is still around three feet, due to a lake turnover that never really got off the ground this year. As far as the quality of fishing goes, I'd rate it good, not great, but good. About the best you can expect here during winter. I've seen some years where the lake turned over and the water looked like pea soup and the fishing was tough, real tough—this is not one of those years. There are still some opportunities to fish dry flies around mid-day for an hour or two, but for the most part the bugs, and thus the rising fish, have been pretty scarce. Perhaps this warmer weather will bring a change in that dynamic, but I don't have any scientific evidence to back that up and really it's more wishful thinking on my part than anything. I think your best bet right now for consistent fishing results is to stick to the nymphing game and dead drifting small streamers, and being prepared for the dry fly opportunities, if, and when, they present themselves. Overall, you'd be hard pressed to find better fishing anywhere else this time of year, and especially with better weather conditions. My advice is to get out there this week and take full advantage of it while it lasts, and keep that guarded optimism that spring and that renewed hope that comes with it, isn't really that far off. If you would like more information or need to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
01/24/16: Things are about the best you could hope for, as far as winter fishing conditions go here. Oh sure, the weather could be a little nicer, but we're actually going to get that later on this week, with temperatures in the mid to high-40's by Thursday. Right now we have flows in the 350 cfs range and better water clarity conditions than we have seen in several years, for January. To top things off we've got a nice start to a good snowpack in the San Juan Mountains and the reservoir level is higher than we have seen for a long time, as we head into spring. We still have a ways to go before the snowpack reaches it peak in mid-April, but things are definitely looking better for us than they have since 2012. I'm not ready to do a victory dance just yet, there's still quite a bit of time left for Mother Nature to change things up, but it's nice to see signs of optimism like these that could lead to a spring high water release to flush out the river and fill all those side channels that I haven't been able to fish in years. Let's keep our fingers crossed and pray for more snow. In the meantime, the San Juan is fishing pretty well right now. Although I haven't seen any great hatches since the water level went up, there are rising fish during a short window from about 12:00 till 2:30 each day, which is enough to warrant some decent dry fly fishing with small midge patterns, if that's your sort of thing. Earlier in the day and later in the afternoon your best bet is to stick with a standard San Juan nymph rig to keep you into fish. As far as fly choices go, I wouldn't be without red and cream larva as one of my top choices and alternate that with a foam wing pattern, or a midge pupae, or emerger in dark colors. I've also been hearing good things about small Simi-seal leech patterns in brown, gray, and olive, fished on a dead drift under an indicator, as well as, small egg patterns. With a lot of the west still locked in ice and snow, the Juan continues to be a great destination for winter fishermen and this window of warmer weather that we are going to experience later in the week, no doubt, make it all that more enticing. If you decide to make it out this week, I would expect to have a little company on the water, but no where near the number of fishermen you're likely to see here in the summer or fall. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
01/17/16: A U-Haul winter—that's what we call the kind of winter we're having out here. The kind with lots of snow and cold weather that won't let up and sends all those recent arrivals to the west packing up and moving for warmer climates, leaving their snow shovels behind. It's been a cold one so far, tough to take after the recent years of mild winters that we've experienced, but it's January in the Rockies, that's just the way it goes sometimes. The good news is that it's only 62 days, 11 hours, 47 minutes, and 25 seconds until spring, not that I'm counting or anything. For the coming week we should see a bit of a break from the bitter extremes of the cold weather of the past few weeks, with temperatures breaking the 40 degree mark for the first time since sometime way back in December. A heat wave, if you will. While it may not be the time to break out the shorts and t-shirts just yet, it's a welcome respite from highs in the low to mid-20s. Doable weather if you're thinking about a fishing trip. As for the river conditions, the water is still relatively clear with better visibility conditions for January than I have seen in several years. Still plenty clear enough to fish dry flies, which I consider a plus. Due to the increased snowpack for the region, the BOR bumped the flow to around 400 cfs on the 13th, with future plans to take it higher, should we receive more snow. With only one day out of the next ten showing a real chance of precipitation, I doubt we'll see any changes in the flow any time soon. Anyway, the fishing here is good and now the weather is getting a little better. There are some sparse midge hatches during the mid-day that have enough fish up to warrant some decent dry fly fishing with adult midge patterns in size 24 and 26. The water is still clear enough to demand the use of 7x for your dries. During the rest of the day, especially the earlier hours, small Simi Seal leech patterns on a dead drift, particularly when teamed up with a dropper like a red larva have been the hot ticket. The usual midge larva, pupa, and emerger patterns are getting the job done as well, and I wouldn't hesitate to throw an egg pattern in the mix. Baetis nymphs like rootbeers, Johnny Flash, and RS-2s are a good choice in the mid to lower sections of the river. I haven't seen or heard of any adult BWO activity over the past few weeks, so I'm not holding out for any great baetis hatch to kick off anytime real soon, we'll see what happens. Other than Wednesday with a forecast of cold, snow, and wind, this looks like a good week to be on the Juan. If you would like more information or would like to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
01/10/16: There's winter, and then there's winter. Normally, the San Juan is the go to place for late season fly fishing mainly because it's ten to twenty degrees warmer here than anywhere else you can go in the West and chase trout. I mean, you don't typically see a lot of folks loading up and taking off for Montana, or the Green river in Utah, or the Frying Pan, or the Taylor in Colorado, in the middle of January for a fishing trip. Oh sure, there's always gonna be the hard cases; the crazies, and I'm one of them, that'll do it, but the San Juan remains one of the top destinations of people that want to fish in the wintertime, because it's known for its moderate weather and ice-free water conditions. And generally, this holds true. We get a lot of days where it's forty-five and even fifty degrees or so, in January, and if the sun is out; which it typically is, it can be really quite pleasant to be on the water, provided you put on an extra layer or two. But, unfortunately that isn't always the case, and this coming week looks to be the exception of the Northern New Mexico Banana Belt Myth. As I write this, it's fourteen degrees outside and there's eight inches of snow on the ground that probably isn't going to go anywhere, any time soon. The high today should reach a balmy twenty-eight and tomorrow night's low will be one degree. The rest of the week looks to be about the same. Oh well, it's winter. If you're one of those whacko, nut cases, that's just gotta do it, here's what you can expect. The flow is presently at 250 cfs and the water clarity is still good with visibility around 3 feet, or so. There's been a lot of local discussion over the past week if the lake has turned over or is in the process of turning over and it seems that everyone I talk to, including myself, has their own theory and all of them are different. The best answer I can tell you is that the visibility might be slightly less than it was a couple of weeks ago, but it's still plenty clear, especially compared to what I've seen in years past, in mid-January. Whether or not it will decrease as time goes on, depends on who you ask. Truthfully, I don't think anyone really has a clue and the best thing you can do is just get out there and take advantage of it while it's good. The fishing is what I would call good right now, by winter standards. I had two decent days on Monday and Tuesday throwing midge dries to rising fish on a stretch of water where I never saw another angler or a boat, until I met two guys on my way to the parking lot at 3:00. You can't really ask for much more than that. I did notice that the midge hatch was relatively sparse, compared to previous weeks and the majority of rising fish I saw were between the hours of 12:00 and 2:30 pm, so it's a short window if you're looking to fish dry flies. I never saw a BWO adult on the water, despite the overcast weather and fishing a location where you would expect to see them. If you're looking for numbers rather than poetry, then just know that you're probably going to catch a considerable more amount of fish by nymphing. I have been hearing from plenty of folks that are teaming up small leech patterns with a dropper and fishing them on a dead drift with great results, other than that it's going to be the usual arsenal of small San Juan midge and baetis patterns, with a special emphasis on making a red larva one of your choices. I'm sure that there are going to be those that just have to come out no matter what the weather, and that's just fine, I applaud you. If you're one of those folks and would like to book a guided trip or need more information , give us a call at 505-632-2194.
01/03/16: Happy New Year to all. With the weather being what it is—winter in true form—I find myself daydreaming a lot about warmer times to come. The cold season has always just been something I tolerated; barely, until spring and summer arrived, and it seems I care less for it as I grow older. Nonetheless, it's here so I do my best do deal with reality, take advantage of an occasional warm spell when it happens and fish, look for a silver lining, and pray for an early spring. For the last couple of winters here, that wasn't too difficult, they were milder than usual, and I was able to fish a lot, especially on some different water up in Colorado that's normally off limits due to the weather. But, warm, dry weather out here in the winter is a two-edged sword, kinda like a raucous New Year's Eve party that's fun at the time, but leaves you with a lot of regret the next morning. It's great to fish in 55 degree weather in January and be able to drive over all the mountain passes on dry roads, but it doesn't do much to promote the health of our rivers and their fish, when the water level remains low all the rest of the year. And we've seen that here on the San Juan with four years of below normal snowpack, resulting in a buildup in didimo, and decreased fish habitat from the buildup of silt that would normally be washed away by high springtime water releases; not to mention, all the back channels I used to be able to fish, that seem to be no more than algae covered sludge ponds. So here's where I see the silver lining in a winter that has Wolf Creek boasting the most snow in Colorado, with a total of 253 inches so far. I see that translating into high spring flows on the San Juan that will move most of the silt buildup below Simon Canyon further down river and restore one of my favorite fishing spots (Durangler's Corner) to its former glory. I see a pretty cobbled streambed again in the rest of the river where I haven't seen it for years, free of didimo, silt, and moss buildup. I see side channels full of big cruising fish, anxious for the splat of my ant or hopper pattern. I see fishermen spread river-wide, not crowded over the same hole at a 250 flow, pounding away at corralled up fish that are reduced to finding enough current to sustain their existence. That, friends, is a good thing and worth taking one for the team for, giving up a few less days to fish in the winter—when it's cold anyway, to have a healthy, beautiful fishery for the rest of the year. That is the silver lining of cold and snow. Now here the fishing report part—flows of 266 cfs with clear water conditions. Despite the cold weather we have been experiencing the lake hasn't turned over yet, although that could happen any day. The fishing has been good with midge hatches still happening and the dry fly fishing, as well as the nymphing, being very productive. It's been cold, real cold on a lot of days, but those folks that have braved the elements have been justly rewarded with their share of fish. The better fishing has been from around 11:00 till 3:00, which coincides with the best time to be on the water anyway, because of the more tolerable temperatures. The earlier part of the week we will see some slightly warmer temperatures with some precipitation moving in Monday afternoon and lasting until Thursday—great Blue Wing Olive weather, if you don't mind a little rain and snow. By Friday the temperatures will begin to drop again and the forecast for the weekend looks to be cold. All in all, this could be a great week to fish the San Juan, if you're not afraid of a little weather. Best of all it translates into more snow in the mountains and possibly the best spring, summer, and fall we've had in a long time here. Best of luck in 2016 and may you get the chance to fish more than ever before—just to borrow a line from my New Year's resolution. If you would like more info or would like to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
12/13/15: The smallest feature that a human finger can distinguish by static touch is about .2 mm, about twice the diameter of a human eyelash—pretty amazing. I have a Scottish heritage, so I rebuild a lot of my leaders rather than buying a new one each time I go out, and sometimes I've got a lot of blood-knotted sections in there and it's hard to remember from one fishing session to the next if I ended up with a piece of 6x or 7x tippet, or if it was dark when I broke off and just said, "screw it." Most of the time I tell myself that I can actually see or feel the difference, but science doesn't back me up on that. Truth be known, I'm actually not always that sure, and it really depends on how lazy I am and whether I want to clip off the old piece and start over again or just get on with the fishing part and change it if I start getting refusals. The difference in the diameter between the two is about .025 mm, (6x is around .127 and 7x, .102)— out of my realm, where static touch is concerned. I can't even feel it, why should I think that a trout could even see that from underneath the water, especially when it's moving? Yet they can, and do. I know that, because I've observed it, time and again. These are some amazing creatures. If you thought that the sensitivity of human touch was something, consider the eyesight of a trout that can distinguish a size 26 from a size 24 fly that is rushing by at mach 2, under 8 feet of water where the light is not so good, or detect the difference of .025 mm in the diameter of the tippet attached to your dry fly. No wonder they drive me completely nuts, sometimes. For all you doubters of the 7x for your tiny dries on the San Juan, I write this for you. Anyway, I guess you're wondering about how the fishing has been, so I better get on with that. First of all, the flow is around 320 cfs and the water is still clear. There are good midge hatches throughout the larger part of the day, with a smattering of BWOs in the afternoon, but I've had better results just sticking to midge patterns for the drys. The nymphing is good with small midge patterns and a mix of baetis if you're fishing from Texas Hole and below. Once the water warms a bit and the fish become more active on emergers and adults, you should switch over to dries or short- rig up some emerger patterns to get yourself down into just that top layer of water. The big news for this week will be the weather—it's not likely to break the freezing mark for a high, until Saturday, so if you plan on fishing the earlier part of the week, you better show up here with your big-boy pants on. I also saw some single digit lows, like 1 degree on Wednesday night, so there you go. I think I'll stay in and see what Amazon's got going on, I still have a few Christmas gifts to buy. If you can hack the cold, your fishing will most likely be good and ,for sure, you're not going to have to worry about crowds—we've still got clear water and the window is, no doubt narrowing on that, especially with this cold snap. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
12/6/15: And finally, a break. The earlier part of this coming week looks to be about as good as you could expect for this time of year, with temperatures in the 50s and very little wind. It's a welcome contrast to my two days off last week. Honestly, last Monday I had every intention of going out, but after a quick trip to town in the morning when I thought I was going to freeze to death in the grocery store parking lot, I finally decided to bag the idea. I even gave it a few hours, hoping that the wind would die down a bit, but it only seemed to get worse. I don't think it ever got above freezing, with the wind chill factored in. Anyway, Tuesday was a bit better, but not by much. I went out and caught fish, but I was far from comfortable and must have thought about leaving five or six times. It's hard to leave rising fish. I made it until 3:30. It was worth, every moment of discomfort. If you're planning on making it out this week, the water is still clear and the flow is around 320 cfs. There's still plenty of fish rising to midges throughout the larger part of the day and there's a smattering of BWOs that are coming off around noon for a couple hours, in the lower part of the quality water section. I haven't had any phenomenal results on fishing the baetis dry patterns, mostly just a fish here and there, and more refusals than takes, but the midge drys in size 24 and 26 have been the real ticket, with about every rising fish eating it, if the presentation is right. It's hard to beat those results, so I'll keep the comparaduns in my pocket for a while longer, until I'm proven otherwise. On the nymphing side of things, stick with the old tried and true San Juan patterns of small, dark midge larva, pupa, and emerger patterns and some baetis patterns like foamwings, RS2s, rootbeers, and fluff baetis anywhere from Texas Hole and below. 6x for the nymphs, 7x for the drys. Based on my recent experience, I think that the way the river is fishing right now, you'll actually take more fish on the dries than the nymphs, which isn't always the case here, but don't take my word for it, I'm biased. Either way you choose to do it, you'll be hard pressed to beat the conditions, until the wind and colder temperatures roll in, starting on Friday. The week after just looks downright nasty, so that might be the week to stay inside and tie flies, or get your Christmas shopping done. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
11/22/15: If there has ever been a sense of urgency to fish the San Juan, that time is now. Colder weather and all the consequences that come with it are on their way, and you'll see the fishing dynamic soon change. Less obvious than the uncomfortable feeling of icy fingers trying to thread 6x tippet through size 26 and 24 flies, we're going to have to deal with the decreased visibility of the water, once the lake turns over. Depending on who you talk to, that event is either a big deal, or it isn't. Those old boys that live for the tug on a streamer with 3x tippet, tend to love it, the ones who like to sight fish to risers with 24 and 26 midge patterns on 7x—not so much. Like pretty much everything else in life, whether it's politics, or religion, or what have you, everyone's got their own opinion. If you read this column on a regular basis, I think you know which camp I'm in. I've been getting a lot of calls this past week about when this is going to happen, and the best answer I can give is that it's completely weather driven and it'll take place as soon as the top layer of water in the lake becomes cold, and thus denser, and starts to sink toward the bottom. I might add that on most years it tends to happen between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this Thursday is Thanksgiving and already you can see that the visibility is less than it was a couple of weeks ago. Not so much that you can't still sight fish, but it's changing. All that said, there's some beautiful weather coming up for the earlier part of this week, then we'll see a bit of wind on Wednesday as a cold front moves in and the daytime highs dip to the low and mid-40's. I'm no scientist, but I would have to say that those upcoming, lower daytime temperatures, would tend to be more; not less favorable, to cooler water temperatures in the lake. Well enough of all of that, we'll deal with dirty water once it happens, right now the visibility is still good and so is the fishing. We did have a bit of a bump in the flows this past Wednesday, when the BOR took the level from 350 cfs to about 428 cfs, where it remains at this time, apparently due to a drop in the Animas flow and the need for more water downstream from the Juan to compensate. There doesn't appear to be any moisture moving into the area until later this weekend, so it's likely to stay around 428 cfs throughout the week. If it changes next week it could go to 350 cfs again, but it won't impact the quality of the fishing. As far as what's happening, things are staying pretty predictable with the hatches. There's fish rising to midges as early as 8:00 and 9:00 am, as well as throughout the larger part of the day, so the dry fly fishing is still hanging in there. Red larva and dark pupae patterns are working in the earlier part of the day and adding midge emerger patterns later around noon once the fish start feeding on emerging midges when the hatch really gets going. From Texas Hole and below there has been some baetis activity, so adding gray and chocolate foamwings, as well as Johnny Flash, RS2s, and rootbeers to your arsenal is a good idea if you plan to target the lower river. I've seen some pretty decent hatches with adult BWOs on the water in the lower river, but the fish don't seem to be going crazy over them just yet. Most of the fish I've been seeing that are on to those adults, have been during the heavier part of the hatch, which is short in duration. If you're looking for BWO adult activity, expect to see it start around noon. Saturday and Sunday could be banner days to fish BWO dries with clouds and colder weather moving in. My experience has been that the nastier the weather, the better chance of a BWO hatch. Overall, this is going to be a good week to be on the water and the quality of the fishing should stay pretty solid for a while yet, until we see a change in the water clarity. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194. By the way—Abe's will be closed on November 26—Thanksgiving, so plan accordingly if you are coming out.
11/8/15: The song remains the same. From a writer's perspective, one of the toughest things to accomplish is to take the same subject and make it sound interesting, again and again. That's especially true when the facts don't change. Good news is, everyone likes good news. If you've been reading this column for the past few weeks, then you already know the story—great dry fly fishing in the earlier part of the day with small midge imitations, then switch to BWO patterns, mid-day, when the baetis hatch starts, blah, blah, blah. If you fish here, or plan to, you might find the reporting a bit mundane, but as they say—you can't argue with results. As a writer, I just can't do it justice, the fishing is just that good right now, even more so, from a dry fly point of view. We've got great water conditions with super visibility and flows around 450 cfs. Combine that with great hatches that last the larger part of the day, and you've got the perfect storm for sight fishing to a target rich environment of rising fish. It's about as good as it gets. For this coming week, the weather looks like it will cooperate, with the exception of a good chance of rain on Tuesday and some wind that will last through Wednesday, other than that, we should have plenty of sunshine, but cooler temperatures. Based on my experience from last week, I would suggest that you move your banker's hours start time up a bit, and start looking for rising fish around 9:00, at least. When the weather was warmer and before we made the switch for daylight savings time, the good fishing stretched out a little longer in the evening, but lately I'm not seeing very many rising fish after the sun drops over the mesa around 4:00 pm, which is about time to get off the water anyway, since the temperature takes a dive with it. If you're still not sold on this dry fly thing and nymphing is your game, stick with black and olive pupae patterns earlier in the day and add some emerger patterns like ju-jus and crystal flash once you start seeing fish working higher in the water column. It will help if you move that strike indicator down and lighten up on the weight, to keep your flies in the upper water column, where the majority of the fish are feeding during the emerger activity. I have seen a few BWOs in some of the sections above Texas hole, but not really enough to have the interest of the fish yet. If you are in any part of the lower section of the river then you're going to want to have some baetis patterns. RS2s, Johnny flash, foamwings, and rootbeers would be my choices. For the dries, I just don't think you can top the fore and aft in 24 for the midges, and a cut-wing or olive comparadun in size 20 and 22 once the baetis hatch starts. I expect the river to fish well right up until we see the lake turn over, which is a totally temperature driven event, caused when the top layer of the lake gets colder and starts to sink, during an extended period of very cold weather. My advice is to get out here and fish as much as you can now, because once that happens it's a total game changer when this water clarity goes. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
10/8/15: Almost November already, hard to believe. Just the other day, one of my friends was mentioning that turkeys should be going on sale, soon. He plans to buy a bunch of them and load 'em up in his freezer, likes to inject them with Cajun marinade and deep fry them, says that they're tastier that way. I've sampled a few of them, I think he's right. Someone, as a joke I guess, subscribed me to the Martha Stewart Living magazine and the issue I got the other day was really pushing the latest new Thanksgiving craze of squash stuffing, I'll think I'll pass, the Green Chicken-Enchilada Pie on page 48 is more my speed. The playoffs have already started, the Cubs could end up going to the Series. El Nino is supposed to be big this year, which brings the possibility of lots of snow. That could mean that the river here gets a good Spring flush, the only reason I'm interested. The world is still going round and round. It'll be Christmas before you know it, I'll do all my shopping on Amazon, avoid the nut-cases at the big box stores. Somewhere around that time, the lake will turn over and I'll have to nymph and throw streamers for a few months, maybe skip a few days of fishing on the colder days, get some writing done. Until then, I plan to fish as much as possible, make the most of the good weather we have left and the great dry fly activity, like we have right now. It'll be good, but even better in November, when all this crowd is gone. I'm the Greta Garbo of the San Juan, I just want to be left alone. If you're planning on coming out in the next couple weeks, expect lots of company. The fishing is good right now, about as good as it gets, but it's also the busiest time of the year, busier than summer. A lot of people that come here in October for their first time, are surprised to find that out, but it's a fact, Jack. On Friday the river was lowered to 400 cfs and the BOR plans to keep it at that level until the end of this month, when they'll lower it to 350 and probably keep it at that level until next Spring. The water is gin clear with lots of good midge hatches throughout the biggest part of the day. On cooler, overcast days like we are going to see through the early part of the week, the BWOs have been popping off in enough numbers to get the fish interested again, and my experience tells me, now through the time the lake turns over, later in the winter, you'll be able to fish some baetis patterns to rising fish in the afternoons, especially on the lower river. Earlier, before the hatch starts, a mix of small midge patterns in dark colors, along with some baetis nymphs—like rootbeers, RS2s, and foamwings will be great fly choices. But the real draw, especially for guys like me, is the exceptional dry fly fishing right now. If you read this column enough, then you already know my recipe—start with a size 24 fore and aft on 7x earlier in the day when the hatch is sparse, switch over to a midge cluster like a Sprout midge or a size 20 or 22 Griffith's gnat once the clusters start to form and the fish key in on them, then back to the old fore and aft when it tapers off. Depending on where you are on the river, you may have to throw on a olive or gray comparadun or an Adams pattern if the BWOs come off. Mix well, serve immediately, just like Martha's squash stuffing. If you decide to give it a go, you won't be disappointed with the quality of the fishing, just be prepared to share some water and plan on using your best fishing etiquette, whether it's offered in return, or not. There's still enough fish and enough water out here for everyone, no need to crowd your neighbor.
10/4/15: Good, better, best. Outside of two times per year— that I can think of— (when the lake turns over in the winter and on years when we have high water releases in the spring) you can pretty much sum up the fishing on the San Juan with those first three words. Right now, I think "best" would work to sum things up, especially if you like dry fly fishing. Apparently, and somewhat unfortunately, there's a consensus among the fly fishing community about that fact, based on the number of fishermen, I've been seeing in the last couple weeks. I'm sure that a lot of it has to do with the time of year—great weather, the kids are back in school and dad can get away, and for many, it'll be the last chance to get in a trip before the snow starts flying. My friend who is making a tour through some of Colorado's more popular waters tells me it's no different up there, everywhere he's been, there's been a lot of people. On the upside, due to the accessibility of a lot of water here and the fact that there are fish in just about any spot on the river, the San Juan still isn't a bad place to be in October, but just don't expect to be the only one out there. This past week was so busy, I swear I saw El Chapo fishing with Donald Trump in the Texas Hole. Aside from that, what you can expect this coming week are some great midge hatches that last throughout the better part of the day and a bunch of hungry fish fish that are taking full advantage of a food source that seems to just keep on giving. The flow was bumped on Friday by another 100 cfs and presently is around 600, and most likely will stay in that range for a while. The water clarity is gin clear, which demands small tippets and good presentations, despite the fact that one would think things should be easy, based on all the visible signs of feeding fish. The good news is that you have what the military would call a target rich environment. If this isn't your first time reading this column, then you probably know that I'm partial to the dry fly method. You can pick your own poison, and still catch plenty of fish, but you're missing one of the better opportunities of the year, if you don't decide to get in on some of this action. My most recent modus operandi has been to target individual risers earlier in the day when the hatches are a bit more sparse, with small midge dries on 7x tippet. The fore and aft in size 24, on a down and across presentation to keep the leader and tippet upstream, seems to be the ticket for me. Now I'm not one of those "gotta be out there at the crack of dawn, old boys" and about 9:00 am is the best I can seem to manage, so if you're looking for intel on what goes on before then, I'm not your guy, but I can tell you that there's plenty of heads up by the time I get on the water. On most days, around 1:00 or 2:00, you're going to start seeing clusters of midges and a lot of fish gorging themselves like a fat guy at a Golden Corral buffet, and this is going to go on for possibly a couple of hours. I've been using a Brook Sprout Midge pattern, in size 20 for these fish, with a good deal of success, especially if you back off a little where the midges aren't so thick that you can't see your fly—that little white button they tie on top helps a little- but honestly, the profile of the fly is designed so that it rides low on the surface and it can be tough to see. It helps if you drag it a little just as it hits the water and the movement draws your eye to it. Even in the thick of the hatch, I find that it helps to stay with the 7x. After the bulk of the hatch thins out, I go back to the fore and aft. If you're not so sure you want to try this dry fly thing and just can't part with that thing-amabobber, note that most of these fish are still feeding in the upper 10 to 12 inches of the water column throughout the larger part of the day, so emerger patterns, rigged short with little or no weight are going to be very effective also. On the weather front, it looks like we have some clouds and possibly some rain, and cooler weather moving in during the first part of the week, so we could see some baetis activity, especially through Wednesday, so come prepared with some BWO patterns like comparaduns and sparkle duns. Baetis nymphs like RS2s, rootbeers, WD-40s and Johhny Flash are all good choices for Texas Hole and below, since there are a lot of those nymphs present now and they are beginning to drift a little more. Anyway you slice it, the fishing is great right now, despite the number of people you'll have to share the water with. If you would like more information or need to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
9/27/15: Ah, the golden season. Fall weather with bright sunshine, warm days, cool nights, and rising fish. I'm not sure how this season always seems to sneak up and catch me by surprise each year, but it always does. Maybe it's the quick transition out here, one night you go to sleep and it's summer, then you wake up the next morning and the weather, and even the light, has changed. Maybe it's because it's the time of year I begin to focus a little more on upcoming hunting seasons and less on my fishing. I've never been much of a multi-tasker. I just wish I had more time for both. For folks that fish the San Juan, from now until the end of October this river has a special allure, the water is gin clear, the oppressive heat of summer fades, the cottonwoods take on their brilliant yellows, and the hatches intensify. If you could bottle this stuff and sell it, you'd never have to work another day in your life. As for present conditions on the fishing front, the flow here decreased on Wednesday to 534 cfs. The target according to the BOR was 500, but what's a few cfs between friends, anyway? Close enough, is good enough, I guess. Anyway, the quality of the fishing hasn't changed any and the midge hatches we have been seeing over the past few weeks are still holding strong. If you're a dry fly fisherman, it's a great time to be on the water right now. If you're looking to match the hatch, small midge adults in sizes 24 and 26 on 7x tippet with down and across presentations will get you into fish. Later, when the hatch intensifies and you start to see clusters forming, you'll need to do some observing and determine the best size to upgrade to, depending on what the fish are taking. This can be very location specific and can change at the drop of a hat, depending how thick or sparse the bugs get. I've had times where things get a little too good and the bugs get so thick that you can't pick out your fly anymore and you're competing with so many naturals, that you've got to move on to where the bugs and the fish are a little more spread out, if you want to get noticed. That's a pretty good problem to have I guess. As far as nymphing goes, emerger patterns like crystal flash, ju-jus, and scintillas on shallow rigs seem to be the bigger producers right now, with all the emerging midge activity throughout most of the day and so many fish feeding higher in the water column. The baetis hatches come and go with the weather here, during this time of year and all this warm weather and clear blue sky isn't conducive to getting things kicked off on that front. We're going to have to have some cooler overcast weather to get that hatch going and this week doesn't look to be the week for that. Don't over look the fact that the nymphs are still present though, and if you're fishing anywhere in the lower quality water section, you'll want to have some foamwings, RS2s, and rootbeers. Unfortunately, the golden season isn't the world's best kept secret, so don't expect to have the river all to yourself if you come. At 500 cfs, this river still has a lot of water to cover and there are plenty of fish almost everywhere you go, so don't be intimidated by the number of cars in the parking lot and keep in mind, the farther you're willing to walk, the more likely you are to encounter more fishermen. Hope you're able to get out and check it all out for yourself soon—I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Fall guide trips and room accommodations are filling up fast, so now is the time for reservations if you're planning a trip. Give us a call at 505-632-2194.
9/20/15: "Well, it was a pretty good trip, I just wish the fishing would have been a little better." "That's okay, I just needed to get out and sleep in the dirt again." Last week my old friend and former fishing partner came out from Oregon and we headed up to a place in Colorado where the fish grow to enormous size, but can occasionally be tough to catch. This time they were tougher than usual. The only consolation we could take was that at least everyone around us was having a tougher go at it. There's probably nothing more frustrating when the fishing goes south, than watching someone else that's got it figured out, pound fish after fish. At least I was spared from that humiliation. And my friend was right, it was good to sleep in the dirt again. It did me a world of good to stare up at the stars at night, sip a little whiskey, and roll out that ground pad and sleeping bag, like back in the days when we were both trout bums, or just bums, in general. There's no better solace for the soul of a fisherman, than a good road trip, with a good fishing partner. If you're thinking about a road trip with an old friend or by yourself, you'd be hard pressed to beat the San Juan right now. We've got bluebird skies and warm sunshine, evenings with a hint of fall temperatures and the cottonwoods are just beginning to take on those brilliant yellow colors. And the fishing is pretty good right now too, with flows of 600 cfs and crystal clear water, and some good midge hatches that are lasting throughout the biggest part of the day, it's one of those times where I would say that the dry fly fishing is probably more productive than nymphing here. And if nymphing is what you want to do, you can still catch plenty of fish that way too. Yeah, the flies are small and you've gotta use your best drifts and tiny tippets, but there's a lot of feeding fish out there. Expect to see fish working the midges from the early hours until dark, with the hatches coming and going in intensity and generally peaking in the early afternoon with some clusters forming and the fish making the most of it. I've been taking fish on the shoulders of the hatch with size 24 fore and afts, down and across presentations with 7x is best. When the hatch heats up and you start seeing clusters, you can switch over to some size 22 or 20 Griffith's gnats, it's best to take a few minutes and match the actual cluster size as best you can by watching which ones the fish are keying in on. You would think that when they are feeding like that they wouldn't actually be selective and I would believe it either, unless I hadn't experienced it for myself—but most of the time they'll pick out one certain size of cluster and that's all they'll look at. On the nymphing game, keep em small and dark, with monomidges, zebras, and blings for your pupae patterns and crystal flash, ju-jus, and scintillas for the emergers. If you're looking for some baetis activity, it really hasn't kicked off yet. I think the weather has been too nice, with highs in the 80's and bright clear skies, although Tues. and Wed. we will probably see some rain and cooler temperatures, so if you're here those days, come prepared, it could start any day now, weather permitting. Well, if you don't want to sleep in the dirt when you come, give us a call at 505-632-2194 for motel accommodations. Fall bookings for guides are filling up fast, so if you're planning a trip in the next month, now is the time to make the call.
9/6/15: I still love you, but I've lost all respect for you. It had been eating at me for weeks, a story someone had shared with me of big cutthroats, in some underrated and often overlooked water, a few hours to the north. I tried to get it out of my mind, to dismiss it as one of those "fish stories" I'd heard so many times before— the kind that had sent me on wild goose chases in the past, looking for big fish in new water and driving all over hell and creation, only to come up with disappointment. When I could stand it no longer, last week, the time came that I could bug out of town for a few days, so I loaded up my gear and pulled the trigger on the trip. I'd passed the place up a bunch of times before, on my way to fish a couple of different rivers, so I had a pretty good idea how to find the general area, despite the lack of detail, in the intel I'd been able to gather. Before you know it, I was there, staring at strange water and mentally dissecting it into manageable pieces, looking for holding spots for fish. It wasn't a big stream, by most standards, but it was intimidating; nonetheless, with a heavy current that seemed everywhere between both banks, and too much water to make it comfortable to wade in most places, the kind of place that can scare you a bit, and ought to. I thought that it needed about 100 less cfs, and would make a great place for kayakers. Well, you're either gonna fish a place or you're not, and if you're going to, then you've got to get in the water. After walking the banks for 20 minutes, I finally took one big step for mankind and told myself that everything would be okay if I just took it slow and easy and didn't get too ambitious in my pursuit of those fish I'd been dreaming about for the last month. After about 45 minutes of catching a good number of 10 to 12 inch rainbows, my faith was flagging when I came around a bend and spotted a nice inside cutbank that seemed to be one of the few places where the water wasn't ripping by at mach 2, and I thought it was going to be as good a place as any, to hold any of these big fish, if they truly did exist. Since it had been working on the rainbows, I tossed a size 10 foam hopper up into the soft corner and watched as it held tight to the overhanging grass on it's way back to me. Two-thirds on the way down, I gave up on the drift and had pretty much resigned to myself that this whole trip was a bust, when a big brown shape drifted out from under the bank and ran the fly down. Preoccupied with thoughts of what river I could drive to next, to salvage this trip, I had way too much slack at my feet, and I bungled the hook-set, miserably, when that big head came out of the water and ate that chunk of foam, as pretty as a picture. After having a come-to-Jesus talk with myself, I gathered my wits again and tossed the hopper up to the same spot, with little or no hope that, that fish was ever going to fall for this a second time, because big brown trout just don't play that way. But I was wrong. In the exact same spot, he materialized out of nowhere and ate that sucker like the last ordeal had never even happened. This time I was ready, and it was on. Well, for a few seconds, anyway, until he came unbuttoned, and my heart sank. Well, now you've done it—blown two good shots at a good fish, with no chance in hell, of a third. Or so I thought. On the next pass down, he ate it again, like a champ, and as I scooped the net under what had looked like a big brown shape, I saw; instead, the golden flanks and small dark spots of a 20 inch cutthroat, which explained it all. Now, no other trout I know, is gonna give you three shots like that, especially right after a hook-up, and keep coming back for more, except for a cutthroat. That's why I love, 'em, but it's hard to have a lot of respect for a fish like that. I managed to catch a few more nice cutties on the trip, including a couple that gave me more chances than I deserved, but now I'm back on my home waters, with respectable rainbows and browns that only give you one chance to get it all right, if at all. At a flow of 600 cfs, the San Juan is fishing pretty darn good right now. The water is gin clear, so you've got ample opportunity to sight fish, which, for me, is the most effective way to fish this river, since you know you're at least fishing where the fish are. The midge hatches seem to have improved to the point that we are seeing some small clusters on some days, and there are enough rising fish to keep a fisherman busy throughout the larger part of the day. If you like fishing the bigger stuff, like ants and hoppers, it's best that that you hurry and get here, if you're thinking about it, because the window for that will be closing soon. I'm seeing a few baetis lately, but not really enough, to have the fish on them just yet, so midges and terrestrials are still the way to go, for dries. The usual suspects of small, dark midge patterns that all San Juan fishermen are familiar with, are going to be your go to flies if you're nymphing, especially in the upper river. I'd toss in a few chocolate and gray foamwings, RS2s, and some other baetis nymph imitations into the mix, if I planned to fish from Texas Hole and below. Most of these fish aren't pushovers, during this time of year, since they've about every kind of pattern you can imagine, by summer's end, so every advantage you can garner by using fluorocarbon and getting good drifts, with the fly line and leader behind the fly, is going to help. Overall, the Juan's a good place to be right now, and the weather is spectacular, just don't expect easy fish that are going to give you chance after chance to catch them. Honestly, there's a bit more satisfaction when there's more skill required to pull that off, anyway. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
8/30/15: There are times here when the fishing can be easy, almost too easy, and others, when things become a little tougher, a challenge, if you will. I suppose that if it was always simple and easy, it perhaps, may not always hold my interest as much, as part of the joy I seem to draw from it comes from the summons to engage my skill, which tends to make the reward even sweeter. Like the old Yogi Berra quote that, "Baseball is 90 per cent mental and the other half is physical, '' a large part of the allure of fly fishing comes from using your acquired knowledge in that gray matter between your ears, in order to be successful at it. On the flip side of that, I doubt I would keep coming back for more, if I went out all the time and kept having my ass handed to me. Once you get your expectations grounded a little more toward reality and realize that every day is not going to be a 50 fish day, it makes it bit easier to enjoy the sport and focus on the all too often overlooked aesthetics it has to offer— the other half of the 90 per cent. So don't get so wrapped up in the catching part that you forget to look up, up to that other world where fish, sky, and ochre sandstone all meld into one. Don't miss the late summer sun turning the surrounding mesas to bright vermilion, or the hint of the fall wind scented with sage after a rain, the beauty of a flock of geese in flight, and the sound of moving water. Fishing is more than fishing, relax, slow down and enjoy the best part of the whole year, when the sunlight becomes softer and that azure western sky rolls out into and endless horizon, and beyond. The catching part will come, it always does. That said, it's been hard for me to predict from day to day lately, just how this river is going to fish. I've had some great fishing in the past couple of weeks, but there have been more than enough days when I've really had to work hard at it, without such stellar results. Maybe if I were much smarter, I would be able to figure out the reason things are as the are, but for the life of me I certainly can't see enough difference in the conditions from day to day, to put any plausible reason together. In reflection on past years, I guess the best that I can offer, is that the fishing can just get tough here around this time of year, and leave it at that. Now I don't mean to give off the impression that it's so tough, you're gonna get skunked tough, but come prepared knowing that from day it's inconsistent at best, in my opinion—meaning you may go out and hammer them one day, and the next, wonder if you're fishing the same river. And, all that can change overnight- it's just the San Juan in late August and early September. As far as the conditions, the flows are around 600 cfs and will likely stay in that range for a while. The water is gin clear, which allows for some good sight fishing opportunities, but can add to the frustration level when you can see them, but can't get them to eat. The midge hatches have been pretty sparse and in my experience the early morning till noon has been a good time to fish small (24s and 26s) midge dries and parachute Adams on 7x, when the light is best and you can target individual rising fish. Later around 3:00 or 3:30 you can get another shot at it, when the bugs get going again, but the hatches appear light and the fish are spread out. If you're nymphing, small and dark size 24 and 26 midge pupae and emergers seem the way to go. As far as the bigger terrestrial stuff, on the calm days that we have been seeing, when the water looks like glass, most of the fish act like they're bored to death with that stuff, but you can still pull up some big, opportunistic fish in the faster, shallow water, you just have to be ready, because they'll come out of nowhere, and your fly will just suddenly disappear. There are a few baetis adults on the water in the lower river on most days from around 1:00 till 4:00, but they're scattered and I haven't seen the fish get too exited about them yet. From past experience, there has to be a lot of them for an extended period of time for the fish to react and I think we need some cooler, overcast weather to make that happen. Overall, the fishing is good, and most likely to only get more consistent, as we head into fall. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
8/16/15: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," Mark Twain. In case you are one of those individuals that didn't bother to read the details on the mine waste spill on the Animas River last week, and just automatically assumed that the quality water section of the San Juan River was toast, just know that that ain't so. Yes, the Animas does flow into the San Juan at some point, but that confluence is located some 30 to 40 miles downstream of Navajo Dam. If you don't believe me, you can always look at a map. Anyway, our section of the river remains unaffected— as for the Animas and the San Juan further downstream, I guess only time will tell, although initial reports seem to favor the idea that the results are not going to be as devastating as first thought. I hope that's true, I like fishing the Animas from time to time, and any loss of trout habitat, no matter where it happens, is heartbreaking to me. To prove a point that the water was still safe, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper drank out of the river up in Durango the other day and at the time of this article is still alive. I also read that he drank fracking fluid once to prove that that liquid was also safe, so maybe everything's gonna be okay, or maybe the guy just has a cast iron stomach. I had some beer from his Wynkoop Brewery up in Denver the last time I was up there and it was pretty tasty, but if I go back, I think I'll steer clear of the place, lord knows what he might be putting in the stuff. Well, on with the fishing part of the article. The flows of the San Juan below Navajo Dam are presently around 650 cfs, with gin clear water conditions. The spike in the level to nearly 1400 cfs last weekend was just a temporary thing to try and send more water downstream where the Animas meets the Juan in an attempt to dilute all that mining waste-water from Farmington down to Lake Powell and help to mitigate any effects the spill could have in the lower part of the river. Anyway, we're back to 650 cfs now and the confused fish and the confused fishermen, seem to be settled once again. As with just about every August here, the fishing can get a bit challenging. The midge hatches seem to taper off quite a bit and the ones that are out there seem to be almost microscopic. The super clear water we're seeing right now allows for a better inspection of your imitations and fish that were once easy, now require spring creek type presentations. So my advice is to go small, size 24 and 26 on your midge selections and use every advantage you can like fluorocarbon leader and tippet and smaller strike indicators, if you are nymphing. You'll also have to be a little more cautious in your approach if you are wading, with this clear water, as I am seeing fish swim 20 feet out of their feeding lane below me to feast on the bugs in the sediment I stir up. This is especially true if you plan to fish any dry flies, as nothing will put those rising fish down quicker than sloppy wading, and casting over fish rising above you, in this clear water is a no go right now, since they won't tolerate a leader over their head. If you want to approach rising fish right now, you're going to have to cut them a wider berth on your approach and I have been using the bank more to my advantage whenever possible, although it entails a little more walking at times. Take an extra minute or two to figure out an approach that isn't going to foul the water where the fish are rising. As far as dry fly selections, you can't beat size 24 and 26 fore and afts, although you will need to use 7x for your tippet selection. You can still get some fish to come up for hoppers, although I've had better results on size 16 foam ants. Most of those fish that I had eating the bigger stuff in slow, low water a few weeks ago, now seem to have lockjaw, and I've had to resort to presenting these bigger offerings in faster, shallow water, especially in the foam lines. My best fishing has been in the morning until around 1:00 pm. and it's also the more comfortable, cooler part of the day with this hot weather we're having. There are some rising fish in the late afternoon, but the hatches have been so sparse and the fish so spread out, I've had better luck tying on the big stuff and hitting the riffles and bringing up occasional, opportunistic fish. It's going to be hot here, especially during the early part of the week, so if you're out there, remember the sunscreen and keep yourself hydrated. The fishing is good, but challenging, and it's worth it to forgo a little sleep and get on the water earlier than you may be accustomed to at other times during the year. If you would like more information or need to book a guide trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
8/2/15: It's time. Get out there. Fish until you don't have anything left in the tank. Fish until you fall over from exhaustion. You'd better take that advice and follow it. Here we are in August already, and before you know it, summer will have past you by, eaten up by the mundane minutiae of day to day life and you'll be wondering how it got away from you. Don't get caught up in paying the rent. Don't worry about the dust under the couch. It'll all be there when you come back, it always has been, it always will be, it's not going anywhere. Focus, just make it happen. Create those moments that are going to stay with you for a lifetime, like that big head that materialized out of nowhere and inhaled that size 10 hopper, like a fat kid on a doughnut— pink cheeks and big maw the size of your hand. That moment when you lower the net and watch 5 pounds of silver, red, green, and black polka dots, disappear back into pristine, gin-clear, icy Rocky Mountain snow melt and stare up at an azure sky above sandstone bluffs, that sky so blue it almost hurts your eyes. Feel the heat of that New Mexico summer sun, let it radiate down to your very bones. That my friends—that is going to be the memory you keep locked up in your medial temporal lobe that you can draw on when times get tough, not whether you remembered to have the tires on the SUV rotated last week, or whether you remembered to turn off the coffee pot this morning before you left for work. That's the good part of life, that's what you need more of. Right now there's thousands of those memories swimming around out there on the San Juan. It's time to make a few of them yours. You can take the time to thank me later, right now you need to fish. Now here's what we've got going on—flows of 635 cfs, with clear water conditions and fish that are settling into their new holding spots from the flow increase a short time back. The water looks great and all that drifting moss and didymo that were stirred up by the increase are a thing of the past. As far as the quality of fishing, I'd call it good, and getting better every day. I had to work for my fish earlier this week, mainly because they had moved from my old haunts during the days of the 350 cfs flows, but when I found them, I caught 'em. I'm not saying it was epic, I've had epic here when the fishing was so easy it was silly, but it was good, and I only think it will get better as the fish settle into their new groove and I start figuring out their new hideouts. As far as what to use, it depends on what type of fishing you want to do and where you want to do it. If you're one of those die hard nymphers and can't be persuaded otherwise, then stick with dark pupae patterns in size 24 and 26 and go to your small midge emerger patterns, later in the day. I also think it's time to pony up the extra cash for some 6x fluorocarbon with this clear water. If you're fishing Texas Hole and below, you'll want to have some baetis patterns in your box, especially root beers, RS2s, and chocolate and gray foam wings. There were some baetis adults on the water this past week in the lower river, but this was on a couple of those cooler, overcast afternoons, so I'm not sure we'll see that again this week, if it stays bright and sunny, but come prepared just in case. While we are on the subject of dries, I'm still on the hopper kick and have been able to bring up some good fish, even in the absence of good midge hatches. That kind of fishing isn't for the lazy kind of fisherman though, so don't expect to camp on one particular run and have great results. If you want to pursue the terrestrial route you're going to have to invest in some walking and just keep putting it in front as many fish as you can find in skinny water. If you're one of those folks that doesn't deal well with rejection, it's probably not going to be all that satisfying for you. I will say that the fish you do catch will probably be of better quality but not quantity. You are no doubt going to have more takes on dries right now on size 24 and 26 midge dries on 7x, and the midge hatches seem to be a bit better in the lower river in my experience right now, than in the upper river. Overall, it's good, rewarding fishing on the San Juan and most likely to improve daily, especially if we stay at a stable 650 cfs flow, which is pretty likely, for a while longer. If you would like more info or need to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194, don't let summer pass you by.
7/26/15: Back when I was a much younger man and ran around barefoot, squishing fresh cow patties between my toes and drank out of a garden hose, summers seemed to last forever. So how is it that just today, I looked up and we are already more than half- way through July? My plan back in the winter was to fish more this summer, try lots of different water, travel a bit maybe, expand my horizons, like I used to. But my summer got away from me somehow, I got caught up in things like work, home improvement projects, and looking at water flow reports from the places I wanted to visit where the water was just too high to pull the trigger on a road trip. Now, I've got company coming in a couple weeks so I have to expend more time preparing for that, and before you know it, they'll be gone, the leaves will be changing, the evening air will be crisper, sharper, and the elk will be bugling and I'll have to put the fly rod in the corner for a while and lace up my hunting boots. Well, at least my company fishes, so I'll get in a few days there. And maybe in- between finishing up these household projects I'll be able to slip out and get a few good hours in, in the morning before I have to come back and face that long list of chores that I created for myself. Perhaps I'll still manage to squeeze in a two day road trip to some new water between now and early October, when my elk hunt starts. Time has become my enemy. Already, I have seen signs advertising Colorado peaches for sale and just the other day a flock of geese flew over, honking that honk that says, fall is shortly to follow. Already, the days are getting noticeably shorter. For a man whose life is defined by fishing, I have lost my way friends and neighbors, and I've gotta revisit that compass that keeps what sanity I have left intact. Don't go down this lonesome road, get out and fish. If you're planning on making the San Juan one of you destinations, here's what you can expect. First of all, clear water conditions with flows of 380 cfs. The flows are most likely to stay in that range for a few weeks to come, since the Animas River is still around 1,200 cfs in Durango and Farmington. There has been one slight change in the water release worth noting; however, the release is now coming from the power generation side of the dam, rather than the spillway, as in months past. Just a couple days ago, work was finally completed on one of the generators and the BOR was able to switch the release gate. The second generator is still under repairs, and when that is likely to happen is anyone's guess—this last one was a couple months behind schedule. I haven't been able to check out the upper river since the change, but I'm anxious to get out tomorrow and see the results. My best guess is that it has redirected some more water to new places that didn't hold fish when most of the water was going down the main channel fromm the release at the spillway and opened up some new water to explore. Downriver, it's going to be less noticeable and that section of the river will pretty much fish the same as it has for the last couple months. As far as patterns, you can't really go wrong with small, dark midge imitations. It's probably good to have a few foam wing patterns and RS2s thrown in there, as well. I have also been hearing good things about small leech patterns in black, olive, and brown, fished deep. Of course, I'm a dry fly man, so I really pay more attention to that. I've been able to pull up some good fish on hopper patterns, although that type of fishing wasn't what I would call on fire last week for me, it was interesting, with a lot of looks, at least. I was too lazy change and try some ants and beetles, but I bet they would have been more effective than the hopper. Still, I caught enough fish to make it a fun day. If you're hell bent on fishing dries and want really good results, your best bet is to go 7x on size 24 fore and afts, or size 26 black adult midges. I know I can still get enough fish to eat the big stuff to keep me satiated, so I don't bother with the small stuff much during the summer, which is the only time on the San Juan you can get by with dries that normal people can see. Overall the fishing is good here, even with these continued lower flows we've been dealing with for months. Hopefully, it'll continue to stay dry here for a while and the Animas will drop enough to prompt a bigger release from the San Juan, which will only make things better by creating more places to fish, and thankfully we aren't experiencing the issue of too much water, like most places in Colorado that are still unfishable this late in the summer. If you would like to book a guide trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
7/12/15: Harlan Howard once said, "All you need to write a country song is three chords and the truth." Harlan wrote some good ones, so I guess he knew what he was talking about. It's human nature, I suppose, to want to hear good news, and just as natural to want to be the bearer of it. The harder task is always telling, said truth, even when it's not so pleasant. You can only put lipstick on a pig for so long if you are writer, before you are found out, then you lose all credibility. Or to put another way, "Don't piss down my back and tell me it's rainin'." So I wish I had better news for you in this report, but I don't. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not preaching gloom and doom for the San Juan, the fishing is still good here, it's just that things could be a lot better if we could get a little more water flowing downstream. More water that would open up additional spots to fish, more water that would spread the fish, and thus, folks out a bit. Trouble is, all this moisture that Colorado and New Mexico have been seeing since back in early May is coming at the wrong time. The optimum scenario would have been to have it back in the winter or early spring to build up the reservoir, give the river a nice clean spring flush, then have the Animas dry up like it normally does every summer, requiring more flow from the San Juan to maintain that 500 to 1,000 cfs flow between Farmington and Lake Powell, as required by the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program. But that's not happening. Instead, what we have is the Animas still flowing at over 1,600 cfs at Farmington, and rain that keeps on coming to keep it that way, so the Juan is holding at that 350 cfs flow that we have been at since last fall. I hear a lot of people comment that the reservoir is filling up, which is true, but the chance of the BOR releasing more water just to appease fishermen, is highly unlikely. The primary reasons for the creation of the BOR as a government entity in the first place, were for irrigation, water supply, and hydroelectric power generation. Favorable conditions for trout fishing, fall way down on the list of importance, when considering water releases. So what we're left with here is a 350 cfs flow that's likely to stay that way for a considerable while longer, if not through the rest of the summer, at least. On the bright side of things, all that stored water we're saving could help ensure a spring flush for next year and clean up the river, especially all that silt below the Simon wash, that has basically crippled that area as good holding water for fish. In the meantime, life goes on here. We've dealt with this flow for a long time and everyone is still catching fish. The ability of Mother Nature to adapt is nothing short of amazing. We'll make it, we'll get by, fish will continue to be caught. As far as conditions go, the visibility that was compromised for a couple afternoons due to some heavy rainfall, has returned to clear once again. There's a slight chance of thundershowers for Sunday and Monday, but otherwise, the rest of the week looks to be drier, with temperatures in the low to mid- 80s. With the return of clear water, it's going to be back to the small, dark midge patterns—small, as in, you can't go small enough. If we do see some rain, you can have some great results on the bigger, brighter stuff, like San Juan worms, annelids, and red larva. From Texas Hole and below, add in some baetis patterns, like foamwings, RS2s, and small pheasant tails. As for dry fly fishing, I like the big stuff right now—ants, hoppers, and beetles. You can probably catch more fish with a size 24 fore and aft or size 26 black adult midge on 7x, but why torture yourself for a few more fish, when the window for fishing flies that you can actually see is so short. You'll have the rest of the year to fish that tiny stuff, once summer is over. Despite having less water to fish, the crowds (if you want to call them that) are quite manageable, and there's still plenty of places to fish without standing shoulder to shoulder with other fishermen. Of course, we see less people on weekdays than weekends, and the farther you're willing to travel from the parking lot, the less likely you are to have to share your water. Hopefully you'll get a chance to make it out this week, summer just seems to be flying by. If you come, remember that these fish have been pressured a little more than normal lately, due to lower water conditions, so treat them with the respect they deserve and practice good release tactics—there's really no need to pick them up and squeeze them or handle them at all, actually. Pinch your barbs, keep them in the net, reach down with your hemostats and pop the hook out and get it over with, it's really not that big of a deal. Let 'em live for another day and another fisherman. If you squeeze them and mishandle them, they may swim off like they're ok, but in reality, they're not going to make it for long. Overall, aside from being less than perfect, the San Juan in it's present condition, is still going to be tough to beat for a summer fishing destination. It's easy to sit here and conjure up and imagine a better scenario for this river, but it is what it is, and what it is, is far from being a poor choice for a place to spend your time if you like to chase trout. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
6/28/15: Well, here we are. It's summer, it's hot, just what you would expect for New Mexico this time of the year, not that atypical stuff we saw in May and early June when it rained every day and was much cooler than normal. The fishing is good on the San Juan and about the only thing that could make it any better is a little more water being released to open up some more fishable spots and spread the crowds out a bit. Under normal conditions, in the past, one of the added benefits of being able to fish this river in late spring and throughout the summer was the opportunity to see it at different levels. It was like being able to have a different river to fish every few weeks, adjusting to water fluctuations, current changes, different fish moving into different spots to follow the changing habitat and the food that came with it. But, due to several years of back to back low snowpack, we've been a long way from normal for a while. If you look at the graph of this past year's flow and compare it to the historical average for 2008 through 2012, you'll see what I mean. 2015 and late 2014 look more like a heart monitor readout of a patient that had gone "code blue"— flat-line, stuck at 350 cfs. Now that doesn't mean this river and it's great trout fishing are dead— far from it. But, if you're one of those folks that has been around for a while and remember the days of fishing the back channels and so many other places that held fish that it was difficult to decide where to begin to fish, you know what I'm talking about. So, it is what it is for now, a great trout fishery that is about stretched to it's limitations, given the number of anglers on a given beautiful New Mexico summer day, with a minimum flow of 350 cfs to support them all. That's an unpopular opinion in a community that butters its bread from visiting fishermen, but it's the truth as I see it. Unfortunately, there's no one to blame. We are at the mercy of Mother Nature and no one that I know, foresaw all the late season rain and snow in the San Juan Mountains that has the Animas still running at over 3,000 cfs, and keeping the San Juan in a holding pattern until it all drops enough to reduce the combined flow of these two rivers out of its target range of 500 to 1,000 cfs between Farmington and Lake Powell. I think that the best we can hope for in order to see any changes, is several more weeks of hot, dry weather that tap out the Animas' snowpack and trigger a higher release from Navajo Reservoir. The good news is the Animas has dropped around 1,000 cfs over the past seven days, the bad news is, at 3,000 cfs it still has a considerable way to go. That said, the fishing here is still good, if you don't mind a little company. All of that chocolate milk looking stuff, flowing down the Animas, is exactly what most of our neighbors to the north are looking at on their own home waters right now and the San Juan is one of those few rivers within a days drive that has fishable water right now, so don't expect to have complete seclusion on the water if you decide to come. As far as what's happening, not much has changed in the past few weeks. There's still fish rising to midges throughout the bigger part of the day, with 11:00 am till about 2:00 being the bulk of the earlier hatch. Around 4:00 they get started again, especially anywhere above Texas Hole, and there's fish rising until you can't see your fly on the water anymore. If you're nymphing, larva in red and cream, and pupae in black, grey, and olive are working well in the early morning hours. Keep 'em small. Late morning and early afternoon, emerger patterns, like crystal flash, foam wings, and ju-jus are good go to flies. If you're fishing Texas hole and below you'll want to have some baetis imitations like Johnny flash, RS2s, and rootbeers, or small pheasant tails. There's still fish to be had on bigger terrestrial patterns, although those fish in the heavy traffic areas are getting wise to that game, but you'll get a lot of heart-stopping looks. Your best bet for success on the big stuff is to try and put as much distance from a parking lot as you can find. Barring any major weather changes, we should have more water in a few weeks and the whole river dynamic will change, which will be a relief to those who have been fishing it at 350 cfs, since back in the fall of last year. In the meantime, be gentle with the fish, they are under some pressure right now, and be patient, it'll get better, it always does. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
6/21/15: I'm a Hemingway fan. I'm aware of the criticisms and accusations—narcissist, misogynist, a writer that was too simplistic in style, and a drunk, no less. Say what you will, I admire him and his work. Faulkner once said of Papa's writing that he had never been known to use a word that might send the reader to the dictionary, at which Hemingway replied, "Does he really think that big emotions come from big words?" Being a southern boy myself, I like Faulkner too, although he can sometimes get a little carried away and get way out there with inflated verbosity and lose me from time to time. One of my favorite Hemingway stories is Big Two- Hearted River, because it's about fly fishing and its cathartic effect on the soul of a man, and about fishing hoppers, which I feel is good for the soul, in and of itself. I also like The Sun Also Rises, because it portrays the restorative redemption quality of fly fishing, but mostly it's about getting drunk a lot, so Big Two-Hearted River is a better story as far as I am concerned. Anyway, if you spend a lot of time on the water and you read a lot about the subject, you'll occasionally find yourself thinking about how the two intersect. Last night, for some reason, I started thinking about that title—Big Two-Hearted River, and how that title applies to a river I love, the San Juan. I thought about how this river sometimes seems to have two hearts, the heart she shows to the the casual suitor, the first-time visitor, the weekend warrior, the ones that drop in for a day or so once a year, then leave her for somewhere else, or their own home water, like some fortuitous lover in a one-night-stand. Then there's the heart she has for her dearest devotees, the ones that have seen her at her best and worst, the ones who see her with the curlers in her hair in the morning, with no makeup and still love her just the same. Like any long term love affair, there's ups and downs in the relationship. The love is still there, but the spark has faded a bit. Complacency has set in, there's too much of the routine, there needs to be some spice added, a new negligee perhaps, to get things going again. After months and months of fishing this river in the shadow of its former self, with its limitations of a 350 cfs flow I'm feeling it. I'm ready for something new. I'm ready for more water. I'm ready to try new places. I'm becoming too familiar with the same fish. If you're here for only a few days, you probably won't notice—it'll all be new to you anyway. You won't see the guy behind the curtain like the one in The Wizard of Oz, pulling the levers, you'll be blessed. For the rest of us, it will come; however, it can't happen soon enough. The flow of the Animas will eventually drop, requiring more water downstream from the San Juan, and we'll all have new water to fish. We'll fall in love again and wonder why we ever thought otherwise. In the meantime, the present quality of the fishing is nothing to cry about. In fact, it's good right now, really good. There's fish out there eating terrestrials and midge dry patterns throughout the bigger part of the day, and the nymphing game is producing a lot of fish as well. The patterns are small, like they always are for this time of year with this water clarity, and darker colors for the pupa and emerger patterns seem to work best. The weather is finally nice, with lots of sunshine and very little wind, and we have a lot of summer ahead. I'm guessing that we are still several weeks out before we see a water change here— the Animas still has a long way to drop. In the meantime, be respectful of each other, as it can get a little crowded out there at 350 cfs. And be respectful of this river and its fish, don't stress them further by sloppy, careless, release practices, and by all means, pinch your barbs. Things will change, we'll have more water for everyone soon. In the meantime, let's take care of what we've got. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
6/14/15: "Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead," Benjamin Franklin. I generally try to dispense enough pertinent info in these weekly fishing reports to make them helpful in a generic sense, but just know, there's always gonna be a little something I hold back on a personal level to protect my own interests. I mean I like to fish too, actually love to fish, so there's always going to be a few of those insider details, like where, when, and what (to a certain extent) that I'm going to hold back on, lest I arrive at my favorite spot on Monday morning to find a horde of other anglers, flinging fur and feather at my pet fish. Now I won't go as far as stretching the truth to throw you off track and send you off on a snipe hunt, fishing flies that aren't going to work, but I'm not going to "hotspot" my favorite haunts and shoot myself in the foot, either. I figure that I've done my job here if I can tell you how the river is fishing, what conditions you can expect, and what flies are working, without getting as specific as where to stand, how far to cast, and when to set the hook. That's what guides are for, and I figure that most of you are smart enough to figure it out, just like I have to, if I point you in the general direction, which is actually a bit more challenging and holds more reward because you used some grey matter to outsmart a fish. That said, here's whats happening for the next week. After another week of cool, rainy weather, it looks like we are going to see drier, warmer conditions—actually hot— for the upcoming week, and the wind looks like it will be very manageable, as well. The present flow at 350 cfs will likely stay in place for some time to come, as the Animas is still considerably high, thus less need for additional water to be sent downstream by the San Juan. The visibility is around 3 feet or so in the uppermost part of the river, and only gets better as you head downstream. There have been some adequate midge hatches starting around mid-morning that last for a couple of hours, then picks back up around 4:00 and can stretch out until it's too dark to see a dry fly. You'll be able to take plenty enough fish on dries, if you work them with small midge patterns in size 24 and 26 adult imitations on 7x tippet. There's still some opportunistic feeders that you can fool on the bigger terrestrial stuff, if you're willing to walk a bit and look for cruising fish on the hunt for t-bones rather than snack mix. Not every fish you put a big fly in front of is going to eat it, but enough will to keep things interesting. My best luck has come from targeting those fish that are holding higher in the water column, in the skinny stuff. If they don't eat on the first couple passes, don't waste your time on them, move on and find another fish. On the nymphing side of things, small and dark midge patterns (24s and 26s) seem like the ticket right now, especially on the upper river. Once you get to Texas Hole and below, it a good idea to have some baetis nymph patterns in your arsenal, especially root beers and foam wings. Overall, the river is fishing very good right now, although you can expect some increased fishing pressure even during the weekdays, due to the fact that most freestones are in runoff, a lot of people are beginning their summer vacations, and our 350 cfs flow shrinks the available real estate a bit. If you would like more information or would like to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
5/31/15: And finally—warmer weather. After a whole month of crazy, cold, rainy weather, it looks like we are headed towards more seasonable conditions with temperatures in the 80's this coming week. Weather that is more like what we are accustomed to here for this time of year, than whatever that was that we just went through in May. At one point there, I was beginning to feel like Mark Twain when he said, "The coldest winter I ever spent, was a summer in San Francisco." Anyway, at least the fishing has been good, if you haven't minded doing it in conditions that seemed more like a northwestern steelhead climate. On the bright side, it brought some much need moisture to the San Juan Basin that has raised the reservoir level a bit, and left a little more snow in the southern San Juan Mountains that will translate to more runoff water, when the temperatures warm up. All this has kept the Animas River running higher, which it will continue to do until the majority of that snow is gone, and allowed the BOR to keep the San Juan running at 350 cfs and conserve more water and get us through what was shaping up to be a tough summer here. Lest you read too much into this, don’t expect any big 5,000 cfs flush, the lake still has a long way to go before it is full, but at least we should have enough stored water for this summer to get us out of these 350 cfs flows, once the Animas begins to drop. And really it’s not that 350 cfs is all that bad, the river has been fishing well at that level for months. It’s just that a little more water, spreads the fish and the fisherman out a bit more and gives everyone a little more elbow room, not to mention, allowing you to explore new water and add some variety to your routine of standing in the same old spot, fishing to fish that you’ve come to know on a first name basis. In the meantime, here’s what you can expect over the short term—Upper River, midges, midges, and more midges. We’re back to the small stuff with the water clearing to 3 feet plus in visibility, small stuff meaning size 24 and 26’s. Midge pupae patterns earlier in the day, and adding midge emergers around 10:00 or 10:30. Dark colors, especially black, seem to be working best. Once the fish start working actively, try rigging up with a pupae/ emerger combo, fished shallow, with little or no weight. There’s some dry fly opportunities that start around this time, as well, but no big cluster hatches, so to be really effective you’ll have to go down to 7x and size 24 midge dries. For the tougher, pickier fish, I’ve even had to put on a size 26 black midge adult. Most of these rising fish seem to be in the skinner stuff, still, but the good news is at 350 cfs there’s a lot of skinny stuff out there. There have been some midges on the water in the late afternoon and there are still some rising fish to be had, trouble is, we’ve also been seeing some wind during this time, so it can make fishing those small dries tough. You can still get a few fish to rise to some bigger terrestrial patterns, like ants and beetles, but that kind of fishing is not exactly what I would call on fire just yet, and the really bigger stuff, like hoppers hasn’t turned on. I’m thinking that we’re right on the beginning edge for that type of fishing and it’s only going to improve over the next couple weeks (or maybe that’s just my wishful thinking) but don’t hesitate to experiment with it. From Texas Hole and below, you gotta have some baetis nymphs- small pheasant tails, root beers, fluff baetis, RS2s, and foam wings are all going to work. Play around with those patterns and see what’s most effective for you, but any one of them will catch fish right now. Overall, the San Juan’s a good place to be and if you come, you can finally bring your sunscreen and bug spray along—you’re going to need it. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
5/10/15: If you're a fisherman, there's a lot to be said for the consistency of tailwaters. Outside of the occasional change in flows, or the wintertime phenomenon of lake turnover, there's usually not a lot of fluctuation in the fishing conditions. Unlike freestones, or rivers that hold trout far enough downstream that fish like freestones, and are more susceptible to the whims of nature like runoff and water temperature changes that can put the bugs and fish down, you're a lot less likely to have to deal with enough transitions that can wreck a fishing trip and make Forrest Gump's box of chocolates look like child's play. I've been fishing long enough to know that, yet I still find myself drawn in by allusions of grandeur and visions of blizzard hatches of big bugs, driving bleary-eyed through all hours of the night, like Coronado searching for the Seven Cities of Cibola. More often than not, my efforts are met with disappointment, and I find myself in some fly shop somewhere listening to that age old mantra of "you should have been here yesterday" and seeking some insider information about alternatives that can salvage my trip. That's usually what happens when you go off chasing fabled hatches in the Rocky Mountains in springtime, when you can possibly see all four seasons of weather in a single day. Occasionally, you'll get lucky and hit it just right and have the fishing of a lifetime, but the odds are stacked against you. At least that's been my experience or maybe I'm just unlucky. Every year that I strike out, I tell myself I won't get drawn in again, but deep down I have my doubts, and as another year passes, I'll probably be right back at it again. Anyway, I started out talking about consistency, so let's get back to the subject. At present the flows here are around 350 cfs after dropping from 600 cfs on Saturday May 4th. More than likely you can expect to see flows remain at this level for at least the duration of this week, as the flows in the Animas River have recently doubled to around 1,200 cfs, thus the need for less San Juan water downstream. The clarity is still a bit compromised, with visibility in the 2 to 3 foot range. The water is still being released from the spillway side of the dam, which draws from a deeper location in the reservoir and tends to pick up more sediment and debris, down in the lower water column of the lake. I'm told that the reason for this is that there is still work being performed on the power generation side and that until this work is completed (sometime in May?) that the release will continue from the spillway side, so I wouldn't expect any clarity changes until that happens. Once the switch is made, expect a few days of murky conditions as all the didymo, moss, and sediment on the power generation side is stirred up in the river, but after that it should clear up conditions nicely. In the meantime, the river is still fishing good at this time, and the visibility isn't really that bad, although it's not that crystal clear water you're accustomed to seeing on the San Juan at this time of year. As far as fly choices, nothing has really changed. Your standard small midge patterns—larva, pupa, and emergers are all going to catch fish. There have been some rising fish to small midge patterns from 11:00 am till 3:00 pm on most days, especially in the skinny stuff, where the visibility is better. There seems to still be quite a few Baetis nymphs drifting about, so foamwing emergers, RS2s, fluff baetis, and other baetis standards are good choices from about 11:00 am, throughout the rest of the day. There have been some BWO adult sightings, usually on overcast, cooler days, but really no big hatches from these bugs on an appreciable level. My guess is that we are still a few weeks out on bigger terrestrial patterns, especially with the recent cooler weather we saw this past week. I think we need a good week or two of mid-70 to 80 degree temps to really get that fired up, and although the next 10 days show a bit of warmer weather, we're not likely to have consistent temps in that range just yet. Overall, the fishing is good here and at least you're not going to have to worry about some fickle bugs that hatch only one time each year that are regulated by the quirks of Mother Nature. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
4/26/15: The following is an excerpt from an e-mail sent out this past week from the BOR to outfitters, guides, and other interested parties, concerning flows on the San Juan River:
"Due to concerns over the accuracy of the gage reading, Reclamation requested an additional physical measurement at the USGS San Juan River at Archuleta gage. The gage is reading approximately 135 cfs higher than what was physically measured in the river today. The USGS website has not yet been updated with this new shift. When it is updated, the reading at Archuleta will be closer to 450 cfs, based on the most recent release change. Reclamation is using a preliminary USGS shift. It is subject to review by the USGS and may change."
So let me get this straight—in order to arrive at the correct flow of the river, I need to take the old flow that was being reported, subtract 135 cfs, and add 50 cfs that for the increase on Wednesday, plus another 50 cfs that was increased on Friday? Is that the right formula, or do I add 135 cfs? Wait a minute, my head is smoking. How long has this been going on? Was the so-called flow of 350 cfs we saw for months, actually a flow of 215 cfs? Does anyone really know what time it is, does anyone really care? How did the government entity that is responsible for monitoring this, the USGS, have this wrong by a margin of nearly 40% for such a long time? Outside of sitting around waiting for Yellowstone to blow up like Krakatoa, and checking to see that all those metal stakes they drove in the ground back in the 1800’s are still there, what are these guys doing all day? I’m thinking that they probably have one guy in a cubicle somewhere, who they tell, “O.k., your job is to sit here and watch this graph all day, and when someone calls and asks what it says, you read them the number on the top.” Dollars to donuts, he was out getting donuts, when the call came in, and the guy at the other end just made something up. But who really knows? Anyway, as best as I can figure the current flow is around 474 cfs, because there’s water flowing over rocks, where there was no water before. There were no fish or humans harmed in the filming of this documentary. So with the two flow changes this past week, the fishing was consistently inconsistent, but overall pretty good. Now that things have settled down a bit and the debris from the changes has dissipated for the most part, the fish and the fishermen can settle back into a more routine way of life. The good news is there’s more water to fish, and folks are spread out a little more. As far as patterns, small, dark midge pupae patterns, especially in the mornings, and midge emerger patterns once you see the fish become a little more active around 11:00 or 12:00. There have been some adult midges on the water around noon till 3:00 on most days, with a chance to fish small midge dries, if the wind isn’t up. An increase in baetis nymph activity has spurred some fish on the feed and patterns like RS2s, foamwings, root beers, and fluff baetis are working well. There have also been some BWOs on the water on some days around 2:00 pm till 3:00 or 3:30 pm, so have some comparaduns, sparkle duns, or adams patterns on hand, especially if you plan to fish anywhere from Texas Hole and below. The water clarity is around 2 feet or so, and slowly improving. My guess is we’re still a few weeks away until we see substantial improvement, the increased flow changes this past week didn’t help things in that department, although it is awfully nice to see some more water in the river. Looks like the unsettled weather we have been seeing for the past few days, will push out on Tuesday and we’ll be back to sunnier skies and warmer temps from Wednesday through the rest of the week. If you would like to book a guided trip or need more info, give us a call at 505-632-2194.
No comments:
Post a Comment