San Juan River Fishing Report May 6th, 2008
I know everyone has really been concerned about the higher spring flows, and the overall condition of the fishing on the river. It seems like the general consensus is that fishing is tough, and the off color water and higher flows are making it tough for anglers to rationalize making the trip up to the San Juan. I can totally understand this way of thinking because as a fly fisher myself, when I travel and take the time to plan a trip, I want the fishing to be the best possible. For instance, I had the chance to fish the Frying Pan River up near Aspen, CO a few weeks ago, and even the rivers up there were flowing high because of all the snow. The fishing was good, but the biggest fish I caught was a 14 inch Rainbow. On my next guide day out on the Juan, our biggest fish was a 3lb 19" Rainbow, and our smallest fish was 16 inches. That's when I realized how lucky we are to have such an awesome fishery right here in New Mexico. When judging the quality of fishing, it's hard for me to be impartial. The "quality" of your experience on the San Juan during high water will have a lot to do with your fly fishing experience, your ability to adapt to the different fishing techniques, and whether or not you have a guide with you during the first part of your trip. I've never been the type of guide who just uses his fishing report to advertise for his guide service, but having a good guide during the next few months will mean the difference between an angler catching 1 or 2 fish per day or 12. That's a huge difference, and the enrichment of experience you'll have with a guide will make the investment WELL worth your while. My hands are callused and cracked dry from all the rowing and constantly getting them wet. It's A LOT more work to keep my clients into fish, but the extra work pays off when we pull off the water having landed 20-25 fish per boat. That's a big difference from the single digits most people are talking about. Mostly, we get on the water early, fish hard the entire day, and back row through the productive areas many times to literally bump the trout in the mouth. With the water being off color, the fish just can't see your flies, and they maybe have a 2ft window to spot and eat them. One awesome side effect of the higher water is that we've been able to use 3 and 4x tippet, so it's easier for anglers to tie on their size 16-18 flies. Also, the fish have been fighting amazingly hard, and strong runs into your backing are now possible every day. The fish are fat and strong. They are less scarred up, and many look like they haven't been caught in months. It's great to see the fish in such good condition. The water clarity has improved dramatically over the past week. Visibility is now about 1.5ft. That means we can finally see the shelves, drop-offs, and structure where the fish are holding. You still won't be able to sight fish, so you'll want to cover the water thoroughly, but it's a vast improvement over the pea soup water we've had for the past month. There is still A LOT of moss floating throughout the water column, so it's absolutely imperative that you clean your flies off every 2 casts, and check them for tangles. Like I tell my clients, if your flies are dirty, they're not working, and you might as well be fishing in a bathtub!! The river is expected to be 4,000cfs or higher until early July, and most of the rivers and streams in the West will be blown out and muddy because of run-off during that same time period. So, the San Juan will probably still be the best bet going for the West in terms of easy access, big fish, and lots of them! You can always contact
me at judeduran@gmail.com
,or call 505-280-3533 to book a trip, or click on this link Guided
Trips for information on fishing the river with me or one of my
guides. Best Flies (in order of importance)
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