Fishing the San Juan River

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I love getting visitors.  My best buddy Jared came out to visit me from New York and we headed down to the San Juan River with a solid crew of fisherman.  We had planned ahead and tied some bugs up beforehand, but we weren't sure what to expect.  After a smooth ride down (thanks Andy!) we hit the river.

The San Juan River is a world famous tailwater.  The ice cold water coming out of Navajo Dam and the incredible bug life not only helps grow many fish, but many large fish.  Apparently they can grow an inch every 45 days.  I don't know the exact number, but I read that there are over 15,000 fish per mile in the upper stretches of the river.  This so called "quality water" was exactly that.  We arrived on a Friday and were able to land some nice fish, but it wasn't until Saturday that we really learned what was going on.

I have only been out with a guide once in my life and it was during my first visit to Colorado before I moved out.  That was a very successful day in RMNP.  This time around Jared and I went out with an incredible guide named Chris, who owns and operates Angler Management in Navajo Dam, New Mexico.  If you ever head down to the San Juan, call them up and request Chris as your guide.  He has been guiding the San Juan for over 7 years and knows that river like the back of his hand.  

Chris not only gave us confidence as the day went on, but he was constantly working to get us on fish.  He was funny, knowledgeable, and man does he know that river.  From the get go we were into fish and there weren't many periods during the day that we weren't catching trout.  The San Juan has incredible bug life, but the vast majority of those bugs are extremely small.  If you visit, be willing to throw 24's and 26's in order to get into some quality fish.  Small flies = Big fish on the San Juan River. 

Here's a beautiful brown that I got to eat a small BWO dry fly:


Jared landed this beauty out of the boat:


My friend Tim got this shot of us all in the boat:


If you ever go out with a guide, listen to what they have to say.  I know that seems obvious, but some people have an agenda that does not match the day/water conditions.  When it's windy, it's harder to catch fish on dries, especially using 7x tippet.  I learned a great deal in just one day and we were able to use that knowledge the following two days as we all waded this incredible fishery.  

This nearly 20" rainbow was caught (barely) on a size 26 midge nymph:


Fishing small bugs can be intimidating to many, but it takes practice.  Fly fishing is like any sport, the more you practice the better you will become.  If you fish twice a year you can't expect to improve all that much.  

Here's Tim with a nice one:


Note: In October the San Juan is a zoo.  There were 60 boats out the day we fished with Chris, 60.  Because of the incredibly poor snow pack this year many of the other fisheries are just too low so the San Juan is the only game in town.  It's snowing in Denver as I'm writing this so let's hope we get crushed with snow this winter!  It melts in Denver so I'm OK with getting a lot of snow this year in the mountains.  We need it.

I couldn't tell you how many fish we caught combined in 4 days, but it was a lot.  As a teacher I sometimes wonder why my students don't always take my sound advice, but life is about learning from our mistakes as well.  Jared and I definitely benefited from the tutelage we received from Chris and had an incredible trip.  I'll go back, but maybe during an "off peak" time of year.  One thing about midges is that they are always hatching and the fish are always eating.  

Our awesome driver Andy also got into some fish, but they're slippery...


Our trip home took us back up over Wolf Creek Pass.  Their ski area opened yesterday and we were lucky enough to witness this on the way back to Denver:


When you fish a new river you can never know exactly what to expect no matter how many blogs you read.  If you would have told me that fish would be bumping into my leg to I would move and rustle up some bugs for them I would have laughed.  Well, that happened more than once.

You also never know where a new path with lead if you don't get out there and get after them.  Until next time, tight lines everyone.


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Michael Agostinho
I love nature and I vehemently enjoy fly fishing and fly tying. Check out my YouTube channel via the link at the top of the website and check out all of the links below. Tight lines!

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