Fishing Outlook & Conditions
Water Temp:
42
Chris Taylor, Fisheads of the San Juan's Tip of the Week
The river is running at 596cfs.The cubic feet per second has been changing slightly to maintain flows down river for endangered species habitat. The changing flows keep the trout moving around and eating well. The water is very clear. We can see the bottom of the river just about everywhere. Dry Fly Season is here! The water is crystal clear! It is a great time to do some sight fishing, you can actually watch fish eat your nymphs and set the hook. The clear water also makes fish more likely to eat bugs on the surface. We have had some rain and the ants have fallen! Should be great fishing with terrestrials for some time. Midge clusters and BWO patterns are working well from about 11:00am till the end of the Day. We have been catching fish on terrestrials like hoppers and ants as well. The lower river has caddis and PMD's hatching as well. We are still catching fish using attractor patterns, bright colored larvae, bunny leaches and egg patterns. There are lots of bugs hatching! So, midge patterns and baetis patterns with no flash on them are working well fishing sub surface.
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Water Flow Data
Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby
Fisheads of the San Juan5-Day Outlook as of 10/7/24
The weather this week is sunny with highs in the mid 80's. NM can be windy. Adding weight to your nymph rigs can help seeing the strikes. Streamer fishing is also an effective way to keep catching fish when the wind becomes an issue. The fishing has been very good.
Techniques & Tips as of 10/7/24
Fish fluorocarbon tippets at the end of your mono-filament leader when nymph fishing. 4X to the first fly and 5X to the dropper. This will produce more strikes as the fish can't see the fluorocarbon. Fish an attractor fly like a bunny leach or an egg pattern to a colored larvae or a fly with flash on it. We are finding lots of baetis, especially on cloudy afternoons. Baetis live in fast water so look for them in the riffles at the top of holes and at the bottom of holes in the tail out. Fish are eating gray, olive and brown mayfly nymphs in these places, it just depends on the day so have them all. You may have the chance to see fish on top during this time. A parachute Adams or comparadun should do the job. The may flies are blue-gray and are about size 22. Use dark colored wings as the fish are turning away from white wings. If you can't see this try a marker fly about 12 inches above the baetis. You should fish mono-filament tippets when fishing on the surface as fluorocarbon sinks. Change back to midges when the fish stop eating your may flies. Try some bunny leaches if all else fails. Dead drift them like the rest of your nymphs. Fish are eating them for moss! They will shake the drifting moss to get the bugs out. All this goes out the door when fishing streamers. Get them on the bottom and fish 1X fluorocarbon.
Local Species Available Year Round
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Rainbow and Brown trout
Chris Taylor, Fisheads of the San Juan's Recommended Fly Patterns
"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:
Name: | Colors: | Size(s): |
---|---|---|
Vernille San Juan Worm | Brown, Black, Natura | 8, 14 |
Lynch's Double Dot Egg | Orange Blood Dot | 18 |
Griffith's Gnat | Black, Olive | 18 |
Rojo Midge | Gray, Olive, Brown, | 20 to 22 |
Midge Larvae | Gray, Red, Olive, Br | 18 to 24 |
Foam Wing RS2 | Brown, Black, Gray, | 18 to 24 |
Rosenbauer Parachute Beetle | Black | 10 to 24 |
Cartoon Hopper | Gray, Olive, Brown flash! | 4 to 8 |
Bunny Leaches | Black, Olive, Gray, Natural, White | 6 and 8 |
Ants | Black | 12 to 16 |
Chris Taylor, Fisheads of the San Juan's Recommended Gear
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Best Leader:
Super Strong Plus Leaders
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Best Tippet:
SuperStrong Plus Tippet in 30- and 100-meter spools
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Best Fly Fishing Rod:
5-Weight 10' Fly Rod
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Best Floating Fly Line:
PowerTaper WF Fly Line
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Best Sinking Fly Line:
Bank Shot Sink Tip Fly Line