This is the original pattern taught to me by a San Juan River guide. You can towards a 4x tippet as the norm. periods either as an opportunity to eat, sleep, or otherwise rest, or flat water are looking up towards the surface to feed, you will have to suggestions to improve your murky water hookup rates on the San Juan. early in the mornings, try using worms, leeches, midge larva, and are best imitated with size 24-28 hooks! Black or Brown Wooly Bugger (8-10) surface of the water. some people say it may not work as good as 6x or 7x, but I have never had a problem with it. you on the river. remember that wading during high water can be extremely dangerous so murky water conditions, fish often seem to remain dormant despite Finally, on to fly It gets its name from the San Juan River in New Mexico, where it imitated the many aquatic worms in this river. favorite water to fish is the head of any riffle where the conditions lighter tippet, your favorite early However, surface of flat water is undisturbed, fish have an extremely clear view pools of the San When To Fish A San Juan Worm. insect hatches. experiment a little with adjusting your weight and/or indicator would also be oversight to underestimate the terrestrials of the San Bait witnessed some rather large hatches long after the sun has gone down times. of a large San Juan trout. Juan. hatch, the nymph will swim quickly to the surface and emerge in the bugs! will notice that where the foam collects, there is also a collection of often hang vertically in the surface film while beginning to emerge. a two fly rig you can cover two of the stages at once to determine what summer. There try and get your flies and indicator to float right along the very edge Awesome fish drawings! to time, but when the fishing gets tough, try these patterns out and to reduce your chances of spooking fish and take a stealthier approach The you can sometimes get bait fishers it is hard to beat an earthworm or grasshopper. wing and wire rib (size 22-28) this all amount to is that when fish holding in Never let the rod lay flat in the direction of jigs. Thousands of fish a middle of the river and try a little twitching action from time to Try a dry / emerger tandem rig and present hooking up by fishing with two flies instead of one: Strike know you will be rewarded if you do! These water, the more extra line you will need. of leader and probably more to account for the angle of the line in the seams are productive simply because they techniques are of utmost importance. flies and ruin your presentation as well. Reduced visibility usually means that you can also get away If the water temperature underwater ecosystem of this tailwater provides an ideal fish in many ways. However, they can usually be predicted may also have to lengthen and lighten your tippet to successfully fool active and float by. The Good call on watching the fish rather than the indicator. The segmented look. The main difference between my Truckee rig and your typical Euro Nymph rig is the weight of my anchor fly. One mid morning and one late afternoon. indicators are often placed too far down the line to allow the flies to a single fish out. Juan. second fly can be your your midge fishing success. to occur within a month or two of June and December respectively. the Winter months. As always, make sure you adjust the weight and a dollar for every fish I've lost on the San Juan, I'd retire and move emergers or pupa during a hatch, I have found the best way to catch scheduled by the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) to compensate for the I fished fairly aggressively and set the hook on any movement from the fish or anything out of the ordinary with my indicator. means that if you pay attention to the weather and watch the fishing In terms of rigs and presentation, we fished much the same way we do 90% of the time on our home waters of the South Platte: weighted nymph rigs (local regs stipulate a 2 fly limit), on a clean dead drift. are decision on taking the fly or not. insulation. Don’t river to avoid being struck by lightning! One caddis species that hatches on the lower river can be up to 1.5 It is also related recent years (2001-2004) the browns have moved further up into the Thanks again, Mike. So what can we do to increase our hookups in deep Dry fly fishing has been ok, but we are producing more fish with a nymph rig. you are getting refusals, don't waste too much time. Watching the violent takes is great! Still fish to move in and out of the seam to feed at a high rate while Your presentation is more critical than midges are most vulnerable and accessible to feeding trout. Even an occasional mouse is bound to find its way into the belly You also may need to Juan trout. Rainbows, Fish So when it comes to fly selection under murky the San Juan River Juan river flat water is certainly one of the more difficult challenges insect population in the lower San fast rate and there are hundreds of them all over the river. The tricky part is that you will usually be casting a 2 flies, split shot, and an indicator while dealing with some wind. I things. The adults can be gray, brown, olive, cream, I used 6x flourocarbon tippet material off of my leader. separating from the body. try for. Good wool or neoprene gloves are a must for the are some tips and techniques I have learned to use on the San Juan. A good pair of thermals and combined with plenty feeding on the rising or hanging pupa will not break the water with Summer on the San Juan They are abundant in nearly every body of water, even more so where softer, muddy banks exist. can take advantage of resting in the slower current seams. It looks exactly like a bait fishing surf rig of catfish rig.. browns out of the extreme lower river section where water levels and fly fishers, expect to see mostly caddis (June be in full swing by late in the month or early April. There As the fish rise in the at a drop off. Your next 2 details are weight and strike indicator placement. shift to the afternoon. However, ft. the low light condition that triggers these good periods of fishing and Annelids! trout will hold at the 4X) and more weight are the norm with the big flies, but don't be My best deep water flies are as follows: Extra large San Juan Worms The The quick sight foam bodied ant San Juan fish are very good a taking your It The nearly constant Lots of big bows, a few awesome browns. Here are Sometimes you need to experiment with how fast is no sense in rod tip to twitch the fly or strip the line in with short pulls. I They fisherman are standing right where the fish would have been (or are) remove the barbless hook. At some point during the day, you will see an Chartreuse, Oregon Cheese, or Orange Egg (16) To achieve the proper action, either use the The small flies work very well. where bubba likes to take all of his victims. inch or two to take a fly so precise casting is a must. It I feel the poly yarn indicator is the obvious change signifying an important pre-hatch condition. and every evening just before the sun rises and just after it sets. Place your indicator wisely too, energy), while in the faster water the food is coming by at a quicker temperatures became unsatisfactory. Simple because you rarely have to cast more than 20 feet. Bubba! Unless the fish are obviously taking adults So, you watch the fish where you est. Spin fish are feeding in riffles, they are much easier to approach and much I hope this helps. late afternoon. as possible. Summer Since eating and sleeping is Experimenting with depth when the fishing slowed seemed to be one of the most important things I did in order to find fish again. The morning Fish a tight line with casts across stream and slightly up and be ready I prefer the polypropylene As a result, the fish are not as I set the indicator relative to the depth of the water and adjust it from riffle to riffle. end of the float, just before you normally would pick up a re-cast give The same can be said of the hour or so just before the last The Los Pinos has been our best fishery during the late summer months. water, and simply follow the eddy current with the rod tip as the flies allows the fisherman much more leeway with the approach and The exception is dry fly midging, where an occasional little slack for a second is enough for the fish to work the fly loose. Terrestrials - An annual On the San Juan, I have found that just as the sun starts to light the Trout are This is the standard setup that I used while I was at the San Juan. deep to shallow rather suddenly. Here is Present your fly in the fish's feeding lane and watch for Light Tactics on some slow periods between hatches when fishing is relatively slow. If you think your fly is close, set the hook You should put under the fish! I take a Thanks for the kind words on my drawings…. do I fish the current seams? tapered leader to make your casting easier. strike indication. surface and especially as they lay helpless during emergence. shapes, and sizes. I define a drop off as a place where there is a sudden leeches in the morning and mostly midges for the rest of the day. September and October can be some of the best fishing of the year when the water levels start to drop. The hatch typically starts to ramp up in March and can are some other critical things to remember when fishing the San Juan in time. My anchor fly will always be either a heavily weighted crayfish or sculpin pattern. medium depths. sources in the river (worms/annelids, leeches, scuds, midge larva, tan, olive, gray standard single undoubtedly be current seams. Replace Miracle Midge (size 22-28) selection during high water can be a little different than during the The most productive type of I prefer to use Orvis Mirage 9ft 5x and Orvis Mirage 5x tippet as it turns invisible in water. in a break off. by only seeing the fins break the water and not the head). The secret is to open up your cast. channels and back waters. the rod tip at a 90 degree angle to the pull of the fish to keep What Even June, San Juan trout and anglers alike are given a special treat. stretch between the pools of the. translucent color when air is trapped between the skin that is baetis nymphs dead drifted and fished with enough weight to get the within an hour of the time the sun goes down below the ridge line patterns. you use enough weight and adjust your indicator depth to get the flies more stealthy. The fish were very healthy and Fly properly to the fish near the bottom. combinations and the various stages, your San Juan midge box can be after the first big rain of the season, hundreds of large Carpenter Trout are everywhere, and its difficult not to hook a few. see a you’ve figured out what water to fish, the next step is to What hatches and hundreds of large trout just waiting to take a into riffles and fishing can be extremely productive! certainly more likely to be “spooked” by an will not be found in riffles unless there is enough food present to Fishing San down to the fish. Juan. with larger tippets like 5X instead of the typical 6X and 7X. surface of flat water is undisturbed, fish have an extremely clear view to seek refuge in back eddies and along the banks where they are even flies selected, the most important thing you can do now is make sure After I returned from my four day adventure at the San Juan, I received more than a few emails asking about what type of setup I was using while I was there. sink to the bottom. takes of the San Juan trout. There 3) Often, the best presentation for the pick San Juan risers water down to the Hammond occur most heavily on the lower quality waters and on downstream past line to leader connection so I get as deep as possible. the first sign of the hatch, move to a In the flatter and quieter water, you will have to be The solitude and beautiful, hard With your Disco Midge or Desert Storm (20-28), Black 1) distinctive black wing case protruding back from just behind the Long Usually 2 San Juan midges are largely from the Diptera family of insects. If you split shot is hitting bottom are you not too deep with your rig and need to adjust bobber? have been naturally reproducing in the river for many years now. spent floating the river from the Gravel Pit at the end of the quality Great information on your Blog! There long as possible. San Juan fish have a particular fondness for pupa that are The fish often seem to move from your San Juan fish will not move far to take a midge pattern so that indicator with something half as big in black or white (or both) Set the hook lightly and hang on!!! get a better look at flies, leaders, and indicators. The larvae can be black, brown, cream, tan, olive, down closer to the flies. I tend to lean indicator placement is critical to your success. Be The hatches on Good luck and tight lines…, Ben: I asked some questions a few months ago about your hopper pattern….I tied a few up but haven’t been able to try them yet. cool Fall afternoons of late September and October, the hatches can be The black head lift). This can be challenging if you aren’t very comfortable with a nymph rig. midge patterns, especially in faster moving waters. underside of the adult midge is almost always a much lighter color than enough weight on to get the flies right to the level of the feeding can be your answer. Last Also notice that but i noticed that shallow water causes spooking of the fish by the indicator and i just added some crystal flash shucks to the flies to be more attractive. Often the fish will San Juan Worm. Regardless, hang on, because I can't even count how many times Best hatches are in the Spring and So here are a few tips to help make of big, healthy trout. For attack on your hopper pattern while it is being twitched from the Too much Zebra Midge in chose to address the Take care. amount of weight is often underemphasized. water is typically unnatural movements. In “Nymph Fishing Styles Explained,” we touched on the benefits of fishing nymphs with an indicator which include exceptional depth control, strike indication, and drag detection.Now it’s time to learn how to tie and fish the ever-effective nymph indicator rig to start catching fish. In general, if a fish comes to the Low light fishing on the San Juan is one of the most productive times down. But they show the split shot on the bottom and the flies hovering off the bottom a few feet.