SAN JUAN RIVER FISHING REPORTS ARCHIVE - 2004

December 2004

Well the end of another year is here, fishing has been great so it looks like the year is going to go out with a bang! The river still is looking good and sight fishing has been the way to go. Worms and eggs are always a good idea this time of year! Brassie and red larva have also been great bugs. Since this report is only going to post a day at best I am going to keep the year end short.

I hope that everyone had a great visit the Juan this year and we look forward to seeing all of you here again next year!

Have a happy New Year Chris Karin and Gus @ Rainbow Lodge and Resolution Guide Service!

November 1-15, 2004

Sorry guys forgot to email the report for the end of Oct. this year. So here is a report to get us all up to date from Nov 1-15 2004. This season just went by in a blur I am not sure where the year went! Over all I think that this was a great season, we had good winter snow and got Navajo Lake up a little over 60 feet then we had good spring and summer rain keeping lake levels near normal. Right now it looks like we are going to have a good winter there is lots of snow for this time of year and if we have a normal winter Navajo Lake should be back to normal levels. If Navajo gets back to normal or close we are going to have a week at 5000cfs next spring and that should be good for the river. We had some of the better beatis hatches this fall that I have seen in the last few year and they are still going strong! I think some of that has to do with the lower flow levels we are going to see all winter. If the fishing stays like it has been I think we are going to have a GREAT winter of fishing.

From the dam to thole the fishing has been some of the best. Nymph fishing and all dry by 11 has been the norm for the last few weeks. There has been a few days where the sun poked out and the dry action was not as good but we have been seeing good dry fly action even on the sunny days! Midges are always king on the upper section of the river and the last few week has been just that, but beatis have been around in great numbers as well. From cable hole down I have been fishing red larva or a beatis to a small black or brown midge all week. The red larva seems to always work for me on cloudy days a little better then sunny days. But from around 10 or so I have been fishing the beatis (pt or rs2 gray or olive) to a #26 black midge emg. and doing very well. ESPN has been great for dry fly with #26 Adams or a #28 black midge. Fish are a little picky until the beatis start but a few on dries is always better! You might have to find a few new areas to fish as 250cfs is lower then most people remember and the fish HAVE moved into new areas. Most of the slack water is fishing great but new bugs and very specialized rigs are needed to fish this water right. Short rigs and just right weights are going to get you lots of fish in the slack water as not many people are willing to fish the slow pools!

Thole down- This section has been fishing great all fall! This area has had some great dry fly action. There are more beatis in this section of the river then any other and it shows in the afternoon. Hatches have been huge for about the last two weeks! From about 11-3 I have been able to fish dry with a #18 Adams and a #26 Adams. Most of the fish take the smaller fly but there have been some bigger beatis this fall and the fish are willing to grab a 18-22 more so then normal. Midge fishing has also been going in this section all week but there are a large number of smaller wild browns and rainbows (10-12") this year in this section. There was a planting of 35,000 3-4" fish this spring and they are all now all 10-14" and getting into the main river! The browns are starting to move up river to spawn so we have been getting lots of beautiful browns all colored up for the spawn in the 15-20" class.

Animas has been fishing very well all fall and we have had lots of guided trips in Durango this last 3 weeks. The Animas is only 50min from the Juan and a great river to spend the day.

There have been good numbers of ducks and geese on the cast and blast trips if anyone would like more info on this just give me a call.

There are still a few spots open for our group Alaska trip next summer July 30-Aug 6th

Chris Guikema

October 1-11, 2004

This report is really from the Guides as I was just in Alaska again on Kodiak Island fishing steelhead for a week. I love Alaska and this river was by far some of the best fishing I have ever had for Steelhead. There were 6 people in camp and 16 miles of river to fish. It was all walk and wade so lots of walking but well worth it! This was one of the few west coast steelhead trips I have ever been on, but I am sure that it does NOT get any better then this! We are going to be sending a small group back to this river next fall call me for more info as well as a full report on the fishing. My best for the week was a new camp record at 40" not sure how may pounds but what fish they all were!

On with the San Juan Report With all the cloudy days the dry fly action has been great all month. I think that the fall hatches are in full swing and the fishing should just get better and better as things cool off and the cloudy weather of fall rolls in. The rain we got all summer and this fall has been great for the area as well as the lake level. BOR hopes to let 5000cfs fly next spring for 1 week if we have a normal snow pack so cross your fingers! There is some silt in sections of the river like there is every fall but the only areas that really got hit hard were from Simon Point down this year. Fishing in the upper area of the river has been great sight fishing has been the way to go on foot and dry fly action has really been hot in this section. Midges and BWO patterns have been the ticket in #26 and #24 there has been a olive midge about a 24 they have been hunting the last week. Fish are willing to move for the right fly! Hoppers and beetles and small ants are also working well, olive or tan on the hopper and small in size. There has been a great late midge hatch near the dam and the dry action has been WELL worth the hike! Big dead chickens as well as cluster patterns have all worked well.

From T-hole down float fishing has been great for the last few weeks. Brown midges and Choc foam wings have been the bug of choice but buggers and streamers are working well on cloudy days. White streamers have been the best but black has also been very good. The dry action has been hot here in the afternoons as the beatis hatch get in full swing. There are also good am midge hatches on this section. Look for the best from death row to Thole and lower flats has been filling up with fish so look for some good sight fishing action here. I am on the river a bunch the rest of the month so look for a little stronger report in the next week after I am on the water for a few days.

September 10-21, 2004

The weather is so nice in the fall I love this time of year. Cool days and great fishing make for wonderful days spent on the river. The rain that we had yesterday got our flows up to 1000cfs because of all the run off, the river was off color for the day but yesterday fish got right back into the swing of things. Dry fly fishing yesterday (20th) was very good there were fish in all the places that I hoped as well as many that I did not think about. #24 BWO was the key or a cedar or pinion beetle there is also a little hopper action now and then you just need to find the right fish. I had a great day of all hopper fishing last week with a guest and I really don't think I have ever had so many fish hit a hopper on this river. Nymph fishing has also been very good this month. I have been having a ball sight fishing all over the river and all I have really needed the last week was a 22 or 24 red larva and the fish were all over it. The lower river has also been fishing very well, we had guides on that float almost every day the last two weeks. But with all the rain that section is not going to fish well again for a few weeks. Animas has also been fishing very well this fall, don't miss out on a chance to fish this great river.

Dam to Thole.... This whole area has been fishing very well for me. There have been lots of little spots in this section that have been great for me this last week. I was fishing a section of the braids that I had not fished in I bet 2-3 years a few days ago and the fish should have just swam into my net! The first fish that we got in puked a ball of red larva the size of a dime and I knew what we needed to do! So a 22 red larva and a 24 red larva and well like I said they should have just swam into my net. #26 gray midges have also been the key to fishing the river for me this last week. The worm was not really worth fishing this week, not to say don't give it a try!

Thole down... This section has been fishing great from the boat. I really don't seem to wade this water any more not sure why be the deeper slow pools in this area are just better fished from the boat. Lower flats has held great number of fish now and then but not all the time. Death row has been great for dry fly action from the boat all year there are always a few fish willing to get on top here. Midges and beatis patterns have been the way to go here. I am also fishing a bunch of streamers in this section with great luck on gray (Catch'em all) as well as black and white.

Bait water is fishing really well egg patterns and soft hack PT copper bead have been the key to this section. Not a ton of huge fish but no people and LOTS of willing fish in the fast water. There are also a good number of browns stating to move into this section as we get close to fall and there spawning time.

Animas is fishing very well, not huge fish but lots of nice fish and a good chance at a big or even huge bow or brown. I had a great trip on the water in town last week we got 90% of our fish on a hopper!

Have a great fall see you on the river! Chris

August 10-24, 2004

The weather has been great all summer and this is my favorite time of year. 50-60 when you start the day and 80's by noon. Great fishing has helped a bunch in all the fun I am having outside. It always takes me a few weeks to get back in the swing of 6X and #28's after a week in Alaska (there are still 5 spots open on my trip for 2005) but I have had a few great afternoon this last week with dry flies! Had a great guided day this week with two people from PA who really just wanted to fish dry flies and we had a ball. Fish were not easy but once we found the pattern (26 olive midge) the fish were more then willing with that just right cast. We had a wonderful day and never had fish a nymph all day. Many people forget that you can fish dry flies on this river almost every day all day (your just not going to get as many fish, but how many 17-20" fish does it take to make you happy??).

Dam to thole, fishing has been great on foot in this section all day. Dry fly action has been good you just need to find the right spots and go for it! People always miss the fact that you can fish dry all day, you just need to know the right spots! Midges hatches have been good all week and the baetis hatch should be huge today (24th) because it's very cloudy today. Olive midges seem to be the king right now and I am seeing them all the way up to a 20 so have a few bigger bugs if your going to be here in the next week or so. The olive midge that I am fishing is a gold rib olive (green-olive not olive-brown) and a KF wing. There has also been lots of action on worms and crane flies in this section. I have a few fish eat a mouse pattern for a client just before dark last week (was dreaming of Alaska and thought I would give it a shot). There has been some action on eggs as well as 22-20 red larva always good for a few fish. Look for the midge to rule your fly box in this section till about 11 then a few baetis patterns that are very thin and olive-gray or olive-brown. (like the avocado moose or black gray moose)

Thole down- I have done most of my god dry fly fishing in this section the last week. there are always a few fish in the same spots every day on the main river that fish are looking up, remember to just LOOK! Baetis and red larva or scud have been the ticket here. 22 gray scud and even now a 24 in some spots that have gotten a little smart to the scud pattern. Lower flats has been holding a god number of fish but the boat fishing in this section is the best way to go. Death row has been fishing great on top and hoppers are the key to the fish here! Many other spots on the river are holding fish that will eat hoppers you just need to move around A LOT to find the fish willing to grab a hopper now. Beetles are also a good key to the dry action on the Juan in the fall.

Bait water is fishing great and the browns are really starting to chase streamers in this section.

Animas fishing well we are only doing wade the private water section is a little slow now but we are really looking forward to a GREAT fall with all the big fish we had this spring on floats in this area.

Creeks all fishing very well low and clear and starting to cool off now. Anything that floats is far game up on the upper Juan and all the other creeks.

Chris

August 1-9, 2004

San Juan and Alaska Trip

This report is based on information from the guides as I just got back from a week in Alaska with a group of clients. Fishing in Alaska was great as always, picked up a bow that went a little better then 8# on a mouse pattern. We had char fishing that was almost silly all you had to do was get a egg pattern in the water near spawning kings and you were all set. Mouse fishing was great fished on every day 20+ fish a day would hit the mouse and about 50% would get hooked up. We all had great silver fishing as well top water silver fishing was great the first few fish in each hole them streamer fishing would just knock them dead! We have the same week all set for next year drop me a email if you would like more info or if you want to go. Right now I have 6 of the 10 spots still open!

Fishing has been good from the dam down to thole. Fishing predominately midges and beatis. With the increase in flow today to 650 should see crane fly and worm patterns working again for a few days. Chocolate and black KF24 working best. Red larva and a Big Mac also working well. Beatis hatches have been starting a little later on sunny days. Earlier and stronger when cloudy. Beatis patterns - foam wings, RS2's, PT's all working well. Guides have been picking up fish first thing in the morning on beatis patterns. I still think red larva or Big Mac and an emerger would be the best way to go. Thole down fishing has been good from the boat. Good shot at some dry fly action in this section of the river if there is a good beatis hatch. Midges - black olive or gray 22-24 working great in the morning. Switching to beatis patterns around 10am. Been some good leech and bugger fishing in this section as well.

Bait water fishing great. Pink egg, prince nymph or bead head soft hackle PT all money bugs. Few more nice browns hanging in this section than in years past making every cast a mystery as to what you'll hook.

Colorado Animas a little low to float now, but wade fishing still excellent. Creeks all fishing very well.

Chris

Here is a July 30 - August 6 report from the Rainbow Lodge & Resolution Guide Service group trip we had this year to the Kanektok River Alaska at the Duncan's upper river camp.

July 30th fly from Durango to Anchorage arrive 10:00pm hook up with Mike from DC, Phil from Utah and Craig from CA. the rest of the crew Bob and Peter New Mexico and Bill and Rick also from New Mexico and Craig and Brian from OK, got in a day early and spent a day sight seeing around Anchorage

July 31st Mike Craig, Phil and I meet for breakfast and Phil and I fill Mike and Craig's heads with stories from past trips Phil as been with me the last 6 years on trips to Alaska. 2:00 we all meet at the Anchorage airport for the flight to Bethel (50min) once in Bethel we are all set for the bush flight, and after weigh in we jump in the private charter plane and are on our way to a small Eskimo village 45 min south of Bethel to meet our guides on the river for the 1.5 hour jet boat ride to camp. We all get to camp about 6pm move in unpack and get the rods ready! Dinner at 6:45 (prime rib and all the fixings) then we all RUN to the river. Craig and Phil and Mike head to the camp pool a slow pool about 1/4 mile below camp that holds a good numbers of silvers and pinks( fishing is great for Phil with 6 trips before he knows what to do, Mike and Craig are not far behind and start to hook up as well). Myself and the rest of the crew are a little closer to camp for a crash course in rigging and fishing for the Kanektok. Rick has never fly fished so Bill works with him and right away they are into a dolly. Bob and peter are working egg patterns and soon Peter changes to a dry and gets a few small dollies. I am working with Craig (#2) as this is also his first day fly fishing. Not long after that he and I start hooking into silvers and pinks on pink and white streamer patterns. Craig after a few lost battles gets in his first fish on a fly a nice little 5# pink. Bob and I start fishing streamers for silvers and pick up a few more. Next thing I know I am all alone on a 1/2 mile long bar fishing and it's 1:45am I hang it up for the night and head off to bed. What a day started in Anchorage and now I have a good number of fish already and there are 6 more full days of fishing....

Fishing day 1 the 1st: Aaron (7th year on the river) Mike and I are going to run down stream about 8 miles and float looking for silvers and bows. We stop at a place they call the pink hole and no wonder, in no time Mike and I are both hooked up and I bet we get 10-15 pinks before Aaron says lets move over here guys and try this silver hole. And you know it, Mike gets his first Alaska silver....I have a bunch of mouse patterns all ready to go but the fish did not seem to want what I was offering. Mike was killing them on flesh and eggs and every few miles we would stop for silvers. Aaron said OK, looks like you need to try the Kanektok mouse and really no kidding the first cast got me a big fat Alaska bow. The mouse fishing has always been good for me on this river but now that Aaron had let the cat out of the bag with THE mouse pattern it was all over. Mike and I had on a mouse for the rest of the day other then a few silver and pink hot spots. We have 2 dozen or more bows try to crush the mouse daily and silver fishing was also good. 6pm back in camp and a quick hot shower and dinner at 7 fresh grilled fish with rice it was out of this world!

Fishing day 2 : Mike and I hook up with our guide James (4th season on the river) our guide and we go above camp about 15 mile and start the day at the WOG hole. A poly wog is a big pink dry fly that you use for silver salmon. All the salmon in AK will take a dry but the pinks and silvers really like them. After a bunch of double hook ups on the dry Mike and I start to work them over with a streamer and knock them dead. I have no idea how many we got but I was getting a little tired when we choose to try a little bow and dolly fishing. A short walk back to the boat that James had set up stream from the wog hole so we could fish a run called 200 yards of glory and wow was is ever. Mike and I had to make James stop the boat so that we could take photos of the 100's of chum salmon spawning all around us and James had a few "pets" were the guides names for huge bows that they had seen in the past) waiting for us at the bottom of the run. First few fish were huge and a little smart to egg patterns and flesh would not work but James has a little streamer pattern that he hooked Mike up with and it was all over for that group of bows. Best in the bunch was about a 24" bow that jumped off the hook for me near the boat. Mike got 2 of the 4 we could see hooked up and they were great fish. James had a "big pet" that he had not landed but hooked a few time living just down from where we were so after lunch ( oh yea it's not even lunch time yet) we went looking for this big fish. Mike got him to eat the mouse pattern 3 time before he would no longer rise to it. Often times if the fish missed the mouse or we pulled it away they would just get mad and hit it harder the 2nd and sometimes 3rd time. James handed Mike a egg rod for a quick cast and FISH ON this was a huge bow 6-8# was my guess but like James had said he had not landed this fish for a reason, after 4 big jumps this fish shot right down river into a pile of sticks and went on to be his pet that had never been landed. ( we looked for him 3 more times that week but never got him). Then the rest of the day was spent fishing the mouse and silver holes now and then. I got a big bow later that day that got off next to the boat I am going to guess 5-6# I LOVE THAT MOUSE.

Day 3 Owen (8 seasons) Mike and I are going to make the long run up river about 1 hour but into areas that see few fisherman. We stop to get the boat ready for the float and Mike and I are into silvers and pinks right off the bat. We keep Owen on the move getting fish off for about a half hour and he says lets get going there are fewer but much bigger bows up here and were going to need to cover more water. Owen and I talked about the fact that Mike and I wanted big bow on the mouse. Over breakfast Owen tied up the back up mouse patterns for the day. We start our float looking for the dolly varden and we found them. I have no idea how many we landed but I think all Owen did was take off fish for about a hour or two. The mouse is now on and mike is killing me. I am trying to fish a flesh fly as backup but the mouse is really getting them. Owen changes me to the mouse and the hunt is on. We stop for lunch at a big silver hole and as Owen gets lunch ready Mike and I are catching silver and huge dollies on streamers some of the dollies we over 24" and they really fight. Over lunch we talk about the years on the river for Owen and laugh at his stories of past trips. I also find out he is the head guide at the Steelhead camp on Kodiak that I have been wanting to fish for many years. He talks me into a return trip this fall with stories of 20+ fish days on a 16 mile long walk and wade only river on Kodiak Island. After lunch I take the front of the boat from Mike and WOW the bow fishing got great! We float down a small side channel that he has not taken yet this summer and it pays off huge for me with a 8#+ bow on a mouse... The rest of the day is floating and catching bows on mouse patterns and a few more salmon stops for pinks and silvers.

Day 4 Fished with Bill today he is a long time San Juan and Animas client and this was his first trip to AK since 1987. He and I were dreaming of silvers on dry flies for the whole summer as we fished the Juan. We went to WOG hole with guide and owner Clint Duncan. What a treat to hear the stories of his youth in Alaska hunting and fishing with his father. His father was the first person ever to float this great river and set up his guide operations on this river in 1972 and Clint set up the upper river base camp in the early 80's. Bills FIRST cast was a swing and a miss then on the 2nd cast the hook found home and Bills first silver on a dry was on its way to Clints hands. What a hole we must have gotten 12 fish on dries and even more on streamers. We started to float with Bill looking for that first fish on a mouse! Fishing the mouse was not as good as in past days today was cloudy and a little rain now and then. Dolly fishing as well as flesh patterns were much better today. Bill and I got lots of silvers today as well as a hand full of bows on the mouse for me and a few hook ups for bill. The Salmon fishing was better today then it had been the last few days. We were into silvers off and on all day as well as lots of pinks and I even got a King today.

Day 5 Bob a NM client and I were to fish together today. Mouse fishing was the order of the day but silvers were also going to be our main goal as the rain the day before got a fresh push of fish into the area we were fishing around camp. Pinks and silvers in the 300-0 hole was the peak of our day I have never seen so many pinks and silvers all jammed into one spot. Bob and I ripped some lips, it took Aaron a few hours to talk us in to looking for a few more on a mouse in a small side channel down stream! Day ended for me with bob taking a little nap in the bow of the boat and me hooking up a few more on the mouse thanks to bobs little nap.

Day 6 Mike and I were back after it again with Owen. We did HUGE float looking for that monster bow that we wanted to catch. We were hoping to hit a few small channels that Mike had fished a few days before with Tyson when Bill and I were fishing. The fish were there and Mike offered up the first few he and Owen had found to me (he had himself a pet around the corner that I did not know about) Lost the first fish with mike laughing at me for the loss. He pointed out the other fish in the run to me and Owen and Mike went looking for the toad he had see two days before. I changed a few flies and got that fish to eat James little streamer that I had held onto from a few days before. I went down looking for Mike and Owen and found them working a hug bow. Owen said one more color bead egg and we need to admit defeat, that was the color! Nothing like saving best for last Owen! This was a huge bow 25-30" or better but two big jumps and off he went. I think that fish hurt Mike but after all it's fishing not catching. Quick lunch and off we went. There was a small side channel that had not been fished all week called "oake left" and this run was hot for me. I was fishing back up with the flesh pattern and mike and I were trading off front of the boat for back with every trout on a mouse and the flesh as back up. I got the front as we slipped into the smallest section Owen had to walk the boat in many spots as there was no room to row. I pick up a fine mess of fish in this section before changing out with Mike. A few nice hits and one very nice bow for Mike in the next few miles. Then we hit the spot Owen was talking about. There was a small deep slow pool just off the main river and it was full of fresh silvers. Mike and I had a blast on streamers here. The fish were all still covered in sea lice so they were in the river only about 12-24 hours, what strong fish. We had a few more miles to go and we had done our biggest float of the week almost 19 miles! Last fish of the day was a big bow for Mike that broke him off in a bush pile.... Mike and I were fishing until 1am the last day near camp for dollies and silvers.

Aug 7th 7am wake up call pack up after a big breakfast and head for the airport. Still in shock that I was here and how fast it went. Two quick flights and I'm back in anchorage for a few hours before heading home!

Come join us next year (Travel With Us)

July 5-18, 2004

The river has seen some changes this last two weeks and the fish have not taken much more then a few days to adjust to the new flows. 600cfs (or so) is the new flow and the fish have started to move into new areas and set up camp. Beatis hatches has been a little off since the last bump in flows but the midges are still going strong. Yesterday (17th) we had a nice cloudy day and the beatis came off in great numbers in sections of the river. The fish are in the same general areas but they have moved into better holding water in the same run, your just going to have to look for them... More weight is also going to be key now that the flows are 600cfs, I found myself changing all day yesterday because I was used to 500cfs. It's not much of a change but the flow is faster now. There have been a few bugs that have gotten going better now that the flows are up. With every flow change there are changes that we all need to make and things we need to remember from the past when the flows changed. I remember to always fish a scud and worm to start after a flow change. It is not always the best set up but for the most part I always get fish after a bump in the flows with them. Red larva and OJ are also a good bet, if you fish a fish or two on them keep fishing the area and change around so that you have the chance to see the other fish in that hole. Not all fish eat the same flies. More then one time I have been fishing a hole had the fish slow down on the patterns I was fishing then a simple change in flies or better yet weight and bam, right back in the game with only a small change. Too many people that fish this river don't change the weights enough. On a wade trip I will change with every run I fish so that I am right on to of what's happening and getting the most out of every hole.

Dam-Thole I have been fishing scud patterns as well as worms and red larva almost all day and doing well, but when I start to see the midges I go right to a brown or black KF to start. Avocado Moose has been a great pattern for the beatis hatch most of the afternoon also a black moose. WD40 has also been working well on this section of the river but I think this patterns is taken as a scud a lot of the time on the upper river. On the scud pattern I am fishing a 22 gray scud or a ginger in 22-20. Don't see many scuds in a ginger color in the river but the fish seem to like them, might look like a dead scud(?).

Thole down- Floats have been great fish are all moved around and on the right day very willing to rise. Beetle patterns and ants are still working well, but a #26 Adams has gotten the fish that snub my ant patterns. Seen a few fish take hoppers still a little early but worth a shot. I think that this section of the river is really going to get hot in Aug. as the beatis hatches that were slowed down by the higher flows and now cooler water kick back into full swing. Last few years fishing this time of year has been great!

Bait water has been fishing very well, PMD's really go screwed up by the higher flows but we have been getting some great browns as well as bow on that section floating. There is a lot of great underfished water in that section give it a shot for a few hours you might just fish a new sweet spot.

Animas- Fishing well early and late in the day. Hoppers and PMD's patterns are working well, but you need to be careful around mid day flows are low now and we are seeing temps in the 70's by 2pm (that can kill a trout if you fight it to long and don't handle it right). We are still floating the lower section of the river from High bridge (in Durango) 29 miles down stream. Good fishing early and late but mid day is very tough now. Don't miss out of fishing a red PT for the PMD's on this river!

Creeks are all fishing really well, flows are low but holding at a great level that we have not seen in the last few years and afternoon rains are really helping them out as well.

Navajo Lake is fishing great for carp as well as early top water bass, pike fishing is slow and will start to pick up this fall. Fished the ant fall on the lake this year and had a client pick up a 25" brown that was up on the ants, what a thrill to see that fish and wow what a fight!

I am on the water the next 10 days then I am off to Alaska with our group that is going with me this year. Sounds like fishing is going to be great and I am looking forward to some good fellowship with great friends and clients! I will try and post a report right before I take off. And for sure when I get back!! Looks like next years trip still has a few openings the camp only takes 12 people per week and I have the whole first week in Aug. booked for next year right now there are 8 openings don't miss your chance!

Tight lines and see you all on the river!

Chris

June 15-30, 2004

Well it's been a crazy few weeks. Nate (one of our guides) and I were invited back this year to the Western Fly Fishing Masters. Last year was a little disappointing because of the car wreck as well as not doing as well as we should have. This year we made up for it! We took first place both days for distance casting (our average was over 95' with a 9 foot 5wt rod my best shot was 99') and then we did well in accuracy as well. Overall we took 5th the first day and 7th the second. This got us into the fishing part of the competition. All I am allowed to say about the rest of the competition is you need to watch this in the fall on OLN, I will be posting air time as soon as we know them. It was a great time and I look forward to seeing the competitive side of fly fishing grow, and I hope to be a part of it!

On with the fishing!!!!!!! Was on the river the last few days as well as on the lake one day. Fishing has been great!! The summer beatis hatches are going great and all the "negative" talk about the river as been great because there are a lot less people this summer so far. PMD's are on the move and almost into the quality waters now as well as the caddis. Fishing out back right at dark has been really good with a #12 caddis and it should just get better.

T hole down from the boat has been fishing great, spent the last two days with a guy that's been fishing with us for 5 years, he thought this was his best year. Baetis have been hatching well all day but the fishing are really looking for them about noon. Dry action was also very good the last week as the fish are looking up. I would also guess that a few of the older fish are starting to look for the ant fall as well. Has been looking like rain all week so you never know today or next week - we'll just have to see! Lower flats really loaded up with fish the last few week and they WANT to rise we had some of our best dry action here in the afternoons.

Dam to t hole has shown up some impresive days of fishing as well as some big fish. I think that this time of year is one of the best for big fish. They really seem to get feeding this time of year. Look for a few of them to move into areas that we can see them like the top of cable hole and hog trough. Midge larva have been working very well in this area. Midges have been gray and olive but the LITTLE black midge #26 &28 are really starting to show up.

Baetis patterns:

• Foam wing 22
• RS2 gray and olive 22
• PT 24-20
• red PT 18 (for the PMD)
• WD40 black and olive
• fluff
• Avocado moose 22
• black moose 22

Midges:

• all 22-26 Emergers are working well you need to find the right color. And remember to CHANGE YOUR WEIGHT!!!!
• Brown KF
• Black KF
• Olive KF
• olive black KF

Ants and hoppers working well but pinion beetle working best!

Bait water has been fishing great as the PMD's and caddis are really getting going. Caddis and a beadhead dropper have been great!

Animas is fishing very well don't miss your shot at this Colorado must fish river. Streamer and caddis fishing is hot.

Creeks are all fishing great

Navajo Lake is fishing very well for carp on dry flies and the bass fishing is good.

Rio Grande is fishing really well, don't miss this window again, plan your Rio trip next June now we are filling up fast!  Chris

June 1-6, 2004

Well summer hit us this week with some of that heat we had missed all year with the cool spring that we had.

The fish have been loving the warm weather as the caddis and PMD's are starting to work up the river and the Baetis are on the move in the quality waters. In the last few days we have been seeing more caddis here at the lodge and even a hand full of brown stones in the last few days. The dry fly action out back has been great! Fishing over all from the end of the quality waters down has been great.

Dam to t-hole midges rule but look for a few baetis patterns to work later in the day. Once you really see the fish move into the shallow fast water change up and have a ball! Brown midges and a yellow disco have been the main flies that I have been fishing this week. There was also 2 good days of crane fly action for me this week, a little early for this hatch but fun! We should see them again in July (late) that should be a little better hatch.

Thole down- fishing from the boats has been great fish are really in the deep slow pools feeding down here. Look for the best fishing with the aid of a boat but on foot anglers can also do well in the right areas. Baetis are the better choice here but look for fish to be on midges early! Lower flats slowed down a little the last 2 weeks but still good fishing and very few people!

Dry fly action has been great with ants, hoppers, beetles, try a pinion or cedar beetle or the black trout chow! Few fish hit hopper last week for me as well just not many.

Bat water is fishing GREAT lots of 8-14" fish in all the fast water. Prince nymph #18 and a egg are your best choice but try a soft hackle pt copper beadhead as well here.

Top water bite is on Navajo at first light. Pike are a little slow but still getting a few and carp are on the topwater bite as well!

Animas should be float fishing well in the next 7-10 days LOOK out for a great season on this river!! We have over 20 miles that we float on the Animas!

Rio Grande- look for this river to go nuts in the next few weeks as well! Stone and drake hatches on this river can be great!

Creeks- all a little high and off color still, but look for them to be fishing well very soon!

Forecast! Look for the San Juan PMD and Caddis hatch by around July 1 but fish will be looking for them and seeing the nymphs in late June. Caddis and stone hatches in the bait water area offering great dry action on new water! Baetis and midges should get a little stronger each day as the water and weather warm! Should be a great summer season!

Have a great summer and we'll see you all on the river soon! Chris

May 10-22, 2004

It always amazes me how fast the years go, even more so now that I am watching our son grow more every day. This has been a odd year with a wet winter and spring then a nice and cool as well as long spring. I have my teva tan good for the summer now and the summer weather is here! 80's all week and sunny sky, are what summer is all about here in New Mexico and Colorado, well that and great fishing.

The river has been fishing great for the last 3 weeks, both float and wade trips have been doing very well but I think the floats have been a little better. The river is still a little off color as it has been for the last few years with the odd lake levels and now the massive amount of water flowing into the lake. Over the last month there have been days that you could see the mud line on the lake coming from the San Juan river in CO 31 miles is a long way for off color cold water to move but it shows you how much water is getting into the lake this year. Lake is looking great up 40+ feet and going to we hope rise 20 more. With the lake at this level your not going to be seeing this off color water any more the volume of the lake will slow down the cold mountain water and we should stay about where we are now with good water color and even better fishing.

With the birth of our son and many other factors like not enough hours in a day, I have not had the chance to fish the river as much as I would like the last month plus I have been busy on the lake, so much of the report is from our guests and guides as well as the 3 days I had on the river last week.

Dam to thole is fishing well midges are again king but the beatis hatch has been strong every day so be sure to have a handful when you hit the river. There has been a big gray midge the last week and I have been fishing a #20 gold rib gray midge we also have all been fishing lots of red larva as well as OJ's for the last week. Not sure why but the yellow egg made a big comeback with the last week. I had one on to sight fish with and fish were moving 3-4 feet for the fly... You want to remember that a fish has MUCH better vision then we do so if the river is a little off color it will not affect how or where they feed.

Thole down has been fishing GREAT from the boats, love to see all the big smiles as people return from that first float down the river. Beatis patterns in the lower flats area have been working very well. This is a area that was not fishing very well most of the winter then last few weeks the fish moved in. Much of this is because the strong beatis hatch we are now getting every afternoon. But the area is well worth a look for people that have been fishing other areas because it was not fishing that well.

Over all with the strong midge action in the am and the beatis hatches later in the day things have been going very well. I think that afternoons have been a little better because the fish are looking for that beatis more then the midge.

• Johnny flash gray and brown 20-24
• Olive midge 20-16
• black pupa 24
• black gray pupa copper rib 22-26
• Olive black midge emg 26
• yellow disco 20-26
• PT 20-22
• flash beatis 22
• Fluff beatis 22
• RS2 gray and olive 22
• WD 40 gray and choc 22
• foam wing 22
• PT pupa gray head 20-22
• Red larva 20-24
• red hook 22
• KF larva 22-26
• egg yellow
• worm Nat and red

Top water is OK not great some hopper action last week as well as ants and other odd little flies. #24 BWO was the best natural fly.

Navajo Lake starting to fish very well on a fly. Carp action still a little slow as they are spawning but in the next few weeks they should start hunting top water flies. Smallmouth now easy to get the little ones but the big guys are hiding a little got a few 4# smallmouth last week as well as a 22# pike that took a fly. Pike fishing is always a little spotty but if your willing to try we can find them most of the time.

Animas and all other area rivers high and off color due to FULL on run off. Look for all the other floats in the area to pick up in the next few weeks.

Happy fishing see you all on the river!

Chris

April 1-29, 2004

Well we have been busy this last few weeks Karin and I were blessed with a 9# 15.5oz 22" baby boy named Augustus Parson Guikema on April 6th at 6.37pm. Mom and baby are home healthy and happy! He is looking forward to crappie fishing next week!

Now back to work! Fishing has been great this last week. Beatis hatches have been huge when the skies got cloudy. The wind blew out a few days of the best hatches but we still did well on dry flies. The midge hatch has been great in the mornings and with strong beatis action good fishing all day! If you hit a few sunny days don't worry there will still be bugs as well as good dry fly action you just need to know or find the right spots. The big spring red/brown midge that was hatching so well all spring seemed to run out last week but the last 2 days he got back into action. Red larva or a bigmac is the bugs to fish for this fly! You can also try the old school fly called a RPS and do well on it. I had a few days on the river last week and did very well fishing a gray Johnny flash in the am and streamers all afternoon with great luck.

Dam to t-hole has been fishing GREAT wonderful midge action early then beatis all the way to cable hole by 11-12. Look for the fish in the deep fast water sections now that they are seeing some good hatches. Olive larva has also been working very well. UFO, gray midges, black midges and cream egg all been working well but a RPS (22) and a red larva have been my best near the dam.

T-hole down huge beatis hatches on the right day ( you should have been here yesterday or tomorrow) you know that story! But really if you hit cloudy day look out the bugs are ready and waiting. RS2 WD foam wing PT FBPT fluff and cdc loop olive beatis all working VERY WELL with the olive loop my money bug this week with a Johnny or a RPS dropper!

Bait water still not fishing that well but did get a few on caddis the other night.

Lower river looks like it's almost time!!! There are already caddis on the lower water near blanco. We also have a great new private section about 6 miles below the lodge for wade fishing. We will also be doing cast and blast packages all fall. Look for this section to really turn on soon!

Navajo Lake is up 20' and bass fishing is still a little slow but the crappie action is stating to turn on! Carp on dr flies is also starting to get good! I am on the lake for 10 days in early May look for a better report then!

Animas river was off color and not fishing well but with cooler night it has cleared fast and is fishing well. We offer 3 floats on this river as well as wade trips in Durango and on 2.5 miles of private water below town. We also have many small section of private water to stop and take a break on or do a little wade fishing on all the Animas floats.

Upper San Juan near Pagosa is almost ready!! We had a two day window a week ago but were not able to find any takers! If this is a trip that you would like to do let me know and we'll put you on the on call list. We have a short window to fish this section, a wonderful 9 mile float through one of the most beautiful canyons in the area. This is a trip for experienced anglers!

Rio Grande we are also offering float trip on the Rio Grande near the town of South Fork CO. We do not have Forrest service permits here but are able to offer two great flows near town. There is great dry action on both the stone fly and the green drake. Don't miss out on this great river!

Creeks are all high and off color look for them to turn on about June 15-July 1st.

See you all on the river soon!!!!!!

Chris

March 16-31, 2004

No baby yet...  The river started to turn off color around the middle of March. We had 3 ft. plus visibility and great sight fishing, but with the above average temperatures and the lake rising close to 10 ft in March the river suffered a little clarity setback. Visibility is probably 1-2 ft. but has not seemed to affect the hatches. They are expecting Navajo reservoir to come up 40 to 60 ft this spring. My guess is that's going to result in some off color water but I couldn't be any happier about the lake level. Flows on the San Juan went to 350 CFS at 4am today (4/1/04). We have guides out today, but have not heard a report yet.

Dam to thole has received the bulk of the pressure the last year but the fishing has justified the pressure and that's no different now. I have been working hard in the slower water in order to stay away from the majority of the people. It's a fun new challenge offering a little variety in the day. I still prefer to fish the faster water but the midge fishing in the slower pools has been exceptional. Midges in #18 -#28 have been the order of the day in this section. The large red/brown midge of spring has been a very predictable hatch for the past three weeks. Morning fishing has been best. Afternoons have been a little slower, but still fairly productive. Fishing from the boats has been the way to go in the afternoons.

Thole to gravel pit. This area of the river has been super productive some days and slow on others. But overall, mornings have been fishing better. Afternoon beatis hatches have been getting stronger. Texas hole and up have had great hatches of beatis as well as downstream. Hatches seem to be a little behind schedule but I'm not sure thats really the case. I think all of our clocks are a little screwed up after two weeks of 80 degree temperatures. I normally don't expect that sort of weather until mid April. I think thats why I feel the hatches are behind. Bait water has been fishing tough. Should pick up once we get some more beatis activity.

Forecast : this is a newer section of the report that I hope helps people out - as in the past I'll welcome any emails with suggestions to make this part of the report more helpful. I have logs of fishing this river since 1997. I am going to try and use that information to give a suggestion for the weeks to come since my reports are always for the past two weeks.

Forecast - as we move into early April we come to our common spring foul weather weeks. Typically we experience snow and/or rain during the month of April. This weather pattern has allowed for some exceptional dry fly fishing in the past, I don't see this April as being that much different. Look for beatis to start changing from predominately gray patterns to darker browns and blacks as the hatches increase. Daily around midday you should feel pretty confident in fishing beatis emerger patterns with midge droppers. Flows are scheduled to remain the same during the next two weeks. We hope to see some clarity come back as the lake continues to settle down from an early spring push. Tight lines. See you all on the river.

March 1-15, 2004

Well spring is here!!! 70's every day for the last 7-8 days has been great. The river looks great and is clearing fast offering up great sight fishing on most of the river. Flows are still around 250cfs and about April 1st they are "maybe" going to up flows to 350cfs. They are going to try and hold as much water as they can this year in Navajo Lake so it's VERY likely that we are going to see flows from 250-350cfs all summer and fall. The snow pack on the Animas is huge this year so they are not going to need to add much water to the river system this summer. I am planing a post on the reports page about this in more detail.

The river has been fishing great most days with the afternoons a little slow as the baetis are a little off right now. But the big spring midges and afternoon beatis hatches are all going good for this early in the year. It's hard to remember but we should still get 1-2 more big snows this spring "I hope". All your normal midges as well as a few larger midges are working well. I have been fishing a #22 brown midge with a gray head for the last week and fish have been happy with my flies so far. Beatis hatches are better from Thole down but you will see some bugs above thole in afternoon. Red larva made a strong comeback this last few days as the large red spring midge started to move. Look for most fish in the faster shallow water now that we have some more bug action.

Thole down I have not waded this last two weeks but the boat fishing has been great until 3pm. For some reason (and it might be just me??) late afternoons have been fishing slow, not sure why other then the fact that beatis hatches are a little late this year.

Have a great spring on the river and don't forget that spring break is the next few weeks so there is going to be a few more people then normal!

Chris Guikema

February 15-29, 2004

Here is the very late report for Feb 15-29 as well as March 1-4. With the baby so close and the season picking up I have had my hands full! But I also have been having some great days on the water!!!!!!!!! Fishing has been great for the last month and the last few weeks have gotten even better. There is a short slow spot about mid day but from 8-12 and 3-5 fishing has been tons of fun! Had a chance to fish most of the river from the dam down and have not really found any section that was not holding fish and fishing well. Baetis hatch was huge the other day in the snow and rain, not any dry action but did see fish working that could have been taken on a dry! I am going out fishing with a friend (Friday 5th) can't wait!

Thole to the dam has been fishing very well fish are all over the place but the small deep water pockets are holding more then the slack water now. Once the river gets a few good hatches in the spring the fish always move into the pocket water to feed. Midge hatches are also really good right now and that big #18 spring midge is on the move so fishing the red midge emerger is really rocking! Worms also picked up this last week and eggs really shut off. Look for fish to be really feeding by about 9am then (from the boat) a slow spot until about 3 when the baetis really start moving! The baetis hatch should be a little earlier on the upper sections around thole.

Thole down about the same story fishing well all day but a short little dead spot about 1-2 then good baetis action about 3-5. Lower flats fished very well for me the other day as we floated down, no people is a real plus to this section right now.

Pike action on Navajo should be picking up in the next few weeks as well as the great smallmouth and black bass fishing by mid April.

Have a great week see you on the river!

Midges in:18-26 Gray olive red black purple

Beatis in: red PT, Choc rs2, gray wd40

gray scud, ufo, mono midge in gray, mono in green

Chris

January 15-31, 2004

The normal winter turn-on has started!! Fishing has been great for the last week. Cloudy days and over all good fishing weather along with willing fish have made for some of the best days of the winter. Fish have been on the move some are getting ready for the spring spawn and others are just getting ready for the spring hatches. Float trips have had great luck all the way down the river, and wade fishing has been good all over most section of the quality water.

Thole to the dam has been my choice to fish on a odd day off as well as my #1 spots with clients the last week. Cable hole was fishing un-real last week on olive and gray midges as well as a 24 mono midge (gray). ESPN was also fishing well I had a few great days with a bugger and a OJ combo fished really wanted that bug to swing!! Lots of nice fish moving in all over the pocket water as the hatches get a little better.

Thole down has also been fishing great from a boat!! This section of the river is a little better to fish from a boat as the long deep slow moving pools are a little hard to fish on foot. But there is still good spots to stop the boat and wade for a bit. Dry fly action on this section is slow but the hatches are just now getting going!

Bait water was fishing OK last week by the lodge I had a little time to kill so I went out back and get 2 nice browns on egg patterns and 1 on a bugger, then I had to get back to painting the lodge rooms and getting every thing ready for the season.

Lower river or private water fishing slow to ok on the right day.

I am going to be posting a 2004 flow report this week keep your eyes out for that in the next 5 days here and on my site under the reports page.

Hope everyone had a great winter and with over 100% snow pack and almost 130% in some areas that fill Navajo Lake all I can say is let it snow more and more and more!!

See you all on the river this spring!

Chris

January 1-13, 2004

Karin and I have been waiting to tell everyone, but the first addition to our family is expected in March of this year...and now, the fishing report...

Fishing the first part of the new year (1-6) was great. Good midge and beatis hatches and just overall good fishing. The weather was very overcast the first seven days of the new year allowing for some wonderful fishing and even a few dry fly opportunities. The sun came out this last week. Fishing slowed down a bit, but the fish are still willing if you can find the pods. Deep, slower water has always been the winter rule and this year is no exception. Fishing ESPN to the dam has been great, especially in the morning with black buggers and #26 red larvas. Not sure really why the winter bite this year has been almost all #24 and #26, but I think it has something to do with the fact that the river is really not all that much off color. I'd say about 2 foot visibility and clearing a bit every day. fishing the deep water from thole down has been great if you can stand fishing all that frogwater. My preference has always been sight fishing the shallow braids. Fishing overall this year has been good. Great spring fishing is just around the corner, but remember, until now until Presidents day you can still have the river to yourself.

Chris Guikema

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