The San Juan River Fly Fishing Report - Pagosa Springs, CO: 2014

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

It is ski season now, but we are still fishing on the Lower San Juan River with both wade and float trips. Most days in the winter the temperatures are 20 degrees warmer that Pagosa Springs. So if you come to town and are not going skiing, lets go fishing.

Our fall fishing in the Everglades was great this year. We found all kinds of new water and caught some great fish. In the fall we target Snook and Redfish most of the time, but we also got into a bunch of Tarpon and we found a few areas that consistently had Baby Tarpon. If you have ever had the itch to fly fish in the saltwater or have fished other areas in the Salt you need to check out Fly Fishing in the Everglades Nat. Park and the 10,000 Islands on the West Coast of Florida. For the upcoming Tarpon Season, I am offering readers of this fishing report some big savings. For fishing trips in April & May of 2015 that are 3 days or longer, the rate will be $450 a day. A savings of $100 a day!

Make sure to visit the Laid Up Charters web site (http://www.laidupcharters.com).

Here are some pictures from October and November.

This Snook was way in the backcountry, the water was almost fresh.

Baby Poon.. We call them Crack Heads!

Nice Redfish.

Baby Tarpon in a tiny creek.

Nothing wrong with catching 2 Tarpon!

Nice Snook.

First Redfish.

Big Redfish on a Slam Day.. Redfish, Snook, Trout, and a Tarpon.

The second Tarpon to the boat on the Slam Day!

Bird Shot!

A Laid Up Tarpon tail 10 feet from the boat! No rod in the hand, just a camera trying to get some cool pictures!

Big Redfish in the backcountry.

A Crack Head and Sarah!

Stocky backcountry Snook.

Scott Taylor
http://highcountrycharters.com
970-946-5229

While you are in town make sure that you visit the following businesses!

Need Fly Fishing gear? See Pop's
Let it Fly
Downtown Pagosa Springs, across from Kip’s
970-264-3189
http://www.flyfishpagosa.com

Hungry for Adventure?
Pagosa Outside Adventures - Rafting, Biking, Kayaking, Tubing
Downtown Pagosa Springs
970-264-4202
http://www.pagosaoutside.com

Need Ski Rentals?

Pagosa Ski Rental (PSR)

Downtown Pagosa Springs

970-264-2866

http://www.skipagosa.com

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Mid - August Fly Fishing in Pagosa Springs

The fishing has been great the last few weeks with the exception of moving around to find clear water. The days that we’ve fished trips at Sunset Ranch have been some of the best in recent years. Lots of fish of all sizes, and the rains have kept the temperature under 70 degrees, which is very good for mid-August.

It has been a busy summer, with little time to fish on my own, or write fishing reports. With that said I wanted to post some pictures, and remind everyone that even though I will be fishing in the Everglades October and November we will still have our crew guiding in the Pagosa Springs Area year round. If you want to book trips in the Everglades for the fall or spring let me know. Check out the LAID UPCHARTERS web site and drop me a line.

Here are some pictures from the Austin Group that I guided for El Rancho Pinoso at the Weminuche Valley Ranch last week. If any of you would like me to guide you at either of the ranches, please contact the Ranch Manager, and ask for Scott.

Dave Leibson
Ranch Manager / Guide
El Rancho Pinoso
398B County Road 326
Pagosa Springs, CO 81147
Ranch: 970-264-4459
Cell: 970-946-3584
Email: dave@elranchopinoso.com

I was fishing the Tom Stank group out at Sunset Ranch and I was fortunate enough for them to hand me a rod for a few cast to some rising trout. I was rewarded with a nice brown…. Thanks guys!

I had a trip planed at Sunset Ranch with Greg and Karen, but high muddy water sent us to the high country to search for clear water. We were rewarded with some beautiful cutthroat trout.

Need Ski Rentals?

Pagosa Ski Rental (PSR)

Downtown Pagosa Springs

970-264-2866

http://www.skipagosa.com

click here

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Summer time fly fishing in Pagosa Springs, CO!

What does warm days, cool nights, and amazing afternoon thunder storms in the San Juan Mountains mean? Monsoon Season! Although we might still be in a drought cycle, the rains are much needed and some of the water holes in the mountains, that have already been dried up over the last few summers now have water. With that said fire danger is still high at lower elevations with extremely dry grasses and Gamblers Oak brush. Please continue to be cautious while camping and hiking in South West Colorado.

The fishing has been very good. Some of the streams that we were having temperature issues, have now seen lower afternoon temperatures due to the rains. With that said we have also had some major rains that have blown out the East Fork (with mud slides), West Fork, Lower Piedra and several other small streams that do not usually get blown out. Still with a little searching around you can always find some clear water, or head down below the dam to the Lower San Juan River.

Last week while fishing with Elaine McCoy we had to deal with the high water. We had a trip planned on the private property of Sunset Ranch. On the drive out to meet Elaine I already had an idea what the river would look like from the storms the evening before and I checked the flow's online (I have a link on my web page for river flows). I still had hope to fish the ranch, I can deal with chalky stained water, but when I drove downtown and crossed the bridge over the San Juan, my jaw dropped. It looked like the middle of spring run-off in July! I immediately thought of Tobby and his crew at Pagosa Outside. I was betting that they were getting the rafts ready for one more day of white water in Pagosa!

The fishing on the ranch was going to be out of the question. We poked around on the East Fork, checked out the West Fork, then headed to one of my small streams that usually drop very quick. We were putting on a wading gear while it was raining, with some way off thunder. I could tell she was a little doubtful, but we headed out. We got to the stream and there were caddis, mayflies, and midges all flying around in the air, and fish rising! Sometimes it was tough to see the trout rising with all the rain drops. We had lots of fish eat and I saw a lot of heads coming out of the water taking dry's. All of this action, probably would not have happened if it was another 87 degree, blue bird day.

Way to hang in there Elaine!

This nice Rainbow was caught in a tiny stream near Pagosa Springs.

This was the hole, that the big rainbow was hiding out in. It might take a little work to find fish like this on small streams, be prepared to do some hiking!

Scott Taylor
http://highcountrycharters.com
970-946-5229

While you are in town make sure that you visit the following businesses!

Need Fly Fishing gear? See Pop's
Let it Fly
Downtown Pagosa Springs, across from Kip’s
970-264-3189
http://www.flyfishpagosa.com

Hungry for Adventure?
Pagosa Outside Adventures - Rafting, Biking, Kayaking, Tubing
Downtown Pagosa Springs
970-264-4202
http://www.pagosaoutside.com

Need Ski Rentals?

Pagosa Ski Rental (PSR)

Downtown Pagosa Springs

970-264-2866

http://www.skipagosa.com

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Fly Fishing the San Juan Mountains in Pagosa Springs, CO

The fishing has been very good the last few weeks. Lots of fish have been looking up for some dry’s or the hopper dropper rig. Some of the fish have been looking up for a while and are starting to get picky. That happened to me the other day on a trip. Generally on the waters near Pagosa Springs the fish are not very selective (save that for the Lower San Juan). There were several species of may flies on the water, some caddis and even a few ants. We threw several set ups at the fish, but didn’t even get any refusals. The fish were high up on the run, and I couldn’t actually see what they were eating. After some more observation and no fishing I noticed some fish were eating on top and others were just below the surface. So we made yet another switch and downsized to 6 x and a #20 parachute Adams that I tie on a barbless scud hook. This pattern tied on the scud hook allows the bottom of the fly to sit below the surface film. I just put a little Gink on the white post of the parachute Adams. That was the ticket. We put several more fish in the net before the afternoon storms came in and hammered down on us. Those were the first tricky fish on the season.

The afternoon rains have been making for some tricky fishing in certain areas with high muddy water. Then when it starts to clear, boom!! More thunder. The rain is much needed and the water temperature last week hit 70 degrees on the ranch. The afternoon rains should drop the temps and keep the fishing good for the rest of the summer. As always in the mountains, if you find a muddy stream, go a drive to another drainage. Some days I will drive to 4 or 5 drainages till I find one running clear. It is very rare that we do not have any clear water to fish. And if everything is blown out we can always go below the dam and fish on the lower San Juan that is a tailwater and has consistent flows.

Here are some pictures that are always better than words!

The bookings for this summer are way up compared to last summer with the West Fork fire causing havoc in the San Juan Mountains. No smoky mornings now, let’s hope it stays that way. If you are planning a trip to Pagosa Springs and want to fish, don’t wait till you get here. Book early, several weeks this summer are already full.

Need Ski Rentals?

Pagosa Ski Rental (PSR)

Downtown Pagosa Springs

970-264-2866

http://www.skipagosa.com

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Great Late Spring Fishing in Pagosa Springs!

The water levels are finally dropping from a great spring run-off, and several stream are now very fishable! The lake is full at Sunset Ranch and we should be able to wade across the river next week, then it is game on at the Ranch. We had several pre – run off trips on the Ranch in late March and early April and the fishing was fantastic! With the water levels this high compared to the last several years the outlook for this fishing season and over all stream health is very positive.

Fish On!

In the net!

The streams we have been fishing have had water temps ranging from 48 degrees in the morning to about 58 in the afternoon. I had several days that when the temperature hit 56 degrees, the stone fly’s started crawling all over the place. You could see them drifting down the stream and the fish were hammering them. During this time a black stone was out fishing any other fly 20:1.

Black Stone's

Craig Risk with another fish on!

The Quality Waters of the San Juan has been very consistent, flowing at around 300 cfs. On a few wade trips last week guide Steve Baird was doing very well, and was into fish most of the day. They have been using the standard larva and pupa patterns that are popular on the Juan. When the fish quit eating the fly he was using, Steve would move his indicators, or change his weight. Then the fish would be eating again.

The booking for this summer are way up compared to last summer with the West Fork fire causing havoc in the San Juan Mountains. No smoky mornings now, let’s hope it stays that way. If you are planning a trip to Pagosa Springs and want to fish, don’t wait till you get here. Book early, several weeks this summer are already full.

Scott Taylor
http://highcountrycharters.com
970-946-5229

While you are in town make sure that you visit the following businesses!

Need Fly Fishing gear? See Pop's
Let it Fly
Downtown Pagosa Springs.
970-264-3189
http://www.flyfishpagosa.com

Hungry for Adventure?
Pagosa Outside Adventures - Rafting, Biking, Kayaking, Tubing
Downtown Pagosa Springs
970-264-4202
http://www.pagosaoutside.com

Need Ski Rentals?

Pagosa Ski Rental (PSR)

Downtown Pagosa Springs

970-264-2866

http://www.skipagosa.com

Monday, February 10, 2014

Feburary & March Fly Fishing in Pagosa Springs!

Spring Break is coming up, lets book your fly fishing trip NOW!

Matt Degelman owner of Degelman's Red Wagon Grill in Pagosa Springs got into some nice rainbows while floating in Trout Bum with guide Dave Leibson the first week of Feb.

The fishing has been pretty good on the San Juan River. The water is clearing up after the lake turned, making sight fishing easier. Most of the fish lately, have been eating eggs, san juan worms, buggers, and then some beatis patterns starting late morning, early afternoon. It has been pretty busy at the ski area, so I have not had much time for fishing reports. I'll just let the pictures do the reporting.

The boys from Maine know how to fish in the winter!

Guide Dave Leibson got a chance to get out of the boat and stick a nice bow!

New add made by guide Dave Leibson who also owns Digital Assets here in Pagosa Springs. If you need anything done with graphics I would recommend him!

Scott Taylor
http://highcountrycharters.com
970-946-5229

While you are in town make sure that you visit the following businesses!

Need Fly Fishing gear? See Pop's
Let it Fly
Downtown Pagosa Springs.
970-264-3189
http://www.flyfishpagosa.com

Hungry for Adventure?
Pagosa Outside Adventures - Rafting, Biking, Kayaking, Tubing
Downtown Pagosa Springs
970-264-4202
http://www.pagosaoutside.com

Need Ski Rentals?

Pagosa Ski Rental (PSR)

Downtown Pagosa Springs

970-264-2866

http://www.skipagosa.com

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Time to book your Winter and Spring Fishing Trips!

WINTER FISHING ON THE SAN JUAN RIVER

Lets book your winter or spring fishing trips now!

Float or Wade trips are available.

This report was submitted by our guide Dave Leibson.

San Juan flows have been around 250. Lake has turned over so river color is brown and dirty. The river is fishing good especially on the warmer days above 40 degrees.
The upper runs from t-hole to the upper flats is good. the main channel is fishing great with larger fish staging for the spawn.

In the morning when its cold I have been fishing larger flies, eggs, dark leeches, pops buggers trailed by red or orange larva. #16- #22 work fine. Midge hatches have been happening in the afternoons also as seen by the photos. Olive, black and grey.

The braids section is a great place for a beginner to get familiar with their gear and the flow of the river. Its also a great place to practice your casting and hook fish while in the process.

Scott Taylor
http://highcountrycharters.com
970-946-5229

While you are in town make sure that you visit the following businesses!

Need Fly Fishing gear?
See Pop's @ Let it Fly
Pop's has all your fly fishing needs and fishing licenses!
Downtown Pagosa Springs
970-264-3189
http://www.flyfishpagosa.com

Hungry for Adventure?
Pagosa Outside Adventures - Rafting, Biking, Kayaking, Tubing
Downtown Pagosa Springs
970-264-4202 http://www.pagosaoutside.com

Need Ski Rentals?

Pagosa Ski Rental (PSR)

Downtown Pagosa Springs

970-264-2866

http://www.skipagosa.com