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

 

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.

 

 

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