I really like the improvements that were done on the Quality Waters of the San Juan River in NM! There were spots that I have only caught a few fish in the last 5 years, that were now loaded with fish. There were also spots that I have caught fish, and now they are dry. The spots that were dried up were generally unproductive, except for the occasional very selective midge slurpler! With the sections that were dried up by dams or diversions, it has created increased flows, which should decrease sedimentation in the river. Overall I am very impressed.
The fishing has been very good after the improvements in the wade area. Visibility is low, 1 – 2 feet at the best, due to lake turnover. The fish are still hungry and not as selective as usual. We caught fish last week, all day on almost anything red. We also did well on Iron Grey Big Mac's in 18 and 20 and small size 24 black midges. Between 11:00 and 1:00 we hit several midge hatches where we killed them on size 24 grizzly fore & aft patterns.
Tuesday I fished with below the dam with Tim Froehlich, and we did very well on eggs and a grey kf with a clear bead or a black thread head. The tough part was trying to get through all the fingerlings that were stocked last week. At first it was fun to see a strike on every cast, but then we had to hunt for the bigger fish. If we saw a bunch of small fish rising, we would walk by it, and look for water with out all the little guys on top. By doing that we got into some better fish.
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
Located on Put hill, just West of 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/
