I just got back from 6 weeks in the FL Everglades, fishing every day except for 4 days. One day was to pick up my wife, one day engine repair and oil change, and 2 days for nasty weather. Our phone and internet service was horrible, I wasn't able to post reports and most of the time had to drive outside of town to get my hot spot! It was so much easier when you could just check the answering machine. Besides the technological glitches (we were in the Everglades after all), this was our best FL trip since I was running charters here in 2002.
The guides were fishing lots more water during May, than a typical year. Low snowfall and an early melt, means that run off is over. While this may be good for fishing in May and early June, let's hope for a wet summer to keep the water levels in check come October, and not let Navajo Lake run too low. Looking at the summer forecast we are on the border of a Hot and Dry cycle, and the typical Mid – Late summer thunderstorms cycle. Let's hope for the thunderstorms.
The fishing below the dam, on the Tailwater section of the San Juan River is very good. The river is in great shape. The flows were just lowered from 5,000 cfs to about 500 and the river bed is looking clean. After the river has been blown out, we often have some of the best fishing with very hungry fish. Midges up high, and bigger dry's in the back channels, and hopefully soon we will see the ant fall if we get some rain.
The Blanco, Turkey, Piedra, and our Private property on the San Juan are all fishing very well. Most of the other streams on our permit need the water to drop just a bit. They will all be fishing fine in another week or two. Pop's at Let it Fly, reported that the Stonefly's and Caddis are going good, and both Jeff and Steve have already been doing well on grasshoppers. Now I have to go to the river and re-learn how to tie knots with 6x, after spending a month tying 60lb shock to Tarpon fly's. I hope I have that problem again next year...
