It is official; the barriers will be gone by sun down on November 30, 2011. This good news just in from Marc Wethington of NM Game & Fish! Grab your rod and check out the new waters on the San Juan!
Tight Lines, Larry Johnson
BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
NAVAJO RESERVOIR RELEASE
November 29, 2011
SENT VIA FAX AND E-MAIL
The Bureau of Reclamation will be increasing the release from Navajo Reservoir to 500 cubic feet per second (cfs) Thursday, December 1, 2011 at approximately 4 a.m. The temporary, lower release was in collaboration with New Mexico Department of Game & Fish’s fish habitat project, just below the dam. The project is now complete, and the release will be returned to 500 cfs. Releases are made for the authorized purposes of the Navajo Unit, and to attempt to maintain a target base flow through the endangered fish critical habitat reach of the San Juan River (Farmington to Lake Powell).
If you have any questions, please contact Ruth Swickard at 970- 385-6523 or e-mail her at rswickard@usbr.gov
News Flash: November 11, 2011
We are pleased to say that NM Game & Fish have started in earnest the work on the Rex Smith Project of the famous San Juan River. I was lucky enough to get a bird’s eye view and up-close tour from Marc Wethington (Biologist for NM Game & Fish) last Wednesday, 11/02/11 and the work is progressing very nicely. For many of you that were not aware of this project it i…s something that the professional fishing community has been lobbying for years to enhance our world renowned fishery.
The just of this project is to contain the silting of the river via the Rex Smith Wash. Since NM State Parks built a giant berm to protect the restrooms in the Texas Hole parking lot, silting of the river occurs with each storm event. A plan devised by Marc and this crew would construct a 3 acre holding pond. When the wash runs, instead of tons of silt running into the river, it will collect in this holding pond. The beneficial rain will still find its way to the river but via a new direction through the willows on the north rim of the wash, which mimics its natural filtering process. Hence enhancing the wet lands and eliminating the choking silt for the river.
At the same time they will be redirecting the major part of the flow from the north channel that only holds about 8 anglers max to the “Braids Section” of the river that is well over 30 acres. To date, most of that 30 acre area only had approximately 3 inches of water so it does not hold many fish. Now with the redirect of that flow, with all natural material, we will see a new average depth of 7 to 14 inches and 15 plus new pools with depths of 3 to 6 feet deep. This is a brilliant plan but as always you will hear some complaints that “They” are changing the course of the river. We all must remember the river below Navajo Dam was completely man made…. all of this section was scoured out for materials for the dam itself and when the steam shovels were done, that is how the river laid! All “TailWater” are dying rivers and eventually get scraped down to the bed rock or in our case sandstone. So is this tapering with nature? A dam yes, but below the dam is another story. This plan devised by NM Game & Fish has been very well thought out using all materials right from the river itself. Should a section of the project not pan out, they may make corrections or just simply dismantle that section of the river not working according to plan.
Good publicity, bad Publicity? Some in the business community say there is no such thing as bad publicity but I have been reading some articles in the Albuquerque Journal and other fishing Blogs that fishing is great but the State wants make the San Juan an amusement park for the lack of better wording. I don’t agree but after I read in the Albuquerque Journal article, a fisherman (who will remain un-named) stated, 3 years ago could catch 40 to 50 fish in a day and not have to move more than a few steps….? Now he fishes all day and has to walk almost a mile and only, and I quote “only” lands 20 to 30 trout? Talk about unrealistic expectations, I think any fly fishing angler who reads that would have a pretty good belly laugh.
The state has told us they have over 50% of the project completed and are shooting for a December 5th finish or December 15th at the latest. For those anglers coming our way, the construction crews are working 4 ten hour shifts, Monday – Thursday but will not be in the river on Friday, Saturday or Sundays. With that we are seeing some cloudy flows on work days but it has not impacted the fishing one bit.
Soaring Eagle Lodge will keep you updated on the project and if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us.
Tight Lines, Larry JohnsonSee More
SEL Fishing Report 10/27/11
We are now deep into our Autumn Splendor and this is one of my favorite times of year. We are seeing cooler days and nights here in North West New Mexico. I cannot remember the Cottonwood Trees being so yellow and gold in many years. I know they turn gold each autumn but I think because the weather has be so nice and sunny during the day with hardly any wind, it just magnifies their beauty this fall. So with that let’s talk about the fishing.
The river has been at a flow of approximately 500 to 600cfs with gin clear waters and an easy 3 to 4 feet of visibility. Fishing has been tough in the a.m. but picking up with the midge hatch from mid day on, with some very good dry fly fishing. It should be noted 5x and 6x fluorocarbon is still a must! The fish are fat and happy but now “they be educated” so you will need every trick in your book to be successful.
Day time temps are now reaching the high 60’s to mid 70’s almost every day so you need to dress accordingly, layers seem to work best. Sunscreen 30+ is still mandatory and cannot be stressed enough. The summer monsoons are over and we are about to see the first winter storms hit our San Juan Mountains. In fact Wolf Creek Ski Area has already opened to one of its earlier starts in years. We don’t want to see snow on the Mesas yet but in the desert we will take any drop of moisture we can get any time. The positive effect of these autumn storms is they produce a very cloudy day which stimulates our Fall BWO hatches. The other day the bugs were so thick the clients said they could swipe them off the water with their rod tips. Hence, those anglers willing to throw small dry flies, i.e. 26 Parachute Adams will see some very good and exciting results.
Anglers fishing above Texas Hole to the dam have been doing well with midge patterns – both pupa and larva, but very, very small flies, size 24-28 in red, cream and olive, don’t forget to switch out to a chocolate or grey emerger as the morning ends. As soon as you see tailing fish, it is time for an emerger. Some angler’s have also been very successful in the “Catch & Release” and “Cable Hole”, again with a very small midge, “flash wing” pupa’s, sight fishing in the shallow runs up by the dam. On cloudy days there have been some very good Baetis hatches that have been coming off, and it is not just down river but all the way up to the dam.
Texas Hole to Gravel Pit has seen great floating and wading days for all anglers. The hatches are starting earlier, around 11:00 a.m. but lasting until 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., which makes very good afternoon fishing. Mid and Lower River flies are very much the standard fare… but definitely try some “big dries” towards the banks and as always do not overlook the streamer fishing if you want to change it up a bit.. We just had Alan Reyes and his boys in form Colorado and they put the SEL 505 to its test and they gave a big thumps up on the Olive color of this new streamer pattern. The PMD hatches are still coming off down by Duranglers Corner and Last Chance but I think these will peter out soon.
As always, should you have any questions or want more detailed information call or e-mail us and we will do our best to get you the answers. Like we say, do not just read the SEL Fishing Report… Get your Fly Rod in hand and fish the San Juan. Soaring Eagle Lodge would be pleased to host you and yours, so give us a call and come up to the Juan for some great Autumn Fly Fishing Action.
Tight Lines, Larry Johnson
Owner: Soaring Eagle Lodge
Tele: 505-632-3721
EM: info@soaringeaglelodge.net
SEL Fishing Report 07/11/11
We would like to open up with an “Update” on the NM Wild Fires. This has been catastrophic for our state and a hardship on many of our residence but luckily for us in the North West or The Four Corner’s part of the State, we have not been affected at all. All our major Airports, Farmington (FNM), Durango, (DRO) and Albuquerque (ABQ) are in full operation.
The river has been at a constant flow of approximately 500 cfs with gin clear waters and an easy 3 to 4 feet of visibility. Fishing has been tough in the a.m. but picking up with the midge hatch from mid day on, with some very good dry fly fishing. It should be noted 5x and 6x fluorocarbon is a must! The fish are fat and happy but now “they be educated” so you will need every trick in your book to be successful.
Day time temps are now reaching the high 80’s to high 90’s almost every day so you need to dress accordingly. Sunscreen 30+ is mandatory and we cannot stress that enough. The summer monsoons are ready to start and we are seeing the massive cloud formation coming in almost every day. Everyone is salivating for the first big rain, for then the “Ants will Fall”. It has not happed yet but Chef Michael has bet me a gourmet dinner it will happen this week.
Anglers fishing above Texas Hole to the dam have been doing well with midge patterns – both pupa and larva, but very, very small flies, size 24-28 in red, cream and olive, don’t forget to switch out to a chocolate or grey emerger as the morning ends . As soon as you see tailing fish it is time for an emerger. Some angler’s have also been very successful in the “Catch & Release” and “Cable Hole”, again with a very small midge, “ flash wing” pupa’s, sight fishing in the shallow runs up by the dam. On cloudy days there have been some very good Baetis hatches that have been coming off, and it is not just down river but all the way up to the dam.
Texas Hole to Gravel Pit has seen great floating and wading days for both guided and self fishing anglers. Midge hatches have been slow coming off since the high water stopped running, we think. The hatches are starting well after 2:00 p.m. but lasting until 4:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m., which makes very good afternoon fishing. Mid and Lower River flies are very much the standard fare… but definitely try some “big dry’s” towards the banks. We just had Chris Travis’s production company “Hooked on the Fly” filming a one hour show, for ESPN, Sportsman Channel, Wild TV, Fishing and Hunting and much more. They filmed with Jeff Massey as their guide and all they did was hit the bank with giant dry flies landing over 15 good fish in the net almost every day. Definitely have some 18 to 26 Parachute Adams in your box but also have some big… ugly stuff too!
The rumors of a good PMD hatch are true and this year they superseded the Caddis Hatch on the Mid and Lower River. We think the Caddis came off during high water in very low numbers so we were a bit disappointed. The thick afternoon PMD hatch help fill in the gap for our “Private Water” and dry fly fishing here has be excellent since the High Water has gone down.
As always, should you have any questions or want more detailed information call or e-mail us and we will do our best to get you the answers. Like we say, do not just read the SEL Fishing Report… Get your Fly Rod in hand and fish the San Juan. Soaring Eagle Lodge would be pleased to host you and yours, so give us a call and come up to the Juan for some great Summer Dry Fly action.
Tight Lines, Larry Johnson
San Juan Rainbow July 2011
Summer has finally hit the San Juan River basin and things are really looking fantastic for the start of our dry fly action! The BOR has just finished a 10 day Spring Release of 5000 cfs and this has done its job of clearing out all the old debris and silt that built up over the past two seasons. The rive came back to it normal flow of around 500 cfs on Friday, June 17th, 2011 and it is now gin clear with tons of “Foot Ball” size trout swimming around and lots of the them are looking up and that is a good thing!
Day time temps are now reaching the high 80’s and low 90’s almost every day so you need to dress accordingly. Sunscreen 30+ is mandatory and we cannot stress enough, that you need to drink at least 2 liters of water if you are fishing all day on the river. We don’t see many medical issues on the Juan but if we do it usually has something to do with “Dehydration” so for god sakes drink the dam water.
A little press release….. The Arizona and NM wild fires are not affecting our area at this time. We did have some hazy skies in the beginning of June but it has now cleared up and all is normal. We have had some clients calling in saying they heard rumors they were closing Albuquerque Airport. This is ridiculous; unless we see ash plums like the active Volcanoes overseas, the airport will remain open. ABQ is not only a civil airfield but it is also one of the nations must important military airfields too. Durango and Farmington Airports are also in full operations so no problems there. Any questions feel free to give us a call.
Anglers fishing above Texas Hole to the dam have been doing well with midge patterns – both pupa and larva. Size 20-26 in red, cream are great choices and don’t forget to switch out as the morning ends to a chocolate or grey emerger. Some angler’s have also been very successful targeting or (Sight Fishing) to specific specimens with Chamois Leeches or Bunny Leeches. They are using short 8’ leaders with 4x on the point and probable a #1 Shot 6” up from the fly, then casting very accurately 2 to 3 feet above the fish watching for the take and making their set. We had a client state that he and his guide landed 4 fish over 20” using this method, plus numerous others in the 16 to 18 range. It should also be noted on cloudy days there have been some very good Baetis hatches have been coming off, all the way up to the dam.
Texas Hole to Gravel Pit has seen some great float and wade days for both guided and self fishing anglers. Midge hatches are coming off like clock-work almost every day now, from just before lunch and lasting right up to about 2 to 3 pm. Boat anglers are also doing very well casting those streamers. The only issues with this is that, both anglers in the boat need to be chucking lead or it won’t work. A guy on the nymph and a guy on the streamer is not a good combo, trust me be there done that. As we keep saying… don’t overlook the new structure put in by NM Game & Fish from Simon Canyon down…. very big browns are being pulled out from behind a lot of those rocks now on both dries and streamers! There are rumors of good PMD hatches in the afternoon and from Simon down and even some Caddis fluttering from Abe’s Bridge downstream. “ MORE ON THE CADDIS HATCH, NEXT REPORT”
As always, should you have any questions or want more detailed information call or e-mail us and we will do our best to get you the answers. Like we say, do not just read the SEL Fishing Report… Get your Fly Rod in hand and fish the San Juan. Soaring Eagle Lodge would be pleased to host you and yours, so give us a call and come up to the Juan for some great Summer Dry Fly action.
Tight Lines, Larry Johnson
Just a note to all anglers coming up to the Juan this winter and need a “Boat Shuttle”. Kelly and John are running shuttles all winter but need you to call for a reservation. The best bet is to call the evening before or prior to 7:30 AM before Kelly leaves for her job at the Post Office. Current Shuttle Cost are Texas Hole to Gravel Pit; $7.00 for Carded Guides and $12.00 for Private Anglers.
Contact Information: Kelly & John’s Shuttle, San Juan River 505-787-5361
SEL San Juan River Fishing Report:
Winter weather has the San Juan seeing less anglers over the past few weeks. Morning lows have been below average, plenty of sunshine and much of the snow remains along the river making for postcard pictures. Luckily, most roads leading to the San Juan are in good shape to completely dry. Dress in layers and put on the sun blocking lotions because you’ll have large sections of the river to yourself on these winter days.
It seems that the lake has turned and thus the off color dictates a change in fly choices. Anglers are having success with winter nymph rigs including brighter colored egg patterns. Streamer fishing should be considered as well.
Anglers fishing above Texas Hole to the dam have been doing well with midge patterns – both pupa and larva. Size 20-26 in red, cream are great choices and don’t forget to switch out as the morning ends to a chocolate or grey emerger. Midge cluster patterns should be at the ready – just in case.
Texas Hole to Gravel Pit has seen some great float and wade days of late with Midge hatches kicking off from just before lunch and lasting for a few hours. Plan on having that PowerBar lunch packed in your vest! You don’t want to be in your truck eating a cold sandwich while the rest of us are still on the water having great dry fly action.
Boat anglers are also doing very well casting those streamers. Guides can fish where they want this time of year and many are working the drifts from the center of the river. As we keep saying… don’t overlook the new structure put in by NM Game & Fish from Simon Canyon down…. very big browns are being pulled out from behind a lot of those rocks now on both drys and streamers!
Got out last Saturday with my buddies Tom Cole and Moffatt Man and we had a great day. It warmed up to a whopping 48 degrees and everyone caught fish! Started on streamers and move a few fish but none of us could hang on to them for long but some very nice acrobatics! There was no hatch to speak of except the ever present tiny midges. We all switched over to nymphs, (cream egg on top and a Bear’s emerger on bottom) then plenty of fish to the net. We pulled the boat out in the dark so a great day for all.
As always, should you have any questions or want more detailed information call or e-mail us and we will do our best to get you the answers. Like we say, do not just read the SEL Fishing Report… Get your Fly Rod in hand and fish the San Juan. Soaring Eagle Lodge would be pleased to host you and our Winter Special is now in full swing.
Tight Lines, Larry Johnson
Adrian Perez 12/04/10
As we move closer to the winter Holidays the river is seeing less and less pressure. Fortunately for us our trout do not take the Holidays off and the fishing has been stellar these last few weeks.
Anglers fishing above Texas Hole to the dam have been doing well on a variety of midge patterns both wet and dry. Working early mornings until noon is Midge Larva, size 18 in Red and Cream on top with a point fly, midge pupa, size 24 and 26 in Grey, Black and Chocolate. As soon as you see some tailing fish on the surface take off the midge larva and substitute a foam wing emerger size 22 in Grey or Chocolate, (Tav and Bear’s patterns are working very well). On cloudy days the Blue Wings will be prolific so have some very small Adams or BWO Parachute Extenda Body, size 24 or 26. If you cannot see the very small point fly, we have been recommending a double rig with two dry’s, one about an 18 or larger on top and the tiny dude on the point or end fly.
Texas Hole to the Take Out, fishing both with boats and wading have been doing very well with both Midge and Baetis patterns. Nymph fishing has been very good in the morning with the soft light but reports say the fish are getting picky in the afternoon when the sun is high, for the water is still pretty much gin clear. A spool of 6x Fluorocarbon is still a must for fishing right now. Boat anglers are also doing very well with Streamer Fishing to the banks. Being the slow time of year there is very little boat traffic. Guides can fish where they want and many are holding slow drifts from the center of the river so both anglers may slam every nook and cranny on the banks. As we said in our last report, don’t overlook the new structure put in by NM Game & Fish from Simon Canyon down…. we are seeing some very big very big browns being pulled out from behind a lot of those rocks now. This is being achieved with both dry’s and streamers!
I was able to sneak out this Sunday with my buddy Jeff and it was dry fly all day. We fished from the Texas Hole to the Take Out and fish were rising in almost every run down the river. It was unseasonably warm that day with temperatures in the low 60’s with a faint cloud cover for most of the day. I fished mostly BWO patterns, doing the most damage was a size 22 grey extenda body parachute. I caught 2 Rainbows and the rest were Browns. Jeff seemed to have all his luck with a small Griffith’s Nat that was clipped flat on the bottom to the bend of the hook. This was emulating the midge clusters and most of his fish were Rainbows but he did hook one very large Brown in the 20” range just before we pulled off in the new structure. I am pleased to report when we hit the turn on Baetis Bend there must have been 500 plus little dudes raising to the midge… we left these little guys alone but it was a sweet site to see so many fish in our river.
As always, should you have any questions or want more detailed information call or e-mail us and we will do our best to get you the answers. Like we say, do not just read the SEL Fishing Report… Get your Fly Rod in hand and fish the San Juan. Soaring Eagle Lodge would be pleased to host you and our Winter Special is now in full swing.
Tight Lines, Larry Johnson
Well it looks like winter is now upon us. Day time temps are in the low to mid 40’s and the high teen’s low 20’s in the evenings. The river has quieted down and for all you anglers that love the Juan but also like your solitude now and over the next few months is the time to fish. At this time of year you are almost guaranteed to get your favorite hole all to yourself.
Anglers fishing above Texas Hole to the dam have been doing well on a verity of midge patterns both wet and dry. The mornings have been productive with a nymph rig using Midge Larva size 18 in Red, Beige, and Olive with a midge pupa, size 24 and 26 in Grey, Black and Chocolate tied on as the point fly. As you see fish eating on the surface, change out the midge larva for an emerger size 22 in Grey or Chocolate. On cloudy days the Blue Wings will be prolific so have some very small Adams, size 24 or 26 and if you cannot see a fly that tiny, them then try a tandem rig with a big Ant on top with about 8 to 10 inches of 6x with the small Adams as the trailer. Use the Ant as an “Indicator” if you see it move you know they ate the Adams!
We had a client out this weekend with this rig and reported he was getting as many fish eating the Ant as the Adams?
Texas Hole to Crusher Rock, anglers floating and wading have been doing very well with both Midge and Baetis patterns. Nymph fishing has be very good in the mornings with the soft light of this time of year but reports say the fish are getting picky in the afternoons when the sun is high for the water is still pretty much gin clear. A spool of 6x Fluorocarbon is almost a must for fishing right now. Boat anglers are also doing very well with streamer fishing to the banks. Steve Stone one of our Chefs landed a 27 “ Rainbow last week while yours truly was on the oars! On cloudy days we are seeing a dry fly fest from Lunker Alley, Baetis Bend, almost all the way down to the Crusher Rock. Don’t overlook the new structure placed by NM Game & Fish from Simon Canyon down….for we are seeing some very big snouts popping out behind a lot of those rocks now.
Should you have any questions or want more detailed information give us a call or send an e-mail and we will do our best to get you the answers. As we always finish.. do not just read the Soaring Eagle Lodge Fishing Report… we are open all year and our Winter Special starts next week so book a few days with us and get your Fly Fishing solitude fix.
Tight Lines, Larry Johnson
