My wife and daughter were out of town visiting a friend and I had an epic backpacking trip planned for the White Mountains, but wouldn’t you know it, we received some serious rain and all the creeks were running brown. Not being one to miss an opportunity to fish, I headed to the New Mexico with a couple of buddies to see how the San Juan River was fishing. We had a fantastic couple days on the water catching heavy rainbows, swatting mosquitos, and hanging with some pretty awesome guys.

A couple of things to note from the trip if you’re interested in heading that way soon.

1. Fish came on all the usual stuff: small midges, red annelids, San Juan worms, and tiny dries.

2. Sportsman’s Bar and Grill has opened back up under new ownership and their green chili burger was pretty top notch.

3. Bug Spray.

4. We always stop in a Float ‘N Fish when we are out at the San Juan, and this time we scored some great tying material from the bargain bin. If you are needing anything when you’re at the Juan, stop here.

5. Honorable mention: I’d never had breakfast at Abe’s, but their omelet with everything in it is legit.

The post Fly Fishing New Mexico: San Juan River appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

Headed to the San Juan River with my friends Jason and Kristen for a 3 day fly fishing trip. After the recent cold snaps here in the Southwest, we were happy to see the temperatures climbing back up. The first day was a gorgeous blue bird day with plenty of sunshine. We worked our way through the Braids and up to the Upper Flats. Fish came on red annelids, KF Emergers, eggs, and other various midge patterns. There were many small fish due to the recent stocking overload, but I think by next season, there should be a plethora of really good fish.

Day 2 found us checking out a lower section of river, and while my friends were landing several good fish, I struggled to find my rhythm through the day. Although a few tugs on the line, I could not get anything going. Jason and Kristen both landed several beautiful rainbows and even a couple of browns. I finally got on the board later in the day, and towards dusk, found a couple rising fish to cast dries to.

We woke early on the final day and were on the water by eight. Although we still had a long drive back to AZ, we could not pull ourselves away from the water. I worked one deep run in the Braids for a good while and pulled many respectable fish to the net. I tangoed with two really big fish. One broke me off after a short run, and the other, in a heartbreaking series of events, slipped the hook on a shoddy net job by myself.

The whole weekend was a success and I had a great time with Jason and Kristen, who both are fantastic anglers. I ate my weight in beef jerky and had one of the best green chili burgers at Fisheads Cafe. If you get the chance, it is well worth the time to go over and fly fish the San Juan River.

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Full San Juan River Report Coming Soon.

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How to tie the AZ Disco Midge:

I know that this is not the “true original” recipe for the disco midge, so this little variation has been titled the AZ Disco Midge. I found it to be dynamite fly pattern for the San Juan River, Lees Ferry, and several other tailwaters with prolific midge populations. It also works well as a dropper pattern when the creeks are looking pretty muddy.

I like to tie this fly in sizes 18-24 with a mercury glass bead that I picked up from a local craft store. For this tutorial, I am tying on a size 10 hook and therefore am stuck with a gold bead. (I need to invest in a new lens for the camera) Play with bead choice colors and enjoy.

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KF Emerger

The KF Emerger is one of the easiest and most productive midge patterns to tie. The material needed is very minimal but the results are dynamic fly that will catch fish. It can be tied in any color combo to meet the needs of any piece of water. The Krystal Flash Emerger is a must have pattern for water systems that have prolific midge activity.

Materials:

Hook: Curved caddis hook size #16-24

Thread: UTC 70

Rib: Small Wire

Wing: Krystal Flash

Head/Thorax: Dubbing (I love Hare Tron Dubbin. It’s buggy looking.)

The post Fly Tying: KF Emerger appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

With spring essentially here in Arizona, I wanted to remind everyone that if you are looking to refill your fly box or add to your wardrobe, the Arizona Wanderings shop is fully stocked and operational. Spring is usually the time when many guys from the Southwest start to think about heading to the tailwaters and especially the San Juan River. The San Juan River collection in the Shop is a great place to start if it’s the first time heading to the river or if it is just time to refill the midge box before getting out on any of the Western tailwaters where the bugs are small.

Streamer patterns are also a great place to start on many of Arizona’s creeks and lakes. The Simi-Seal Buggers that I tie up are super durable and will do the trick when trying to fool those big browns and bows. I have even tempted a few of the carp and bass in the local lakes and ponds with a nice green simi-seal bugger.

Finally, if your looking for some good mojo once you get on the water, better pick up an Arizona Wanderings t-shirt. I have these shirts currently in Medium to XXX-L. I always appreciate the support, so swing on over and pick up an Arizona Wanderings T-shirt.

On a side note, I have been slowly but surely working on a new project for the past several months and after putting the finishing touches on it, I will be launching a new product in the Arizona Wanderings Shop. I’m excited to have it done and share it with my readers, so please stay tuned.  As always, thanks for the support. If you haven’t had a chance, go check out the Arizona Wanderings Shop.

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Fly Tying: The Red Hot

The Red Hot pattern is a simple but highly productive pattern on the San Juan River. The annelids that float down this river are a constant food source for the big trout that swim in its waters. On my last trip to the San Juan, I found that a double nymph rig was a great way to fish this pattern.

Step 1

Finding beads that are small enough to fit on a size 22 or 24 hook can be a little bit of a trick. Normally, I would head to the craft store, but even their smallest glass beads are too big for these small hooks. I found these Killer Caddis Beads at Cabela’s and they seem work just fine.

Step 2: Tie on thread. I tend to use UTC 70 Ultra Thread on these small flies.

I really like this midge size vinyl rib.

Step 3: Tie in vinyl rib.

Step 4: The vinyl rib as two sides: a flat and a rounded edge. I like to tie the Red Hot with the rounded edge up as it gives it a more segmented and clean look, but I have seen it tied both ways. Tie rib forward, secure, and whip finish.

A great tailwater fly that is quick and easy to tie. (Note: I think I can easily talk myself into a macro lens…)

The Red Hot is a part of the San Juan Fly collection now available in the Arizona Wanderings Shop.

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Akshay Kumar's Bold Moves: 'Bhooth Bangla' Ignites Buzz as *Hera Pheri 3* Lingers in Limbo – CB News

After a couple of requests, I have tied up a San Juan River Fly Collection that is on sale now in the Arizona Wanderings Shop. This collection is full of the classic San Juan patterns that are sure to get you into some fish not only on the San Juan river but on just about any tailwater in the West. The San Juan Fly Collection comes with 24 flies:

– #24 KF Zebra Midge (silver rib on black)
– #24 Zebra Midge Emerger (gold on brown with poly wing)
– #22 Red Glass Eye Midge (silver rib on Red)
– #22 Brown Thread Flash Midge
– #20 Red Hot
– #20 Bead-head Pheasant Tail Nymph
– #16 San Juan Worm (Pink)
– #16 San Juan Worm (Orange)

These San Juan flies are a great place to start when thinking about filling your box for your New Mexico fishing trip. Head on over to the shop and stock up your box today.

San Juan River Fly Collection

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Sammie age

After I returned from my four day adventure at the San Juan, I received more than a few emails asking about what type of setup I was using while I was there. In answer to those emails I put my artistic skills to the test and drew up a diagram of the rigging that I was using. I am by no means an expert, but this information was handed down to me by more than one San Juan die-hard. It is good information and really worked while I was at the San Juan River. (Note: My pictures may not be to scale or 100% accurate, but cut me some slack…)

This is the standard setup that I used while I was at the San Juan. I used 6x flourocarbon tippet material off of my leader. My first fly never changed the whole time I fished a two nymph rig. The Red Hot annelid accounted for a majority of the fish that I ended up catching on the San Juan.

The second fly was equally important and I switched it occasionally as the conditions dictated. I generally fished a zebra midge (black body, silver or gold wire wraps, black head)

or a KF Emerger (brown body, gold wire wraps, Krystal Flash wing, brown head).

I found that the smaller the flies, the more fish I caught.  So I ended up fishing a #24 for all three flies.

Since I was fishing most of the time in the shallower ripples and braids above Kiddie Pool, I set my indicator at around 6 inches. After several passes through a particular lie, I would adjust my indicator to allow the weight to drop lower and the flies to float deeper.

When I fished one of the deep swift runs on the River I found that if I was fishing the rig at a really deep depth, I need to add more weight to my line in order to get the flies to the desired depth. I have heard and read that you should set your indicator at 1.5x the desired depth you desire and that will get the flies where you want them, but that’s difficult if you do not know the depth of a hole or run. For me it was a guessing game, but it seemed to work out ok. Experimenting with depth when the fishing slowed seemed to be one of the most important things I did in order to find fish again.

Nymph fishing under an indicator is not my favorite way of fly fishing, but the fish I caught were extremely rewarding. Even though I was using an indicator, its main use was not to detect the take. The indicator was there generally to keep the depth of my flies consistent. Most of the fish I caught, came from actually seeing the fish move or take the fly. I fished fairly aggressively and set the hook on any movement from the fish or anything out of the ordinary with my indicator.

If I am missing something on this topic or you have a question feel free to email or leave a comment.

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On the last morning of my trip I woke to colder temperatures and ice on the tent. The temperatures had noticeably dropped and as quickly fumbled in the dark to pack up the tent, I felt a twinge of sadness knowing this was going to be my last day on the water. My goal at this point was to get into a couple of fish in the morning and be off the water by noon to make it home to see my lovely wife.

I stopped by the Back Cast Cafe and had myself one more breakfast and a half a pot of coffee before pulling on my wet waders and half frozen boots. After thanking Peggy and the staff for their hospitality while I was there, I drove to the Texas Hole parking lot. I waded into the water and with only a couple of cars in the parking lot, I had the river mostly to myself. My original goal and thought of the morning was that I would catch a couple of good fish and then take off, but lady luck had other things in mind.

Throughout the morning, I hooked 10 or 11 fish and a few of them were of very good size. Many I lost through a poor hook set, but there were a few that I had almost to the net that decided to pull some acrobatic move and taunt me as they swam slowly away. It was extremely frustrating and I quickly became discouraged thinking that I was going to have to drive 7 hours home having gotten skunked on my last day. Finally, I saw the indicator dip and I set the line only to feel the small head shake of a fresh stocker. Game and Fish had stopped by as I was leaving the night before and supposedly had emptied thousands of freshly stocked rainbows into the river.

I continued to work the areas that I had fished the days before and made a loop to find myself in the main channel of the river. Drifting my rig through a slow spot on the side, the unmistakable flash of a feeding fish instinctively caused me to raise the rod tip and fish on. With great care, I played the fish to some shallow water and ultimately the net. Kneeling in the water, cradling the fish in my hands I was ecstatic having seen my hard work through the morning finally pay off. I reveled in the moment and said a quick thank you prayer as I watched the powerful fish fin its way back into the strong current of the San Juan River.

With the heaviness gone from my shoulders and the crushing thought of getting skunked now out of my mind, I headed for the truck. Storing gear away safely, I fueled up on PB and huckleberry jam along with a spicy elk jerky that one of my students had gifted me on the last day of school. The weather was perfect and I rolled the windows down as I pointed to truck south and then ultimately west.

Taxes, yardwork, and other miscillensous spring break projects had been put off long enough and the closer I got to home the more my thoughts turned to these chores. The time that I spent on the San Juan River was definitely a different style of fly fishing then my normal small stream outings, but at the same time extremely rewarding and enlightening. With 3/4 of a school year under my belt, this trip was much needed in order compose myself and offer a bit of relaxation before the final quarter and general madness.

Thanks to everyone who gave me insight and helpful tips for my trip. It would not have been possible without you. Here’s to the next time I can get back to the San Juan.

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