I thought this past weekend was going to be devoid of fishing, but a last minute invitation to tag along with some guys from my fly tying group, put me on some prime urban water. This particular area is pretty cool and is made up of 19 or 20 small urban ponds that are full of bass, sunnies, grass carp, and koi. After a little research, we headed over and put in a couple of hours on the water.
Arizona Urban Bass
The fishing was slow and we blamed it on our recent downpour. I picked up a small bass on a green simi-seal bugger which made me happier than if I had not caught anything. All day I had been throwing different bugs at the big carp that were feeding on the bottom and tailing in the shallows. On the walk back to the truck. I finally put a very nice presentation with the same green bugger right in front of a tailing carp. He fed right over my fly and I lifted my fly rod to find a heavy, but swimming dead weight on the other end. It was short lived as I did not have a great hook-set, and the fish swam slowly away leaving my heart pounding and mouth dry. I think I finally realize what all those brownliners are after…
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…)
San Juan Nymph Rig
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.
Red Hots
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)
Red Hot/Zebra Midge Combo
or a KF Emerger (brown body, gold wire wraps, Krystal Flash wing, brown head).
Zebra Midge Emerger
I found that the smaller the flies, the more fish I caught. So I ended up fishing a #24 for all three flies.
Two Fly Nymph Rig
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.
Adjust indicator for depth
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.
San Juan River
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.
Never get tired of fish pictures...
If I am missing something on this topic or you have a question feel free to email or leave a comment.
At the start of this new year the realization of several ideas finally began to take shape. The first, was switching over the site from wordpress.com to a self-hosted shindig that has been really fun to play around with. With that new site another piece has fallen into place with a new logo that has graced the top of the page for several days. I would like to send a big thank you out to Jason Jones for his help in taking my randomness and honing it down into the work of art that is the new logo.
New Logo
With the new logo in place, stickers and some other Arizona Wanderings paraphenalia should be showing up within the next couple of weeks. Please keep your eyes open for these additions.
Mini-Hoppers
The second bit of news is more of an update. In mid February, I set up a small sales page for the mini-hopper to try and guage interest in these Arizona tied flies. I really appreciate the support of all who have contacted me and the great response I had to these flies. The sales page has been updated with a PayPal/credit card button, so that purchasing these flies is now a whole lot smoother and easier for both parties. If you have not had a chance yet, check out these bugs. I already have been having success on our small Arizona creeks and several buddies have found that the big bass love the mini-hopper as well.
Mini-Hoppers for Sale
The last bit of news is some really amazing upcoming trips. This spring I will be headed up to Bend, Oregon to float the Deschutes with Eric from Hooked Up Films and wrapping up with a cruise through Alaska with the wife and in-laws. I have grand plans of getting on some Alaskan water for at least a day of fishing and experience all that area has to offer. With all that said, I will be tying like a madman trying to fill a box or two for the trip, so expect to see a good amount of fly tying. I will also be fixing myself up with a 6 weight rod/reel combo for the trip, so I always value recommendations. Remember that I am a junior high teacher, so funds are limited at best. (If you are a company looking for a rod/reel review, feel free to get in touch…that would be nice)
Spring
As always, I really appreciate all the kind words and support. I look forward to bringing more quality content as the fishing season here in Arizona is really starting to pick up. If you are in the area, shoot me an email and we’ll get out on some water.
After a great morning of fishing, the wind started to really gust and the temperatures started to climb, so Jason and I opted to try something else. Sitting on the tailgate while eating some lunch, we deliberated our options and finally sped our way to a fairly well known creek that offered more shade and a break from the wind. We walked our way to the upper end of the stream where the plunge pools and short runs hold mostly small hand size wild trout. The scrambling and tight quarters makes for some interesting casting but the rewards came in brilliant colors and bent fly rods.
Rainbow and Mini Hopper
I briefly switched to a foam posted parachute Adams which brought a few fish to hand, but I was having to skip over some great looking runs that were just too short and fast for a dry fly. I re-rigged a mini-hopper with a pheasant tail about 8 inches behind and fish were throwing themselves at both.
Spring
The creek was in beautiful condition and the water was crystal clear. I was very happy that we were able to check out the upper part of this creek as I had mainly only fished in its lower reaches. I will admit that the small stream scrambling did a number on my body as it has been some time since I fished these conditions.
Battenkill Reel and Wild Rainbow
Fish continued to take both flies although most favored the brown mini-hopper by about 2:1. Most of the inhabitants that I pulled from this stream were 6-8 inches but I missed one that probably went 13 or 14 and would have been a real prize. I laid the double fly setup right next to a good size bolder and saw an open mouth coming towards the mini-hopper. In my excitement and haste, I lifted a little too soon and the hookset was poor and allowed the fish to easily throw the fly.
Wild Rainbow Trout
By this point in the day, I had lost track of the number of fish I had caught and was more enthralled with the secret behind each bend in the creek. I fished higher until the creek split in two and ended my day by fishing one final pool in which I pulled at least 10 small brightly colored rainbows. With nothing left to prove or possibly gain, we turned our steps back to the truck
Mogollon Rim Creek
To truly describe the joy and satisfaction that the whole day gave me is impossible. The sights of a green shoots pushing their way through the ground or the cold water filling one’s boots while standing in a mountain creek is something that must be experienced with one’s own senses and is difficult to put into words for someone else to appreciate. I am already counting the days until I can pack up the fly rod and head back to these small streams.
I could tell spring had arrived when I opted not to wear waders. Wet wading in early April is one of the perks of living in Arizona. After a long winter of very poor and sporadic small stream fishing, I picked up a fly tying buddy and pointed the truck north. We opted to head to a creek that I love to fish that had just recently had its steep road opened, since the mud and snow were gone.
First Brown of the Day
The creek was flowing a little cloudy and slightly higher than normal which is to be expected for April runoff, but was completely fishable. I had brought my TFO Finesse 3 weight coupled with a gorgeous little Battenkill reel and tied on a mini-hopper with a zebra midge dropper. I watched the mini-hopper dip beneath the surface time as small wild brown trout ate the midge and came out to play.
Brown Trout
At first I was surprised by the number of other cars and fisherman on the creek, as normally I rarely see anyone and have the creek to myself. I am fairly sure everyone else was keeping there ears to the ground as I was, waiting to hear the grand news that the gates were open.
Caddis
The creek was full of bug life. A steady midge hatch was coming off as we arrived and mayflies also could be seen spreading their wings. The rocks and slow spots on the stream were full of caddis pupa getting ready for epic hatches in the future. This stream is one of my favorites to fish in the summer because of the range of different insects that can be found in the water and on the banks.
Creamy Colors
Fish came consistently throughout the morning and the cloudy water helped to keep the fishing steady even though the sun climbed higher and hotter over the canyon. The forecasted 5-10 mile an hour winds perked up and started gusting and casting with a light fly rod started to become not as fun.
Green Life
The creek banks were green and the mint that grows heavily along this creek could already be seen and smelled. I was happy to see the changes of the seasons and very glad that we found some fish although nothing much bigger than 12 inches and most fish in the 8 inch range. With the wind gusts growing stronger and a hunger in our stomachs, we opted to head back to the truck for some lunch and head to a different stream with a little more shade and cooler temps.
After I made it home and spent a day on the coach allowing my body to recover from four days of fishing, I wrote up my trip report full of pictures and stories. Looking back to my time on the water, there were a whole bunch of little things that brought this whole trip together. Many of these things were tips that others had shared with me before my trip to the San Juan River. Others were lessons that the actual trip educated me on. So the following is a somewhat random list of do’s and don’ts, tips, reviews, and all around good ideas if you are visiting the San Juan River.
Navajo Lake State Park
Lodging – I stayed in a tent at the Navajo Lake State Park. Fishing consumed all of my daylight hours and lodging was secondary. Having said that, the Navajo Lake State Park was perfect for me. It was not even half full during this time of the year and my ten dollar primitive camping ticket bought me a place to pitch my tent, a warm shower, and covered the 5 dollar charge to park on the San Juan River. Not a bad deal when it comes right down to it. Hands down, great decision to stay at the Navajo Lake State Park.
Fisheads/Back Cast Cafe
Food – As I stated before, I am a breakfast guy. I have to have a couple cups of coffee and a warm meal will keep me going all day. Because it was in the 30’s most mornings, I opted for breakfast to be my one meal out per day. I highly recommend the Back Cast Cafe which is a part of the Fisheads Fly Shop. Food was good, service was great, coffee was hot, and it gave my boots a place to thaw out in the morning. It was nice to warm up before the day and charge my cell phone and camera. For my other meals I brought sandwich makings from home and I brought a delicious venison stew that warmed my belly at the end of the day. This all helped me to cut down on costs.
Float-n-Fish
Gear Needs – As big of a fan as I was of Fisheads, they did not have some of the basic tying materials that I needed for my time on the water. They pointed me in the direction of Float-n-Fish, another shop next door. Ray had all kinds of gear in there and even put some of the big box stores here in Phoenix to shame. If you need specific pieces of gear, you may want to check out Float-n-Fish
Clothing – I am not a big fan of wearing waders, but the San Juan River water temps are extremely cold. I did not really understand why others were telling me to layer under my waders until I got there and stepped into the water. Even when the sun is shining and I am getting sunburnt, my legs are still pretty chilly even through a pair of fleece pants I had on under my waders. Layering is a necessity for this river.
Fenwick HMG
Rod/Reel – Everywhere I read online, guys were saying that I would need a 9 foot 6 weight rod. Maybe this rod would be ideal, but I fished my grandfather’s old 5 weight Fenwick and was happy with how that worked out for me. Any lost fish were certainly the fault of the operator and not the equipment. I talked with several people on the river that were catching fish on even smaller weight rods.
Wright and McGill Co. Chest Pack
Gear – How to store and carry gear on the water is always funny to me. Everyone has a different system from a vest to backpacks, chest packs to lanyards. Normally on a small stream I take a backpack to have everything I would need “just in case.” Originally, I started with a backpack and a chest pack but quickly realized I did not need all that gear for this river. My few basic needs were the following:
Small box of flies, weights, and indicators
6x tippet (and yes, I splurged for fluorocarbon and no, I don’t know if it helped)
Water
A couple granola bars
Forceps
Net
Looking inside the chest pack while it is on
All of this fit nicely into my wader pockets and Wright and McGill Co. Chest Pack. A little velcro on my high dollar fly boxes helped to keep everything neat and secure. I am also a big fan of the platypus water containers (seen in the chest pack above) because they can be folded up and do not take up much room. This setup saved my back and shoulders and kept me very comfortable on the water.
Tying gear – If you do tie, definitely bring you gear along with a headlamp or other light source so that you can tie during the evening. I had only tied up a few of every bug at home, because I am broke and did not want to waste hooks and materials on stuff that was not going to work. This worked out well for me in the end, because during my down time on the river I was able to tie up some more red hots, zebra midges, and KF emergers.
Tying Gear
****Washing gear – Probably the most important thing I did was done at home and after the trip. Wash, clean, and sterilize your gear. This should be a no-brainer if you are fishing multiple bodies of water but specifically for the San Juan River. The San Juan River Rainbows are plagued with whirling disease and therefore special percautions must be taken unless you want to destroy your home waters. Clean boots, waders, fly line, and your net.
The San Juan River is a fun and unique fishery and I recommend getting out there to chase those big fish. This was my first time to the River and I am by no means an expert on everything there. Feel free to add something to the list.
I was able to swap a batch of mini-hoppers for some great looking Tenkara flies tied up by Karel from Tenkara on the Fly. I have never fished a true Tenkara set up but I am looking forward to trying these flies out on my Arizona small streams. Special thanks to Karel and make sure to check out Tenkara on the Fly.
Every since I first met my wife, there has been a running joke about how someday we should go horse riding. The story is a bit random and I will spare you the details, but I had grown up around friends who had owned horses and had the chance to ride often. She had never ridden a horse, but had always wanted to give it a try. For her birthday this past week I surprised her with sunset trail ride through the Cave Creek Trail Rides company and had wonderful time while getting way more than I bargained for.
Roping Cows...
We showed up ready to go around 4:45 and had a little time to kill, so Michelle and I decided to give the roping a try. After a little bit of work, my lady was roping cows with ease and even gave a little thought to quitting her day job. Apparently it is harder from the back of a running horse…
Roped Cow...
Once the others in our group were ready, we were paired up with a horse. Michelle rode a horse named Hollister, while they decided to give me Remington, a very appropriately named horse.
Happy Cow Girl
Our four mile ride took us through the Cave Creek Regional Park. This park winds through the beautiful Sonoran desert landscape and was full of spectacular views. The sky was perfect and the weather was clear and the ride was extremely relaxing and fun.
Cave Creek Trail Rides
As the sun began to dip behind the hills, I could hear several different coveys of Gambel’s quail calling to each other. It was a little bit sad, as it reminded me that quail season is still so far away. Since the park sees no hunting activity, the birds were literally everywhere and looked very fat and lazy.
Sunset
Our trail guide, Rebecca, was amazing. She and Michelle spent quite a bit of time chatting and laughing at the front of the line. She is from Idaho and once she found out that I enjoy am fanatical about fly fishing, we talked about that topic for quite a while. Probably the highlight of the trip for me that made an already wonderful ride even better, was when we returned to the corral, Michelle says to me, “Well, if she likes fly fishing so much, then maybe I should give it a try.” In about an hour and a half, our trail guide had accomplished something that I had been unable to do for almost two years. Well worth the money.
Kiss your horse...
The ride came to an end and with sore butts and wobbly knees we dismounted back at the corral. The Cave Creek Trail Ride company was a winner in my book and had given Michelle and I a great memory that we will have forever. If you are looking for a beautiful trail ride in the Phoenix area, you owe it to yourself to check out Cave Creek Trail Rides. Rebecca and Matt took great care of us while we were there and it certainly will not be our last trip.
