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3. Trip to the San Juan (part 1)

If you haven't ever fly fished the quality waters on the San Juan River in New Mexico, you are missing out. Trout are everywhere, and its difficult not to hook a few. The problem there though is that your best bet for hooking trout is with small midges in the 28-32 size verity. Also you need to use really light tippet like 6x. Flourocarbon is best. Because the river is fished quite heavily, the trout come accustom to knowing what is a fly, and what is not, so you need to fish really light. These are not small trout, and therefor its difficult to bring them in. The small hooks rip out of their mouths, and the light tippet snaps when you put any pressure on the fish. Fighting a large trout can take you 10-20 minutes before getting it in, and by that time you have lots of chances to loose them.

This trip was one of the more frustrating I have had on this river. I hooked 3 large trout, and lost all 3. One of those monsters was over 20". Frustrating indeed. However I did manage to land countless other smaller fish. It was a great day though even working through the frustrations.

I was using a rod I tied myself. The blank, and components were purchased from the "hook and the hackle". I find this rod to be excellent for the money, and a great streamer and larger nimphing rod. However it is a bit stiff for what I needed today, and the loss of 3 fish proved it. The rod always preforms well though, especially for casting.

The reel I was using is a Sage 2250, and the line was Rio Mainstream WF5F, a simple $40 fly line. You don't need much more then the mainstream line on this river due to not having to cast very far often.

I think I would have faired better with a 4wt fly rod that had a bit more bend to it. Less pressure on the fish, and less chance of ripping that hook right out of their mouths. I even bent a hook on one of the fish.

https://youtu.be/NkFwp9oXM_k

Mcflyangler wrote;



If you are breaking 6X on 20" "monsters" then it is likely you are either very heavy handed, your tippet is junk, or you are quite inexperienced in landing bigger trout on fine tippet.

I have caught thousands of 18" - 21" wild trout and dozens over 21" to 24" and have seldom broken a tippet on a fish. I have been known to break the tippet on the strike because I set the hook with too much force but with more time on the water you learn to strike more gently.

Taking 10 - 20 minutes to land any larger trout is a really long time. If you are spending that much time landing a trout you aren't making your rod and terminal tackle work like it was intended. Perhaps your fly rod is so stiff that applying any force while fighting a fish breaks the tippet.

I'd suggest getting a rod that is more mid flex, or even parabolic, to give more of a cushioning effect to the tippet. Also when playing large trout don't keep the rod bent perpendicular to the river. Often applying side pressure with the rod (turning your wrist outward so the rod is more parallel to the surface of the water) will really tire bigger fish and help you not only tire them more quickly but also allow you to stop them from running into underwater snags.

I will admit to breaking tippets when a fish gets into stronger current and I tighten down on the drag so the fish doesn't get too far below me. Many of the rivers I fish are just too deep for me to chase fish down river as they run line off of the reel. In those instances I opt to tighten down on the drag in an attempt to turn the fish. Sometimes it is a successful tactic but often it isn't.

"Taking 10 - 20 minutes to land any larger trout is a really long time."

I can bring in one of those brutal Cooke Pond smallies (up to 19" so far) in less time than that! (Even done it on a freakin' 3-weight!) And the longer you fight 'em, the more likely the fish will get off the hook. Last November that 3-pound rainbow was lying separated from the fly in the bottom of my kayak...how close was I to losing that fish? A few more seconds??? I can't imagine what a bummer that would have been. The longer the fight, the more likely the fish will:

1) find a weak spot in your tippet (probably in a knot);
2) work a hole around the hook in the flesh of the jaw so it pops out easily; or, worst of all
3) find something to wrap your line around and say bye-bye!

Been there, done that, too many times in all three cases. If you want to hold that fish for a picture, you had better get your net under it as soon as possible!

Jonathon

Wbranch, your a really cool guy huh? You must be the best fisherman on the planet to never loose any fish right? God, I mean the way you talk all boastful and put others down like that must mean you are excellent at fishing and know exactly what you are talking about! God I wish I was like you!

Wbranch wrote;



Other than these two comments, which could be construed by you to think I am an boorish oaf, the other comments I made were purely constructive in nature and based on a number of years catching some larger trout.

I didn't say I never loose a trout because some do get unbuttoned when they jump or get all hung up in aquatic grass and the hook pulls out.

Mcflyangler, Wbranch wasn't attacking you. He's been around the pipe a few times, in terms of fishing for big trout, and on the internet. He's simply being direct. Try not to be offended. His advice is sound.

And, btw, put a watch to those fights next time. Four or five minutes can feel like 20 sometimes! :)

Thats quite alright Wbranch. Thank you for the apology. And also, to your other comment, no I'm not selling anything. I am not affiliated with any brand at all. I am only describing what gear I'm using as in helping others know what to bring (or not to bring in this case) to a specific river I fish.

Paul, It did sound like he was in many of the things he said, he also had commented in a few other posts I have posted. It was just a reaction that I probably should have not made. Also, I never said my specific fight was 10-20 minutes, I said that big trout on light tippet can take that long. I didnt say mine did. Mine was only about 2-3 minutes max before he came loose.

Am I inexperienced? Yes I guess comparably to some people that have river fished their whole lives. For sure! I actually come from a saltwater background, so yes I am still learning. However I have also landed many many trout on that river. Some small, but many over 20". Never really lost too many until the day I started to try to film (this was the first video I ever made on me fishing). I was concentrating on filming and not fishing, and mistakes started to happen. I didn't want to move from my spot incase I would get out of the camera's lens. I have since learned how to make more wide angle shots to allow myself some "chasing" room. However yes, I will admit that I don't have 20+ years of trout fishing under my belt. I have maybe 2-3 (about 25 total years of fishing though in general, just not all on a river for trout). I have only probably landed 100-150 trout in my life, but not like some of you that have landed 1000-5000... But, I am still learning (as anyone should do), however I know guys that have fished this river millions of times that are 70+ years old, and they all say that they loose fish on this river more then they would like, and more then most other rivers... It happens, so don't be so quick to judge. Thats all I can say.

Mc Fly Angler wrote;



I'm sure that is the case when the flies it seems you have to use are so small. From what I've read it appears a #20 is about as big a fly as one can expect to be using and most flies are #22 & #24. I think the smallness of the hook is large contributor of lost fish. Firstly it is just hard to hook the fish in the first place because the gape of the hook is so narrow and secondly if you are fortunate enough to hook the fish it may never really penetrate deep enough to hold on the flesh in the jaw and mouth area.

Probably anytime the fish jumps, or there is slack in the line, the hook might just fall out. My fishing is confined at least 95% of the time to #4 - #18 hook sizes and the balance of my fishing to #20-#22. I just won't use flies smaller than a #22. Landing large trout on #22 and smaller hook sizes is a real challenge.

No worries Mcflyangler. It's so easy to misinterpret, or make assumptions, when we can't see each other's eyes. I still do it. And, to be fair, Matt can come off a little brusque at times. Good man he is though. And about as experienced a big trout FF as you'll meet anywhere.

God I wish the fish would hit a size 4-18 hook on this river! HAHA The trout literally watch a size 24 float right by them. This is the trouble, and why its hard to hold fish. Everyone, even the guides (I know some that guide this river) say the same thing about the river, that its tough to hold fish. Honestly I didnt break tippet at all that day, I only did once on a fish since fishing the river. Its usually the hook ripping out. Honestly I don't have a lot of luck usually on this river unless I use a size 28-32. That day was a size 28 all day long. Last time I hit the river though the lake turned over and the water was a bit cloudy. This allowed me to drop to a size 22 and I landed a few. That video is also on here if you are interested in watching.

More power to you guys who fish those tiny flies, but I personally can't see anything smaller than a #16 on the water. And I have encountered very few situations on which fish were keying in on such small prey to the point where they wouldn't hit something bigger. Case in point: Reid Lake, one of my favorite spots around here (northern lower MI) is stocked with rainbows at 6-7" but you can't keep them until 12", so they have long forgotten about hatchery foods and have pretty much gone wild except for their youth. So they key in on whatever natural foods are most abundant, including snails (30-40 in the stomach of a 16" fish!). I quite often see fish rising in the evening when the water gets flat - many are minnows but there are plenty of trout amongst them. I have never really been able to see what exactly they are feeding on, so I assumed it was pretty tiny. Once in a while I could get one to hit a #16 EHC (grey wing, black body & hackle) but not with any consistency. So late last October I was floating in the kayak when I saw the rise forms happening in various spots on the lake. On a whim I tied on a #10 grasshopper pattern (modified Joe's Hopper) and threw it at the rises, and as I typically do, twitched the fly frequently with small 1-3" strips. After all, a real grasshopper on the water moves like that, trying to kick it's way back to shore and safety.

Despite the fact that it was nearly the end of October and our trees were pretty much leafless, the rainbows were all over that grasshopper! After years of trying to catch these frustrating fish feeding all around me, I felt like I had cracked some secret code..

The moral of that story? Keep trying and don't be afraid to use a bigger fly. Have you ever tried any attractor patterns, like a Royal Wulff? I have had fish turn their noses to imitations of natural insects that were hatching, only to blast a #12 RW floated over them (including an 18" smallie who refused a #6 White Wulff, rather more natural looking, then gulped down a #6 RW without hesitation). If you haven't tried it, give it a shot with a few different big, bushy, or gaudy patterns (or all three!).

If it works, please post pics! And welcome to the site. We have a good bunch of souls on here, but at times discussions can become a bit heated. I've typically found fly fishermen to be even more polite than most fisherman, but that's not always the case. We do weed out the bad apples pretty quickly though. Constructive discussion and criticism are the whole point. Truth be known, I've received criticism for my overemphasis of my favorite 3-weight and favorite fly pattern. But you know, I just keep catching fish with them, and when I post the pics on here I get a positive reception. After all, who doesn't like looking at pictures of colorful trout? And the occasional bass, sunfish, perch, golden shiner...

Jonathon

OK well, come out to the san juan and fish a size 16 midge and see how many strikes you get. My guess would be 0... This river is notorious for this. NO one fishes anything larger then 24, and most cases that is too big. Talk to any guide on the river, they will tell you the same thing. Believe me, I wish I could fish a larger fly, I wouldnt drop as many while tying on, I wouldn't loose as many fish, and I wouldnt strain my eyes trying to tie them. But it is what it is. Ive never fished this river without at least 100 people on it. They are so used to seeing flies, and almost all the fish there have been hooked at least once, that they are literally that picky.

I will fish a streamer occasionally with great luck though, so there is that. Some people literally won't even bring midges (cause they cannot see the ones they need to fish with). They only fish streamer and hope its a good day for streamers because they refuse to fish a tiny midge, and they know its pointless to fish anything smaller then a 24, ever...

Further down the river (where the water warms up a bit) occasionally Baetis patterns will work and you can fish a size 18-24 with those. This is much much further down the river though. Never as high up (close to the dam) that I was fishing.

How do San Juan worms work? Various sizes and colors? Do you tie? If so turn over some rocks and inspect the aquatic vegetation to see if there are any scuds and shrimp. I know nothing about the SJ river except it is a tail water release. I fish other tail waters and they all have copious quantities of various sizes and colors of aquatic worms and various sizes of scuds and cress bugs.

I fully believe what you are saying but maybe there are some food types you could be fishing, that are a little larger, that the trout will eat. Have you tried any egg patterns? I've never met a rainbow that didn't love to eat eggs! I think eggs are imprinted in their brains and when they see one naturally floating down stream they often will move a couple of feet to eat them.

There are all sorts of egg patterns that you can tie. Lots of guys just stick with the Glo-Bug but try various colors of Blood Dots, Sucker spawn, Krystal Meth, Estaz eggs, etc. If you are unfamiliar with any of those you might try Googling "images of sucker spawn" or "images of Krystal Meth" and you should get some good pictures to use as models. If that fails PM me and I will provide the recipes.

Regarding midge patterns have you fished the "Miracle Nymph". That is a simple yet very effective tiny nymph. Basically it is just a #20 - #26 scud type hook, using black thread wind a base to the bend of the hook, then tie in a piece or either XF gold wire or XF black wire, build a slim abdomen with 6/0 white thread, wind the rib and tie it off. Then build up a black thread head and whip finish it.

Another very small nymph I do well on is a Disco Midge. Easy to tie, again a small scud hook, tie in 8/0 Uni olive thread to the bend of the hook. tie in a piece of 1/32" wide pearl Mylar, wind the Mylar close to the head and tie off. Then tie in a nice piece of olive ostrich plume and wind 3-4 turns, tie off and whip finish. I fish it as a dropper under a larger nymph.

Another fly I've dome well using on spring creeks or tail waters is what I call "The Green Worm". #16 - #20 heavy wire scud hook (I think it is TMC 2457 or 2487 I always get the two mixed up) Black thread to the bend of the hook, tie in a piece of 1/32" copper wire, run about two courses of 3/0 - 6/0 olive thread (thread size determined by hook size) and tie off about 1/32" from the eye, rib the abdomen and tie off. Build up a robust black thread head or add a minute bit of black beaver dubbing and create the head, whip finish and you are done. I especially like to sight fish the Green Worm. Look for a feeding fish, use a yarn indicator so as not to scare the fish when you cast. Watch for the slightest movement of the indicator. Actually I prefer to fish it without the indicator and try to follow where it is in the water and keep an eye on the fish. If the fish moves at all and opens it's mouth it is likely it may have eaten the GW. Gently lift the rod tip and hang on.

Well McFly, I suppose that's why the San Juan Worm was invented...

"Ive never fished this river without at least 100 people on it." I could not handle that. We all have our home waters and we learn to deal with whatever conditions are there, but I cannot get up a lot of enthusiasm for waters I can't have to myself at least sometime. I guess I am just lucky that there aren't a whole lotta fly fisherman on my home waters...if you call lucky having to compete with worm-drowners and hardware-slingers who kill every legal-sized (and some that are NOT) trout they catch. But they are primarily weekenders, and my spots are close enough to hit any night of the week I want to. And, given the lack of competing fly fisherman (there are some but not many), the fish in these waters are fairly "fly dumb" so they'll blast an EHC, White Wulff, hopper imitation or Adams without a care in the world, of course until they feel the point sink in. Like I said, I'm lucky that way, but my competition is much deadlier to the fish.

If I were in your situation, I would just fish streamers, and make sure that I have a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. But that's me, and I do love swinging a streamer. If I went dry, it wouldn't be that #16 midge, it would be some big gaudy dry as I described above. Might not work, but it's much more my style. No attractors have ever worked EVER?? You did not mention whether you had tried this or not, so I'm still curious. Not trying to tell you how to fish your home waters, I'm not there and you are, but if anything I tell you has the slightest chance of increasing your success, well that's my intention.

Just trying to help out a fellow, frustrated trout fisherman. I'm not one of those people who says, "A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work." Not for me! A bad day of fishing is pure frustration, knowing what COULD be happening but isn't, and a good day at work IS productive and satisfying (it helps that I love my work, teaching college biology and doing field biology for an environmental consulting firm). So, any advice offered on here by me or anyone else is just trying to make that bad day of fishing go away (we all know they won't entirely). What about a good day of fishing? BEATS EVERYTHING!!!

Best of luck! Hey, ever swing any wet flies at them? Soft-hackle stuff, for which there is quite a bit of info on here (search the words on here, we had a member pass away who specialized in beautiful wet fly patterns). I don't use them much myself, but they have caught trout on them that wouldn't respond to anything else.

Tight lines and photographable fish!

Jonathon

P.S. Just saw Matt's post, lots of terrific advice there.

McFly wrote;



Jonathon,

When he said he has never fished the river without at least 100 people on it I don't think he means there are 100 guys within eyesight. I think he means (correct me if I'm wrong) that over a section of river, say 3-4 miles there may be 100 guys fishing it.

If that 100 guys were all strung out in a four mile line they would still be 211 feet between each guy. And that is based on all of them being on the same side of the river. That distance is more than many guys who fish eastern trout streams might be able to expect between each guy.

On rivers like the San Juan, Big Horn, and other fish rich tail waters 211 feet is a heck of a lot of room. It might not be the most esthetically pleasing view but based on typical fish per mile counts there could be dozens of trout in each guy's "beat".

Understood Matt, and that is exactly why I don't fish famous waters. "Why don't you go to the Au Sable?" "Because I can have the Rifle all to myself." Sure, maybe there aren't as big of fish as in the Au Sable, but as I said above, they also haven't seen every fly known to man. And there are lots of non-fly-fishing folks up on the Au Sable, not in the Holy Waters but then again that's yet more driving to have to compete for parking spaces.

I once lived in Oregon, and my ex-wife and I once fished the MacKenzie River east of Eugene. Nice big western trout stream, probably similar to the type of stream you have described above. Lots of hatching going on, and the ex and I were nailing nice cutthroats and rainbows on an EHC with a yellow body and grey wing. Despite the excellent fishing and the beautiful weather, we saw no one else fishing within our sight, also in spite of the fact that there were lots of guides on this water (one of whom told me to tie up those EHCs in those colors). And if I'm not wrong, it was the 4th of July, i.e., peak tourism season. Did we just get lucky? If so, that's the kind of luck I like the most.

If I see more than one car parking at any of the access points I use, I go elsewhere. But I do have that option. To each their own, I'll give up the trophy-sized fish to have quiet waters all to myself, still with the possibility of good-sized fish, just not the numbers found in the famous, and heavily used, streams. We're all different, and our favorite kinds of waters are different too. I guess I just like the intimacy, and privacy, of smaller waters, and because of that I probably won't be posting pics of fish the size that you catch, Matt. Except, maybe, for smallies on dries at Cooke Pond - a fishery known only to a precious few, by the time it is happening most boats are off the waters and their owners are thinking about crawling into bed...

Tight lines whatever size waters you fish!

Jonathon

Jonathon wrote;





Vive la difference mon ami!

I know you like to fish little narrow rivulets and paddle through narrow tunnels to get to secret ponds to catch the wild yellow perch and those pretty brookies and the occasional 15" rainbow.

As you well know my preferred pursuit is big (meaning 19" - 23") rising trout eating little #18 - #20 mayfly duns using nothing shorter than 12' leaders or heavier than 5X.

While some of the western rivers could be considered crowded by your standards most of the "crowds" are guys who have booked float trips with the local guides. Yes during the course of an eight hour day maybe 50 - 60 drift boats and as many single pontoon boats might float past me.

But there are far fewer wading anglers and often the closest guy to me is so far away I can't tell if it is a man or a woman and I'd need binoculars to be able see any actual details. I hunt fish, hopefully big fish, by drifting my pontoon boat (I leave it at the lodge where I stay all year) perpendicular to the bank and keep an eye out for those deceptively subtle rises that belie a good fish.

I carefully step out of the boat and gently put the anchor out and begin the stalk. By keeping my back to the main flow it doesn't matter how many guide boats float by because I really don't get to see very many of them. I'm focused and concentrating on what is going on in front of me in my little world.

"I know you like to fish little narrow rivulets and paddle through narrow tunnels to get to secret ponds to catch the wild yellow perch and those pretty brookies and the occasional 15" rainbow."

Well stated, Matt. Not sure if I could say that better myself! it is a different set of challenges. BTW, the browns in the Rifle easily exceed 15" (my biggest so far is 18") and so do the rainbows in Reid Lake. Ahh, but that's just nitpicking. You get the idea of my fishing style. I will, however, be hitting those Cooke Pond brute smallies more, so I can't promise that my Trounut pics will all be of smaller fish...

"But there are far fewer wading anglers and often the closest guy to me is so far away I can't tell if it is a man or a woman and I'd need binoculars to be able see any actual details."

Well yeah, I could handle that! I don't get upset if I see another fisherman or two, so long as they are wading quietly and carefully and so not spooking fish that I want to try.

"Yes during the course of an eight hour day maybe 50 - 60 drift boats and as many single pontoon boats might float past me."

Again, so long as they don't run over the fish I'm tossing flies to at the moment, no problem.

It's the pictures of guys fishing nearly shoulder-to-shoulder, and the boaters who have the courtesy of a rock (a slimy one at that), that keeps me away from the more popular waters. Hey, during steelhead season this IS a problem on my local streams, as in people heaving heavily weighted chunks of spawn into every nice hole and run with a loud PLUNK - and then wonder why they don't catch anything. Once while steelhead fishing myself on the Rifle many years ago (yes, I have done it, still waiting for success), I found a nice-looking hole. While I was quietly tossing flies into it, no fewer than eight guys came tromping out of the woods on the opposite bank, right over the hole I was fishing. "Well, this is a waste of my time!" Not to mention the time that two idiots in a johnboat rowed up and down my favorite stretch of the Rifle with the goddamned squeakiest oars I have ever heard, this on a section of stream no more than 20 feet wide. "We were lookin' for steelhead. We didn't see any!" Gosh, wonder WHY?

And I still, once in a while, have a recurrent nightmare about my natal fly-fishing spot, the Maple River in Emmet/Cheboygan counties, MI. The dream goes like this: I am out with my fly-fishing mentor and plant ecology instructor, just like in memory, on the river. As I come around a bend, to my horror I see that the bank has been completely cemented in, including a handrail, and there are dozens of people with spinning/spincasting gear heaving everything known to man at the trout. It is always a huge relief when I awaken to say, "Oh thank God that wasn't REAL!"

Perhaps I am overstating the levels of crowdedness that you and others on here experience on famous waters. But, you know, there is just something special about solitude in a beautiful natural setting, not having to worry about anyone else spooking the fish or making obnoxious noises that blot out the wondrous natural sounds out there. I might not get to share the experience but hey, isn't that what waterproof digital cameras are for? Or, sharing it with a few special friends, like my buddies Joe and Todd that come visit once in a while, others who really appreciate the peace and quiet and beauty of nature, without having to bring a boombox or turn up their truck stereo so they can fish to their favorite music (which almost inevitably is NOT mine)...

Besides, those brookies ARE really pretty and every once in a while I get one of bragging size, and those perch sure are tasty. So are the rainbows...

"By keeping my back to the main flow it doesn't matter how many guide boats float by because I really don't get to see very many of them. I'm focused and concentrating on what is going on in front of me in my little world." I think that is the point of fishing, getting lost in the moment, tuning out the rest of the world including one's own problems and focusing, Zen-like, on the task at hand. Dang it, there's a fish rising, forget everything else!

Jonathon

Wow, ok so I am going to try to respond to each individually here.

WBranch, the san juan worm was in vented on this river. The problem I find with that pattern is that its over used here, and therefor the trout have come too accustom to it. Most of the fish have their faces ripped out from being hooked too many times, and therefor they know the flies too well, if that makes sense? But I do use it, mostly as an attractor pattern though... At least thats my theory, could be wrong though. Yes, I do fish an egg pattern often there, but again, like the SJWorm, just as an attractor. That doesn't mean they don't hit it sometimes. Especially a few months ago after the salmon spawned on the Navajo Lake (the lake for this tailwater).

I have never specifically tied or fished the miracle midge, but I have fished many like it. Same thing goes though about the size... I have fished the disco, but usually as an attractor as well. There are days the fish will hit the attractor, and days they won't touch anything other then a size 28-32 midge. Just how it goes on that river. Most of the other type of bugs you can fish will be further down stream where the river warms up a bit, however I don't think there are any scuds... At least they never have those patterns in the local fly shop and they never recommend them. I will have to look into that for sure. But for some reason there just aren't anything other then midges within the first 1/2 mile of river until after "texas hole" which I fish mostly north of due to having less people...

Yes you are correct with the people, they are stretched out over the few miles of "quality water section". That doesn't mean I haven't had days where I have 20+ people within casting distance. But I have had days where I only maybe see 5 people at a time... Usually when its snowing/raining....



JMD, Kinda the same answer as above with the san juan worm... I don't always see 100 people, just its a very popular river and its rare to not have the parking lot filled (there are like 6 parking lots along the 2-3 mile stretch of "quality waters". I have gone a few times though that seemed dead, but mind you its a long river, so there are many people on it anyway. Its definitely over fished, but that doesn't mean there aren't fish! They are everywhere since the first 2-3 miles are catch/release only and barbless hook only. They come up and bite at your waders. You will look down at times and see 10 of them nipping you. They aren't afraid of people, and rarely scatter when walking by them. They just won't touch your flies... HAHA Lots of people on this river only fish streamers because of the hassle with the tiny midge flies. The problem with that method is that the trout aren't always interested. They do have some days of never hooking a fish, then other days they will hook (and land) 20... Just depends on the day..



Both of you, I agree that there is something to be said about quiet waters, without people around. And there is also something to be said about catching big fish as well. I do both. For my quiet waters, I travel up to Colorado and fish the smaller creeks and streams up there. Recently I just went to the Animas river which in the summer can be crowded, but in the winter there isn't a sole on the river mainly due to being ridiculously cold and snowing... But in the winter its nice because there are some large browns there, and you are kinda all by yourself. However its nothing like you describe though about hiking far and being really secluded, there are cars that drive by close and what not. But the creeks I fish in southern CO are that way, very secluded and have small brookies in there. Its definitely a nice experience.

But yeah... I decided to start making my video's on the San Juan because its close to my house (30 minute drive) and because its rather famous, so I figure people would want to watch and I might get some more viewers. Like I said before, I have really never had a day that I didnt net a fish until I started filming... Always how it is. Merphy's Law... However my last video on the Juan I did land 2 actually. So after a 3 part series of fishing the Juan, I was able to move to another river. The next one in my series will be on the Animas river (because its the next closest to my house). Then I plan on doing some small creek's off the beaten path in southern CO.

I really did want to make this more of a reality series and not like most fishing video/shows. Many of these will be of people fishing a few days in a row, then cut/edit all the highlights of the week into one 10 minute video where they can look like superstar fisherman. I am not into bragging rights really, and am not looking to be the "best fisherman in the world". I just really want to bring people along for my journey, and learn with me. Heck, in most cases help show me what I'm doing wrong even! Just really more of an actual day on the river. For the good and the bad... Some days fishing are good, some are bad. But I do subscribe to the notion that all are better then any day working. To me, even a frustrating day fishing (which this video was) is still fishing and its fun even so...

"But I do subscribe to the notion that all are better then any day working."

We shall agree to disagree, Sir. For me, a good day at work is being driven around in a boat on a nice sunny summer day collecting data, aquatic plants, insects, etc., or walking through a beautiful forest doing a wetland delineation, botanical survey, threatened/endangered species survey, etc. Or, taking my college biology class out to Clark's Marsh to look at six distinct ecosystems within a 2-hour walk, so as to compare the factors that influence each ecosystem, as well as watch for bald eagles, trumpeter swans, blue herons, snakes, turtles, fungi, etc.

So yeah, I realize that my jobs are rather more enjoyable than most. However, there are also the freezing ass cold winter days doing wetland delineations or tree surveys in a foot of snow; the godawful hot and steamy summer days with hordes of mosquitos looking for a place you forgot to put repellent; incredibly dense and thorny vegetation that the damned wetland line just happens to run though, all the while the grape vines are grabbing at your feet and/or the GPS antenna; hiking though deep, stinking muck to collect a data point...so no, it's not always a cakewalk, you pay your dues for the easy days. But when those days are over, I still feel a sense of accomplishment.

A bad day of fishing? GEEZ, why did I drive all the way out here, hike all the way IN here (perhaps dragging the kayak in the photo), deal with all of this gear, climb over X number of logs, lose my sunglasses (I NEVER buy expensive ones!!), get punctured by those hordes of mosquitos if not deer flies (the WORST!!), trip over a snag and bang my knee, leave six flies in the trees, and all I got are two SIX INCH TROUT??? Well, you get the idea...

"They come up and bite at your waders. You will look down at times and see 10 of them nipping you." Dang it, you need to snip some tiny pieces out of your waders and tie them on some #24 hooks!!! Just a suggestion...

Jonathon

P.S. I can see why you fish the San Juan, only a 30 minute drive. Proximity means a lot, less driving time and more time on the water. Plus, enough intermittent success to keep you coming back, you can never know when your luck will turn and you'll have those 20-fish days on streamers!