Sorry this report is late, folks, I didn't get back home till late Saturday night and then had to work a 48 hour shift beginning Sunday morning till 07:30 this morning... So I haven't even been close to a computer...
The fishing was absolutely fantastic... When I got up there Tuesday afternoon, (the 21st), the flow was still pretty high, at a little over 2,000 cfs, but they were taking it down fast because "Father's Day" a very unfortunate thing happened... Warnings were out for people who wanted to "wade fish", due to the high flows and fast deep water, to use extreme caution... Well a gentleman was "wade fishing", lost his balance, fell, and was swept away... They found him Friday evening stuck in a log jam, still clutching his fly rod... By then they had dropped the flow rate to a little over 500 cfs... It's unfortunate that something like that had to happen and my prayers go out to his family, that they can get through such a tragedy... Anyway, the fishing was fantastic... Wade fished some of the smaller pools and cutbacks and backeddies Wednesday and did really well on red/orange chamy worms, red hots and red annalids... But Thursday and Friday was the best fishing on the San Juan River I have ever had in the 4 years I have been going up there... Both days I launched my "Outcast Delux 9' Pontoon Boat", drifted both the "Quality" and "Non-Quality" waters and caught so many fish I totally lost count, Rainbows and Browns in size range from 16" to 24"... I started out using a #16 burnt-orange chamy worm, as a point fly, with a #18 OJ as a trailer and caught several... But the "HOT" flys were a #18 chocolate foam wing RS2, as point, and a #18 chocolate KF wing WD40 as trailer... Hooked into one that I had casted upstream, he took it and off he went upstream snapping a new leader I had just tyed on... Wish I at least had a chance to see him... Just shortly after that, I hooked into another one that took off and just about took me to my backing but I landed it, a very brightly colored 24" Rainbow that had a girth about the size of a football... Fat, very fat... Unfortunately I left my digital camera back in the car... But I have the memories... By Saturday the flow rate was just over 500 cfs and the wade fishing was fantastic... Didn't want to come home... In fact I left much later than I was expecting to, that's why I didn't get home till late Saturday night, (it's a 3 1/2 hour drive from my house)... Talked with many of the guides up there and they all expect this week and next week to be some of the best fishing EVER, in many years, on the San Juan River... Can't wait to take Jimi up there in three weeks... So Jimi, get ready for some of the best fishing in your life... Rodney...
