# San Juan 12/30



## Nathan (May 22, 2004)

Fished the San Juan on a Drift Boat and landed roughly 60 fish between my girlfriends brother and I. Had quite a few fish over 16, a few close to 20 or just over 20".

It was a great time. Fish were caught on size 26 nymphs. Unfortunately several double hookups meant that some fish were photographed in the net due to time, net and boat constraints.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/nwolford/SanJuanRiverNM1209?feat=directlink


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## Bruce J (Jun 27, 2004)

It's amazing what size fish you can catch on a size 20+ fly, and you've got a couple of pigs in those pics. I couldn't believe it the first time I went there. Did you stay at the Soaring Eagle?


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## Nathan (May 22, 2004)

Yeah we stayed at the Soaring Eagle. I think the biggest fish of the trip was actually the fish in picture 30. This fish spanned the whole diameter of the net and I wish I knew how large the net diameter was. 

Unfortunately, I did not get to take any pics with the fish since my GF brother caught the one in pics 32 and 33 at the same time. I am the one in the funny hat.

I am hoping to go to the taylor river in feb to try and catch a true pig, although the fish in the san juan are just so thick it is really amazing.

Nathan


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## Boboe (Feb 11, 2009)

The Taylor makes the biggest fish in Colorado. Be sure to go and check out the slobs that lay below the dam, where you can't fish, and gorge on shrimp. They're 20 pounders 

We grow some biggn's where I work in the summer too. Most fish are 16"-24", with plenty over 24", and anywhere from 5-40 fish a season going over 30"  It makes it hard for me to get fired up to fish the Guadalupe!

Nice trip you had!


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## Bruce J (Jun 27, 2004)

Hard to tell how big some of those pigs are right below the Taylor Reservoir dam. If I ever spend a night in the Gunnison County Jail, it will be because I rappelled down from the overlook area to the river to catch some of those monsters. I think the record caught in the public area is 29 pounds.


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## Nathan (May 22, 2004)

Have either of you guys fished the Taylor? Did you have any luck there and if so, were you able to use a split shot and yarn indicator? I have heard that the fish there are weary of split shots and indicators. 

The other question I have is what net do you recommend for some of these hogs? I have had trouble in the past with standard size flyfishing nets. Thanks,


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## Boboe (Feb 11, 2009)

I haven't fished the Taylor myself, so I'm no help there. I *can* help you with your net question. At the lodge in Alaska I work at, we use big rubberized landing nets from Cabelas. They work really well and are easy on the fish. We release 100% of our trout. The ones we use are big enough to land a 30" trout without much trouble. Mid-20's fish are easy as pie.

We use the type shown in the second thumbnail. As for size from the chart down lower, we use the "super magnum rubber." Haha, sounds like we're a well-endowed staff.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...h/search-box.jsp.form1&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1


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## DrumInPublic (Jun 20, 2009)

*Taylor Patterns*

I lived in Gunni for the past 3 yrs and just moved down to Houston. If you get a chance to fish there this spring try some big white or tan streamers with a slow retrieve early in the avalanche hole (the one right below the paved bridge/avalanche chute). You will not be disappointed, if you can get out there early and can brave the cold, the big browns get protective and will hit a larger fly. Later in the day try some trout beads, the smaller the better. Talk to Mark Day at Almont Anglers, (the fly shop on the W side of Hwy 135), and he can sell you some. Any advice to a saltwater rookie would be most welcome. Im excited to get a chance to use my 8wt on some salt, but havent the foggiest on how/where to start.


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## DrumInPublic (Jun 20, 2009)

*Wary Pigs in the Hog Trough*

Indeed the fish are wary of indicators, split shot and line, as well as thick leader/tippet. I recommend a neutral colored fly, dinsmore splitshot i like the AB size, they get hung up a lot, but getting your fly deep fast can be advantageous (they are roughly the same color as the vegetation in the river). 3x tippet can be used, but i prefer 5x tippet. As I said in my previous post, the trout beads are killer in the winter, and i regularly fish two at a time. Having several double egg rigs pretied in the winter is a good idea, as the flows are slower, and hang ups are inevitable. Occasionally fish sip and rise to the surface in the winter to baetis emergers. A way around fishing with a yarn indicator is to use a foam caddis as an indicator. I have had luck with that as well as using a tiny 'thingamabobber'. Im not sure they carry them at Almont Anglers, but they do at Gene Taylors on Hwy 50 in Gunnison. Again any advice for the coast would be great.


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## Nathan (May 22, 2004)

Drum,

I am not an expert at saltwater flyfishing, much less winter flyfishing. I do know that a spoon fly thrown with an 8 weight will catch a redfish when you see them. Unfortunately in saltwater, I feel like there is a lot more "dead water" than in stream and river fly fishing and sometimes you can beat the water to death without result. In saltwater fishing I think technique and presentation has less to do with the fishing than finding the fish.

In the winter, I do know that trout will hang out over mud/shell mixture in deeper water because it retains more heat than sand. Reds will get in shallow water in the spring and fall and I am sure they can be found and caught with a fly rod at that time of year. The surf in the summer can be good for trout with a flyrod, although I cant admit to having ever caught any saltwater fish on a flyrod. I haven't tried hard with a fly rod either.


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