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The San Juan River, located in Northwestern New Mexico,
is one of the most famous tail-water trout fisheries
in the world. Gushing out of Navajo Dam, the San Juan's
most productive trout stretches are from the dam downriver
3 plus miles to the NM Highway 173 Bridge. The San Juan
averages approximately 140 feet in width. Trout thrive
further downriver; However, public land access is very
limited, fishing via drift boat is the best way to access
the lower stretches. Rainbows consistently in 15-20 inch
range are stacked throughout the upper 3 plus miles that
are designated as Special
Trout Waters.
The river flows through a broad sandstone canyon,
the floor and riverbanks are scattered with willows
and cottonwoods. Navajo Dam is a bottom-releasing dam;
the outflow is approximately 200 feet below the surface
of Navajo Lake. |
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The San Juan maintains a constant year round water temperature
between 42-46 degrees, making this a fabulous winter
fishery. The constant temperature provides a year round
insect population and growing season for the rainbow
fingerlings stocked throughout the year. New Mexico Game
and Fish estimates the fingerlings grow 4-6 inches per
year. Flows on the San Juan are not prone to sudden fluctuations.
May and June usually have the highest flows often-reaching
5,000 cfs. By late summer flows often drop to 600 cfs
with winter flows as low as 250 cfs. |
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Trout are everywhere on this river and they don't spook
easily perhaps so use to the thousands of anglers that
fish here each year. The heaviest populations are often
found in the long deep runs below fast riffles found
in Texas Hole. The deep holes in the Upper and Lower
Flats, the many channels, sloughs, large eddies and low
velocity lenses all hold healthy populations of rainbows.
Midges. The one constant food source for the rainbows
abound throughout the river and anglers should have
a box dedicated to midges with every possible pattern
and size representing the various life-stages. Anglers
should also be aware of other foods: mayflies, caddisflies
and annelids. Blue Winged Olives (Baetis) hatch twice
a year, in the spring and then again in the late fall.
The BWO hatch provides wonderful dry fly fishing especially
on cloudy days. The trout in the Juan are beyond picky
they define selectivity. Proper presentation is a must.
These fish have seen just about every fly invented.
Proper gear is essential here. Rods should be 9 foot
4-6 weights to help with mending and heaving lots of
weight. 9-12 foot leaders with 5X-7X tippets are required.
Wading the San Juan can be exhilarating; the rocks
are rounded and covered with a film of algae. Chest
waders with felt soled wading boots are vital. |
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