San Juan River Fishing Reports

The River Flow is around 450 cfs. The water color is a bit ugly gray- brown. Fishing has been a little bit tricky lately due to the water level and weather. Weather is finally starting to improve with less cold, wind, and rain. #22-24 black latex, mono midge, #16-22 red larva working. Some days have been better than other's, but the midges are still the most productive. Some beatis coming off in the early afternoon. Gray and chocolate #20-24 foam wings, gray poly wing Rs2's. Black and chartreuse marabou jigs are working. Keep the jig on the bottom with some slow strips, feed the line out so you can stay on the bottom with a timed pause to drop the jig to the bottom. Trout like to chase things on the swing.

Here's a big Brown Trout caught by Alex, in the upper flats San Juan River guided by Timmy. Beast of a trout caught on a #22 red larva.

Hello anglers, the river flow is around 300 cfs. Water clarity is a little bit more visible than a couple weeks ago. The river is fishing good right now. Midges are happening in the morning and the Beatis (BWO’s) are coming off in the afternoon. Heads were rising in a few areas this last week. When the weather settles down and the temperatures are more comfortable the water will clear and there will be more activity on the surface, dry fly fishing is going to happen soon.

What has been working for me is #18-20 red larva, #20-22 black and gray Big Macs, #22-24- black mono midge, Mark’ s Mojo Midge #20-22. #20-22 Gray or chocolate foam wings. #20-24 Fluff beatis and root beers, flash back pheasant tails. #20-22 Calf hair Parachute Adams, #20-22 gray sparkle duns.

The lake is starting to clear and looks a lot better than it did a few weeks ago. The river should start clearing also as nighttime temperatures warm up. May should be a great month of fishing. Tight lines to all, Mark Nesbit, Blue Sky Flyfishing

The river flow is low and slow at 250 cfs. Water color is a gray green. Fishing has been good. #16-22 Red larva and #18-20 black Big Mac working together. Leeches and marabou jigs 1/64-1/32 mainly black and chartreuse jigs and natural or black leeches. Some beatis, #20-24 fluff beatis, root beers and flash back pheasant tails, Rs2. Black mono midge emergers. The weather has been great for this spring. Tight lines to all,Mark Nesbit, Blue Sky Flyfishing

Here's Alex and his son Owen. They had an awesome good day fishing today with some really nice brown trout.

The river is flowing around 350 cfs. Water clarity is around 1-2' color is grayish/ green color. Fishing has been fair to good. Typical winter fishing conditions. Black, white and natural tan bunny leeches, yellow or rainbow-colored egg patterns. Red larva's and #22-26 black latex Emergers. Black or white and chartreuse 1/16-1/32 oz. maribou jigs working good. Remember when fishing with jigs you need to be on the bottom just slip- sliding the jigs. The quality waters just recently stocked with a bunch of 4-6" rainbow trout. The baby brown trout are just now starting to hatch from the eggs. It's a good time to fish with streamers. 4-6" rainbow or brown trout streamer patterns. Remember to twitch the fly to make it look like a dying fish, and when you get that strike ... strip- set. Tight lines to all,Mark Nesbit, Blue Sky Flyfishing

Hello anglers, the river is flowing around 300 cfs, water clarity is good in the morning and in the afternoon it gets mossy. Fishing has been fair to good. You must be very diligent about keeping your flies clean. Small #24-26 black midge patterns, and #20-22 brown Big Macs, and gray #22 poly wings Rs2's have been working well. For dry flies #24-18 black midge cluster patterns. When they are eating mayflies, #20-24 gray post parachute Adams, #22-24 sparkle Dunn is also working. The brown trout are starting to spawn and are in their fall colors. Here's a few photos from some recent trips.

Hello Everyone, the San Juan River is fishing great. The River is flowing around 350cfs. What has been working for me is small black latex, mono midge #20-24. Gray big macs#18-20. Dries I have been using is a #16-20 black midge cluster patterns. The weather has been good, trees are in their colors. Tight lines to all!

Here's a couple photos from recent trips. The first photo is of Kristine and a really nice rainbow trout that she caught in the Texas Hole. The second picture is Michelle and a very blush rainbow she also caught in the Texas Hole.

The San Juan River is fishing good with a great midge hatch in the morning and blue wing olives (bwo) small beatis in the afternoon. Dry fly fishing has been great with a large midge cluster pattern16-20 parachute ant, madam X, dead chicken, large griffins' gnat with a #22-24 gray parachute Adams calf hair post trailer. Nymphing has been good for me with small #20-24 black latex midge patterns. Red larva and bunny leeches of different colors, natural tan, olive or black on darker days. Hope this helps you get a bent rod. Here is Tina, with a nice rainbow trout she caught in the Texas Hole on San Juan River. Tight Lines, Mark Nesbit at Blue Sky Fly Fishing.

Here's Greg and a really nice brown trout that he caught in the Three Island Run 9/23.

The river flow was dropped to 500 cfs today. This is my favorite river flow rate. We are starting to have a BWO's hatching in the afternoon. Gray and chocolate #20-22 foam wings, RS2's and WD-40, fluff beatis and flash back pheasant tails. Steamer's are working on cloudier days. Fishing with streamers is a great fun, but requires that you have a good idea of how to fish the pattern that your using. With most fishing, an erratic presentation to mimic a struggling dying bait fish seems to work best. You just have to experiment with the technique and see how it works for you. Heads are rising to gray #20-22 calf hair parachute Adams and black midge patterns. Here's a photo of my favorite client, Jerry with his personal best Brown Trout caught in the Texas Hole yesterday. Jerry, and his wife Vicki, have been fishing with me for 24 years, yesterday was one for the bucket list. Weather is nice and the fishing is great. Come join us. Mark Nesbit at Blue Sky Fly Fishing.

Hello Everyone, the river is now flowing around 800cfs. I like this flow level. The river is fishing good! What was working for me is #18-20 gray and black (Big Mac) to a#22-24 black latex emerger. #16-24 Red larva to a #20-24 gray foam wing emergers. Some dry fly action using #16-18 Madam X, #22-24 gray Parachute Adams. Weather is cooling down, slight taste of fall in the air. Here's a few pictures of Scott, and his beautiful young wife soon to be mother with a really nice fish. Scott with a beautiful Brown trout that he caught in the Texas Hole , and a big Rainbow trout caught in Three Island Run, San Juan River, New Mexico. Enjoy the land of Enchantment, New Mexico's premier trophy trout fishery with its huge Brown trout 30"+ and 24" plus Rainbow trout. Lots of mosquitoes, I suggest covering up and wear your loose baggy- puffy full coverage clothing. Tight fitting clothing they just bite threw it.

The river is flowing at 1000 cfs. Water is clear in the morning and mossy in the afternoon. Fishing has been good in the morning and a little tougher in the afternoon. My suggestion is to check and make sure that your flies are clean and untangled before each presentation. Just the slightest bit of moss on your fly will take away the silhouette of the pattern. A dead drift with clean untangled flies when nymphing is the best way to fish the San Juan River. What has been working for me is #16-20 red larva. Black and gray #20-22 Big Macs. #22-24 black latex midges. In the afternoon there has been a small gray trico coming off. #22-24 gray poly wing. Dry fly fishing has been ok, some days are better. #16-18 Madam X, My favorite is a #24 gray calf hair Parachute Adams, or a #22-24 fore & aft. Here's a photo of David, with a nice Rainbow trout. His friend Steve with a nice Rainbow trout that he sight fished for. Tight lines to all.

The San Juan River is flowing around 340 cfs, water clarity is great 6-8'. Caddis is coming off in the lower sections of the river. In the afternoon try skating a Goddard Caddis on the riffles at the end of the tail out. Some PMD'S are starting to come off. #16 Peeking Caddis Olive #14-16 elk hair Caddis, #14-16 yellow stimulator, Dave's hopper. #22-26 black midge pupa's and Emergers. #20-24 gray poly wing RS'2, gray flash back WD 40, flash back pheasant tails. #20-24 calf hair parachute Adams, black midge cluster patterns, griffins knat,#16-22 parachute calf hair midge. Hope this helps you get a tight line. Here's a photo of Frank with his best brown trout to date caught in the Texas Hole, San Juan River, NM. Guided by Mark Nesbit, Blue Sky Flyfishing

The river flow is around 370cfs. Water clarity is about 7'. The river is fishing good, small gray scuds #22. Chocolate foam wings and RS2's #20-24 working great. #22-24 fluff beatis, root beers and flash back pheasant tails. Midge clusters, #14-24 black midge clusters, ant and Madam X patterns working great. Black #22-26 latex midge pupa's and emergers. We have been having a good beatis hatch on some days when the conditions are right. Gray or chocolate #20-24 Parachute Adams does the trick. The weather has been good, here's a couple of photos of Larry and his large Rainbow and Brown Trout caught in Three Island Run on the San Juan River, NM yesterday.

The river is flowing around 370cfs. Water is clear in the morning and has about 5' visibility. Fishing has been good with some days being great. Depending on the weather, the fish are being active in the afternoon rising to midge clusters. #24 chocolate foam wing emergers are also working good. Some heads rising to 20-22 bi - vis #BWO's. Here's a photo of Bill, and a big, beautiful Rainbow Trout caught in Jack's Hole, and a nice Brown Trout caught in Beatis Bend on the San Juan River, NM. while being guided by Mark Nesbit, Blue Sky Flyfishing.

Hello Everyone, the San Juan River is fishing good. The river flow was increased yesterday to 450cfs. Water clarity is good with visibility around 3-4'. What was working for me was a #18-20 red larva to a #18-20 gray and black Big Mac. In the afternoon it was a #20 brown fluff beatis with a #20-22 chocolate foam wing. Saturday the weather was nice and the fish were happy. Yesterday they raised the water flow and it made fishing more of a challenge, but we still had a good day. Here's a picture of my good friend/client Dick Heath with a nice brown trout caught in Jack's Hole on the San Juan River Saturday morning.

Hello anglers, fishing has been good. The river flow is around 420cfs. Water clarity is good with visibility around 3-4 feet. Early morning fishing has been good using leeches, or a yellow or orange egg, with a #16-22 red larva dropper. Mid-morning #18-24 black midges start coming off. #20-24 BWO, small gray fluff beatis, foam wings, Rs2's, and rootbeer's. Some heads are rising to #20-24 Parachute Adams., Weather has been very spring like, with some days being nice and others in a spring snow. Come and get rid of that winter gloom and enjoy getting a tight line with Blue Sky Flyfishing on the San Juan River, NM.

Hello Everyone and a Happy New Year to all! The river flow is around 350cfs. Water clarity is about 2'-3’. In the morning, when the water is cold, the fish are mainly in the deeper water. The fish are cold and lethargic so a slow presentation with streamers can produce a great result. Remember to strip set the fly. Woolly buggers, natural tan bunny leeches, mop flies have all been working in the deep slow waters. Egg patterns are also working well. #16-22 Red larva have been working well. Some areas of the river are having good winter midge hatch. There has also been a decent BWO’s hatch in the lower part of the river. Many tight lines to all of you, Mark Nesbit Blue Sky Flyfishing

Hello Everyone, the river is flowing around 420 cfs. Water clarity is around 2-3 feet. The lake is starting to turn over. The water is not too chunky with moss. The fishing has been good. The brown trout are in the spawn mode. What worked for me yesterday was a gray #20-22 Rs2, orange egg and a red larva. There was a nice BWO's beatis hatch mid morning, and a really strong midge hatch later in the afternoon. Weather has been nice here for this time of year.

Here's Robert, with a true "San Juan Football", not the pork chop, not the ham, but the hole hog of a Rainbow Trout that was caught in the Texas Hole, San Juan River, NM. Robert is the director of the Veterans group Warriors Mountain Rivers Adventures.

Here's Jason with a great Rainbow Trout he caught in the Texas Hole, San Juan River, NM. Big trout, but not as big as the one Gretchen, his wife had caught. Jason is also part of the Veterans group.

Here's Gretchen and a monster of a Rainbow Trout that she caught in the Texas Hole Tuesday. She was with a group of military veterans who come fishing together. She was guided by Cory McKee, who was working for Blue Sky Flyfishing. Robert Nuttall is the founder and director of the group Warrior Mountain River Adventures. This is a great experience for all involved. It's a fun, and redirects your focus to a positive outcome for the Veterans. Robert takes them on different outdoor activities and adventures that are lasting memories for them. All the guides and I really enjoy fishing with them.

The fishing has been great. The river flow is around 600 cfs. Water clarity is good, about 3-4 feet. Some moss, but not too bad. Black flies, black midges and mayflies ( BWO's). What has been working for me is #22-24 gray foam wings, #22-24 RS'2s. #20-22 black or brown latex midges. #18-22 Mark's Mojo midge. Marabou jigs of different colors and sizes.

Here's a Slab of a San Juan River Rainbow Trout caught in 3 Island Run, San Juan River, NM. it was quite the battle, extremely heavy current, #22 gray foam wing. Greg did a great job at landing this fantastic fish.

Look at this beautiful Kokanee Salmon in its final stage of its journey. Kokanee are land locked Sockeye Salmon

Here's Greg, with a really beautiful Brown Trout, caught in Three Island Run, San Juan River, NM. The browns are starting to get in their fall colors before they spawn.

John and Tami, Tami, with a nice rainbow trout that she caught in the Texas Hole, San Juan River, NM

This is Burr, and a chunk of a Rainbow trout, caught in Durangler's Corner, San Juan River, NM

Hello Everyone, the river has been fishing good with some nice fish being caught lately. Lots of good dry fly fishing being done. The river is flowing around 780cfs. The visibility is about 4-5 feet. What has been working for me is #22-24 calf hair parachute Adams, #22-24 gray or black for and aft. For nymphing I've been using gray #22-24 poly wing Rs's2, fluff beatis and #20-22 black or brown latex midges. The weather has been great and the trees are starting to get some colors. October is going to be beautiful so let's hit the river together.

In the first picture Andrew caught this beautiful rainbow trout in Death Row on a #24 gray poly wing rs'2. Andrew caught the biggest and most today, out fishing his father, Alan. Andrew was 9 years old when I first fished with him and his dad. He is now 32. Many memories. The second picture is me and Burr with a really nice rainbow.Tight lines, Mark.

One of the really great perks of taking folks fishing is getting to enjoy my favorite pastime of fishing with really nice folks like Andrew and his daughter, Dillon. I'll bet you can tell from the smiles that we all enjoyed this special experience.

The river is flowing at around 580cfs. Water clarity is good with about 4-5 foot visibility. The fish are happy and feeding good. What has been working for me is #22-24 black bling midge, #18-20 Mark's Mojo midge , black Big Macs. #22 gray poly wing RS2s, fluff beatis. Some good dry fly action with #22-24 calf hair post gray Parachute Adams, #22-24 black for and aft. #14-16 Madam X's. Remember to dry dust your dry flies often. The dust helps accent the silhouette of the pattern, which is what the fish keys on. Here's a few photos of some recent trips.

The river is flowing around 670 cfs. Water clarity is good with about 5-6' foot visibility. The fish have been happy enjoy the higher water level. Red larva from #16-22 have been working well. #20-22 gray scuds. #20-24 black or brown latex midges. #18-22 Mark's Mojo midge. #22-24 Poly wing RS's2. Fluff beatis.Here's a couple photos from recent days.

The river is flowing at around 670-700 cfs. Water clarity is good, the river has been fishing good in the quality water 💦 Fishing with leeches and red larva has been good San Juan worms are working well on the sand bars after a good rain 🌧️ storm. Some trout rising to tiny #22-24 fore&afts. Here's a photo of Chase with a big smile and a tight line, bent rod hooked up in the Texas Hole on the San Juan River,NM. Here's a picture of Andrew, with a nice Brown trout, and his son, Will with a nice 👍 Rainbow Trout. Tight lines to all. The Release.

Hello everyone, the river flows have been increased to 600 cfs yesterday and will be further increased to 700 cfs tomorrow. The river is now fishing good with the increased water flow. Overall the same flies are still working. Small #22-24 black or brown latex midge emergers. Small fluff beatis and root beers, small trico pattern. Large midge cluster patterns are also working well on the surface.

Here's a few photos of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, and her husband Manny guided by Blue Sky Flyfishing guides, Mark and Peggy Nesbit. Manny is holding a nice rainbow trout he caught in the Cable Hole on the San Juan River, NM.

Hello and Happy Fourth of July to everyone. The river flow was increased today to 500 cfs. Water clarity is good with about 3' feet of visibility. Fish are eating olive leeches and red larva. I like the 500 cfs flow rate. The fish will start to spread out over more areas of the river. #22-24 brown or black midge, #18-22 red larva, #8-10 olive and natural bunny leeches are working. #16-18 Madam X working for the surface. Here's a photo of Scott and his wife, Grace. They had a great time together, for their first-time fly fishing. The weather is perfect with the lows in the upper 50's and the day-time temperatures in the 80's. Tight lines to all.

The San Juan river is fishing great, the water clarity has improved and so has the fishing. The river flow is around 360cfs. #22-24 brown and black latex midges, #20-22 gray beatis patterns, fluff and poly wing RS2's. #22-24 root beers, natural or olive leeches. Some heads rising to ant patterns. Here's a photo of a recent trip fishing with Ron and Rita. They did very well for their first time fly fishing. Thank you folks, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Hello everyone, the river is fishing great. The water flow is around 350cfs. Water clarity is good with a 4-5' visibility. The beatis (BWO) hatch has been strong. Patterns that have been working well for me are #22-22 gray or brown fluff beatis, #22-24 root beers, #22-24 flash back pheasant tails. #22-24 brown or black midge pupa's or emergers. #22-24 gray parachute Adams. Here's a picture of Damian and a really nice brown trout he caught in the "Chute" on the San Juan River, New Mexico a couple days ago. Come and enjoy some great fishing on the San Juan River, NM with Blue Sky Flyfishing.

Hello everyone, the river has been fishing good. The river flow was increased to about 500 cfs yesterday. Water 💦 clarity is around 3'. What was working good for me was a #20-22 gray fluff beatis, #22-24 flash back pheasant tails, root beers. Brown or black latex midge, Big Macs. There will be No High-water levels this year. Come and enjoy some of this amazing water with our Blue Sky team of expert guides. Here's a photo of Robert and a great looking brown trout caught in Jack's Hole, San Juan River, NM Tight lines to all

The San Juan River is flowing @ 367 cfs. The water clarity is around 3-4'. Fishing has been good to great. The midge hatch has been great and the BWO's have been good in the afternoon. #22-24 black or brown latex emerging midge with a little flash collar. #20-22 black Big Macs, red larva. In the mid-morning and early afternoon, the Beatis (BWO's) are coming off. #20-22 gray or brown fluff beatis, #20-22 root beers, #22-24 flash back pheasant tails. On the surface #18-24 griffins Knatt or black parachute post midge. #20-24 parachute Adams. Tight lines to all

Hi Anglers, The San Juan River flow is @ 357 cfs. The water clarity is about 2-3 feet in the upper area, and the visibility improves as you get more down river. Overall, the river is fishing good. Tiny #24 black blings, mono midges, and #24 Chocolate foam wings were working best for me, Mark Nesbit, of Blue Sky Flyfishing. From Simon Canyon down there is a few trout starting to look 👀 up and feeding on midge clusters, and #22-24 BWO's #22-24 calf hair post Parachute Adams works great for this. The weather has been Spring like. Cool in the morning but warms up in mid-morning. The afternoon can get a New Mexico Breeze 5-50 mph. Come and enjoy fishing this gorgeous river with Mark Nesbit, Blue Sky Flyfishing. Here's a great photo of Dave and a nice Rainbow Trout that he caught in the lower flats on a #22 gray Polly Wing RS2. Great smile! He did a great job of landing the fish in very shallow water with a very short rig with light tippet. Tightlines to all, Mark

Hello Everyone, the river flow is still about the same as last week. Flow is still @ 515 cfs. Water clarity is about 2' in the upper part of the river. Starts to get a little bit more visibility in the lower portion of the river. The thermocline in Navajo Lake is turning over. The warmer nights will help with settling down the lake and the clarity of the river will improve. The river fished good for a couple days for Jerry. What was working for me on the first day was #22-24 small black midges. Mark's Mojo Midge (3M), #20 -22 red larva. In the afternoon #22-24 gray RS2. Second day was more midges and the red larva. Lower section of the river fished best late in the afternoon. Tightlines to all, Mark

Hi Everyone, the river is fishing good. They increased the water flow to around 500cfs. It's one of my favorite flow rates. The fish are happy, our BWO's hatch has started. Midges in the morning and mayflies in mid-morning. Some days the fish are looking up again. #20-22 flashback pheasant tails, fluff beatis, and root beers, RS2 and gray or chocolate foam wings. Black #24 midge pupa's and emergers working. #20-24 parachute Adams working on the surface.

The San Juan River flow is around 350 cfs. Water clarity is around 2-2 1/2 ' feet. Some moss and salad in the water column. Fishing in the quality water area has improved considerably in the last week. Some days the beatis, BWO's are coming off better than others but the fish are starting to look up. The midge hatches was good early in the morning and then the mayflies started to hatch. Size #24 black midge pupa's and emergers, working, #20 red larva in the morning. #22 Flash back pheasant tails, root beers and #20-22 gray fluff beatis, #20-24 parachute Adams, and black midge cluster patterns working. Spring is a beautiful time on the San Juan and a great opportunity to shake off those "cabin fever blues" so give us a call and come wet a line with us.

Hello Everyone, The San Juan River has been fishing good overall. The river is flowing around 390cfs. On a recent trip the river treated us good with some nice brown trout caught. What has been working for us was a orange or yellow egg patterns and red larva, leeches and jigs still working. On some days the midges are hatching, and a few #18-20 bwo's. The weather is decent and will just keep getting better with improving conditions.

Hello Everyone, The river is flowing @ 372 cfs, water clarity is around 2 1/2 feet. Watercolor is getting better with a bit greener/blue hue to it. Quality water section, Fishing has been fair to good with marabou jigs, gray or brown streamers. Egg patterns, and red larvae are still working. Small #22-24 black midges are also working. The bait water section has been fished good lately. Some bwo's coming off in the afternoon. Spring is on the way with the fishing and weather improving. Come and enjoy getting a tight line with Blue Sky Fly Fishing.

The river is flowing at around 380 cfs. Water is getting clearer with the 2-2'6" foot visibility. Some grass and moss, but not too bad. Fishing has been good with some days better than others. What has been working for me is ..... marabou jigs and leeches, different colors and sizes, but olive/ black has been a good choice. Size #22-24 black latex, bling midge pupa's, Mark's mojo midge, red larva of different sizes #16-24. Some real beauts are starting to show. For some great fishing contact Mark at Blue Sky Flyfishing.

The river is flowing around 340 cfs. Water clarity is about a 18", watercolor is pea soup but clearing. Has some chunks of moss, but lots less than it did, Black #22-24 midge pupa's #22-24 black ufo's, laytex midge patterns, orange and yellow egg patterns still working, as are leeches, jigs, and Streamers. Remember it's in the twitch that creates the eat of the fly when fishing with streamers.