Just the Two of us on the San Juan River

Our family recently spent a work-focused week in Santa Fe, NM.  My mom and brother Connor came down from Utah for a few days, and we had a great time.  Of course, someone like me can't visit New Mexico without fishing the San Juan River!  So we made a two day, midweek jaunt up to the famous Navajo Dam tailwater.  We were greeted by warm weather, low water, and our share of rainbows!

Cheryl's Big Rainbow.  How many 7.5 month pregnant women do you see fly fishing in the middle of January?

Day 1 - Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Our first day we ate breakfast in the hotel in Santa Fe and made the three and a half hour drive up to the river.  Mom and Connor came with us.  Once we got to the river Cheryl and I got ready to fish, while Mom took the C-ster to our lodging for a nap.  It had been a long time since Cheryl and I had fished together alone. 

The view upstream from the braids just above Texas Hole.  Got to love 45 degree temps!

We started fishing upstream from Texas Hole in the braids.  The first hole that we came to was absolutely crawling with fish.  There was a hole the size of a bathtub with a pod of probably 20 fish rising in it.  Sadly, they were all small.  Needless to say Cheryl and I each caught fish on our first three casts.  The problem was they were all small.  Finally Cheryl hooked into a bit bigger fish.  After a short tussle she landed a decent rainbow that had fungus all over its back.  We took a quick picture and returned it to the water quickly, skeptical of its chances of survival.

Cheryl's fungus-full fish from Day 1.  It ended up being our largest fish of the day.

We caught fish for the next hour or so, but by 1:30 things had really slowed down.  Finally, as the afternoon started to wear on, I decided that it was time to throw some streamers.  It was a good call, because as everyone else was leaving the river Cheryl and I were able to get consistent hookups and land fish after fish.  Again, we were disappointed with the size, however.

Throwing some streamers.

Finally the sun went down and Cheryl started getting cold, so we called it a day.  We made it back to our lodging, the Enchanted Hideway, where Mom, Connor, and the C-ster were waiting.  The lodging was adequate, the service was friendly, and we enjoyed our night there.  We cooked up some bacon cheese burgers and played cards until it was time to go to sleep.

The C-ster helping with the dishes - and loving it!

Day 2 - Thursday, January 24, 2013
Cheryl and I had decided that we needed to look for some new water to try to find some bigger fish. We started fishing Texas Hole where Mom, Connor, and the C-ster could watch for a few minutes. We quickly caught some small fish, but couldn't entice anything worth getting excited over. Mom took Connor and the C-ster and did some sight seeing and hanging out, while Cheryl and I moved upstream looking for larger fish.

We came around a corner and finally, in the tail-out of a slow run, I found a group of larger fish. Now the game was on. The fish were easier to catch than I had expected, and it wasn't long before I was easing a beautiful rainbow into the net. Now this is what we came here for!

My first good rainbow of the day.

We caught a few more fish from the tailout, but I was tempted to see what was in the upper part of the run.  I sent Cheryl up to fish while I stayed back with the video camera rolling.  She caught a small fish, and then a couple casts later she hooked the bottom.  She freed her line and cast upstream. I hollered at her to check her flies.  She turned around and said, "What?"  "Check your . . ."  about that time I noticed her indicator stop.. "flies" I said.  She nodded and eventually turned around to see her indicator completely stopped.  She set the hook and immediately yelled, "Kirk, put down the stupid camera and get the net!  This thing is huge!"  I kept the camera on just long enough to see a BIG fish jump.  Yep, it was time for the net!

After some exciting runs and a downstream chase, I had the biggest rainbow of the trip, and of Cheryl's life, in the net.  The trout ended up measuring 21" and it had some shoulders.  Let's just say that it wasn't hard for me to get Cheryl to smile for some glory shots!

Another shot of Cheryl and her biggest rainbow yet!  One fish made the whole trip worth it!

We fished for another half hour, catching a few more fish.  Eventually, Cheryl had to go put the C-ster down for a nap, as Mom and Connor were heading back to Utah.  Just as we were talking about the arrangements I saw two big fish move into a very shallow feeding lane.  I told Cheryl, "Why don't you hang out for five minutes so you can net this tank when I hook him."  Normally an arrogant statement like that would backfire, but this day I got lucky!

The fish were sitting in water only a few inched deep.  I finally made an accurate cast and watched the closer fish turn sideways, revealing the white of his mouth about the time I figured my nymph would be going past.  I set the hook, and immediately felt his weight.  I've read about sight nymph fishing, but this is the first time that I actually did it.  Cheryl was able to net the fish for me, and it turned out to be another 20" rainbow, and tied my biggest fish of the trip.

One of my two big fish for the trip.

After taking a few pictures, Cheryl really had to go.  About fifteen minutes after she left I caught another pig rainbow, capping off an awesome morning of lots of big, healthy rainbows.  This is why we wanted to come to the San Juan!

Soon I switched to dries and was able to catch a half dozen fish up top.  Although the fish were small, there is something cool about catching a fish on a  #24 Griffith's Gnat.  In early afternoon the fishing slowed, and I continued my search for larger fish to no avail.  Eventually I put the streamer back on and caught some fish, but it was not as quick or easy as the night before.

Finally, as I made my way back to Texas Hole to meet Cheryl, I hooked into a decent fish. The fish was not anything like the fish in the morning, but was larger than the photo makes it appear.  It was a thick, beautiful rainbow, and a great way for me to end the day.

My last fish of the day.  A great way to end a great two days.

Thanks Mom for watching the C-ster for us, he sure loves his grandma!  It was really great for Cheryl and I to get to fish together.  Who knows when it will happen again with Thing 2 only five weeks away!  This may be my last fishing post for a bit - but you'd better believe that I'll be back!