San Juan River Fishing Report & News
Chris Taylor, San Juan’s Tip of the Week! May 12th, 2025
The river is running at 408cfs.The cubic feet per second has been changing slightly to maintain flows down river for endangered species habitat, it should remain about this flow until the spring sometime. The changing flows keep the trout moving around and eating well. The water is getting very clear. The clear waters make the fish a little more cautious. You should be fishing realistic looking flies as the clearer water has fish looking for bugs! Fishing has been good with midges starting around 10am and blue winged olives starting around noon. We are still catching fish using some attractor patterns, colored larvae, bunny leaches and egg patterns. There are lots of bugs hatching! So, midge patterns and baetis patterns are working well fishing sub surface. Fishing streamers slow and close to the bottom are working well for larger fish, especially when it gets windy!
Techniques & Tips as of 5/12/25
Fish fluorocarbon tippets at the end of your mono-filament leader when nymph fishing. 4X to the first fly and 5X to the dropper. This will produce more strikes as the fish can’t see the fluorocarbon. Fish an attractor fly like a bunny leach or an egg pattern to a colored larvae or a fly with flash on it. We are finding lots of baetis, especially on cloudy afternoons. Baetis live in fast water so look for them in the riffles at the top of holes and at the bottom of holes in the tail out. Fish are eating gray, olive and brown mayfly nymphs in these places, it just depends on the day so have them all. You may have the chance to see fish on top during this time. A parachute Adams or comparadun should do the job. The may flies are blue-gray and are about size 22. Use dark colored wings as the fish are turning away from white wings. If you can’t see this try a marker fly about 12 inches above the baetis. You should fish mono-filament tippets when fishing on the surface as fluorocarbon sinks. Change back to midges when the fish stop eating your may flies. Try some bunny leaches if all else fails. Dead drift them like the rest of your nymphs. Fish are eating them for moss! They will shake the drifting moss to get the bugs out. All this goes out the door when fishing streamers. Get them on the bottom and fish 1X fluorocarbon.
