Weekly Fishing Report May 18, 2026
Planning a Trip to the San Juan?
Our lodge offers guided fishing and comfy rooms right on the river.
Fishing Overview
- Flows: 440→800cfs
- Water Temps: 40s (℉)
- Clarity: Turbid (Good!)
- Nymphing: Great
- Dry Fly: Fair
- Streamer: Good
- Weather: Lows: 40s. Highs: 70/80s. Sunny w/ PM winds.
- Lower River Guide Trips: Yes, just ask your guide!
Summary: The fishing remains great. Off-color water means the fish are less spooky and leader shy. Flows going to 800cfs starting Tuesday. Lower River guide trips are on!
The fishing is strong even with our more frequent flow changes. This year the Bureau of Reclamation is incrementally adjusting flows throughout the week to meet water needs downriver. Be sure to check regularly. Like last week, don't be afraid to get creative. The fish may shift location a bit and hold at different depths. Adjust your weight and indicators to find them. Run a few cast through different parts of the water column. We're still having good luck with worm, egg, and leech patterns and are seeing some dry fly action on cloudy afternoons.
How Each Section is Fishing
The Quality Waters
Overview: Not a ton to report that's different from last week other than we're starting this week with flows ramping back up. Fishing is great with nymph rigs catching the most fish. Dry fly fishing continues to pick up, but we don't expect it to be hot this week given the sunnier afternoons. Streams fishing is still good. Worm imitations, egg patterns, bright-colored larva, bunny leeches, and flies with some flash are still productive. If we get the cloud cover, small dry flies will be your friends. See the tips below for more info.
Tips/Technique: Like last week, we're nymphing with fluorocarbon tippet at the end of our monofilament leader, with 4X to the first fly and 5X to the dropper. Baetis are still active subsurface in the afternoons, so look for fish eating gray, olive, and brown mayfly nymphs in riffles, tailouts, and faster water. If we get a hatch, try a parachute Adams or Comparadun in about a size 22, preferably with darker wings. When fishing dry flies, use monofilament leaders and tippet because fluorocarbon sinks and pulls our small flies below the surface. For streamers, keep fishing them deep on 1x flourocarbon.
The Lower River
Overview: Flows are going to 800cfs this week, so Lower River is on! We expect to catch fish on a mix of dry flies and nymph rigs.
Tips/Technique: The bugs on the lower river are larger than the ones in Quality Waters and the fish are bit more boat shy. Think larger dry flies (12 - 18) and longer casts. Both mayflies and Caddis are coming into play. Unlike the Quality Waters, the fish in this section are more willing to move to eat your fly, so starting with 4-5 of leader between your indicator and fly is a safe bet.
The Village
Overview: Fishing here has been consistently good with many trout eager to eat larger Baetis nymphs throughout the day.
Tips/Technique: A leech or a worm as the top fly with a size 18 - 20 Baetis as the dropper fly has been doing well. Pheasant Tails and Prince Nymphs also have also been productive droppers.
Current Fly Recommendations
You can purchase flies and licenses at our fly shop. Many are hand-tied by our guides themselves.
Sub-Surface Flies
| Name | Colors | Sizes |
|---|---|---|
| Vernille San Juan Worm | Brown, Black, Natural | 8, 14 |
| Lynch's Double Dot Egg | Orange Blood Dot | 18 |
| Rojo Midge | Gray, Olive, Brown | 20 to 22 |
| Midge Larvae | Gray, Red, Olive, Brown | 18 to 24 |
| Foam Wing RS2 | Brown, Black, Gray | 18 to 24 |
| Bunny Leeches | Black, Olive, Gray, Natural, White | 6 and 8 |
Dry Flies
| Name | Colors | Sizes |
|---|---|---|
| Parachute Adams | Standard | 20 to 22 |
| Comparadun | Standard | 20 to 22 |
| Rosenbauer Parachute Beetle | Black | 10 to 24 |
| Cartoon Hopper | Gray, Olive, Brown Flash! | 4 to 8 |
| Ants | Black | 12 to 16 |
Planning a Trip to the San Juan?
Our lodge offers guided fishing and comfy rooms right on the river.