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View Full Version : San Juan/Animas Trip (Pic Heavy)

mpruet
10-23-2005, 11:10 AM
So my trip to the San Juan finally happened.

We started out on the Juan on Tuesday the 18th with a guide, to help get us dialed in and within a couple of hours of being on the water, this is what I found at the end of my line...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v690/mpruet/100_0605.jpg

My new buddy, Steve's trip started out a bit rough with a fish so large on the end of his line that it broke the tip of his rod. Luckily our guide had an extra and he was back in business, and later took 20 minutes to land this pig...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v690/mpruet/100_0607.jpg

The great thing about this trip, was that it gave me a chance to re-connect with my best friend of almost 30 years, which was great....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v690/mpruet/100_0623.jpg

We were supposed to fish the Animas on Thursday but a huge rain storm blew it out and we were forced to drive the 45 miles back to the Juan. The morning was slow and neither Chris nor I could buy a fish, while Steve was catching pigs on dries. Around noon, Chris and I decided that we need to get a new vibe and moved to new slots.

The move was a good one as I became the Zen Master and landed 5 of these...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v690/mpruet/100_0621.jpg

For posterity here is another angle...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v690/mpruet/100_0622.jpg

Friday, I only got to fish the Animas for a couple of hours as I had to catch a plane home. I wasn't disappointed as I lande 5 fish in less than 45 minutes.

I highly recommend this trip, if you ever get a chance. I can say that, for me, this was a great opportunity to share my new passion with my best friend of 30 years and a new friend that I consider to be someone I will get together with for a long time. Not to mention we got to fish these type of waters...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v690/mpruet/100_0632.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v690/mpruet/100_0631.jpg

With great buddies...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v690/mpruet/100_0633.jpg

Thank you Fly Fishing...
mandinga
10-23-2005, 02:59 PM
nice. great read.

where is the best source of info for this water? How far from portland?

I love the pic of that hog your buddy caught.
scoutfish
10-23-2005, 03:40 PM
Nice going Mike.

Did you even see another fisherman!!

Sweet :applause: :applause:
OwyheeKIller
10-23-2005, 04:57 PM
it broke the tip of his rod. Luckily our guide had an extra and he was back in business, and later took 20 minutes to land this pig...



Twenty minutes is a very long time to fight a trout, in fact, many fish die after a struggle that long. Hope the fish made a full recovery.
mpruet
10-23-2005, 05:47 PM
OwyheeKiller,

The water temp on the San Juan is 40 degrees or below all the time. I was concerned about over fighting the fish as well and was assured that because of the water temp and the health of the fish, that it is very rare that fish are over-fought.

In addition, all fish were treated very carefully and only released once they had made a full recovery and swam off on their own.

Thanks for your concern...
OwyheeKIller
10-23-2005, 07:41 PM
That's good to hear, because that's a gorgeous fish. Sorry if my post sounded negative. Bummer about the rod tip, but it sounds like you had a great guide and a great time. Thanks for the report. :smile:
Zodiac-Fisherman
10-26-2005, 01:55 PM
I LOVE the San Juan!

Ive had great suscess fishing right below Navajo Dam.

That water is freezing! Quite possibily the coldest water Ive had to endure without waders..
mpruet
10-26-2005, 04:44 PM
Zodiac,

Without waders??? You must have been filled with Jack Daniels Anti Freeze for that.

I had thermal pants on under my waders and still felt the cold.

As my above post says, we were told that the Juan's temperature is a constant 40 degrees.
Zodiac-Fisherman
10-26-2005, 08:38 PM
I know... But, I was lucky to talk my buddy into making a detour from Durango down to Lk Navajo for 2 days, during a NC to CA cross country drive.. I had no waders, and said, im not going to give up an opportunity to fish the "Juan, just cause im ill equipped..

It was COLD. I had alot of suscess working the by-spillways ajacent to the Juan and its many islands below the dam.

I hit the river at 5am both days and once the sun came up and over the canyon, I could see literally hundreds of trout swarming all over me. Was in a 20ft wide creek and no greater than 3 ft deep.

It was a matter of picking out a fish, presenting a large stonefly type of fly and quickly strip it in front of it. Bam.. Fish on!
Zodiac-Fisherman
10-26-2005, 08:41 PM
Chromemandinga,

The 'Juan is located in NW New Mexico, its in the Navajo region.