San Juan River · fly box
Sixteen kilometres of midge-and-mayfly water where a 50-fish day is unremarkable.
| Pattern | Imitates | Size | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chimera, grey | Chironomid cluster | #22-24 | Fish it 40 cm under a foam indicator in the slow water at the head of Texas Hole. |
| San Juan Worm, tan | Aquatic worm | #12-14 | Only when the release is murky; it is the first fly to stop working when water clears. |
| BWO Foam Emerger | Emerging Baetis | #22 | Dead drift on a 5-metre leader, 6X, in the film over the weed beds. |
| RS2, chocolate | Baetis emerger | #22-24 | Point fly in a two-fly rig; the take usually comes in the first two seconds. |
| Woolly Bugger, black | Leech | #8 | Swing through the Braids at dusk when nothing is showing on the surface. |
The dressing plate
On this river
Depth before pattern
On the San Juan the difference between a 10-fish day and a 50-fish day is usually 30 cm of depth and a metre of drag. Start shallow with a small fly and add depth in 15 cm steps until you start hooking fish; then leave the rig alone. Changing patterns before you have found the fish's level is the most common way to waste a morning here.
Fishing the Texas Hole properly
The Hole is a slow, deep bowl, not a run. Fish it from the tail upstream, wading as far as is safe, and cover it in a fan rather than straight upstream — the fish hold in a ring around the deepest point rather than in the middle. The first two hours of daylight are worth more than the rest of the day combined.
Small flies, long leaders
The San Juan's midges are #22 to #26 and the water is clear, so a 5.5-metre leader tapering to 7X is normal equipment, not an affectation. Cast with an open loop to avoid tailing, and treat the leader as part of the presentation: if the tippet lands in a heap, the fly is dragging even when the indicator looks fine.