THE Conejos Fishin' Update - 6/23/12

First, some recent pics since last time:

Kass with a nice brownie in the canyon

Another nice bow to the net

Count it

Nice colors!

My new fishin' partner, Dante

Kass working some pocket water

Lauren saying thanks to the fish

Her first fish on a dry!!!

One of about 7 from one hole....CRUSHING grey drakes

Nymphing the confluence

Eat it, eat it...

Ok, Ok, I know it has been too long since the last post and I apologize.  Things have really heated up here both on the river and the actual temperature itself.  Flows are now down to 150cfs or below from Platoro and around 200 for the lower river, meaning the fish have no choice but to look up for food and our flies floating by.  Fishing has been incredible lately from top to bottom, and many clients and customers alike are coming in and rushing out in order to get back on the water.  If you like casting large grey drakes, golden stones and caddis at rising fish, it is the time and place to get here.  Make sure you stop in and get the latest before you head out for the day and to make sure you are dialed in for the exact section of river you will be fishing.  As a quick, general overview, here goes:

Lower River: Grey Drakes!  They are hatching in great numbers in the morning and you should not miss this. Make sure you have plenty of patterns as they are sometimes picky, and carry an extra bottle of dry shake.  You can thank me later.  Once the drake action slows down, nymping with mayfly, caddis and stonefly patterns has been most effective.  Into the evening, look for great hatches of caddis while throwing an adult pattern with an emerger or pupa.  Crystal Rubberleg Stimmys, Parachute Madam X's in various colors and sizes and Grillo's Hippie Stompers have been great flies to use while probing for fish interested in looking up.

Middle River:  Golden Stones!  They seem to still be the ticket so Yeagers Tantrum, Yellow Stimmy's, Flushfloater goldens and cdc goldens are all catching fish.  Hang a dropper like an iron lotus, salvation, or small pat's and you will be rewarded.  

Upper River:  Early and late for the most consistent dry fly action.  Smaller parachute adams like the Dennis Parawulf Adams and BWO, small caddis and some stones, especially on the lower end will be the dries.  For the nymphs, count on using small mayflies and emergers as well as midge larva such as the ole trusty flashbang.

Hope this helps, go out and catch (and release) some fish!
-Joe

Update - June 14th 2012

As of late, the fishing has picked up throughout the entire Conejos river.  Fishing in the meadow, the middle-river pocket water, and the lower river has all been incredibly productive over the last week.  Guide trips have focused primarilly on the lower river with the salmonflies and the goldens still fluttering around, but some trips have taken off up higher with good results.

Throughout the lower river, fishing has been most productive on the surface throughout the morning and into the early afternoon.  They are keyed in on the big stones, and will take droppers throughout that time as well.   Some sporadic hatches of PMDs have been seen, as well as yellow sallies and the caddis are beginning to come off in heavy numbers in the late afternoon.  So far the fish are taking the cautious route with eating the adults, but more and more reports are coming in with epic afternoon/evening outings casting adult caddis.  The most productive sizes have been #14 through #18's in Mini Hot in tan, Goddard and Egg Layer caddis.  Using caddis emergers and pupa has been working really well, particularly the Hot Butt Emerger and beadhead caddis pupa.

Heading upstream, the fishing has been great, but more productive using nymphs.  Look for surface action to increase daily as the flows drop and the temps increase.  Our guides are out in various spots throughout the river each day, so make sure to stop in and get the most recent advice and tips as well as pick up some of the necessary bugs.

Here are some recent pics:

Can It Get Any Better?

The big bugs are out and the fish know it!  Christmas has arrived here on the Conejos, as Golden Stoneflies and Salmonflies are crawling out from the depths onto the rocky shores to hatch at night and the flows remain at amazing levels.  They are sticking around close to the shore mostly until early afternoon on most days, and the fishing has been incredible from early morning into the afternoons.  For all of you dry fly enthusiasts (I mean who isn't a fan of throwing massive dries), the time has come and will be here for some time as the emergence makes it way up the river.

Currently the bugs have been emerging on the lower river, making their way up toward the Bear Creek and Sheep creek developments, and will only move upstream as these warm, sunny days continue.  It seems with all of the activity, we have been finding fish in virtually all places of the river, from the typical holding spots, to dead-middle of the fast runs.  On recent guide trips, Jon, Troy, Randy and myself have been focusing on the lower river in order to find more fish that have already figured out that the big bugs floating by are food.  Using Salmonfly patterns such as the Designated Hitter, M's Fluttering, FlushFloater and the CDC Salmonfly have all been great for the different circumstances.  Some of the patterns tend to "splay out" a bit when wet which really turns the fish on when the naturals are fluttering on the surface.  Other patterns tend to have a slimmer profile which really work well when the adults seem to land on the water and not flutter as much.  Stop in to make sure you grab a few of each so you are prepared for a great day on the water.

For the Golden Stones, using patterns such as Yeagers Tantrum, Karnopps Freestone, Designated Hitter, the Flush Floater and large yellow Crystal Stimulators have all been helping fish find our nets.

In addition to the large stone flies, the caddis have also made their arrival in full force.  So far the fish are not keying in on them wholeheartedly, but once the stones move upstream expect to find many eager rising fish for adult caddis.  We picked out some great new adult caddis patterns to take advantage of the low water year so make sure you check those out as well.

Nymphing large stonefly patterns teamed with smaller versions of mayfly nymphs is still the best way to get the large trout to strike in the deep pools and seams.  Tungsten Goldens, large, dark Pat's Rubber Legs, Hot Belly Pheasant Tails, Ruby Micro Mays and olive Depth Charge Birds Nests have been catching fish as nymphs.  Everyday we find out some new bit of info from our guides so make sure to stop in for the latest scoop and location for the best action.  Here are a few pics to wet your palate from recent guide trips:

Jon and Mike with a NICE Bow!

Fishing After Work

Nice Brown to the Net

Munchin on Pat's

Richard With a Nice Bow

One More Brown for Richard

The Fight!

Have you seen Pteronarcys?

The Salmon and Golden stone nymphs are migrating toward the shores, with some actually crawling out to emerge.  They are not here in full force just yet, but seeing these giant bugs up close is enough to get excited.  Fishing large nymphs such as Pats in both dark brown and the coffee and brown colors, Sextone Tungstone in Peacock and Cheater Bellies cover the salmon fly nymphs.

The fish are still munching away at the golden stone nymphs as well, so make sure to be stocked on those too.  My most productive patterns have been the Brannon's Golden, Tungsten Flashback and the Tungsten Golden in sizes 10-12.

In addition to the stone nymphs, green drake nymphs have been productive as well.

As the fish get more settled in to seeing the large stones land on the surface, the surface action should be really picking up this weekend and into next week.  Stop in the shop and pick up some of the spot-on patterns for the Salmon Flies and Goldens as well as see where the surface action has been the hottest.

Recent guide trips out have been productive picking up some nice fish the entire stretch of the Conejos so get up here and get in on some of the action.  Here are some pictures over the last week to get excited about:

Get Fishing! Flies to help see some fish in the net!

Our 3-4 day battle with the wind is nearly finished and the conditions look great for the rest of the long weekend and into next week.  The flows also look like they are getting used to the warmer temperatures and slowly tapering off, creating an ideal time to get out on the water.  Currently on the lower and middle river, fishing dark stones such as our Sextone or Coffee and Black Pat's, size 8-12 is working well.  Pairing those with tungsten golden stone nymphs, size 8-12 has been working well, especially later in the day.  As always, the fish have been eating worms with the water being large and off-color, so make sure you have a complete arsenal of G-Stings and chenile San Juans, in both the single color and the two-toned tungsten versions.  As the flows drop, look for fish to be eating the smaller micro-g's and micro SJ's.  Other flies that have been productive on the middle and lower river include Olive and Natural Easter Bunny Poop, Salvations in both golden brown and green, Frenchies, Batman, Green Hornet, Wired Red Ass and a new fly here called the Jigged Hare's Ear.

Higher up, below Platoro, nymphing with Frenchies, annelids such as the LED, Barr's Emergers and pheasant tail's including the Hot Belly PT.

New Bugs, Big Fish and Great Fishing!

Troy fishing a nice seam

The fishing has been incredible as of late with many fish finding our nets.  We have been experimenting with new bugs and think we have come up with a winner, Easter Bunny Poop.  I have been tying them in various sizes and so far have a natural hare's ear color and another in olive and both have been productive.  Stop in the shop before you head out to the river and grab a few.  For all you folks who are sitting back and watching the month of May slip away, do not overlook that thee fish are eating HARD right now throughout the river and are looking incredibly healthy.  Take a look at some pics taken by Jon and Troy on their lunch break today:

 

17" Brown on a #14 Olive Easter Bunny Poop

SALMON FLIES ARE HERE!!!

So the title was a lie, but I got your attention right!?!

The season has started with a bang and the fishing has been great.  With the low-snowpack year, we are looking at low runoff levels and more than likely, bugs hatching earlier than usual.  Do not be worried about runoff levels heavily influencing your early summer plans as the fish have been feasting and enjoying the lower than normal flows.  Now for some news over the last month.

2012 Superfly:  The tourney came and went and many Conejos fish found their ways into anxious nets.  With the warm weather leading up to the weekend, the flows were high for Friday fisherman, but stair-stepped down as the weekend cold front moved in.  Saturday's fisherman dealt with high winds, snow and lower flows.  For Sunday, the flows dropped even more and the water cleared up a bit.  Fisherman got used to clearing their guides from ice in the morning and wind in the afternoon.  Numerous 20+ inch fish were caught, proving yet again the Conejos is a great springtime destination.  Thanks again to all participants and sponsors for another successful event!

2012 Summer Reservations:  It seems like the warm weather has more than the fish fired up as our reservations are filling in quickly for both guide trips and cabins.  If you are thinking of reserving any spots, please call sooner rather than later to ensure you get in on the action this summer.

New Gear:  We have numerous new bugs that the trout are loving, as well as many new items from all of your favorite brands:  Sage, Simms, Patagonia, Redington, Ross, Lamson, Umpua, Solitude and more.  Stop in the shop to check it out as well as getting dialed in on the current conditions.

And finally, FISHING!!!

Meadow: Right now the fishing has been great as over the last week the water levels has somewhat steadied throughout the Conejos.  Fishing below the dam has provided many excellent days recently for guides using various annelid patterns trailed by baetis and mayfly emergers and nymphs as well as midge larva.  For nymphing, make sure you have 5X Flouro to both flies as well as a small strike indicator.  Strong, precise casts boost the numbers of fish to the net, so make sure you are STEALTHY!  Splashing up the middle of the river won't cut it.  Your plan of attack with vary greatly with the flows, so stop in and talk to Jon or I to get filled in or better yet, go out with one of us guides to beat the learning curve.

Main River:  The main river has been fishing well, particularly in the late mornings, into the afternoons.  Using large stonefly imitations in both dark and light colors has been deadly when trailed by smaller flies.  I have been using the stone as my staple for a lead nymph, and changing my trailer fly depending on the flows and color of water (attractors vs. naturals).  When the flows have been higher than 500 (which has been the last few weeks), make sure you are adding enough splitshot to get your flies in front of the fish!  If you are not hitting the bottom here and there, you are not in front of the fish.

Tributaries and Small Streams:  Many of our favorite back-country places are shaping up nicely and the fishing has been incredibly fun.  Pack a lunch and water bottle and head out to check out some of the smaller streams.  Lately they are still more prone to take the nymphs than dries, but the fish are actively feeding.  Make sure you pack a rain jacket and an extra layer as afternoon thunderstorms have been the norm.

I look forward to meeting you all this season and helping to get you set up and on some fish.  Stop by the shop and grab some coffee, some flies and gear as you head up to the river.

-Joe