Into every life a little rain must fall. After months of great fishing and stable water conditions, things are about to change here on the San Juan. Tonight while most of us are asleep the BOR will begin releasing around 2,000 cfs of water, now held back from the earthen impoundment we know as Navajo Dam and continue to ramp it up until it reaches 5,000 cfs on Wednesday. This will all be part of a 7 day flush at 5,000 cfs which will taper down over a 2 day period and return to the 500 cfs level, by June 1st. It's something that happens every year; and no doubt, a necessary evil, but that doesn't seem to make it any easier to bear, for those of us that like to fish here. I guess the good news is that it will all be over relatively soon, compared to the prolonged schedules I have seen in some years past, and it really does a nice job of cleaning up the river bottom of lots of debris and unwanted didymo. Afterwards, I think it fishes better, but maybe that's just my feelings from pent up demand, caused from being off the water for a week. I do know that the sight fishing part of it is better, the fish are a lot easier to see against a clean bottom and the clarity of the water gets a lot better than before the release. The first few days after the release starts can create some tough fishing, there's a lot of stuff coming down, and the fish are moving around a lot and seem a little confused. After a few days at 5,000 cfs, things start to mellow out a bit and the fish start to stack up in their new lies and adjust, the water clears and the fish are pretty easy to find, stacked up in runs out of the main current, they are safer and more easily reach from a boat during this time, and the fishing can be very good. If you're out there on the first few days, your best bet is to throw some big, bright stuff. This is the time for San Juan Worms, brightly colored Egg patterns, big Sparkle worms, Red Larva, Annelids and Streamers in white, black, and olive. Of course you'll have to chunk on a lot more weight than you are accustomed to fishing at 500 cfs. On the last few days as the water drops, you can find some big pods of fish stacked up in a lot of places, and this can produce some good fishing. You'll just have to use some caution and good old common sense about where you can and can't wade, but I generally find a lot of healthy and hungry fish during this time. It's all part of a cycle we've grown somewhat accustomed to over the years, and compared to some freestone rivers that occasionally remain unfishable for time measured in months, I guess it's a small price to pay. If you would like to book a guided trip, need a room for your stay, or just want more info, call us at 505-632-2194.       

Report by Jay Walden

• The restaurant, "El Pescador" will be closed for the winter season beginning Nov. 9th and will reopen in the spring.