A U-Haul Winter...

A U-Haul winter—that's what we call the kind of winter we're having out here. The kind with lots of snow and cold weather that won't let up and sends all those recent arrivals to the west packing up and moving for warmer climates, leaving their snow shovels behind. It's been a cold one so far, tough to take after the recent years of mild winters that we've experienced, but it's January in the Rockies, that's just the way it goes sometimes. The good news is that it's only 62 days, 11 hours, 47 minutes, and 25 seconds until spring, not that I'm counting or anything. For the coming week we should see a bit of a break from the bitter extremes of the cold weather of the past few weeks, with temperatures breaking the 40 degree mark for the first time since sometime way back in December. A heat wave, if you will. While it may not be the time to break out the shorts and t-shirts just yet, it's a welcome respite from highs in the low to mid-20s. Doable weather if you're thinking about a fishing trip. As for the river conditions, the water is still relatively clear with better visibility conditions for January than I have seen in several years. Still plenty clear enough to fish dry flies, which I consider a plus. Due to the increased snowpack for the region, the BOR bumped the flow to around 400 cfs on the 13th, with future plans to take it higher, should we receive more snow. With only one day out of the next ten showing a real chance of precipitation, I doubt we'll see any changes in the flow any time soon. Anyway, the fishing here is good and now the weather is getting a little better. There are some sparse midge hatches during the mid-day that have enough fish up to warrant some decent dry fly fishing with adult midge patterns in size 24 and 26. The water is still clear enough to demand the use of 7x for your dries. During the rest of the day, especially the earlier hours, small Simi Seal leech patterns on a dead drift, particularly when teamed up with a dropper like a red larva have been the hot ticket. The usual midge larva, pupa, and emerger patterns are getting the job done as well, and I wouldn't hesitate to throw an egg pattern in the mix. Baetis nymphs like rootbeers, Johnny Flash, and RS-2s are a good choice in the mid to lower sections of the river. I haven't seen or heard of any adult BWO activity over the past few weeks, so I'm not holding out for any great baetis hatch to kick off anytime real soon, we'll see what happens. Other than Wednesday with a forecast of cold, snow, and wind, this looks like a good week to be on the Juan. If you would like more information or would like to book a guided trip, give us