Jim Harrison

The sporting world lost one of it's legendary writers last week with the passing of Jim Harrison. Harrison was an author of monolithic proportion, with a work ethic that remains the envy of today's literary world. He wrote the entire text to probably his most recognized work— Legends of the Fall, over the period of nine days while holed up in a snowbound Michigan cabin and changed only one sentence, before it went to print. He has said of writing, that unless you plan to give your entire life to it, it can't be done otherwise. His way of looking at the world was comedic at times, which in my opinion, is a good way to view it in order to keep your sanity intact. He died a "poets death" as his good friend Phillip Roth said, with his pen in his hand as the line to the poem he was working on at the time, wandered off into a scribble, and his heart gave out. His unapologetic zest for life; often to excess, came through in his poetry as well as his prose, with a wit that will likely go unmatched for long years to come, perhaps forever. With the sporting world in mind, it's time to talk about fishing for a while. For the past few days, we've had a slight reprieve from the wind, which has been a blessing in and of itself. This week, with the exception of Tuesday, looks to bring us more of the same, along with some warmer temperatures. It also appears the quality of the fishing has picked up, with the appearance of some BWOs in enough numbers to bring some fish up in the afternoons, especially in the lower section of the river. The present flow of 453 cfs will likely stay in place right up until it is ramped up to 5,000 cfs in early May and the water clarity is still around 2 feet or so. Nymphing with red and cream larva along with midge pupa patterns seem to be the hot ticket and mixing in some baetis patterns like rootbeers, RS2s, and chocolate and gray foamwings is a good idea if you are fishing anywhere from the Texas hole and below. The midge hatches have been sporadic, appearing on some days between 11:00 am till 3:00 pm and non-existent on others, likewise with the BWOs, who seem to prefer the overcast days and cooler temperatures, but this past week there were a couple of days where they were out in enough numbers to have quite a few fish up on the feed for an hour or two starting at around 2:00 pm. So, the dry fly fishing has been anything but consistent and you're just going to have to come prepared and take advantage of if, and when, the opportunity presents itself. If it does happen, you'll want to have some size 24 fore and afts for the midges and size 22 comparaduns and Adams patterns for the baetis. Overall, things are good here on the Juan and getting better, but the clock is ticking before the water gets bumped up and your fishing is going to be limited to fishing from a boat or finding a back channel you can still wade safely. If you would like more information or need to book a guided trip, give us a call at 505-632-2194.