As the summer winds down, I begin to think about how the fish will become more active with cooler temperatures. And, my “go-to” trip is the San Juan River sometime in October or November. This year, due to COVID-19 concerns, the State of New Mexico has closed Navajo Lake State Park to non-New Mexico residents. So, I decided to go elsewhere.
I have written here before about the place, but I will no longer reveal the actual place. You can scour previous posts for hints. The place is so special, I fear it will get overrun with fisher-people and the place ruined. The likelihood of that happening is fairly small because to get to this place, you gotta wanna go there pretty bad. Let’s just say there are close to a hundred miles of dirt road to get to it, there are no stores, gas stations, or fly shops within that hundred miles. You must go prepared with EVERYTHING! Food, stove, water, tent, etc… Bring it all, ‘cuz you won’t find a damned thing here. There is a campground that has running water from May to the end of September. Outside of that, bring your own water. It also has pit toilets.
The campground is a USFS facility, but the fishing is done on USFWS property. The fish are stocked by the state it is in. No, I will not tell you what state.
My friend Mark Merrill and I met here on October 10. He fished a bit that day, but I hadn’t thought to start my license until the next day. Good thing I didn’t fish too because there were a couple of game wardens prowling around that day. They didn’t check Mark’s license, but had I been fishing, my luck would have not been so good.
I fished a total of 4 days and Mark did the same but as I said, he fished a little on that first day. Each of us averaged 20 to 30 fish per day. The average fish was around 12” to 14”, but each of us managed to hang 4 or 5 fish in the 20”+/- range each day. So, over 4 days, I estimate that we caught anywhere from 160 to 240 fish! Anybody know where you can go to do that? Mark, who works in a fly shop in Sacramento thinks it might be the best fishing in the lower 48. I disagree with that because I think the South Fork of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness probably takes that honor. Access to the South Fork is considerably more complicated though. Even though it is in the middle of one of the largest wilderness complexes in the country, outside of Alaska, the fishing has become more popular and you will run into more people than you used to. My last trip there was in 2019 and the fishing was still crazy good, but there was a little competition for the best campsites and best fishing holes. Where Mark and I went, we were the only fly fishermen there. There were lots of hunters and a couple of spin fishermen, so we virtually had the whole place to ourselves.
I’d like to say that catching that many fish was easy, but as Mark and I discussed this, we agreed that as long as you could pump out 50’ casts accurately in the wind with a 4 weight and understood the feeding behavior of the fish, it actually was pretty easy. This is no place for a beginner fly fisher, though I think with help a beginner might get into some fish.
Here’s Mark and I with fish.
The primary trout species is the Rainbow Trout, but there are Cutbows and even Brook Trout there. And, as an added bonus, there are some truly large Tiger Trout there. I managed about an 18” Tiger one day! Also, if you’re into this sort of thing, you can catch a large number of Smallmouth Bass. You’ll need a self-propelled boat of some sort to do it though.
If you want to experience this, drop me a line, a phone call, email, or text. I’ll put you on the list of those to invite the next time I go, which could be as early as May 2021.
Okay, now for the coup de gras. My personal best (largest Rainbow Trout) was caught from this place a few years ago that was in the 30” range. If you want a shot at some truly monster Rainbows, this is THE place in the entire United States. I would even say it rivals Alaska, without having to go so far or incur such expense! Be ready to rough it though.
The last thing I want to say here is that both Mark and I used “old school” Sage rods. Without conferring, we both armed ourselves with Sage RPL 9’ 4wt rods. I had built mine way back in the early 90’s and I have broken it twice since then. It is still my favorite rod of all time. Apparently, the folks on various Sage forums agree that the RPL 9’ 4wt is the best Sage rod ever made.
I cannot build an RPL for you, since the blank is no longer available, although Sage is still making replacement sections if you break one. Maybe Sage could be talked into making another full blank. You’ll just have to check on that. What I can do is fit you to the rod of your dreams and then custom build a rod from an available blank, Sage or otherwise. Your new rod will become your secret weapon in achieving your fishing dreams.