Animas Lunch Report – 9/19/16 – Summer, where did you go?
Jimmy, casting through the last lights of summer in the Boundary Waters.
With a heavy heart, we must relinquish the summer of 2016 to the annals of history. It has been one for the books, really it has. Full on flushing flows on the San Juan River which we have not seen for about 6 or so years; an Animas river that only seems to be getting better with every day; and a massively booked summer guide calendar. It might be time to decompress a little.
With the official end of summer only two days away, it is nice to note that the Animas is fishing absolutely lights out. Browns are in pre-spawn mode and have been taking crazy pills. A well-presented nymph rig is almost a guarantee for a bite…but landing these fish is not. Trout in the Animas have been hot, so prepare yourself for insanity should you hook into something. Let them run when they want to run, and use your angles to put the heat on these fish…most likely they will still break you off or come unbuttoned.
Streamers, they are something you should probably take note of for the next few weeks; but currently fish are moving to nymphs. Although it may not be a bad idea to toss some meat in the mornings and evenings, browns are getting aggressive. Some of our favorite fall streamer these days are the Home Invader, Bennett’s Lunch Money, and Craven’s Dirty Hippy.
With flows dropping at 290 today and the best fishing midday, you should probably make an excuse to take an extended lunch soon.
