Duranglers April Monthly Report

Duranglers April Monthly Report

It seems like March came and went before we could even blink.  Now that April is here, we have kicked it into high gear getting ready for the year!  We are have been patching boats, tying flies, receiving new orders, organizing gear, and scouting maps.  We are also getting ready to kick off our Duranglers Fly Fishing Festival this Friday and Saturday!  If you are in the area, we hope to see you there.  There will be lots of clinics, deals, demos, education, fun, and gear giveaways going down!

Don’t forget that April 1st marks the first day of the Colorado and New Mexico hunting and fishing licence season.  Order yours online through the CPW website or NM State Wildlife website.

The San Juan River is still our constant producer coming into April.  Currently sitting at 357 cfs, the San Juan may see a little fluctuation in coming weeks, but don’t expect a whole lot of change.  We are seeing good blue winged olive hatches downriver of Texas Hole and depending on the day, fish can be found eating on top consistently.  Look for good midge hatches above Texas Hole all the way to the dam, as this water is fishing well with midge nymph and emerger set ups.  Another good option on the San Juan right now is to skip the quality waters and head to the lower bait water.  Now you may question why one would want to do this.  Our answer is because while there are less fish in the lower water, there can also be larger fish who are willing to eat a swung or stripped streamer.  If you are streamer junkie, this might just be the option for you.  Check out our San Juan River Map to find the best section for you.

Our local Durango rivers have seen a recent bump in the flows due to warmer weather and snowmelt.  This has caused some discoloration and muddy water and is making for difficult fishing on rivers such as the Animas, upper San Juan, Piedra, and upper Dolores.  Now might be a good time to find a tailwater or lake to toss a fly.  The pike bite is picking up daily on our local reservoirs and Vallecito is fully iced off.  You can also watch the river flows after a day or two of cooler weather; these windows are short, but can yield great streamer fishing on the Animas and upper San Juan.  …or just brave it and go float and huck streamers at the bank, this may bring you that monster.

No matter where you are headed this month, stop in the shop, shoot us an e-mail, or give us a call and we can help you with your spring fishing!

Insects and Natural Food Sources

If you have any questions on a specific river; please call the shop for more info.  970-385-4081

• · San Juan River, New Mexico – Midges, trout eggs, annelids, aquatic worms, scuds, Leeches, BWO Nymphs, baitfish in the lower waters.
• · Lower Animas – BWOs, Midges, Cased Caddis, Stonefly Nymphs, Sculpins, Crayfish.
• · Upper San Juan – Stonefly Nymphs, Mayfly Nymphs, BWOs, Caddis Larva, Midges
• · Rio Grande – Stonefly Nymphs, Midges, BWO nymphs, Caddis Pupa, Sculpins and Baitfish.
• · Piedra River & Williams Creek – Stonefly nymphs, Midges, Mayfly Nymphs, BWOs, small caddis nymphs and dries possibly.
• · Los Pinos River – (Below Dam) – Midges, Mayfly Nymphs, baitfish, BWOs.
• · Dolores River Above Reservoir, Los Pinos Above Reservoir –  Still very cold, Stonefly Nymphs, BWO nymphs, Midges.
• · Dolores River (Below Dam) –  Midges, BWO’s, small stoneflies.
• · High Country Lakes and Streams –  Mostly iced over.
• · Local lakes – Lower elevation lakes are free of ice.  Leeches and baitfish patterns for trout and pike.

 

Recommended Fly Patterns

San Juan River:

• · Midges: Size 20-30 – Black Midge Pupa, Big Mac, Desert Storm, WD-40, Juju Midge, Midge Clusters, Duranglers Adult Midge, Griffith’s Gnat, Red Hot
• · Baetis: Size 20-26 – Juju Baetis, Thread Body Baetis, RS2, Pheasant Tail, BWO Vis-A-Dun, Parachute Adams
• · Annelids:  Red Sparkle Worm, Red and Orange annelids, Chamos Leech, SJ Worm in Red, Brown, Pink, and Orange
• · Leeches and Streamers: Size 8-14 – Olive, Blood Leech, and White Simi- Seal Leeches, Bunny Leeches, Buggers

 Animas, Piedra, Upper San Juan, and SW CO rivers:

• · Stonefly Nymphs: Size 6-16 –  Prince Nymph, Pats Rubberlegs, Little Black Sloan, Sparkle Stone
• · Caddis Nymphs: Size 12-18 –  Caddistrophic Pupa, , Hares Ear, Cased Caddis, Sparkle pupa Sparkle Emerger, Barr’s Graphic Caddis
• · Mayfly Nymphs 14-20:  Pheasant Tail Nymph, Rubberlegs Hare’s Ear, Thread Baetis. Juju Baetis, RS-2,
• · BWO Dries – Barr’s Viz-a-Dun, Parachute Adams, Klinkhammer, Baetis Cripple
• · Midges: Size 18-24 – Flash Midge Pupa, Disco Midge, WD-40, Zebra Midges, Adult Midge, Griffith Gnat
• · Sculpin Patterns – Black and olive Sculpzilla, Circus Peanut, Wool Sculpin, The One Sculpin, Near Nuff Sculpin
• · Crayfish Patterns – Magnum Super Bugger, Meat Whistle, Near Nuff Crayfish, Cray Cray Nabber, Barry’s Carp Bitter
• · Streamers – Simi Seal Leeches, Black and Olive Krystal Buggers, Josh’s Ziwi, Circus Peanut, Cheech Leech, Double Gonga

 

Rio Grande:

• · Stonefly Nymphs: Size 2-14 –  20 Incher Stone, Pats Rubberlegs, Sparkle Stone, Prince Nymph.
• · Caddis Nymphs: Size 12-18 –  Caddisstrophic Pupa, Cased Caddis, Sparkle pupa and Sparkle emerger
• · Midges: Size 18-24 – Flash Midge Pupa, Disco Midge, WD-40, Deep Poison Tung
• · Mayfly Nymphs 14-20:  Red and black Copper John, Pheasant Tail Nymph, Hare’s Ear, Thread Baetis. Juju Baetis, RS-2
• · Streamers – Krystal Buggers, Sculpzilla, Circus Peanut, The One Sculpin, Meat Whistle, Cheech Leech, Josh’s Ziwi

Lower Dolores:

• · BWO Nymphs:  Pheasant Tail Nymph, Juju Baetis,  Brown Baetis Nymph
• · Midges: Size 18-24 – Flash Midge Pupa, Disco Midge, WD-40, Griffith Gnat, Biot Midge Dry, Adult Midge
• · Little Olive Stonefly, Stimulator, Sparkle Stone, Pat’s Rubberlegs, Black Winter Stone
• · Streamers: Simi Seal Leeches, Buggers, Snot Rocket

 Lakes

• · Trout – Sowbugs, Leech patterns, chronomids, small baitfish fished slow.
• · Smallmouth bass – Meat Whistle, Grim Reaper Bass Fly, Clouser Minnows
• · Pike – Magnum Baitfish, Engler’s Pike Fly, Meat Whistle, Pike Snake

High Country:

Most high country lakes and creeks are still cold or iced over  Plan for this summer by checking out our guide to fly fishing the high country.  If you must, throw a small dry dropper rig with small nymphs where there is open water.