Fishing Report 10/11/11

Fall is here in the Southwest, the leaves are looking great, and we have received our first blast of snow in the high country.  Despite the recent snowfall many of our local waters are still fishing great!  The San Juan is flowing at a steady 500 cfs and is fishing well.  The fall is one of our favorite times of the year on the San Juan and there have been some great afternoon mayfly hatches resulting in some really productive dry fly fishing with small BWO patterns.  Nymph rigs with a mix of analids, midge pupa, and small mayfly nymphs have been a great choice on the Juan as well.  The Animas and The Piedra have both recovered from our rescent round of snowy, wet weather and are clear and at great flows for fall fishing.  On the Animas the fish have been suspended high in the water in the afternoon actively eating small mayfy emergers, small midge pupa, and we have even recently spotted Trico duns later in the morning.  Trico spinners have been a solid source of food for the Animas fish later in the day.  As always, streamers and buggers are a fun and effective way for fishing the Animas.  One of our favorite drainages, the Piedra, has been fishing well recently and a attractor dry with a attractor nymph as a dropper has been producing some nice browns and rainbows recently.  We are excited about the recent catch and release designation on the Piedra and it seems like the fish are healthy, colorful and happy this fall!