timsfly

I am going to Pagosa springs in July towards the end of july, where can I go with a couple of other people and catch a few brookies? We are going to stay at Pagosa Springs and will drive to the Juan for 2 days and fish around Pagosa for 3 days, any help from anyone out there would be appreciated. Anybody have a good place they like to stay when out that way? I'll be fishing with 1 young angler, will be looking for somewhere with a 2 mile hike or less.

http://www.missouritrout.com/kfdMay06Rules.html http://www.missouritrout.com/kfdMay06Classes.html this will help with the rules and classes given. The hatchery will stock fish off and on all day long. There will be prizes for the kids, people all over the area have donated stuff and time to kids day, it should be a good one, the water is in great shape and there will be plenty of room for everybody. http://www.mdc.mo.gov/documents/areas/hatc...ring/poster.pdf I hope this info helps, bring the kids and enjoy next saturday.

Water is still high and murky at Roaring River, you can see maybe 3 feet in some places it is clearing quickly and should be in great shape for kids free fishing day next saturday (may 20th). The use of 3 or 4lb line is ok right now, I still think 2lb is best but you can get away with the heaiver line for the next couple of weeks. We have been catching a lot of fish this week on #10 cracklebacks, larger conehead and beadhead woolybuggers, olive, tan, black, and brown have been the best colors this weekend. Flashback pheasant tails, flashback hares ears have been good also, san juan worms, glo-balls, and bright colored thread jigs have also been working real well all week. We have been catching a few fish on caddis, beetles, and adams dry flies, but the dry fly fishing will get better as the water clears and drops in volume it should be in great shape soon. Roostertails have been working well black, skunk, olive, and brown have been the best colors. Marabou jigs in black/yellow, olive, white, and the roaring river specials have been working very good in the faster water. If you are using powerbait eggs then you need to use the white, flo. yellow or the orange, if you are fishing up close to the hatchery then you need to be using the hatchery brown power eggs. The orange, orange/white, cheese yellow and the white worms have been working very well. You need to remember in the higher water you need to make sure and use extra weight to keep your bait down where the fish can get a chance at the bait. In zone 3 powerbait paste in rainbow, or yellow nuggets or the corn has been working well, and nightcrawlers are working well also, good luck on the river.

I tied some 32s a few years ago, you could hook fish on them but I only landed a few, you could stand down there across from # 3 in that still water and hook every fish sometimes, but I landed very few, the hooks would pull out very quickly, but it was fun.

I just heard about this today, it sounds like a bad idea to me, but what do you think you can read about it here. http://www.missouritrout.com/news.html

Been catching a lot of small bass up in roaring river just about a mile below the 86 bridge, a few whites are showing up also, I caught these last week fishing for bluegill.

I go out to the san juan a couple of times a year, the easiest wading is probably the section above the texas hole, there is some wading around the cottonwood campground, but most of the time all I see there is people fishing bait, sitting in lawn chairs, we have fished that area a few time in the past, there are a few fish. Good luck. I usually go out in sept. oct, or in nov. but when you are heading that way there may be more water, so check out the water flow at the float and fish fly shop, they are good guys and they will help you alot. http://www.ifly4trout.com/ check out this web site, it always seems to have good info.

I think you must have just got into some holdover fish or just found some better fish, the average fish stocked right now is about 12" but I know that some of our fish are comming from other hatcheries right now, and we could have gotten some bigger ones from them, I fished this afternoon for about an hour and a half, and landed 12 nice fish, all about 12-13" long, but I saw a few that would push the 15" mark, I saw a brown that was probably closer to 18" long, but he would have none of what I was offering today I'm glad you and your wife had a good time, enjoy the reel, they were very few of them made.

Water is above normal and murky, not real dirty about a 4 foot visability. It is actually in great shape for all the rain we received. 2 or 3 lb line is still reccomended for the river right now, I fished a bit yesterday and caught fish on a chamois worm, a brassie, a olive woolybugger and even a few on a crackleback. I had several customers come in and tell me they were starting to catch a few on caddis and adams yesterday afternoon, I did see a few rising when I was down, but not many so I stuck to under the surface flies. Good flies in this water are, Woolybuggers, black, brown, olive and purple are good colors in high water, gold ribbed hares ears, pheasant tails, copper johns, and prince nymphs work well when the water is up, I had a few guys catching trout on scuds, sowbugs, and caddis larva yesterday. The worm and egg fisherman are really doing well in the higher water, you need a bit more weight than what we had been using but other than that it is about the same, orange, cheese yellow and white worms, and in the eggs, hatch brown, flo.yellow, orange, and pink have been the best most of the week. Jig fisherman, use a little heaiver jig in the faster water, let it get to the bottom and fish slowly, there should be some good fish moving around now that there is a lot of water, good colors would be black/yellow, olive, brown, and white. Roostertails and mepps type spinners are working good early and late, but I did see a few caught in the fly area on a mepps yesterday, the lady was fishing them very slow and was hooking up on a trout every once in awhile. In zone 3, I would use nightcrawlers, corn, and rainbow powerbait paste. good luck on the river this week. Remember Kids free fishing day is May 20th at Roaring River State Park, all kids 15 and younger fish free on this day, come on down.

sunday april 30th, the river did not flood. It is bank full and looking good, and the fishing should be very good in a day or two, put a sink tip or a intermediate line on and fish buggers and san juan worms, that is what I'm going to do for a few days, should be good fishing.

what are the water conditions at Bennett right now. Have the recent rains caused the river to rise ?

Water was near flood stage this evening, the low water bridge by the hatchery has been closed most of the day, it is high, murky and there is a lot of floating leaves and limbs, dry hollow is also at near flood stage, it is running over into the river at the mouth, but has yet to really flood, but as I left this evening, the rain was still comming and the run off seemed just as heavy as when I started fishing this evening. Did manage to catch a few on big conehead black woolybuggers. The river may flood tonight if the rain continues, but hey we need the rain so bad, as long as nobody is hurt, the high water will only clean the river and fill the lake quicker. If it changes a lot I'll post again tomorrow morning.

Just got back from fishing in the park, great dry fly fishing today, caught several on a #20 adams, and on a #16 olive bodied cracleback(grizzly hackle) I also caught a few fish on a # 22 griffiths gnat, the river is in great shape, it had come up a foot or so and is running well, there is water comming over both falls at the moment, not a lot over the eastern fall, but still some comming over, maybe the next storms will bring the river up some more.

Roaring River or Bennett springs is a good bet for an easy trout or two, you can use about any kind of bait in the 3 areas of both parks, you can always get a fish on the powerbait eggs at either park. Or if she can use a fly rod there are many fish that can be caught at Roaring River right now, the zebra midge or small sow bug are both good choices and you don't have to wade Roaring River, it is real kid friendly, Kids day is may 20th this year it is free to all childern 15 years and younger. Good luck. http://www.mdc.mo.gov/documents/areas/hatc...ring/poster.pdf

Looks like Roaring River is going to open everyday next winter. I don't know all the particulars yet, it has come down the line that this will happen, I think the Conservation Dept. will announce this(officially) in august or sept. maybe earlier. This should spread the crowds out a lot and will give the guys that have their days off during the week more options to fish in the area, and when the water is running high at Taney, well you can drive over to the park and be assured of water that is fishable. Fished yesterday at Roaring River for about 3 hrs, caught a lot of fish on a small #16 holographic green and grizzly crackle back, caught a nice brown on a #18 brassie, and a lot of small fish on top with a #22 griffiths gnat, it was near perfect 2wt weather yesterday, oh yeh and caught 2 on a #14 black beetle, I fished in the afternoon the sun was high and the fish were hitting drys well, it was a great afternoon of fishing. I may have to do it again today.

I caught a bunch of small crappie yesterday, none over 9" but lots of fun, caught them all on a small 1/80th ounce jig, chartruse marabou tail, chartruse chennile body and a red head, this works for me on table rock and on the local creeks around here for all kinds of panfish, I also use small chartruse and white clousers, I tie them small # 10's and smaller I use them when I need to get deep, and I use a chartruse woolybugger with a medium or large tungston cone to get really deep. Right now a floating line is great, later on I'll fish a sink tip or a full sink, not as much fun but you can still get crappie up untill it gets real hot, then it is time to go back to the spinning rod.

Brian, bring lots of Caddis, adams, and B.W.O's caddis #14's and #16's, adams and B.W.O's #18's and #20's are working best for me, caught 4 last night on a caddis, and 4 on a #12 black foam beetle. I had a customer come in the afternoon yesterday and he had been catching a lot of fish on a grizzly/holographic green crackleback in a #14. I have been fishing in the fly area mostly but the midge activity has been best up by the lodge, griffiths gnats have been good up there and #24 adams. This is my day off I'm going bluegill fishing today, but may fish the park tomorrow if anything changes(heavy rain or something) I'll get back to you.

Yes, there has been a lot of caddis hatching off already, about a #14 or #16 with a tan wing and an olive body are the ones I'm seeing most, but the other afternoon, I saw a few that were a dark dun, and about a size #18.

Fished the park today for about 3 hours, there were strong gusts of wind all afternoon, caught a bunch of fish on #12 black foam beetles, and chamois worms, in a natural color, and caught a nice 17" brown on a little red bead head pheasant tail (#20), the river is in great shape for no more flow than we have right now. I also caught one fish on a griffiths gnat.

I fished crane creek a few weeks ago, the water is very skinny, fish are shittish but they alway are over there, caught most of my fish on a red # 10 san juan worm, I started about a 1/2 mile below the last wire road access below the town of crane, I only caught 3 fish, 2 on the worm and one on #12 adams, had several small fish on some I'm sure were just big minnows but 2 were little trout, biggest fish I caught was about 13" long the other 2 were just about 10" long, but it was fun, used my 6' 2wt fiberglass scott fly rod, makes the casting eaiser for me, and you don't need to cast very far right now, saw a few snakes nothing to worry about they went their way and I went mine, I have fished crane for over 20 years and have never saw a true cotton mouth, lots of the ole rough water snake like we have at roaring river, but never a cotton mouth, I always carry a pistol just in case, but have never need to use it over there, good luck fishing crane, when we get some more rain the fishing should really be good, I fish some private land down below the conservation area and the fishing is still good down there, more and deeper water, and there are still several fish holding in there, when the water rises I'll be a lot of those fish will seek out other places to live upstream.

The river is still in good shape, it was cold and very windy today. Weather bug shows the forcast to be better this weekend, 40's and 50's for the highs, lows in the 30's, so it will be cold but the rain supposed to end before the weekend. Not sure about the burn ban but I think is is off, for now in the park. but to make sure call 1-800-334-6946, this is the state wide park # they should be able to help with any camping info.

Great next time you are down stop by the shop and I'll help you find the access roads to that area, the conservation dept. also stocks below the park boundries 0nce a month down to what is refered too by us locals as curry bridge,(about 2 more miles of good water) this is where lake rules start applying to the water, but there are trout there all year long. It is a good change of pace, not as many trout but you will not see many people either, just deer and turkeys mostly. This is also a decent float when the water level is a bit higher.

The natural bait area at roaring river is about 1 mile long,give or take a couple of hundred yards it starts at the old broken down dam at the end of zone 2 and goes to off davis holler about a mile or so and that is the actual end of the park boundry, the fishing is very good there sometimes, the conservation dept. stocks this area twice a week, and it usually gets very little pressure. Powerbait, night crawlers are very good, but the fly fishing is good also in this area, woolybuggers do well for me in zone 3, the fish seem to eat a lot more minnows and crawfish in this area, this area has also produced more 10lb+ browns than any other zone in the park, and a few big rainbows.

A # 12 3399 mustad or a heavy nymph hook in any brand will work. I use a bright green deer hair, spin it on a hook and trim it so it is kinda oval, we have caught grass carp on this fly a few times, and I've had them hit black beetles a few times also, they are spooky so the longer the leader you can throw the better. I use the heavy hook so the fly will set low in the water. you can add a little fly floatant if you want it to float higher. I'll bet other colors of deer hair will work also, guess it depends on what they are used to eating, in the water where you are fishing. Good luck, they will sure fight well no matter what you get them on.

I take off a lot of tips using a alchol burner, but a butane lighter will work also, just don't heat it to much.