San Juan and the Fish Pimp

I think we've had this thing four years in a row, and this year for me was
interesting, because I may have caught fewer fish than anyone there. That's
how fishing goes though and I can't complain about the numbers of fish that
I've caught in that river over the years.

The water was as murky and certainly as low as I've ever seen it. There are
still fish all over the river and lots in the the shallow water, but when
it's super mucky and you can't sight fish, the fly fishers concentrate in
areas that they've caught fish before and that leads to a little more
crowding than usual. And this river just keeps getting more and more
popular. One year I'll have everyone here during the higher flow/clear
water/summer hatches conditions and you can really see the river at it's
best. And you might also spot the odd Texan with neoprene waders and no
shirt. Trust me, it's not a pretty sight.

If anyone wants a tour of the river and the fishing tactics, just call any
of the folks that were at this clave. Without exception they've all paid
their dues and gained confidence in the weird tactics employed on the Juan.
Danl and RW in particular just slayed them. Willi too of course. And Chas
the salmon guy got the hang of the subtle takes and really lit them up -
especially after he gave up the Dink Float in favor of my new favorite - the
Fish Pimp. Chas was the only one without experience on this river although
he's fished about 60% of the days since he retired. He really added a lot
of life to our clave because he's so enthusiastic. Snoop has been pretty
consistently successful on the Juan since he caught the first fish at the
first clave. El Paso Bob and his lovely bride were there and I think they
had a good time and they caught a bunch of fish. I survived the cold days
thanks to that great jerky. And the alcoholic preserves were also great.

Bryan hosted the best event we've ever had - a Saturday night barbeque.
Thanks Bryan.

We tied flies pretty actively every evening. Danl was tying the bug that
everyone was after - a tiny green midge pupa with a black head. He probably
hooked 10 fish a day or more on that pattern.

RW and Chas and I spent Sunday on the Animas in Durango. We fished the
primo section behind the Wal Mart - at one point some dude on the wrong side
of the river was shouting down at RW and it took a while to figure out that
he was asking where the Wal Mart was. It's a beautiful river and we caught
some nice fish on nymphs. The Animas is a river on the upswing in my
opinion and I like fishing there as much as the San Juan. There are huge
fish and fewer people (for now).

Let's see, what else...

Chas caught a fish in the Texas Hole with a stimulator.

Danl caught a 22" brown.

Did RW mention that he caught more fish than I did?

I was the only one who caught a sucker (Animas).

Danl brought me a bottle of Patron and we emptied it.

Chas and RW paid for my room.

I came home with way more beer than I arrived with.

My non ROFF friends showed up and also had fun. Bevin, Chuck, Scott, and
especially Arnie provided some entertainment.

We have tons of pictures but they are all digital as far as I know, so cut
us some artistic slack :-)

Chas still has one of my flyboxes but I can probably get by with my other
boxes :-)

Thanks a lot everyone, I had a great time.

bruce h