San Juan Finale

I'm really going to miss fishing the San Juan River. That has been one of the most rewarding and adventurous things that I've done while in New Mexico.

Last Saturday, five co-workers and I drove up for a proper finale event. We left at 4:15 am on Saturday morning in one of the hardest rains that I've ever seen. I didn't think it rained like that in Albuquerque, but we could hardly see to drive. The weather cleared up as we headed north, but we were a little concerned about the weather for the day.

By the time we reached the river, three hours later, it was cloudy and dry. The river was really low, and we had trouble finding fish. We fished all day in on-off showers before I finally figured out the program. I found a nice channel with trout all over in it, and caught three nice rainbows before calling it a day.

That night, we all had pitched in for a lodge on the river. We stayed at a place called the Stone House, which wasn't too bad (adobe and rock walls). Dinner was an event. We ate at the only place in Navajo Dam, NM - The Sportsman. This place had character, from the clientele to the waitress to the decorations to the music. They had some of the weirdest Christmas music playing that I've ever heard (and it was blaring). Oil truck drivers were lined up at the bar. The waitress could have passed as an oil truck driver. And I had a chicken fried steak where the gravy could have passed as oil.

The next morning was cold and clear. I went back to my special spot and had an all-time day on the river. I caught seven trout in about three hours, and some of them had really good size. The jewel of the trip was a beatiful brown trout that I caught while stripping a big black leach through that channel. It was my first brown in a river, and was a special send off for me. We headed home a little after noon - what a trip.