San Juan River NM- Not Good!

[blackfoots 0]

Just returned from a fishing trip on the San Juan River. Here is the bottom line, very remote to get there from any major city 400 miles + through the Reservation to get there, the only way to fish it is to stay in the State Park w/ your RV. The local village is called Navajo Dam and is an absolute dump/a major Sanford and Son deal. There are no properties to stay in,those few should be condemned, the guide shops are run down crappy,The Lodges are run down and misrepresented on their web sites . I have been catching fish all over the world and this is the worse I have been.You have to be hard up to fish the San Juan. The other thing that pissed me off is that "fishermen" are snagging fish- I caught 6 rainbows and everyone had body snag wounds,not good. This is not a good Karma place!

Sorry to vent on here but this place is not what shows on YouTube and I have not read anything that talks about or shows how run down and lousy the place is and I just wanted to pass on what I saw and experienced!

[redietz 0]

I take it you're trying to keep people away from an already overcrowded (and much loved) stream.

[niveker 0]

 

Whooosh!

Went right over my head until I read @redietz comment.  Fished it once 30 years or so ago, my memory was completely different, LOL. 

Where my coffee?

[SilverCreek 0]

I founded it crowded but with great fishing. However, that was years ago. Sorry it didn't work out for you.

[flytire 0]

ive fished it many times years ago and had great success

stayed at abes motel. its not the ritz carlton but wasnt expecting it to be

one bad opinion doesnt sway me much

[blackfoots 0]

I thought I was doing a service by providing a real time take on the reality of fishing the San Juan River. I was there 3 days ago and would hate to have more guys drive the 400 miles to fish and have a bad experience. You guys sound like most of us who have a fond memory of many years gone by - like me! FYI Abe's is closed and looks like it needs to remain that way- looks like a crack house!

[SilverCreek 0]

I appreciate your post. Sorry the SJ didn't work out of you.

I do have some questions.

Was this your first time going to the San Juan?

Was it crowded?

What areas did you fish? (Texas Hole, Kiddie Pool, Cable Hole, Back Sloughs)

Do you recall what the CFS (cubic feet/sec) flow that was coming out of the dam?

Was the water clear or discolored?

Did you buy and try any of the patterns sold at any of the fly shops?

 

[blackfoots 0]

2 hours ago, SilverCreek said:

I appreciate your post. Sorry the SJ didn't work out of you.

I do have some questions.

Was this your first time going to the San Juan?

Was it crowded?

What areas did you fish? (Texas Hole, Kiddie Pool, Cable Hole, Back Sloughs)

Do you recall what the CFS (cubic feet/sec) flow that was coming out of the dam?

Was the water clear or discolored?

Did you buy and try any of the patterns sold at any of the fly shops?

 

 

[blackfoots 0]

It was my 1st and last visit to SJ. I live in Montana for part of the year and mainly fish there,BC and Alberta.

It was not very crowded and expected more. Was able to fish out of sight of others most of the time.

Fished I believe Back Sloughs and I think Cable Hole and a private stretch( don't know the local name).

CFS - ? Clarity was about 12-18" w/ some chalk color.

The 2 fly shops were dumps: used my ties all 20-22 midges and did well with a 18 & 20 Griffith Gnat- all w/Wulff Hairwings as an indicator.

[Mark Knapp 0]

It sounds like the San Juan river area is a very challenging place to live and make a living. Probably the last thing on anyone's mind is providing a rewarding fishing experience to someone from out of town.

It sounds like the place has a poor economy in good times, much less after covid shutdowns.

I'm sure people here appreciate your information but I'm wondering why you said it with such acrimony. Sounds like something else is going on.

[SilverCreek 0]

It sounds like the San Juan has suffered from what many tourist areas have experienced with Covid shutting down their economy for several years. It's a shame because I really enjoyed going there to fish.

When I was there in the 1980's the places were by no means "run down." It's a fishing area and the rooms at Rizzuto's and Abes were spartan but clean and the menu at the Sportsman Bar and Grill was good. Abe's and Rizzuto's both had a good supply of flies.

Looking at the current map of the where Abe's and Rizzuto's used to be, the area is really built up. Abe's and Rizzuto's were the only 2 businesses there at that time.

 

[Sandan 0]

Lasttime I was there, last year we stayed a t fisheads, pretty rotten. But the fidhing was excellent from the dam all the way down to the Kiddie pool. Baetis Bend and Lunker alley produced some big fish as always.  There are other places to stay not at fishheads, now that unfortunately Abe's is permanently closed.  I think the the discoloration from the lake turning over hasn't ended yet.  

[cencalfly 0]

7 posts, I'll pass on the critique.  What do you want from life: Rubber Biscuits?  Feels unsatisfied that it wasn't spoon fed fly mag tripe.

 

 

[Patriot 0]

I live in southern NM and fish the SJ every chance I can.  I am planning a trip in a few weeks ... that is, if I can find a place to stay.

My 'lodging' was always Abe's.  As noted above, Abe's has closed and I was told it was due to COVID.  On the first of June my cousin and I fished the Rio Grand just out of Creed, CO and I was planning to continue my fishing journey on the SJ.  Finding accommodations was a real challenge.  The owner of the lodge I wanted to stay at never picked up his calls nor did he return calls left on his cell service. I have never had this issue when I fished the SJ, but times have certainly changed.  I just headed home and hoped for a better 'next time'. 

Abe's always worked out perfectly for me.  Jay Walden always either picked up the phone when I called or returned left messages. So long as my room was clean, I'm was good to go.  I go there to fish. I try not to let anything else deter from that.

I have recently been told that some 'lodges' in the area are taking advantage of Abe's closing by 'adjusting' their fees.  Whether this is true or not, I have no idea.  From my perspective, lodging on the SJ is definitely a problem, at least it is from my recent experience.  I may have to drive up there to locate a place to stay.  Hopefully, I can get this done on the phone and save myself a trip.

I saw a listing for Abe's a while back - $4M.  Even Elon would balk at that.  If fishing pressure is low that will change more than just Abe's.  Only time will tell how all of this is going to pan out.  The fish are probably enjoying the lacking of stream pressure.

As far a the community of Navajo Dam is concerned, there truly is nothing there but a few 'lodges' and a few fly shops and hundreds of guides willing to take you on the river.   Abe's had a gas station.  There may be another up at the restaurant on the hill, but I'm not certain of that.  If fishing pressure is down or waning, then no one is making a living.  Tough way to live.

And, just to level the playing field a bit, my wife would completely agree with Mr. blackfoots.  I still love her though.  Ha!

I have a vivid recollection of a SJ trout that ripped out all of my line and backing and broke as I was trying to bring to the net.  I never saw him, but I will never forget him. I would like to tie into him once more.  

If I find lodging I will report back.

Thanks!