About the San Juan River
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The San Juan River, located in Northwestern New Mexico, is one of the most famous tail-water trout fisheries in the world. This river is a desert version of a fly fishing paradox: big trout on tiny flies. The San Juan is a hatch-matching dream, offering numerous hatches year round. Gushing out of Navajo Dam, the San Juan's most productive trout stretches are from the dam downriver 3 plus miles to the NM Highway 173 Bridge.
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“Best Rainbow Water in the United States” … according to Trout Unlimited’s "America’s 100 Best Trout Streams". This river is world famous for its trout fishing. The San Juan is one of the premier tailwaters in North Americal with an amazing fish density… an estimated 12,000 trout per square mile.
The San Juan averages approximately 140 feet in width. Trout thrive further downriver; however, public land access is very limited, fishing via drift boat is the best way to access the lower stretches. Rainbows consistently in 15-20 inch range are stacked throughout the upper 3 plus miles that are designated in the Quality Waters Section.
The San Juan maintains a constant year round water temperature between 42-46 degrees, making this a fabulous winter fishery. The constant temperature provides a year round insect population and growing season for the rainbow fingerlings stocked throughout the year. New Mexico Game and Fish estimates the fingerlings grow 4-6 inches per year. Flows on the San Juan are not prone to sudden fluctuations. May and June usually have the highest flows often-reaching 5,000 cfs. By late summer flows often drop to 600 cfs with winter flows as low as 250 cfs.
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Trout are everywhere on this river and they don't spook easily perhaps so use to the many anglers that fish here each year. The heaviest populations are often found in the long deep runs below fast riffles found in Texas Hole. The deep holes in the Upper and Lower Flats, the many channels, sloughs and large eddies all hold healthy populations of rainbows. The trick is getting them to take your fly. That's where the expeirenced guides of Aztec Anglers come in. |
 San Juan Fishing Report  Click Here
Insect Hatch Chart Click Here
San Juan River Flows Click Here
San Juan River Weather Click Here
San Juan River Facts Click Here
Additional River Information Click Here
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 The Ancient Ones
The San Juan River Valley is rich in North American civilization history. This is the land of the Navajo. You’ll be fishing among the spirits and the petroglyphs of the “ancient ones”. The Anasazi Indians roamed this area many centuries ago. The Anasazi, who inhabited this area from about 200 to 1300 AD, descended from a prehistoric group of nomadic hunter-gatherers, dubbed the “Clovis” people, who hunted many animals such as mammoth, bear, rabbit and fish, possibly the first to migrate to the continent. So, when your arm needs a rest from hauling in the monster trout of the San Juan our guides will be happy to discuss the history of this amazing region.
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