Streamflows:

Alamosa River Whitman Fork near Jasper
La Jara Creek at Gallegos Ranch
Los Pinos at Ortiz
Conejos at Platoro Reservoir
Conejos at Mogote
Rio Grande at Wagon Wheel Gap
Rio Grande at Del Norte

Fishing Reports

May 7, 2008 Short line to be added with May 6.  We were posting the Hamilton Property this afternoon just below the Pinnacles and it was running pretty hard  but we had snuck the rods in so we made a few casts. Hour and a half  later we had landed about 15 browns  "14 to "19" and were pretty amazed. The worm and Rainbow Warrior were the  ticket. Water was off color but in the right water the fish were stacked up and gorging. Water flow out of Platoro 168cfs. Headed to the Arkansa tomorrow to throw some dries. Weather looks just bad enough for BWO's!

May 6, 2008 Had a chance to fish with Troy Smith, one of our younger guides yesterday and we were both excited to fish the Tailwater section of the river below the dam for the first time this year. Always some aprehension as to how the big browns wintered, but after a few hours is was obvious that all is well.  The browns look good and some very fat already, water level was perfect at 138 cfs and not a car or person in site! A big nervous coyote watched us for a while with seeming envy while he watched Troy land several nice browns.  Midge patterns and worm clusters were the ticket. Alot of fish were in soft water and back eddies. Troy and I both reflected on our best days of in the meadow and both agreed that rising water and even high water were great times. Expect plenty of both in the weeks to come so if you are looking at the lower river thinking it is to high just realize that at this time the flows are perfect for fishing up high. We did a guide trip on saturday and both clients got into some large fish both browns and rainbows on the uper river. Pleae read the April 23 report for better advice on the lower river. With the lower river at 800 cfs we will be floating and throwing big streamers and doing some dredging but even at that level it should fish good. Once it gets over 1000 it will get tough for a while.

***We had two fisherman who had "reserved " a spot on our private water memberships and not actually follow thru so we still have 2 spots available. Please call for info. Price is $800 per year.

April 28, 2008 Water levels have come down a bit and are around 450CFS which is a good flow and fishing has stayed good on the lower river. Fishing up high at this point is still not very good. (Above RMAC). Atleast the reports I am getting have all been ugly. The lower river however is still fishing really well. Please read below for a more detailed description of flies and methods.

April 23, 2008 Water is creeping up but I have had the opportunity to fish a little almost every day this last week and it has been fair to very good. Water temps in the afternoon to about 48 degrees have been plenty good enough to get some fish active. Water level at Mogote is about 450cfs which is still a great fishing level. With the upcoming weather staying nice and around  60 degrees for daytime temps spring fishing weather will not get better and will keep the runoff from continuing to escalate to quickly. Expect flows to be stable for a while longer if the releases stay low from Platoro remain low. Of course the fish are spending a chunk of their day in some softish water I found almost all of my fish yesterday in some pretty heavy deep water. A dry dropper is a great way to fish the soft water now and you will have to switch to some heavy setups with big stoneflies and trailing a SJ Worm for the deeper pockets and runds. Best flies at this time are a tungsten Golden Stone, #6 Pat's Rubber Leg, SJ Tungsten Worm, and big dark streamers.  Expect the dirtier the water the better the worm and streamer  will fish. Use a little red or pink in the worms and the ones with a tungsten bead we have here make fishing a dropper worm really simple.  This is also a time when you can expect to see fish chase some streamers. The big fish love the off color water and they will come out from the cutbank and from underneath their rock to feed. The fish I have been catching have all been on the nice to "big" side.  Dont bring your San Juan tippet here I have been using 3x almost exclusively.  #4 to #8 Stoneflies. Big streamers (dark). Also remember a couple of things. Sheep Creek ( in the fly water) pumps alot of dirty water into the river so fish above it if you dont like the color. Also the Conejos is a tailwater and the further up the river you fish the clearer the water you will find.  The other thing I have learned the last several years here is that the off color water here can fish as good or better then clear water especially for most amateur fisherman.  Now if it is high and raging and muddy off course not but right now it is a brownish  green with plenty of visiblity. If you have not fished the river much - Use a guide! So many different experiences being had here this spring, plenty of complaining and plenty of fisherman saying wow! The wow's are from guide trips or very experienced fisherman.  Here is somthing that will make it easier for you to come. We will give away the lodging at half price for all fisherman coming with guide trips thru May.  ***Fished an hour in the evening after I wrote the report and the streamer was the ticket. Big  Black and Heavy! Also I am shocked that none of you are fishing. The river is empty, the guides are tying flies, fishing, fixing trucks, chasing girls and whatever else guides do  with time on their hands.  If you are within a quick shot of the river get in the car with  a buddy and come and have lodging, lunch, and a guide for $175 a day! 

April 17, 2008 Early morning cold and snow has given way to a gorgeous day close to 50 degrees. Water flows remain in the perfect range and the water color is tea colored. There are a few sporadic rising fish and with the warmer weather headed our way expect to see some adult Skwala stoneflies around in heavier numbers. Depending on the weather nymphing will continue to be the m ost productive methed. Heavier rods and tippets are a great choice right now. Dry dropper rigs are a great choice in the softer water and if the weather is bad enough big dark streamers have been great. Dont miss this window of good fishing before it gets bigger. Also for those of you wanting to make fishing plans during April, May and early June when water will be very large everywhere remember this. This year we will be guiding for Splake and Cutthroat trout on La Jara Reservoir which is a spectacular setting and large fish. Also we will be doing guide trips for Pike and large Carp on Sanchez Res. The other thing people forget is that the Conejos is a tailwater and so there is always clear water up high. If the lower river gets to big they will drop flows to make it safer downstream and make for some incredible fishing in May and June.

Superfly Update: Very brief update on the Fly. Great weekend, perfect flows, and over 25 fish over 20" landed. Josh Buchanan and Eric Pauly scored 75 points on the lower river and beat the Harps by a point. There were a couple of teams that decided that the rules did not apply to them and so the final standings will be ammended and they will not be allowed entry back in the event. As many pro teams as showed up the amateurs did great and had 4 of the top 10 spots! Good work. All in all a great time and fun parties highlighted by Christof Brownel playing with crazy style and passion. He had the pretty hopped up the whole night. Also Gary Oldham had his partner not make it so his wife filled in for him and caught her first fish ever on a fly rod on the first day and qualified for sunday with a first timer. Hats off to them

April 19, 2008 Still some great water flows on the river and some bigger fish landed. Mostly nymphing.

April 10, 2008 Well the Superfly starts in a few hours and good luck to all. We still have a couple of spots open due to some last minute cancellations. Please call the shop early or late to get in. The water board has agreed to leave the flows perfect for us for the weekend so we look forward to a great weekend of parties and fishing. Bad time to come this weekend for public fishing. All start days are posted below for participants.

***For fishing info please scan below for fishing reports

Superfly Update and Info:

Looking forward to having all of you here soon. Of course we are cheering the current conditions on but life is in a constant state of change so I would expect the river to elevate some by next week. Fishing has been good here for mostly nice to very large fish this past 10 days. Mostly nymphing some streamer fishing and we have recently seen sporadic rising later in the day. The Swala's that we have seen in the spring in past years could pop up soon and that could make the weekend interesting. The following are important times, info, and tips for the coming event.

April 10 9:00 - 12:00 Frank Smethurst will be giving an onstream presentation on "Tournament Fishing". He claims he will hold nothing back and have a handout for you as well as breakdown the river piece by piece and show you flies, techniques, and strategies that have made him one of the most successfull tournament fisherman alive. Cost is $30. Please call us to reserve a spot.

April 11 9:00 - 4:30 First wave. Checkin 7:30 to 8:00. Scoresheets to shop by 5:30. Most fisherman will be required to be "escorted" to their beat to prevent confusion. Top 13 or 14 teams will qualify. Draw beat. Pick up a tee shirt (Free), Pick up Simms fishing shirt (free), buy Superfly hats 1 = $15, 2 for $20. Pick up tape measure (free) Pick up scoresheet.

April 12 9:00 - 4:30 Second Wave. Same checkin and details as above

April 12 4:30 to 9:30 Cocktails, food, movies, prizes, and live music at Conejos River Anglers.

April 13 9:00 to 4:30 Championship Round. Check in 7:30 to 8:00. Deliver scoresheets to Conejos Ranch by 5:30. Cocktails, Food, and awards at Conejos Ranch starting at 4:45.

Michael White from Simms will be here for all three days giving away swag and answering any question you may have. He is a very talented fisherman and a very knowledgable guy. Take advantage of him being here.

Some thoughts for you as you plan.

1. There is snow on the ground on the upper river and if you have any health conditions that would make it tough walking thru some snow we need to know now so that we can pre draw a beat for you that will be less physically challenging.

2. It can be windy in the spring here so bring a 6 or 7 weight if you have one. This will make a huge difference in your enjoyment. If you need one call us.

3. A wading stick would be a great choice even for the younger guys.

4. Integrity is one thing we will insist on. Anyone that is fishing two at a time or not mashing barbs or fishing outside their beat will be disqualified immediately. No questions no admittance to future Superfly's etc. This event is a logistical mindbender and alot of work so your honesty and integrity will help make it special. There will be "marshals" out every day watching groups fish and we will do our best to help you and we will also be checking teams.

5. Every team is required to have a digital camera to document the biggest fish of each participant.

6. Please do not argue with landowners. We have done our best to contact every landowner on the river but there may be someone with a small stretch that we did not know about and if that landowner confronts you just find out where there boundary is and move.

7. Be prepared with your flies and your gear. It is the San Juan Mountains so the weather could do anything. The flows could change. The fish might want stonefly nymphs one day streamer the next eggs the next adult Swala's the next.

8. We have stocked the shop with alot of different (20) stonefly nymph patterns so just know that as you plan as well as two dozen different streamer patterns.

9. I have two professional guides that already have spots reserved that have had partners cancel on them and need an amateur partner. If you are interested please call us.

10. The party on saturday is outside and will get cool after sunset. Wear warmer clothes. We will have bonfires and cocktails but it may still be cool.

11. For your start day please see the list below.

If you are interested in signing up for the Frank Smethurst Clinic please call us to reserve a spot.

Thank You
Jon R. Harp

April 1, 2008 With the Colorado Rockies first win safely under their NLCS belt I can turn my head back to coaching fly fishing! Here is my thought for all of you - Buy a 6 weight rod! I used to not think that a real trout fisherman would use such a cumbersome heavy tool but after guiding and fishing for over a year alot with the new tool I must say that it is so much better for so many situations. For example- Every day for the next two months of big water! Your life will be made so much better and you will look like you know what you are doing more often. Wind, weight, streamers, mending, distance, etc. The new rods still have great tips to keep tippets safe and a bend in your rod but you will never get a better tip from me. And by the way the new Sage Z-Axis is as close to perfect as I have ever fished. I wanted so badly to fall in love with my new Scott S4 6 in Chile and I brought the Sage along for my guests but the Sage was so good I fished it every day I could! Good Luck! Please read reports below for fishing and Superfly updates.

OK I cant help myself, one more thought! All the talk and thought of doomsday flooding and high water think of this. The Conejos is a tailwater! If the lower river is dangerous they are not going release alot of water to make it more so. I think there is going to be some great fishing up high on the river in the meadow. We will either be fishing Pike or Carp at Sanchez Reservoir, Splake and Trout in La Jara Reservoir or fishing for big browns below the dam. So cheer up, lots of fishing before the lower river melows out in late June!

*For those interested in a taste of what our trip to Chilean Patagonia was like here is a link to just one set of photos for one guest for one week- Kasey Ratliff. I loved some of his shots and he did a great job on the fish. I had the opportunity to fish with he and his dad a few days and we had a great time. The last week we were there we saw an incredible number of large fish. I mean fishing by the pound!!! Our first few days at the lodge was warm windy and fish were spooky so it was not all gravy fishing but overall very special. I have some shots of the week that I will post later of some brown trout that are obsenely fat from a freestone river. http://www.flickr.com/gp/23095120@N06/k1FMb4

Here are the start days for the Superfly:

2008 Conejos Superfly Team List

April 11-13

Team # Name Qualifying Day

1. Bill Decamp / Shawn Hart S
2. Kyle Beasley / Lee Wellford S
3. Steve Carrol F
4. Jeff Banagas / Wayne Suggs F
5. Dough Unruh / Alan Buckman F
6. Eric Pauly / Josh Buchanan F
7. Pat Blakenship / David Blankenship F
8. Pins and Fins S
9. Micheal Carrol / Ben Casarez S
10. Gary Oldham / Scott Gaskill S
11. Bob Silver / Jeff Arterburn F
12. Bill Long / Dave Ballantin Team Lexus S
13. Rob Childerston / Brain English F
14. Doug Pinto / Rich Edgington S
15. Dustin Dean / Casey Dupuy S
16. August Delarrue / Jeff Porter S
17. Dave Spradlin / Mark McVay S
18. Dave Katalinas / Chris Webb S
19. Paul Downy / Jesse Downey F
20. Bo Herrerra / Leonard Sanchez F
21. Jerome Gallegos/ Leo Sanchez F
22. Sam Lambie / Jason Laut S
23. Jon Harp / Kari Harp F
24. Frank Smethurst / Dave Barkley S
25. Micheal White / Tyler Johnston S
26. Ed Adams F
27. Rita Adams F
28. Randy Keys Calen Keys S
29. Troy Smith / Marcos F
30. Kim Ratliff / Kasey Ratliff F
31. Devan Ence / Brain Turner S
32. Nick Williams / Ton Loftus S
33. Bob Childerston/ Molly Pass F
34. Rod Ruybalid / Ernie Ruybalid F
35. Jeremy Coe F
36. Reid Darnell S
37. Ed L’ heurex / JP Martinez F
38. Rob Scott / Richard Burrows F
39. Harper Simons / Rodney Simons F
40. Isaac Dean / Louie Gonzalez S
41. Mike Marcos / Mat Vander Nuet S
42. Steve Kirk F
43. Joe Kerefky F
44. Tim Theison F
45. Dean Spraracco S
46. Bob Velasco / Gary Knapp S
47. Mo Kirwan / Bill Bush S
48. Mo Kirwan Sr. / Henery Kirwan S
49. Ross Long 50. Colin Taylor / Ryan Herbert S
50. Lynn Willard

If you have any questions or need help with any changes call us. There are also several more teams entered that are not on the list. If you are Steven Kirk we do not have an entry for you and we need a call immediately if you want in.

March 31, 2008 Water clarity is off right now. Despite that the fish are eating. Daytime temps are in the 50's and 60's most days. I had a guy bang on the door yesterday for more big streamers. He was taking some of his last pants from a big fish that had broken him off on 3X tippet and he was going back looking for more. Dont expect to see gin clear water this spring unless we get a real cool streak. To much lower elevation snow slowly melting to let it get to clear. Please read below for more detail.

March 26, 2008 Well I am home from two and a half weeks of fishing in Southern Chile and it feels great to be home. More on that another time but it was many things. Sometimes fantastic sometimes dissappointing but all together unforgetable. I had my best day of fishing of my life and that day on the Rio Simpson will either make me find another hobby or continue to search for fish like that. I just took a short walk on the Conejos and the water clarity is good, not gin. Water flows are perfect for this time of year. Water temps are very low and I would imagine making the feeding window very short. The first rumors of landed fish are history and so I know that someone is catching fish. Deep nymphing techniques will be the norm for a while to come. If we get some normal weather expect a nice 3 to 4 week window of fishing before runoff. The snow pack since March 3 has come down about 20% with the mild dry weather so with a little luck the monster runoff everyone has been talking about will not be as severe, even now it is to early to really know what to expect. If I had a chance to fish this afternoon my first flies I would tie on in order would be a #8 Pat's Rubber Leg (brown), #16 Chironocone, #16 Pheasant tail, #18 Tungsten Zebra midge. Fishing two at a time. At this time there a couple of memberships still available for tow large ranches on the Conejos. We will only have 6 to 8 members so this is a very limited club. Please contact me for details. Call Jon at 719 376 5660. From now on the fishing reports will come much more regular and I will look forward to seeing each of you again this season. When I get caught up I plan on doing a little blog on the trip to Patagonia for those curious.

***Conejos Superfly Update - Yesterday we got access to another 5 miles of private water which will open up the tournament to another 8 teams. Already three of those are gone this morning but if you are interested please contact us immediately.

February 26, 2008 The Superfly is now full and then some. The snowpack after a few weeks of dryer weather has dropped about 17% and we hope to see that trend continue. There is now a section of exposed water on the Conejos that will begin to grow rapidly over the next couple of weeks. Expect to be catching fish toward the end of March. The shop will begin regular hours April 1 as well as the cabins will be open so expect a real nice window of fishing from late March well into April. For those that are interested in being a part of an annual membership to access 2 large ranches on the Conejos we have 4 memperships available. The annual cost is $800 which allows you unlimited access to the ranches with no rod fees for you or your guests. We will only have 8 members this year so it is a very small group. Call us for details.

February 5, 2008 We have now had what feels like a months worth of hard and heavy snow. There are drifts of snow close to us that are 12' high. There is atleast twice that further into the mountains. We are now faced with a tough decision for the Superfly. For those entered expect an email from me in the next 10 days. We are talking to the water board and studying historical data from similar years but we will likely move the event up one or two weeks and will not be able to take more than about 40 teams. We were so hoping to let more of you in but these incredible storms this early are putting a damper on that possibility. I know that moving this will mess up alot of plans but I do not want to be here trying to hold this event giving out life jackets.

January 31, 2008 There are 35 teams now registered for the Superfly. Please if you are wanting in move quickly. Alot of snow and very cold temps right now. Snowpack off the charts. Fished Pueblo with a couple of friends last weekend and truly enjoyed the town the lodging and food. Unfortunately the bait dunkers have made a potentially great place to fish a graveyard.

January 9, 2008 Happy New Year to all you trout bums! We are at 140% snowpack and looks like the trout get another year of great water. The past several weeks I have been bombed with emails and calls about the 2008 Superfly. I was not wanting to get started on that quite yet but with all the interest here are the details. If you would like to download an entry click on Superfly on the home page and download the printable entry on that page. The amount shown on that form is incorrect. Cost per entrant is $175. Only completed and paid entries will be accepted. If you dont have a partner no problem, plenty of time to deal with that. We have 2 spots left for Chile March 8 - 15.

Well, it could wait no longer. The 3rd. Annual Conejos Superfly is on the way. April 25 thru 27. Similar format to last year except we are giving the weekend
a purpose. I have been speaking with TU and other agencies about the need for some habitat work to be done on the Conejos. Well the Conejos Habitat Project was birthed and we at Conejos River Anglers will be spending alot of our time and focus on making the Conejos a better place for a trout to live.
A large part of your entry fee will go directly to the project. TU will also be contributing a large chunk of money towards the project. Basically what we will do each year is pick a one to two mile stretch of the Conejos (that is public) that needs additional homes for trout and improve that section. Each year you will be able to come and fish the "new" section and see it come to life. I know that this will sound expensive to many of you but it is the only way for us to get some real traction and dive into a project with some money to get it done. I have looked at the prices of similar events and we are a fraction of almost any other event out there. Please know that you are being involved in something special and unique the likes of which the Conejos has never seen. We would like to see about $40,000 raised this year thru the Superfly, donations, USFS, and TU.

A couple of other changes to level the playing field. No double professional teams allowed. Additionally any team with an industry professional or guide will not draw from the top 3 beats. We want to make this as fair as possible. Right now we are over 140% of average snowpack so it looks like the trout will have another great year to swim but it could impact the weekend depending on weather and releases. Do not register for this event if you are assuming all will be perfect. We schedule this event with alot of variables in mind and hope to get it right but there are no guarantees and it could be tough fishing. With the high snowpack we are only going to accept 40 teams. In April we will know if we are able to accept 20 additional teams. Only teams with paid completed entries will be put on the list. If you have questions you are welcome to call me if not fill out the attached entry and mail it. I think it is going to fill very very fast.

With your entry you will get the following. Access to some of the best and unfished ranches and properties of the Conejos. A choice of custom logod Simms shirts, Two catered parties, Movie night with beverages and live music, prizes from numerous manufacturers including custom Sage and Scott rods, swag, and the satisfaction that you donated $60 to $80 towards the Conejos Habitat Project. You will also have the choice of "off day" excursions including Pike, Carp, and Trout fishing.

Thank You, Jon Harp

Conejos River Anglers 34591 HWY 17 Mogote, CO 81120 719-376-5660 info@conejosriveranglers.com

December 6, 2007 Hello to all of you out there in this ever so shrinking world! The forecast here on the Conejos has snowflake icons for days and days and so the future of the fish brightens with each additional icon. About 20 percent of the river is frozen over now and I have not felt inclined to see if I could fool anymore fish this year. Sometimes you just know when you have caught your last fish of the year on a river. It was almost audible this year and I must say that I had a smile when I left the river. It was so good to us this year and I can only hope the trout have a good winter. While they are living in their semi frozen world I will be doing what I can to make sure that their future is brighter. So many issues need to be addressed here. I am not going to try and tackle all of them but chip away at the most obvious and the ones we stand to make the most traction. I will be contacting each of you to let you know how you can be involved. For starters wer are looking at the water around Conejos C.G. for a large habitat improvent project. The work will be done to look as naturally as possible but wil be designed to provide more wintering lies and create habitat that will offer more "homes" for trout of all sizes.

Spent a couple of days on the San Juan last week with Rod Ruybalid (the local CDOW officer here) and had a great albeit wet and cold time. I thought I had packed plenty of bugs that would be small enough but the first day the midges below the dam were about a size #28!!!! And the fish were not looking for my #24 offerings. Eventually I dug deep enough and found some miniscule midges and we were off to the races. The big fish straightened the hook or pulled the hook out. Rain the whole next day and we had a beautiful baetis hatch for a couple hours in the early afternoon. Of course we were ready to go back before the tent dried out. We thought the wives may not be up to 2 a week trips so expect to see us there in another week or so. Also the water below Pueblo Reservoir, the Arkansa is fishing really good right now and if you get a chance talk to the guys at Arkanglers in Pueblo and go fish it.

New Simms Boots remaining: Freestone Felt w/ studs 7,8,12,13. $60 Freestone Boots w/ felt size 7,8,9,10 $45, Guide Model Aquastealth w/studs size 8 Retail $160 on sale for $60! Used Simms Freestone boots $25, One pair of rental waders left. Simms L2 in XL $100. New L2 Goretex waders XL and MK Retail $250 on sale for $170.

November 14, 2007 Another outrageous week of weather on the way and expect to see the fish continue to take advantage of some bonus feed time. We are experiencing weather that we would normally see in late September and if I could find a way to skip work in every way right now I would because the big fish of the river have been forced from their snags and cutbanks and are holding in the deep pools. Some of the best guide trips I have had all year have been in the last couple weeks. Not a great time for beginners but alot of fun to sightcast to large fish. Please read the October 29th post for an update on future plans for the river here. We still have a few sizes left on waders and good selection for boots. Most rods will be discounted a few more weeks.

November 3, 2007 Seems like the mild weather just keeps coming our way and the fish continue to gorge. After watching casts all summer (some of them not so good!) I have been making some myself. Kari and I hiked the notch trail to Elk Creek and then hiked well into Second Meadows and the fish were as spooky as ever. 13' leader to 6x flouro and long casts brought about a dozen fish to hand in about 2 hours but I spooked alot of fish. Did not see the really big fish out but saw alot of fish in the 14 to 18" range. Back in the pocket water below the meadow there were alot of Rainbows some of them larger fish. I have no idea where these fish came from. Fished the Conejos on the 31st and it was realy good landed about 30 fish while spending some time with a friend getting him going. Amazingly Pat's Rubber Leg caught most of the fish. Water temps 37 to 43 degrees and I will say without question that it was much better at 37 degrees then when it had warmed up. Very strange. Fish were not on streamers but egg patterns, Barrs emerger's, and Pats Rubber Leg. Soft water almost every fish. If I had the time I know the La Jara is on right now as well as some sections of the Los Pinos. Please take a moment to read the info below.

October 29, 2007 I wanted to take a minute to share some thoughts and vision I have had for the Conejos and also pass along some more information about what is happening here.
First of all I want to thank all of you for a great year. The Superfly was alot of fun and a great time but the whole time I felt like it needed to be more than just about fun. This next
years event I would like to see morph into a more purposeful time and I will share some of my vision later. Of course we will do whatever we can to continue to throw some great parties
and make the fishing the best we can.

First of all a brief fishing report. The flows at the dam have been kept higher than normal and the fish have just been stacked in the flats. So many good guide trips and big fish it has been alot of fun. Regardless
of the weather the fish have been gorging themselves. Tan San Juan Worm, #18 Baetis patterns, and Midge nymphs have been the most effective. Just before dark a couple of days ago the fish went crazy for the worm and
it was a special time. Most fish 14" to 20". I fished downriver from there in the canyon a few days ago and caught some gorgeous fat fish. Weather has been incredible for the most part and the river has been deserted for weeks.
Down lower on the river a #10 Pat's Rubber leg to a #18 red zebra or red Chironocone has been deadly. Expect to see some great fishing in the Wild Rivers in N.M. and big Pike being caught on the Rio Grande.

Secondly, we have a few spots left for our trip to Chile. There is some room for the week of March 8 and the week of March 15th. We are taking a great group of people down and should be alot of fun. I will be there making
sure everyone is having the experience they dreamed of. . Cost is $4250 and if you need some more eye candy go to www.patagoniadream.com It is one of the premier lodges in Patagonia and I think I caught about 300
fish in a week last year most on a dry fly. I also caught salmon in the 50 lb range. The experience at the lodge is truly special, dont miss the chance to go.

Lastly, I have shifted my thoughts the last few months to finding a way to make the Conejos a better river. I will not be focusing on marketing, talks, travel etc. but to raising money to create habitat on the river.
After seeing the dramatic change in fish biomass and size of fish in the project Trout Unlimited did below the dam and seeing other projects make such a marked difference I would like to commit to choosing a 1 or so of
river each year and creating fish habitat. Habitat that provides wintering lies, better holding and feeding lanes, and habitat for large fish. I will be turning the Superfly into one avenue to raise this money. I will also be asking
each one of you for money as tax deductable contributions. Additionally I just met with the USFS and Trout Unlimited to ask for their money, support, and expertise. TU has promised us their 2008 Embrace a Stream money
which is around $20,000. The USFS has also promised to cut some red tape and provide some funds as well. Each year I would like for all of you to come and see a completed section. This will all be done on public lands and will
be available to all of you to fish. It will be a legacy we can leave to our kids and be able to enjoy ourselves for years. In 5 or 10 years when someone asks me where they should fish on the river I want to be able to say
"ANYWHERE, Its all good!" RIght now we are selecting which section and details. I will keep you all posted with the details. It looks like the 2008 Conejos Superfly will be the last weekend in April. A few small rules changes
but the format will remain the same. First of all no Double pro teams. Second, professional guides will not be allowed to fish 6 or 8 of the private beats. Industry professionals will be welcome just not allowed to fish together.

August 30, 2007 Yesterday was one of those days that remind you of why you fish. I actually got to fish all alone yesterday for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The cool smell of fall was in the air and the river just looked so beautiful. I took the luxury of a free pass that I had been offered of fishing some private water and the Sage Z Axis 4 weight with a Ross San Miguel seemed perfect.Some thunderheads boomed in the distance but it was 70 degrees and perfect as I staired into my fly boxes waiting for the right bug to look at me just right. None did so a Dave's Hopper, Peacock stone and a Chironocone ended up on the end of 12' of 5x leader. I began catching fish right away and landed 10 or so smaller fish in an hour or so and was being lulled in to some lax fishing when a large fish ate a nymph and within five seconds had screamed up the river and broken me off. I'm not sure if any profanities were audible but I heard them. I caught a nice big brown that was so old he was sitting in some real soft shallow water and was in plain veiw and took a #8 Royal Stimmy on the first cast. Last night Devan Ence and myself ended up talking fishing to long and decided we should throw mice patterns and away we went. Fished below RMAC and when we got to the river it looked like white chocolate, ouch. We fished anyway with the coyotes howling all around and elk barking in the trees but no fish landed, it was special nonetheless. For those planning trips just come and be ready to change where and how you fish but it has been pretty good. Lower river seems to be coming alive again.

***FYI For those of you mad at us for soliciting the article in American Angler, we didn't! We were given a call informing us that they were doing a feature article on he Conejos and called at various times for info. I have not read or seen the article but it is in the fall issue of American Angler if you are curious. I must warn you , I heard they got a little flowery on me so I apologixe in advance. They also came here and scoured the maps and fished themselves. We have never contacted a magazine for a story. This would boost our business but also bring more people here and so we have declined to go that route.

August 23, 2007 This past week we have seen some very mediocre days and today from nowhere some of the biggest browns we have seen all year are sitting in the feeding lanes gorging on assorted nymphs. Stonefly patterns seem to be the most effective but the Chironocone, Hares Ears and others caught fish. I had the opportunity to have John Gierach here with us this week and got a chance to fish with him a few days and throw some exotic bamboo rods and catch some Cutts, which is off course why he came to visit. Fished upper La Jara with him today and saw some very large browns and caught some nice fish. The monsters seemed to elude us but we did get several of them to open their mouths however no nice photos other than John and Luke! Water was extremely low. (4.9 cfs). All of the streams right now are low and clear but have enough water for some great fishing. I have sight casted to most of the fish we have cught this week and that gives an extra dimension of fun to be able to see your target and get instant feedback on you form. We have had highs in the upper 70's and some great weather this week and expect to see this pattern hold out for a little longer. The Conejos has a slight discoloration right now from the releases from Platoro. The water in the Res looks almost pea green so the releases of 111 cfs are adding a little color to the river. I can only expect that this gives the angler a little edge and allows us to get a litle closer to our quarry. We are catching some fish on attractors and twitching hoppers but most of the fish are being hooked on nymphs on the bottom. We are continuing to see large stonefly casings on the rocks and we have yet to see an adult. I can only surmise that the adults are nocturnal and we are missing out on skating large stimmy's at night. I have also seen fish move to streamers and so I think you should come and expect the best and be ready for having to dig into your box of tools and find one that works. 9 to 10" leaders to 4x for nymphing. 9' 3x for streamers, 9' to 11' leaders to 5x for dries on flat water. Rumor has it the new American Angler is out and has featured the Conejos in one of its articles, if you get a chance pick one up. I have not read it but I hope it does the river justice and does not bring in to many people. And for the record we had no idea that they were planning an article here until the editor called us and asked us for some help with the article.

August 14, 2007 Historically we are supposed to be in the hottest month of the year now and instead we have been having highs in the upper 70's and low 80's with afternoon showers and the lower river normally taboo in august has given us some great fishing. I got a chance to fish it for a few hours on saturday and it was borderiung fantastic. Fished with two other guides and caught two fish over 21", one on a streamer and one on a stonefly nymph. We should have pictures of them in the shop later this week. The upper river was a bit more difficult yesterday and most of our fish came on caddis adults or dredging fast runs with stonefly nymphs with a zebra midge trailer. Flows now are 143 from the dam at Platoro, 288 on the lower river, 18.3 Los Pinos, 6.8 La Jara, flows on the upper streams are perfect most days based on the weather. The other observation I have made before is that the incredible few hours I had on saturday was in murky water. I had someone leave cut their trip short last week because they saw the water did not look perfect. Well they missed some incredible fishing. I had one of the best hours of streamer fishing I have ever had in the water that was not "perfect". Brown #8 Tungsten Conehead Bugger was the best bet with alot of extra weight.

August 6, 2007 Well the longest Green Drake hatch in history is coming to a close and the start of beautiful summer rains is here. We are still seeing Drakes in the meadow around Platoro and even some of the small streams are still spitting out some Drakes but mid summer is now here and the flows that were once crashing low on many small streams are now full of water and the fish seem to be very happy about it all. For those of you that are hot at home our highs have been from the high 60's to low 80's! ( Had to rub that in a little!) We have for the most part switched to small terrestrials, attractors, and assorted mayflies as our primary dries and when the rain comes we are dropping the tungsten beaded dual color San Juan Worm as a dropper or using it in a double nymph rig as the trailer fly behind a larger stonefly nymph. Streamers have also been a good call at times in the off color water. Right now on many days you can pick the color of water you want to dive into. But you must realize that the off color water is your friend and gives you an advantage with these normally very visual spooky fish. We all love the crystal clear water but if I had to pick which water I would guide in with clients that were not good casters I would pick the off color every time. There are good reports coming from virtually every stream in the area and we are also seeing more wild rainbows in the river of all sizes then we have in many years. The Lower River is still as Conejos as ever and has been Jeckle and Hyde on us. I fished it yesterday for a few minutes in chocolate milk and landed two fish and hooked three others so even if you think they cant see - WRONG! I saw a few fish eating dries in a back eddie in the muddy water. Dont be bashful with the size of your dry, we have seen alot of fish eating big red humpies in good fast water and pocket water over the entire river. A great time to be hear and fishing and it looks like all the rain we are having is setting up a long and beautiful fall. My other thoughts are for those that want to save money and never hire a guide. I did this for many years and my knowledge and growth were stunted immeasurably. If you split a guide fee with a buddy you are looking at $150! I can say that most of the fisherman that fish this river by themselves leave and go spread the rumor around that it is a beautiful place but very few fish or the fishing there is not good at all. The fisherman that fish with a good guide leave better fisherman and add alot of tools to their box and catch alot more fish. I would say that investing in your self is just something you should always do and that means reading, practicing, listening, taking a casting class, hiring a guide, etc. RIght now we have what I think are the best collection of guides that the Conejos has ever seen. Randy Keys, Paul White, Ed Adams, RIta Adams, Devan Ence, Bob Howell, Kim Ratliff, and myself Jon Harp. Over 115 years of guiding experience between the lot and well worth a day with each of them. We also have permits for all of the State leases, State Trust Lands, BLM, and USFS as well as five private properties we use to try and make your experience here a solitary one.

July 18, 2007 Upper Conejos River is still cranking out mayflies including Drakes. Fish have been very selective even in the fast water and it has amazed me at their ability to decipher shapes, colors and sizes so quickly. The lower river has become more of a caddis, assorted mayflies, attractor patterns, and ant river. For those wanting to nymph soft hackle caddis patterns and even some stonefly nymphs have been effective. Swinging caddis emergers on the lower river is also a technique that should be give a chance if you are not moving fish the way you would like. Fish can be in some incredibly fast water at this time of the year and when they move into it it is important to have that dropper hit them right in the face. You may see pmd'S, mahogonys, assorted drakes, yellow sallies, and assorted caddis. Writing a report at this time is a little bewildering because of the diversity of the flows, weather and fishing. You have to have more than a Cabela's "Mayfly Assortment" in your box and be able to "find" where the fish are holding. The flows are allegedly going to be dropped from Platoro which will make the upper river a fantastic place to fish. Expect to have that area contiunue to pump out bugs. Elk Creek has had a beautiful drake hatch all week and has fished very well. Los Pinos very low, La Jara low but still great, South Fork low with some larger very spooky fish. Upper streams all very good right now.

July 7, 2007 Well the Conejos River is "alive". I dont know what adjectives to use for the fishing right now other than we have had some electric fishing. Drakes, Caddis, Goldens, Mahogonys, PMD's, have made for some impressive fishing. I cant ever remember a time when there have been so many big fish rumors and big fish actually landed. Still alot of water in the upper river but those that have braved it have seen some large aggressive fish. All of the streams are as good as they will get this year. If you have the chance to come and fish this is the time.

June 30, 2007 The fish of the Conejos river are finally switching to some smaller food items which has made for some better dry fly fishing and extended feeding periods. Fish are now officially on the caddis and we are continuing to fish green drakes for small periods of the day. Expect heavier hatches soon. Still alot of stoneflies of numerous varieties around and fish eating them. Big water in the upper river and flows on the lower river just about perfect. Expect to see some higher flows out of Platoro for a while with them augmenting the flows to the lower river for irrigation purposes. At this time I would officially call all of the high mountains "open" for fishing. South, Middle, Elk, North, Adams, La Jara, Los Pinos, etc are all just about perfect. Expect to see mayfies almost everywhere you go up high and have assorted stonefly adults as well. IF you have not fished the backcountry here you are missing the highlight of Conejos County. It will be worth the guide fee alone just to see some of the spectacular scenery and the Cutthroats. Expect great fishing this month! We have just added alot of fly patterns that have been ordered for the fishing in this area as well as having some of the local guides tie some local favoritets that we cant find anywhere else.

June 23, 2007 Very brief report today please read below for a more comprehensive. Well today I saw the impossible! Someone caught a 20" 4.5 lb Brook trout out of the Conejos. To top that an 8 lb 26+" Brown. To beat that in the middle of Conejos C.G.! They brought the fish to the shop (yes they were fish killers in every sense) and I got some photos and I volunteered to clean the rest of their fish and I found heavy caddis larvae and case caddis as well as green drake nymphs and golden stonefly nymphs. These fish were taken on the upper river where there has been less adult bugs so not to suprising to not see many adults but full stomachs. By the way the Conejos needs stewards and not users. The Conejos needs fisherman willing to crimp barbs, pick up trash, insist other fishedrman are playing by the rules, and putting there money where their mouth is. We are now looking for a section of the river that needs habitat work and we will begin to raise money to get this done. The project just below Platoro Reservoir proves to me that incredible habit makes permanent homes for fish and is one great way to imporove our fisheries. Unfortunately the meadow below Platoro is home to plenty subhuman fisherman trying to cheat the system and whack the *&%# out of the fish there. By the way there is only one DOW officer for the entire area and he is unable to patrol the whole river system but what I can tell you is that if you get there license plate detailed description of what you observed he will prosecute every case. I go up to them and point a digital camera at them and the car and license plate and then deliver the info to the CDOW. With almost 400 fisherman a day reading this report I think we need to use that to help make the rivers here better. The word is getting out on the Conejos and so the future will bring more fisherman but we can use that to put pressure to do some positive things for the fish. Please feel free to email us and give us your 2 cents. One day in the future I will ask for all of your help to make this happen and you will get warm fuzzies when you come and fish what you have been a part of I know I will. I would love to see the DOW and USFS make the fly water here and the first 4 miles below Platoro catch and release barbleses hook fishing and go ahead and finish the habitat work needed to make it one some of the best fishing anyone could dream of. This is all possible.

June 21, 2007 Sorry for the lapse, technology took a backseat to some serious work and fishing for a few days. Additionally writing reports about the Conejos sometimes feels like I am predicting the ways of a woman. We have seen a large variety recently and right now have an absolute blanket caddis hatch as well as large numbers of adult and nymphal golden stones. We have also seen the first Green Drakes of the year and the fish did not miss a beat. There are also adult Salmon flies still emerging above HORCA. With all that said there is so much food in the water column that the fish are not in the feeding lanes all day nor has the fishing been cookie cutter. There have been some really difficult fishing at times. The low low river has been by far the better fishing the last week with fish eating dry flies consistently. The most productve dries have been Golden Stonefly patterns, Salmon fly patterns, and Drakes. Best nymphs have been #12 tungsten golden stones, #12 Green Drakes, #16 and #18 caddis emergers and soft hackles, #8 and #10 twenty inchers, etc. Today we were fortunate to have Don Putterbaugh (Sorry for the spelling Don) the legend of the Arkansas and the owner of Arkanglers Rod Patch. Hayden Mellsop showed up as well to give these fish a challenge. Don and Rod fished with one of our guides, Rita Adams and landed (on public water) a 23" and 20" inch brown along with many others. The Los Pinos is in perfect condition and a great choice as well as the La Jara. The South Fork and Elk Creek should also be added to the list. The high country will be on the radar soon. As far as future fishing the flows are now headed towards perfect and the PMD's, Drakes, and stones will be in high gear and the dry fly fishing should just get better and better. I would say if you are headed out to this river have some tools in your box and be prepared for what you will see on the stretch of water you are fishing. With flies and strategies to help you solve the puzzle. This is a great time to be on the water with a good guide, I can t tell you how many times I hear fisherman describe their difficult day while the same fisherman with the guides are staring at big fish photos, talking about how much they learned and generally having exponential better fishing. If you want some easier fishing situations there is plenty of that here just fish one of the other streams here or fish the pocket water of the Conejos for fish that have to react quicker to food. I floated 16 miles yesterday and saw 3 fisherman the entire day! Wow.

June 11, 2007 Well all the talk and wagers ( we all lost our $5 to Paul White) on when the big stones will arrive is now offically over. The last three nights have seen a good number of the big bugs crawling out on rocks from about 11:00 am until late late from just behind the shop here up to Mogote C.G. Devan and I spent a considerable amount of time that we should have been sleeping filming and photographing the bugs crawling out of the river. I am not sure how intelligent that sounds but I cant believe very much. I feel like I have been going to all night parties with no beer or music and hungover as can be. We will expect to see an increase in numbers and a progression up the river. It is on. The official start of summer dry fly fishing. While flows are still pushy the runoff should begin to loose its steam very soon and make way for some really quality dry fly fising with bugs almost the size of humming birds. For those that fished on the very lower reaches of the Conejos the fish have been eating the dries. With some very large browns landed. Up river from Mogote C.G. expect to see big bugs in the next coupple of days. Alot of the bigger fish hooked in the last couple of days have been right on the edges. Dont be bashful with the size of tippet. Come in and see some of the best stonefly patterns we have fished so far including a new egg layer Pteronarcys that is fantastic.

June 9, 2007 The fishing on the Conejos River has just taken another nice jump. Flows and water clarity from top to bottom are very good and fish are eating alot of stonefly nymphs both goldens and the bigger Pteronarcys. Another item in their diet during these higher water periods is the WWWWWOOORRRRMMM. Like it or not it is a great option for a trailer nymph (ok not nymph but "food item trailer") 9' to 11' leaders to 3x or 4x flourocarbon for nymphing and the same leaders to 4x for the dry dropper crowd. Very soon the dry will become a preferred food item. Also the Los Pinos is now hitting its 40 days of glory as well as the La Jara. Already low water on the La Jara. Good reports from Trujillo Meadows Reservoir, Platoro Res as well as La Jara Res. 36 cfs from Platoro. 650 cfs on the lower Conejos. 260 cfs Los Pinos. Warmer weather could bump flows again but whether that happens or not the fish are going ot eat giant adult stones. We still have some room to come and enjoy a day with one of our great guides. They love working this time of year because the fish are happy and it is a great time to learn alot about the river, bugs, and bigger fish. See you here.

In a few short days while most of us are sleepingthe largest of the rivers stoneflies will crawl up the banks and begin the mating process. For those willing to plan a trip during this time it can be one of the most entertaining and rewarding times to fish. The stoneflies dont "hatch " like a traditional mayfly or caddis they will crash or lay eggs on the water sporadically and so the fish are much more opportunistic and aggressive. Large fish will rocket off the bottom of the river to take a large adult because it is worth the effort for such a large morsel. Prior to this time the nymphing can be incredible and the fish will begin a 3 week long gorging on Pteronarcys and Golden stones. June is an incredible time to fish and is also when the Los Pinos has its own respectable assortment of stoneflies that will bring the largest fish to the surface. It is the time we fly fisherman get even with the worm dunkers, rainbow powerbaiters, and and deep trollers. The beginning of the time the fish seem to prefer our foam and feather offerings. The time when even the fisherman who normally need the 3x magnifiers to thread the fly dont need them ( Huge Flies!). Yesterday I guided on the upper La Jara and it was such a picturesque memorable day. A day when it felt like summer suddenly started and a day when we got to see fish "working" the surface for the first time. For those that have not been it is a special place, find a friend and splurge.

How high would gas have to be to not fish? Certainly alot higher!!!

June 5, 2007 Conejos River has dropped to 106cfs on the upper river and could not be more perfect. At this flow the entire upper river will fish well. We have seen a few fish eating dries and if you come in we will show you a couple of flies that are bordering magical right now. One of our guides fished the upper river yesterday and caught fish 16 to 23 inches and had a great day even with the bigger water. We just unpacked several hundred dozen new flies and it was exciting to just put them up much less get a chance to go and throw them to real live wild fish! We also have some availability in the cabins this next week if you have to come and get an early fix. La Jara still clear and perfect. Los Pinos up high is fishing well and the lower Los Pinos is clearing and will start to fish very soon. Read below for more detailed info.

June 3, 2007

The Flats below Platoro look to be the only good fishing on the main river for a while and I would expect to see alot of water in the lower river for another week. It is the time of the year to buy or bring out a good 6 wt rod and throw big flies and fish heavy tippets. If you dont have one use your 5 but leave your lightweight rods in the closet this month. (Conejos) Come and join us for the start of an incredible summer. We have alot of water this year and the largest on average wild fish I have ever fished to. Our lower fishing lease should be a great place to be during the start of the big bugs.

Water Flows:

Platoro - 295 cfs High

Mogote - 1150 cfs High and stained

La Jara - 35 perfect

Los Pinos - 350 cfs stil high

May 18 2007 The water clarity and flows on the Conejos have improved dramatically the last few hours and with flows out of the reservoir at 23 cfs the entire upper river should fish well. The lower river has cleared some overnight and with the reduction of 175 cfs up high the river should head towards 700 to 900 cfs over the next few days. This should also help clear the river and make fishing the entire drainage possible. For those wanting to make plans for June it is often the highlight of the season with the Pteronarcys Stoneflies coming out in early to mid June and Golden Stones on their heals with PMD's, Green Drakes, Caddis, and the start of the buggiest time of the year. This is also the highlight of the year for dry fly fishing on the La Jara and the Los Pinos. There is still some space available in the cabins and with the guides for June and July. There are also some Fish - Eat - Sleep Packages that make things simple and save you a few dollars. Basically you can have a guide, daily transportion, a meal a day and a cabin for around $185 a day per person (Double occupancy). We also have three memberships still available for our private leases that give you three private ranches to fish with no rod fees for you or your guests. Call for details.

May 16, 2007 The Conejos River is very high and off color (1300cfs) on the lower river but today the flows out of Platoro are 200 cfs and we have had some great streamer days up high as well as decent nymph fishing for large to larger fish in the meadow. There are also alot of fish congregated near the inlet to Platoro Reservoir and up into the Middle Fork of the Conejos. The Rio Grande just east of Antonito continues to fish fair to great for pike depending on the day and there mood. at good fihing levels for Pike. Fishing for carp and pike at Sanchez Reservoir just east of us continues to be good. The lower La Jara will open soon as well as the Los Pinos so dont think you have to wait til mid June to have quality dry fly fishing. Streamer fishing at these levels (high) is extremely important to fish the bottom 1/3 of the water column. Heavy tippets, heavy flies, big flies, and fishing a 6 weight rod will make it all easier and more enjoyable to fish these levels.

May 7, 2007 The Conejos River has given a welcome suprise this week with water flows that have again come back down to a good fishing level. Flows to 550 cfs at Mogote and 100 cfs at Platoro make the entire watershed fishable. Of course this is a day to day thing and will not be completely predictable but the guides that have been out have done well nymphing with large #8 Twenty Inchers, #10 Rubber Leg Golden Stones, and #16 Chironocones. I fished the upper meadows below Platoro on saturday in heavy snow and cold and caught the fattest 19 or 20 inch brown I have ever caught in moving water. Also landed a nice 14" Snake River Cutt fishing double streamers deep. Did not have enough clothes to continue to make casts but the fish were eating even in the 26 degree weather. Right now with the slightly off color water fish 3 or 4 x flourocarbon nymph rigs right on the bottom. You must hit them in the head with your flies. The cone of eating becomes very flat in the faster water and there are still alot of fish in the deep heavy water in the structure.

Fished the Upper La Jara yesterday and rode Enduro style motorcylcles and atv's like wild horses to make it thru the mud and snow banks. The river fished pretty well when we arrived, fish ate dries and nymphs alike. We will not be doing any guide trips to the area for another week or so to allow time for the snow to melt and the mud to turn back to dirt. This is a great time to get completely away from the crowds here. There is always some place to fish and tomorrow we be fishing for monster carp in the shallows and big pike. Well see!

April 24, 2007 Cold snowy weather made fishing difficult today but the previous couple of days were really good. Several methods have been productive and with the warm weather coming for the weekend the river wil continue to morph. One thing will be constant, big browns will insist that you really step up your game to fool them. I had a crack at a very large brown in a slow side channel on sunday and was nothing but a wisper getting into position and I disturbed one of his younger brothers 10' downstream of where the big brown was feeding and I looked up and the big brown had dissappeared. He had been steadily sipping midge adults from the surface and I never even had a chance to raise my rod. I watched another large fish in a side channel react to my one false cast and go off the feed immediately. Thankfully not all good fish hang out in such spooky water and we caught nice browns and rainbows on sunday with the bigger fish in the 19" range. For the Superfliers I would just say come and be ready for a variety of situations and dont be afraid to be creative and try some techniques. As one of the fisherman that was in last week overhearing someone ask. So what is your favorite Conejos River fly? He blurted out, "Confidence"! I had to agree.

April 20, 2007 All you Superflyers awaiting some fishing word here it is. Yesterday the monster today the gem, today the Conejos gave up alot of Brown Gold with some fish eating dries and nymphs and fish taped to 20". Fish ate a variety of bugs today with most fish caught on subsurface patterns. Stoneflies, small mayfly patterns, and midge patterns were the most popular in that order. Flows are perfect and with a little luck we will have some decent water to play in next weekend. We are seeing a few Skwala's crawling out of the river (Skwala's are a stonefly that typically emerges in the spring and I have been putting 2 and 2 together the last couple of years and some close up photography of Devan Ence has finished the puzzle. ) We will see how big of an event this will be but I do know that there were several beats last year in tlhe Superfly that had Skwalas all over them. I saw them a few years ago and ordered some black Stimulators in a size #10 and #12 but did not know what I was looking at. We will be sure to have a few on hand this weekend in case this turns out to be a fishing event and not just a few scattered bugs. For now I can only say that the river will continue to act like most beautiful woman. Hard to figure out, lovely, capaple of giving you the biggest smile you ever had or knocking that spring out right out of your step. I feel like I could write a great report for the Arkansas tomorrow and expound about the BWO's that everyone will see or what will happen on the San Juan or others but the Conejos? The river in my backyard? Perhaps this year she will lose some of her mystery!

Hope to see you on the river scratching your head with me.

April 6, 2007 The Conejos has had another "bump" to streamflows with some mild nights but normal to cool weather for the next week should keep it fishing good all week. The river is beginning to really wake up now and we saw our first flury of surface feeding fish of the year yesterday evening on some small midges in slack water. This is the exception for now but there will be sporadic BWO hatches along with a consistent midge hatch. The BWO nymphs are becoming very active so expect some hatches to parallel some precipition or follow immediately. You can predict water quality with some accuracy if you monitor the streamflows at Mogote at the top of this page. Any large jumps to the flows and expect some staining however jumps in flows will not normally disturb fishing in any way. Unusually cold nights followed by cool days can put them off. On top of that it is the Conejos and dont expect any of us to nail any of these theories on the head, we scratch our heads as well. Same flies and fishing methods as below. Appears the road to atleast to Rocky Mt. Lodge is open.

* Pleased to welcome the expertise and energy for the sport of Devan Ence who arrived here last week and will be working full time in the shop and on the river. He brings a passion for this river that is amazing and is a gifted teacher, fly tyer, caster, and is exactly the type of guy I want in and around our fly shop. He also just happens to be the defending champion of the Superfly so he can fish! No snobby cliqish guides or know it alls just passionate, patient, knowledgeable people is what you should find in any shop. We hope you find it here.

March 27, 2007 After a very warm period with higher and discolored water we have gotten back to a more typical weather pattern. The flows have come back down to perfect (170 cfs) for this time of year and the fishing has improved. Water still has a slight tea color to it but this has not effected the fishing. This time of year I think the brighter brass beads and peacock hurl are good choices. As the season goes on and the big browns see more of our guady offerings going more sublte gets more important but for now they may have forgotten about us and bright flies (Rainbow Warrior) and beads will move more fish in the stained water. Us 9' to 12' leaders to 4x flouro with smaller indicators or dries and drop a nymph or two. Large first then a small PT or Midge pattern behind the stonefly nymph. Fish have had a long winter and most are a little lean so give them some more time or be gentle! Superfly now has 59 teams and should be a good weekend. If you want in we will put you on a waiting list. ( We are working on some more water for the weekend for about 8 more teams. Water temps are cold and fishing has been best form 11 to 5. Streamers in foul weather. Road closed to Platoro so fish low. Better yet come and learn the river with one of the guides, it is a great month to have 66 miles of Gold Medal Water to yourself. Shop will open mid April, Cabins April 2, Guided fishing - now. Looking forward to a great year.!

March 7, 2007 Welcome back to the fishing reports page for 2007, the Conejos watershed is sitting pretty right now with 97% snowpack and the river quickly turning from ice to water. There are sections to fish now but it is a bit early. Give the river a week and we will be catching fish again on small zebra midges, chironocones, rainbow warrriors, and small mayfly nymphs. Go long leaders, subltle indicators, and good presentations with 4 and 5 weight rods to 5x flourocarbon. I did not temp the water today but it was nice enough for "Luke" to go swimming for 10 minutes so here we go nosthing but better conditions on the way.

The Conejos Superfly has 52 entries as of today and we should fill soon so if you want in please do it now. It is shaping up to be one of the most incredible weekends of fun, entertainment and fishing you will have in a long time. We will have 2 parties with movies, some fishing celebs, food, giveaways, fishing excursions, custom rods, Simms truck, Scott van, Sage and Scott rods to be given away, Simms waders and gear to name just some of the schedule for the weekend. Entry and info are on the homepage. We will also have access to the most coveted ranches of the river for the weekend and you will get to see new water and fish on your off days with some great fisherman.

We just returned from Chilean Patagonia where we stayed and fished with Salmo Patagonia Lodge. It was nothing short of incredible and I will be posting a blog with pictures next month for those curious. We will be hosting another trip next March and we will have movies on the fishing and pictures with info for those wanting to see some incredible scenery, an exotic culture, and some obscene fish. www.patagoniadream.com would be an early sneakpeak.

January 14, 2007 Conejos Superfly Entries are now available and we will soon post more info on the home page about the event. If you did not receive an email entry please email me and I will get it right out. In a few days we will release the information to the press and once that happens it will be very harder to get in. This years event will be 3 days and again will include almost the entire river. ( 30 teams will fish friday, 30 saturday and the top 30 teams from the first 2 days will fish sunday) The number of teams will increase to 60 and we will have a party with a showing of the new movie " Running Down the Man"! Patagonia to Simms, Ross to Scott, Sage to Fishpond will be sponsoring the event. The format will be the same but the weekend will be moved up 2 weeks to try and guarantee some clear water. April 27 -29, 2007 Superfly date!!! There will be parties, movies, swag, and alot of fun. For those that come and have an off day on Saturnday or Sunday will have outings available. (Fishing of course) For those wanting to plan some early fishing we normally are on the water here by mid March and fish until the water gets bigger in early May. For fishing now the San Juan in New Mexico and the Arkansa in Pueblo are good choices. There is also some pike fishing on the Rio Grande in New Mexico down by Pilar and John Dun Bridge. Contact Ed Adams for more info. 505 585 1512. My email is info@conejosriveranglers.com

November 16, 2006 Conejos is starting to look like winter. Still some fish possibilies on nice days but not worth making a long trip for. We had a good guide trip this last saturday and the fish ate streamers and small midge patterns. The Rio Grande Gorge just east of us is still fishing and we are catching nice browns and pike. The winter saltwater trip we are hosting is to Chetumal Bay, Mexico Feb 17 to the 24th. If you want some info for the trip please call me or send an email.

Patagonia, Fishpond, Smith and all clothing is being closed out at 35% off. All St. Croix rods 35%. Lightly used Simms L2 waders are $88.00. Sizes remaining; XS, M, M, Medium King, XL.

October 27, 2006 Flows have now hit just about perfect now and it looks like a great week of weather ahead. (64cfs Platoro, 249 cfs Lower river) We did not get smashed with the snow that the mountains north of us did and the fish crushed the streamers today with the cloudy weather. It was 33 degrees but the fishing warmed that up nicely. 3x flourocarbon with 5 or 6 weight rods. Match the weight of your streamer setup to the water depth you are fishing. Almost all the fish we caught were "nice" to "large". No monstes!

Patagonia, Fishpond, Smith and all clothing is being closed out at 35% off. All St. Croix rods 35%. Lightly used Simms L2 waders are $88.00. Sizes remaining; XS, M, M, Medium King, XL.

October 24, 2006 Flows on the Conejos have dropped to a really nice level and there are some fish still on some reds but most of the fish are recovering from the spawn and are stacked up in slow soft water for most of the day. Double nymph rigs with a stonefly upper nymph and a lower zebra midge, #18 flashback pheasant tail, or a rainbow warrior on the bottom fly. The other option is fishing an attractor dry or hopper (there are still some around) and dropping the nypmhs. Again streamers are very effective when fishing in cloudy, snowy or drizzly weather. Yesterday landed over 10 fish standinding in the same place once I found where they were stacked up.

October 11, 2006 Heavy rains and snow this last week have the Conejos at levels quadruple normal and the fishing has been poor this last week. If we can have a few days of dry weather expect the flows to come down and releases to drop as well. If you are a streamer fisherman there is still plenty of fishing to be had now but "normal" fishing techiques will not be as effective until the water flows mellow.

September 20, 2006 Just some thoughts after a doing a couple of fantastic guide trips and fishing this past week. The difference between hitting a home run on the Conejos or striking out is very subtle. (More so than most other rivers) Putting your finger on exactly what that is or feeling like you got it after a cookie cutter fishing report is often impossible. When I see a cast that is a little off or imperceptibly dragging I know that we are not going to move nice fish. Spending a day with a good guide on tough rivers and really paying attention will speed you light years ahead and make you a better fisherman. The more I guide on the Conejos the more I feel like a control freak but the more things I control and do right the more success we have. (I attempt to do this naturally!) The sad thing is often the client goes home with a great day of fishing but not really knowing why. For some that hire a guide for each day on the water that is ok (I guess) but for those wanting to graduate knowing why we mend up one time and down the next, or why are we standing here, when and how do I skate the fly or twitch it, or how are you rigging the flies and weight for theis water and why, or and and and ! I am alway asked "What is happening on the Conejos?" The truth is myself and the other guides have to get to the river each day and figure it out. This is not a predictable environment here and so each day is different. This is not rocket science but definately a cerebral environment. Coming up with your own theories and strategies is alot of fun and you should only read these fishing reports to add to your own ideas and give you some thoughts for your own time on the water. And for some entertainment! Had someone come in yesterday and say they saw a 26" brown eating another fish in the shallows! Add that one to the monster that ate the duckling below Platoro last month! Good luck! J. Harp

September 18, 2006 The Conejos River is still full of water and we have had sporadic BWO hatches and some good fishing albeit inconsistent from day to day. Fish are definately in a pre spawn mode and are moving around quite a bit. If you find them it is normally fantastic. If you are in a spotty area dont spend all day there. Move! Most of the better fishing has been from 9 to 2 or so unless you run into some mayflies in the afternoons which is when we are seeing them. The fishing conditions on the streams are still perfect and thefishing up high has been consistent. Up higher on the Conejos we are using zebra midges, Chironocones, Pheasant tails, and SJW's for nymphing and griffiths gnats, BWO's #16 and 18's, and attractor dry flies #14's. Lower on the Conejos we are still fishing some terrestrials and some more traditional flies including the copper colored Copper John in #14 and #16. Nymph with a lead stonefly nymph and trail it 14" back with a #18 mayfly or Zebra midge nymph or skip the indicator and use a #12 attractor dry or hopper and fish the 2 nymphs underneath. Still 5x tippets, 9' leaders, 4 and 5 weight rods. Subtle indicators.

August 29, 2006 Here is a little info for those of you that may think we are snoozing. Just got back from the Trade Show in Denver and the new Sage Z - Axis rod is truly a phenominal fishing tool. Anyway some fun stuff to look forward to in the spring. Here on the Conejos it was like the August that never showed up. Highs in the 60's and 70's all month with rain felt like Seatle. The leaves are already starting to turn proving that even nature seem s a little confused. Even the elk, as I write, are buggling hard all night. I think the fish may be wondering what season it is as well. I have described the Conejos to a beautiful woman many times. Sometimes she doesn't love you back as you hoped but ahh, when she does!!! This has been true of late. Fishing on the lower river has not been great but very fishable. The water has become clear and flows from the top of the Conejos down are perfect. Attractor dries, hoppers, ants, beetles, and extended body mayflies have been the best surface patterns. As the water drops and clears zebra midges, Chironcones, and mayfly nymphs will become more important. For straight nymphing a Peacock stonefly nymph followed by a #16 Pheasant tail or a Chironocome would by my first swing. Creating movement or a twitch to your larger dries will increase your success. Rita Adams (one of our full time guides) has coined her version the "Bitch Twitch" , try it. 9' 5x leaders, 4 or 5 weight rods, and pay attention to the little things. The stream fishing has been fantastic on most of the high mountain streams. La Jara and the Los Pinos are dipping back towards "low". Elk, South, and the high mountains streams are still looking good. Upper Conejos has been good. Stained water = San Juan Worms, streamers, stonefly nymphs. Fall should be fantastic on the Conejos.

August 16, 2006 Very little to add to the report on the 8th other than if the water is up at all or stained San Juan Worms and Streamers have been by far the better flies. Maybe the strangest August I have ever fished. Very cool, wet, and almost September like. The streams that were to low a month ago we are back on. The lower river has fished thru the "hot" month and it looks like all of this moisture is going to tack on an extra month to our season with some great flows. For those worried if the river is "blown out". You can look at the streamflows and make a great guess. The other thing is that there are 3 rivers here that go thru dams where you can always fish some clear water. La Jara, Conejos, and the Los Pinos all have sections that you can fish anytime. For those that dont know what a little rain can do for your fishing come and pick up a jacket and go. It is alot of fun and has not been very cold. Elk Creek, Los Pinos, La Jara, South Fork, and all of the upper streams are all fishing as good as you will see. The tourist season is ending here and with the gas prices and who knows what we should have a beautiful quiet fall.

August 8, 2006 We are still being gifted with consistent rain and August has been beautiful and cool. The lower temperatares and elevated water levels have made the entire river corridor fishable. Even with stained water yesterday the guides had some great days and landed alot of bigger browns. The high country streams have been nothing short of wonderful. Almost all the fish caught in the streams have been caught on the dry. Flying ants, extended body mayflies, lime Madam X #14, and smaller stims have worked great. Smaller stonefly nymphs, pheasant tails, and chironocones have been the better nymphs and the Foam body caddis, X body BWO, Tan Crystal Stim, and #16 Parawullfs have been the better dries. 9' 5x leaders with 4 and 5 weight rods are still the choice. Longer leaders and finer tippets are the ticket on the glassy water. Both of the leases have fished well and fishing pressure on the river has been light. The other thing I would like to point out is that the Conejos is a tailwater and clears quickly. I get alot of questions from people thinking that once the river is "blown out" it stays that way for days. It does not. Not only that there can be some good nymphing and streamer fishing during off color water. The other option we have is that if the lower river is muddy we can fish right below the dam and always fish clear water. Watch for large spikes in the streamflows for predicting water clarity.

July 27, 2006 Regular cool rains have helped keep the river fresh and even spruce up the lower river. Fish have continued to be in fast oxygenated riffles and we are fishing more realistic patterns instead of lots of brass beads. The fish have also stayed on the midges. It still amazes me to think these fish can see bugs without a brass bead! JK! Anyway the fishing has been very good overall in the upper river. The lower river has seen some good days but most of the good fishing is done by 12:00 and again after 7:00 the exception is on cooler rainy days. Dont forget if the water goes off color or it is raining does not mean that the fish wont eat some streamers. Dont be bashful with the size or color. Best flies have been #14 tan crystal stimulators, #12 Goddard Caddis, #12 Pearl and Elk Caddis, #16 Extended body BWO, #16 Para Wulff and for nymphs the #18 Chironcone has still been the hero. #18 Zebra Midge, #16 Mayfly patterns, Caddis larva, #14 golden stone, and # 16 Blue Copper John. Water levels have stayed pretty consistent out of Platoro and the fishing in the Flats below the dam have been very good. We are starting to see more Hoppers and it is time to start thinking about terrestrials as good searching patterns. Fish are looking up in the riffles and as long as the water is deep enoough to hold fish you cant hardly fish water that is to fast.

July 19, 2006 With the warmer weather this last week we have moved most of our fishing up past 9000 feet. The lower river has fished good early but the fishing has gotten tough until late evening. The upper river has been good to fantastic for the last week with most of the fish being caught on dries. All of the high mountain streams have fished really well and again almost all fish taking adult mayflies and caddis patterns. Today I had a guide trip in the Pinnacles area and the single I had hooked over 50 fish. The other guides have been having the same type of success through the upper river. Morning and midday was most succesful with #12 Tan Crystal Stimulators and #12 Caddis Patterns. For the record while we were hammering fish on dry flies there were no fish actively feeding on the surface. Almost no fish taking the dropper in the early part of the day. In the afternoon we nymphed with a #14 Calibaetis nymph and the #18 Chironocone. It was amazing to watch. The fish hammered the Chironcone. We fished some really hard riffles as well as some of the usual water and hooked some really nice fish. One of the other guides tied on a Chironocone at the end of a guide yesterday and landed a 19 or 20 inch brown among others. For all of us (i include myself) that thought these fish just eat big manly stonefly nymphs and other meaty bites it astounds me to see these fish hammer little midge patterns in hard water! The La Jara is low but still fishing well and the Los Pinos is very low but there are still reports of fisherman catching nice fish real early and late in the day. The Los Pinos fish are very spooky and is not a great place for beginners. For those wanting a challenge go early or real late and make some casts. The Flats below Platoro has fished good. Had a chance to fish there on the 17th and the fish ate #18 X Body BWO's and small Griffiths gnats. Fish were up and sipping bugs. Rumors of Green Drakes all the way to the dam the last several days and big pods of fish up on dries during the middle of the day. We have not had the chance to be there during that time but plenty of Drake patterns being sold to the group fishing the Flats. Flows have ranged from around 60cfs to 130 recently out of Platoro which is a great flow for the the upper river. If you have questions on how to nymph with midges on the Conejos come in or take a trip and learn how to move fish with this method. Water temps in the lower river can get close to 70 and if they do it is better for the fish to leave them alone at this temp. It does not take much stress to send them over the brink at higher water temps.

July 9, 2006 Conejos River has shown us alot of big beautiful fish over the last couple of weeks. Some of the best dry fly fishing we have seen here in years and it continues to be a great time. Green Drakes and a host of mayflies have kept the fishing in the upper river surreal on some days. Heavy rains have made the water levels feel like June again but most days have been between good and incredible. For those that fished in the heavy rains yesterday in the muddy water with streamers it was fantastic. Reid Darnell landed a 23" Cutt on a streamer and one of the Johnny Pribyl group landed a 23" Rainbow. Devon Fooks a 24" Brown a few days earlier. Water levels have been pushy the last couple of days and the water color has been off but the fishing has been good despite. Fishing Caddis or mayfly patterns with red copper johns and purple princes have been succesful in the lower river with a host of other attractor dry flies. Upper river mayflies have been the big deal with most fish coming to dry flies. The afternoon the river is already clearing and should serve up another great day tomorrow. All of the streams in the area have been fantastic and offer a great diversion for those wanting something more intimate and less challenging. Both of the private leases have been fantastic and are a bargain for those wanting to buy some solitude and a chance at some really big fish. As long as the water is high we are back on 4x tippet and 8' leaders. 5 weight rods. Daytime highs have been from 60 to 75 with clouds and periods of rain each day. Dont start walking to your car as soon as it starts to rain on you. The rain has been our friend most days providing some incredible fishing. Just be prepared. If you are not catching fish in your "usual" spots move your cast to some really fast riffles. I have been shocked by how fast of water some of the big fish are holding in!

June 26, 2006 The Conejos River this week has been the buggiest I have ever seen it. The last couple of days have brought cool cloudy weather and has exploded the mayflies. Green Drakes, PMD's, and BWO's have been prolific and the fish are on them. The upper river is full of assorted mayflies, yellow sallies, golden stones, and caddis. Almost all of the fishing has been done on the surface the last 2 days and all of the rivers in the area are fishing well from up high to the La Jara and the Los Pinos. The Fly Water yesterday evening had an incredible mayfly hatch that had the entire fly water bubbling with large fish. Not a single fisherman in the whole stretch! These hatches and the fishing will be somewhat weather related and expect large mayfly hatches when you see clouds and drizzle. If it rains hard throw the streamer. I landed a large male Rainbow in a deluge a couple of days ago with a large streamer and the browns will also take it in low light and rain. We hope to see the Drakes progress up the river this week but for now the concentration of the Drakes is the lower river up to Horca. Every mile of the Conejos now is in prime time and prime flows for dry fly fishing and we expect to see the next few days with cooler weather continue to produce large hatches and fish looking up. Dont be afraid to start really early on sunny warm days. You will catch more fish before 1:00 on hot days. The Drakes will start about 11:30 on most days clouds or sun. #12 Hairwing Drakes seem to be the best pattern when the fish are up. Make sure you using powder or a great floatant on your dries to keep them pricked up high on the water. If your flies are not riding high and dry you will not turn near the fish. 9' 4x leaders for most except fishing the flat water.

June 17, 2006 Quick report tonight, the Conejos has gotten really buggy for the first time this year. We are seeing heavy Caddis, PMD's, BWO's, Brown Drakes, Golden Stones, and big Salmonflies. The lower river is where most of the bugs are and the upper river is very fishable but the dry fly action is slower at this point. This will change any day now. Flows have dropped dramatically over the last several days and on the flatter water the 5x tippet is a big help. There were some big fish up today on various dries and we expect the river to stay buggy and fishing well. Presentation and doing the little things right are now becoming more important. As I fished the flatter water this evening I felt like I wish I had a 15' leader. They were very spooky in the shallow flats of the "fly water". If the river is being hard on you head out to one of the many other streams in the area that are fishing well or hire a guide and take your fishing to the next level. The flats below Platoro is another great option right now. High mountain streams are coming down to fishable levels now which gives us about 150 miles of water to fish! The new Abeyta lease has fished great for those interested in some solitude! Fish 8' to 11' leaders to 5x for dry fly fishing. A good fast action 4 weight rod will soon become the rod of choice for a more subtle presentation for dry fishing, for breezy days or nymphing fish a 5 or 6. 5x flourocarbon to the dropper. 4x flouro for nymphing. Expect to see some Green Drakes earlier than normal with the lower water levels. Water temps to 59 in the evenings. Dont miss this next month!

June 14, 2006 The last couple of days on the Conejos has seen the start of some Golden Stones on the lower river and a heavy caddis hatch. The big Stones are still around up to around Rainbow Trout Ranch. Call it the full moon or changing flows the fishing has not been great the last couple of days. We have caught some large fish the last several days but it has been harder than you would expect. With the flows around 500 cfs and the temps perfect expect to see the Conejos fish better this week. One of the guides was turning rocks for a client and pointing out a Green Drake nymph and it became an adult and flew off before their eyes! We have already seen a few of them the last 2 days and could see them earlier than expected. With the releases around 250 from Platoro the upper river is to high to be good except the Flats below Platoro. Concentrate on the lower river, the Flats, or one of the tributaries. The Caddis hatch has been heavy but dont come expecting an Arkansas River caddis experience. They will not eat the adults from the surface, there is to much food for them to for the bigger fish to eat small bugs from the surface in heavy water. . Fish caddis emerger patterns, stonefly nymphs, Pteronarcys, and Gloden Stone Patterns. We have gone back to 4x tippets and leaders with 5 or 6 weight rods. Dont wait to try a dry fly until you see surface feeding. Check the real time flows below for accurate flows.

June 10, 2006 For all of you waiting to hear about the big bugs wait no longer! My guide today hooked 4 nice fish before I had the second fisherman set up. Big stones were on the water from Mogote to Sheep Creek. Heavy winds kept the bugs in the willows in the afternoon and we resorted to deep nymphing . #8 Adults in assorted patterns were effective and the #10 Tungstone Golden Stone was the biggest producer for the nymphing. We fished 2x tippets even to the dry flies. The water is big and so are the fish so the 5x and 4x that most of you are used to are not enough in the heavy water. Dont be bashful! Fish the 3x or so! We hope the bugs will get thicker and progress up the river over the next couple of weeks. Amazingly there were almost no fisherman here this weekend. Elk Creek, South Fork, and La Jara are great alternatives for those looking for something smaller. Flows at Mogote 725. Platoro Reservoir release 350.

June 5, 2006 The Conejos River is giving us some wonderful nymphing right now. Flows are still high but the fish have really turned on the last couple of days. We have all been expecting the Stones to come early but with the increase in the releases from Platoro last week the water temps dipped about 4 degrees and we may see Stones on a more normal timeframe. (about a week) La Jara and Los Pinos continue to fish well and the La Jara has had some consistent cadddis activity. Los Pinos has fished great with a #16 Deep Six Caddis emerger (green), #12 stonefly nymph patterns and assorted #12 attractors dry flies. There are some mayflies showing themselves and should see some adult stones any day. The Conejos has fished well with #10 Golden stonefly nymphs, SJ Worms, #8 and #10 Peacock stones and Twenty inchers, #14 bright green caddis larvae, and a few fish are still taking adult stonefly patterns especially in the pocket water and edges. Fish 4x tippet on 9' leaders with 5 or 6 weight rods on the Conejos and use plenty of split shot in the heavier water. Fish are not just on the edges. There are plenty of fish in the heavier stuff where there is plenty of structure. I had a chance to make a few casts myself with Ed Adams yesterday and fished the lower river. We landed over 40 fish in 3 hours and almost all of them were 14" or better including 2 Cutthroats. (12" and 17") 6 on dries the rest on Stonefly nymphs and caddis larvae. 11:00 is when it really seemed to turn on, water temp was only 48 degrees. Scroll to bottom for real time streamflows.

May 30, 2006 Flows on the Conejos, La Jara, and Los Pinos are now officially hitting perfect. Caddis on the La Jara, a few black stones starting on the Los Pinos and the Conejos has been Jeckle and Hyde this week. Water temps to 55 degrees in the afternoons and active stonefly nymphs on the edges have given spurts of some good fishing but the last 2 days the Conejos has been difficult during the day. Evenings much better. If you are waiting for July or August for some good fishing you are going to miss the best fishing of the season. Expect to see some big stoneflies in the air in the next week or 2. Almost no one fishing! Fish #8 and #10 stonefly nymphs, Tungsone Golden, Wired stones, Peacock biot stones, weighted rubber legs. Make sure they are on the bottom. Or fish deep droppers under bigger stonefly and attractor dries. 5 or 6 weight rods with 8' 4x leaders and 4x flouro dropper. Heavily weighted streamers are still moving fish especially in low light conditions. Sink tips or very heavy lead on the head of the streamer will dramatically increase your success. Dont be afraid to try some of your own theories if it is slow. The Conejos is no cookie cutter predictable river and creativity is often rewarded., dont get stuck in the "box" with this report or any other! The high country streams are still big and with warm air the rest of the week they will remain on the high side. The meadows on Elk Creek are fishable and water clarity is good. High mountain lakes are another great place to be right now.

May 27, 2006 A quick update from the Conejos RIver tonight. The water levels on the Los Pinos and the La Jara are hitting perfect. Caddis have started on the La Jara and the black stones should be on the water any day now on the Los Pinos. The flows out of Platoro Reservoir on the Conejos River are 148, that is a great flow to fish the upper river. (No Pinnacles yet) The lower river is down to 800 and clearing. Fish continue to gorge on stonefly nymphs. The nymphs are very active right now and we should see the big bugs in a week or two. Cooler weather on the way should continue to drive the Conejos towards perfect fishing levels. Water temps to 54 degrees on the Conejos and Los Pinos. As soon as tomorrow ends one of the best rivers in the state will again return to a lonely river. Dont miss this June. It should be fantastic!

May 23, 2006 Conejos River is big right now and the fishing is a long way from good. 264 cfs out of the reservoir at Platoro is making the upper river clear and somewhat fishable but it is hard work. I recommend waiting for this current warm spell to give up before coming. The La Jara is running 19 and is in great shape and fishing well. The Los Pinos has hit 270 and should be ready to start fishing in a week or 2. We have seen a #10 Black bodied stonefly on the water from HORCA up to our South Fork Lease. The fish have taken large black Stimulators and #10 and #12 Stonefly nymph in dark colors. THere has been some really good streamer fishing the last week when the weather is right. Overall I would give the Conejos a D+ right now! La Jara B-. Other rivers not fishable. Should get really good as soon as the levels drop in the next week or so. For those trying to plan some fishing the Big Stoneflies should come earlier this year. The entire month of June should be fantastic. With the lower snowpack it should open up the river during the big hatches of June. Late May should be great on the La Jara and begin good fishing on the big river.

May 11, 2006 Quick Conejos River Update. The flows have gone to 77 at Platoro and 500 at

May 23, 2006 The Conejos River has been up all week with extremely mild nights and hot days. Water levels out of the dam have been cut in the last 2 days from 600 cfs to 42.6 which has dropped the lower river around 500 cfs (to 1000 cfs) and will also make the water clarity impove. Fish are gorging themselves on Stonefly nymphs and are already big and fat. Mild weather and water temps to 52 degrees in the afternoon are going to have the Stoneflies active early and as soon the water levels drop and clear expect some incredible fishing. In the last 5 days we have seen some bigger fish including a 24" Brown caught on a #8 Gorge Stone (Dry) and rumors of a 29" Brown in the upper river taken on a #10 stonefly nymph! The edges are clear enough to fish and the fish are being pushed to the edges with the bigger water. This is not primetime but if the flows from the reservoir are kept low the river will fish. I fished the meadow below Platoro this evening for a little while and landed fish from 14" to 17" on SJW's and a #12 brown biot stonefly nymph.

May 18, 2006 Congratulations to all the SuperFly Contestants it was a great weekend. The winners landed 3 fish over 20" during and after the tournament! The debate is on as to the format for next year. We may have an amateur and pro division with 35 teams a day. (Early May) The Broiles Bridge which is absolutley perfect. The cool weather has made the river very fishable again but warmer weather in the forecast is going to drive the flows back up so the Superfly could still very difficult. My guide trip had a wonderful morning and landed 8 fish all over 15". Half on big attractor dry flies. #14 tungsten mayfly droppers. There are some small dark stoneflies out and there are a few fish on them. Water temp in the am was 39 degrees and warmed to 48 in the pm. We will expect the Conejos to peak this week and gradually begin to drop. I am fully expecting this next couple of months on the Conejos to be some of the best we have seen in a long time. The fish are big and healthy and the flows are going to be prime for fishing the early hatches. Some fish still moved to streamers but they have not been very effective this week with the sunny days. Good Luck to the Superfly participants!!!

May 9, 2006 For those looking for easy fishing the Conejos River and the tributaries save La Jara Creek are not it. The flows peaked at 800 this morning at Broiles Bridge. Water clarity in the upper river is still holding but 33 degree weather and snow in the meadow below Platoro made conditions tough. Streamer fishing was ok. And both guide trips today landed nice fish but worked hard for them. Large Stonefly patterns and streamers. The Superfliers are going to have to work. For the rest of you give the river a week or so and it will start its journey back to being a great river. Looks like the Stonefly emergence this year with this water level should be great.

May 7, 2006 A quick report on the Conejos River tonight. We have spent the last several days floating and fishing the Conejos and is has been good. The water is off color from Sheep Creek down but the clarity improves dramatically until you reach clear in the meadow below Platoro Reservoir. Flow around 200 in the meadow make for some good Streamer and "Junk" fishing. (San Juan Worms, Eggs, Chironocones, Zebra midges, streamers) A friend fished this afternoon and landed 8 fish all over 17" in a few hours of fishing. The lower Fly Water above Sheep Creek is a good option right now and you can fish heavy stonefly nymphs on deep set ups or fish a big bushy dry with a tungsten head nymph and fish edges. Streamers are an option all over the river right now. The longer the Conejos stays at a level the clearer it will get of course the opposite is true as well if you see a big jump assume muddy water. It looks like the weather will be consistent for a few days which should allow the water levels to stabilize. For those that are here fishing it has been fun as long as you come with the right expcectations. This is not primetime. Just alot of fun. La Jara flowing at 36 and is another good option. (We will be archiving the fishing reports soon so please bear with us.)

May 4, 2006 I would like to revise a previous report today. We floated the Conejos River from just below HORCA this afternoon and the water clarity was much better. Sheep Creek is dumping alot of chocolate water into the river and we did well on streamers hooki