Two Day Excursion

We camped at East Fork San Juan. Last year, we tried but the road had washed away and they closed the river and CG. In the interim, they must have rounded up every Bubba with a diesel truck and three four-wheelers and a fifth-wheel trailer and brought them to the East Fork.

We fished for as long as we could stand it -- the anglers at every hole, ATVs buzzing incessantly --- we even drove the 4WD road up to the headwaters complete with 3 creek crossings. We went to the new place Kenny and I found --- a great little freestone-style tailwater. Too many worm cups sitting by the pools and we only caught 3 between us.

So this morning, we drove early to Lake City. We caught breakfast at the bakery and did the cursory walk down the main street and then to Slumgullion Gift Gallery. Fished Henson at the first public spots. Then we chose to fish Fred's Bluff on Lake Fork.

No one was there. Read that again -- no one was there. Some one is ALWAYS there. 10 in the morning, an ongoing hatch and not a soul in sight. Amy and I fished together with one rod, alternating pools. She spotted a big riser in small water and worked her way up to him. She recently improved her casting stroke and can really lay it out there now.

The big rainbow hit the bead hard, its back porpoising out of the water and for over 30 seconds, Amy fought the good fight. When the 17-22 incher (hard to tell but it was BIG) took off downstream, it was over. Snap.

I caught a nice wild brown holding against a foam line along an undercut bank. Video coming once we download.

Amy saw this next one rise. Bigger than the last. She cast and worked her way up to it, a deep run in the middle of the river. Her first cast in the middle of the pool drew the big trout to the dry and it turned and went frantic. Upstream, downstream, down to the bottom, three jumps. We crossed the river to try to avoid this log/green plant debris system in the middle but we didn't make it in time. Game over. One minute or more fight. We both saw the fish well and it was a legit trout, one better measured in pounds. Not a Periscope Kenny fish but it was 2-4 pounds and with that little 3-weight of mine, she fought it as well as anyone could expect.