Southwest Summer Getaway

Sometimes it is hard to believe where time goes, but this year marks my wife and my 10th Anniversary and to mark the occasion we decided to do something special and started planning a getaway. After an amazing trip to New Mexico two years ago, we that we decided to do something similar and after looking into the details we opted to fly into Albuquerque, NM do a loop through Southwest Colorado to Pagosa Springs and Mesa Verde before finish off with some time in Albuquerque before we flying back. While the focus of the trip was not on fishing, it did put us within a short distance from one of the last subspecies of Cutthroat that I needed to catch and I would have a morning with which to try my luck for them.

The subspecies of Cutthroat in question was the San Juan Cutthroat, which until just five years ago was assumed to be extinct. With their recent rediscovery, these fish are still in a precarious place as restoration efforts are still in their infancy and as such most remaining populations are still too sensitive to allow for angling. However, after getting in touch with the local biologist, there was one stream that appeared to be feasible and I set might sights on it as my target.

With the trip fast approaching, I put some extra time into packing so that unlike my camping trip to the North Cascades in July, this time there was no way I was going to forget anything and I made sure to double and triple check that all of my gear was accounted for before leaving. Then next thing we knew, the day of the trip had arrived and we were up by 4:30AM and on our way to the airport. Fortunately, we had a surprisingly smooth trip up I-5, through Sea-Tac Airport and with our fly right on time we were in the air in no time.

Blue skies above the clouds

With the exception infamously bumpy approach to Albuquerque, the flight was smooth and after grabbing our rental car we were on our way Colorado. Between the flight and drive, our first day was strictly a travel day, but the drive did not disappoint as we progressed from the desert near Albuquerque to the the weathered badlands as we passed Ghost Ranch known for its Cretaceous era fossil beds and then watched lightning sparking across the sky as we finally reached the forested slopes of the Rocky Mountains. By the time we reached Colorado the thunderstorms were behind us and we were greeted with blue skies stretching to the horizon as the sun started to sink towards the horizon. With just the morning to fish, I set my alarm for 6:00AM, but with a level of anticipation that only pursuing a new native trout can provide I found myself wide awake at 5:15 AM and decided to get up early to add a little extra extra fishing time into the schedule.

Sunrise over the Rockies

With the early start, I found myself driving through the foothills as the sun crested over the mountains and arrived at the creek by 6:30 AM. While I had brought both my 4WT and 1WT on the trip, upon arriving at the creek and realizing that it was a fair bit smaller than I have anticipated, I opted for the much short 6'6" 1WT. With this being new water for me, I also decided to go with my old standby Royal PMX but also added a Blowtorch nymph dropper so I would be ready whether they were focused on top or subsurface. As I stated making my way upstream, I initially found very little holding water, but at the first decent pocket I came to a trout rose to my dry, but unfortunately it didn't hook up and refused to come back for a second look. At least that was a sign the fish were there!

Not far upstream, I finally found a piece of really good looking holding water, as the creek came over a log and dug out a nice pool. The first couple casts in the outflow of the pool didn't get any attention, but once I put a cast into the slower water in the middle of the foam line a fish rose to my fly and I got a solid hook up.

The first good hole on the creek

This fish was much bigger than I would have expected, and gave my little 1WT a run for its money, but with no real obstacles to get hung up on after a minute or so I brought my first San Juan Cutthroat to the net, a beautiful 12"er.

My first San Juan Cutthroat

After snapping a few photos and briefly admiring the beautiful Cutthroat, I released it and continued upstream only to find another great looking spot just around the corner. 

A beautiful run on the creek

This next spot was quite exposed, so after checking that my back cast clear I snuck up on my knees and made a cast into the back third of the run. My fly only drifted a foot or two, before a trout slowly and confidently rose to engulf the dry fly. Again I got a solid hookup and after quick battle I brought another beautiful, this time 11" San Juan Cutthroat to hand.

Another gorgeous San Juan Cutthroat

After that fish, I picked up yet another large trout, this time about 12" on my dropper, before continuing upstream. It seemed that while small, this stream was one of those rare highly productive pieces of water able to produce unusually large fish. This became especially evident when I came across a particularly tricky piece of water to fish. What made this spot so challenging was the combination of overhanging brush for tight casting and downed tree in the water that had numerous branches still sticking just waiting to snag my dropper, requiring pin point accuracy. However, my little 1WT  was up to the task and I was able to land a good cast in the pool in the main seam just past the branches. As my dry fly drifted past a large rock at the back of the pool a large trout rose to intercept it. Lucky for me, after the first fish, my hooksets seemed to be on point this morning and I got a good connection with the trout, which immediately proved to be the largest I had seen yet. Now the tricky part was going to be keep it out of the wood with my little 1WT. The fish tried its hardest to shake me, diving into the branches a half dozen times, but miraculously it didn't hang up and I was finally able to bring the beautiful 15" brightly colored Cutthroat to the net. 

A 15" San Juan Cutthroat - without a doubt one of the most beautiful Cutthroat I have caught!

At this point, the stream had by far exceeded my wildest expectations and if anything my problem was that I had yet to catch a fish small enough to fish in my 12" photarium, which I have to admit is a great problem to have! With all pressure off, I continued working upstream, and came to yet another pool where, I spotted a few trout holding. The first fish that I targeted, I briefly hooked but it popped and darted to the head of the pool thankfully not spooking the other two trout. I took a little more care with the next fish and got a perfect presentation and it slowly rose and ate my dry fly, at which point I quickly fought it out of the tail of the pool in order to not spook the other fish I had eyes on. After releasing that fish, the next one would prove to be one of the more memorable of the trip. 

The Cutthroat

Having a clear line of sight on this fish and being I was careful not to spook it, I got into position and made my cast well in front of it. As my fly neared the fish, I watched the trout get in position and slowly rise to meet the dry fly, but unfortunately I mistimed my hook set and didn't hook up. While the fish hadn't spooked, it did become much more cautious after this and appeared to have caught on to my dry fly being fake, as the next five dead drifts got no response. Next I tried skating my dry, which got the fish to come over, put its nose on the fly and inspect it, but it ultimately decided not to take it. With the dry not working I tried something different and placed a cast so the dropper landed just a few inches in front of the trout, and bingo, fish on!

Success!

A meadow along the creek

Fishing continued much the same, with the creek opening up in some areas with good holding water, while other areas presented tight quarters that I decided to pass by and leave tot he trout as well earned refuges. It did seem that while the fish tended to be large the overall density of trout was not too high, with most pools only holding a single fish. Over the course of the morning, I finally managed to get a few fish the fit in the photarium as well and covered over a 1/2 mile of stream, catching around a dozen fish before running into a natural stopping point deciding it was time to turn around and head back down the mountain.

Finally a fish for the photarium

All and all, this this was an amazing morning and one outing that I am not likely to forget anytime soon. With how good the fishing was, I was even able to into town by 10:30AM, giving me the rest of the day to enjoy with the vacation my wife Alexis. While in Pagosa Springs, we spent the evening at the hot springs and exploring the town, before hitting the road the next day for Durango and Mesa Verde National Park. The whole time we were greeted with wonderful weather and amazing vistas. After doing some short hikes and seeing the amazing cliff dwellings Mesa Verde, we also decided to check out the awe inspiring ancient Puebloan ruins at Chaco Canyon on our way back to Albuquerque. 

The San Juan River in Pagosa Springs - once home to a robust fluvial population of San Juan Cutthroat

Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park

Sunset over Mesa Verde from Far View Lodge

Chaco Canyon National Historic Park

Casa Bonita at Chaco Canyon

Sharing a wonderful adventure together!

All I can say is that this trip was amazing and the fishing for San Juan Cutthroat, was the cherry on top of a wonderful adventure celebrating 10 years together with my wonderful wife!