Blue Medal Trout Waters

The fish are plentiful and always can be caught on the San Juan— in any weather, on any day of the year. This is some of the best water anywhere in the world, but it is also some of the most difficult. The trout have been caught many times and are extremely wary. Any drag will result in a fishless cast. Big trout are taken out regularly. Twenty-inch rainbows and cutthroats barely raise eyebrows. The fish caught on this tailwater fishery in the early years when the river was dammed (1963) were called "rattling rainbows" because of their diet of snails that inhabited the river. The snails could not tolerate the cold water, so instead the trout feast on aquatic worms, leeches, and multiple insect hatches (caddisfly, mayfly, and midge). I highly recommend a day with a guide floating this great water.