Field Report

All
  • All
  • Fishing
  • Fly Tying
  • How To
  • News
  • Reviews
  • San Juan River Fishing Reports
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
San Juan Fish

Setting the Hook and Fighting Trout

Master the Hook Set: Essential Fly Fishing Tips to Stop Losing Fish Nothing hurts more than seeing a massive trout eat your fly, setting the hook, and feeling… nothing. Or worse, feeling the fish for a split second before the line goes slack. If you are losing fish on the set or during the fight,…

San Juan River Wade Fishing Trips

Beginner’s Guide to Fly Fishing the San Juan River Below Navajo Dam (2026 Update) | About Trout

If you’re here because someone told you the San Juan is “easy,” I’m here to respectfully disagree. This river is a tailwater that rewards clean drifts, correct depth, and small details. What keeps the Juan fun and fresh is the diversity of techniques you can fish and that things change constantly. It’s a new puzzle…

abouttrout_flygrid_3x3_tight_numbered

San Juan River Report January 2026

Warm Weather, Great Fishing (And Yeah… the Skiing Isn’t It) Flows are steady, the crowds are gone, and this year January on the San Juan feels more like March. We’ve been getting unseasonably warm weather, which has kept water temps stable, stretched the feeding windows, and made winter fishing way more comfortable than normal. And let’s be…

IMG_8932

San Juan River Fly Fishing Month-by-Month: What to Expect with About Trout

The San Juan Through The Year The San Juan is a true year-round tailwater. What changes isn’t whether you can catch fish—it’s how you fish, what the river gives you each month, and what style of trip (wade vs. float vs. euro) makes the most sense. Here’s the About Trout month-by-month breakdown so you can…

Screenshot

The Real San Juan: Deep Water, Giant Trout, and the Streamer Playbook That Changes Everything

Most anglers only see the San Juan River through filtered photos and quick-hit clips, but James Garrettson of About Trout recently joined Dave Stewart on the Wet Fly Swing Podcast to take listeners far beyond the Instagram version of this tailwater. In their conversation, James breaks down what truly makes the San Juan a world-class streamer fishery—a place…

Screenshot 2025-12-03 at 12.54.24 PM

James Garrettson and Huge Fly Fisherman Talk Fishing, Gear, and Reading Books

Fly fishing is in a strange season right now. The sport is booming, but the soul of it feels like it’s drifting. Scroll through Instagram for five minutes and you’ll see monster browns, permit, flex culture, and more “expert tips” than anyone asked for. What you rarely see is the slow, foundational, deeply human part…

DSC01286

December 2025 on The San Juan River

December on the San Juan River is one of the most overlooked gems in Western trout fishing. While most anglers see cold weather and assume slow fishing, those who actually fish the San Juan in winter know the truth: December is the start of big-fish season. At About Trout, we spend more days on this river than…

Screenshot 2025-11-15 at 9.27.41 AM

The One That Didn’t Get Away

When you spend enough days guiding and fishing the San Juan River, you start to believe anything can happen — but even then, some moments stop you cold. Recently, Guide Kyle McCallum proved just that when he helped his angler connect with a true fish of a lifetime: a 33-inch brown trout, taken on a streamer. This isn’t…

L1110265

San Juan River Streamer Day

The San Juan River has a long history — and a strong myth. For decades, anglers have come here believing success meant 6x tippet and size 24 midges, drifting tiny bugs through slow, glassy seams. That’s the story everyone’s heard. But it’s not the only one worth telling. This week I had the chance to spend…