San Juan River Fishing Report: September & Fall 2026

As of this writing, the San Juan River is sitting around 875 CFS. The water is slightly off-color, and the fish are eating.

Right now, there’s a little bit of everything happening on the river. We’ve been catching fish on dry flies, nymph rigs, Trout Spey, and streamers, so regardless of how you like to fish, there are plenty of options.

The water is beginning to cool down, and I’ve personally already seen a few brown trout starting to cut redds. We’ve had high, cold water throughout most of the summer, but eventually they’re going to drop the flows. When exactly? I don’t know. I’m not a psychic.

What I do know is that we’re heading into one of our favorite times of year on the San Juan.

September & October

September and October are traditionally excellent dry fly months. Cooler air temperatures, colder water, and shorter days can create some great afternoon and evening fishing.

Streamer fishing has also been very good. We’re seeing fewer follows but more committed eats, which is exactly what we want to see. That has been consistent from the Quality Waters all the way down to the last takeout.

For streamers, we’ve been fishing everything from smaller patterns like Mini Dolly Llamas, Trumbones, and Sculpzillas to larger flies like Flatliners.

Nymphing

The midges have generally been getting more active later in the morning, so early in the day we’re still fishing heavier and deeper.

Think:

• Pig Stickers
• Red larva
• Scuds
• Worms
• Eggs
• KF Emergers
• Centillas

As the day progresses and the fish move higher in the water column, adjust accordingly.

That’s probably the biggest tip I can give you this month: change your depth and weight before you start changing every fly in your box.

It’s largely the same bugs we fish throughout the year. Where those bugs are in the water column is usually more important.

Dry Flies

Dry fly fishing has been good, especially on smaller CDC-style flies that sit low in the film.

We’ve been doing well with shuttlecock-style midges, Mole Flies, small fore and aft patterns, and midge clusters. The mornings have been very midge-heavy, with more mayfly activity showing up around noon and into the afternoon.

In the evenings, the fish have still been willing to eat some bigger stuff. Small Chubby Chernobyls, QuickSight Ants, and other terrestrials are absolutely still in play.

A Quick Word About Spawning Browns

We’re starting to see brown trout preparing to spawn, so please pay attention to where you’re walking.

If you see redds, stay off them.

Those are future fish.

Brown trout are not stocked into the San Juan, so protecting spawning fish and their redds matters.

As the spawn progresses, egg patterns will become increasingly effective, particularly for rainbows sitting downstream of spawning browns and taking advantage of drifting eggs. That doesn’t mean you need to stand on a redd or target spawning fish to catch them.

Watch where you wade and give spawning fish some room.

Fall Availability

September and October are filling up quickly.

We’ve been extremely fortunate that so many of you continue to come fish with us, and October in particular is getting tight. We still have some availability, but certain dates are already completely booked.

If you’re thinking about coming to fish the San Juan this fall, reach out sooner rather than later so we can get you on the calendar.

The river is fishing well, the temperatures are starting to cool off, and one of the best seasons of the year is just getting started.

Thanks, everybody. We hope to see you on the water this September and Fall.

—  James