Anyone have any info or suggestions? Id like to take my dad sometime soon.

This time of year your best bet would be the San Juan River in the four corners area. Its a tail water, below Navajo Lake, and is a year around fisherie. Lots of fish and lots of big fish. My wife and I fished three days in late March, early April, a few years ago, and between us caught 12 fish over 20". The second day, we probably caught 30 fish each. I wouldn't go before that time of year. My son and I went the next year in early March and fished in the snow; cold!

When we go, we stay in Durango, CO, about 45 minutes away. I've used guides from Duranglers (Spencer Schrieber). Call Tom Knopick of Duranglers (co-owner); good guy and very knowledgeable.

By the way, we've gotten some really good rates at the Strater Hotel in downtown Durango during that time of year. I guess its after ski season and before the summer tourist season. Its on the main street in downtown Durango, about a block south of Duranglers. The guide has just picked us up at the hotel and them driven to the San Juan.

[This message has been edited by One-Eyed Fat Man (edited 2/18/2008 12:06p).]

that would by far be teh best place in the near future. Closer to texas, and good later in the year is the cimarron river below eagles nest lake.

You have a lot of choices. Do you want to be in a particular part of the state? Do you want high mountain lakes, large rivers or small rivers? Public or private land? If you have never been, you might think about going to Taos and hiring a guide for 2-3 days. You can pretty much do it all out of there. If you want big fish, head for the San Juan. You might try to find a copy of The No-nonsense guide to fly-fishing New Mexico by Taylor Streit. I've used guides from Taylor's shop in Taos before and been pleased.

that would by far be the best place in the near future. Closer to texas, and good later in the year is the cimarron river below eagles nest lake.

OneEyed Fat Man - You couldn't get the wife to stay at Abe's?

I've fished everything from high mountain lakes to rivers to streams to reserviors to private fisheries.

You've got choices all over, depending on where you want to go.

Ruidoso: Bonito Lake - Fish floating powerbait 2-ft off the bottom.

Eagle Nest: Eagle Nest Lake - Fish floating powerbait 2-ft off the bottom. Rent a boat and troll with "Christmas Tree Spinners" and Pistol Petes.

Red River: Goose Lake - Fish flaoting powerbait 2-ft off the bottom. Fish salmon eggs on the bottom. Fish dry flys.

Farmington: Navajo Lake and San Juan River - Fish dry flys or nymphs. HANG ON!!!

89FordAg,
No, she likes a good nights sleep and she was afraid that all the big city lights and night life of Navajo Dam would keep her awake.

Seriously, she likes to fish, and usually outfishes me, but I know I'm lucky to have a wife that likes to fly fish; at the same time, I don't want to push my luck with the accomodations.

Red River: Red orange or pink roostertail spinnerbaits fished in the stream...it is murder on those hatchery trout.

Rio Grande River. Hike down the canyon in the recreational area north of Red River. Bring your spinning gear or fly rod. Use roostertails or nymphs. BIG MOFO trout in the river down there. BIG.

Fawn Lakes (near red river) Powerbait, wet/dry flies or Z-Rays, Kastmasters, or roostertails, mepps, etc. They will hit em.

Vermejo, it is a little on the expensive side, but well worth it if your takng the wife. My FIL takes me every summer and you are treated like a king and the fishing is great.

the vermejo is really nice, with nice facilities

When I was younger, a friend of mine's dad used to go with his work to Vermejo every year and fish for several days. This is how he told the story of one fishing trip:

Imagine you're out in a beautiful little pond in your belly boat, fishing for 'bows when you notice this guy is paddling your way. You've had quite a successful afternoon and your stringer is nearly full. When he arrives, he spins around to ask what they're bitin' on. To your suprise, you look up and recognize him as none other than George Strait!

I don't know if the story is true, but he did come back with a signed picture of the two of them in waders holding big 20" rainbows.

thank you for the info guys!

One Eye nailed it. The San Juan below the dam (catch and release), Duranglers and if you like golf, go play Pinion Hills in Farmington. It is an awesome golf course (and cheap). I believe it is in Golf Digest for one of the most affordable places to play.

Vermejo is more than nice. I got to go spend the night on the ranch last summer... I didn't want to leave. It was like heaven.. but in the woods.

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Anyone have any info or suggestions?

Yes.

The original poster didn't say anything about his dad's health/age. The San Juan, below the dam, can be pretty tough wading. Lots of moss and slime. We've waded some there, but for the most part, floated it with a guide.

I would disagree with an earlier post though; not much dry fishing on the San Juan. Primarily tiny nymphs on 5x or 6x tippet. Occaisionally some dry action, and folks anxiously await the "ant drop" feeding frenzy each summer.

On a personal note, we've haven't been to the SJ for several years, and I'm not sure we'll go back. Don't get me wrong, its an incredible fisherie, but its not the real world. When you catch the number and size of fish that you can at the SJ, it can set you up for disappointment when you go elsewhere, if you don't keep things in perspective.

Our more recent trips have been more focused on dry action, and we've fished the Yellowstone in Paradise Valley near Livingston, MT, the waters in Yellowstone NP, the lower Madison, the Elk River in BC. My wife and I leave for Esquel, Argentina, on March 5 for our first trip to Patagonia. My son and I are going back to MT this summer and will fish the Madison and the Yellowstone and the fish around Missoula, before we head home.

[This message has been edited by One-Eyed Fat Man (edited 2/24/2008 9:59a).]

This is a trip me and my old man are still planning.

My dads health is an issue. He cant go too overboard with climbing and all that. And we arent golfers or looking for the best facilities or anything like that. We just want to go fish and camp and maybe build a campfire or something. Heck, the state park facilities around Texas suite us just fine.

Any more info guys? I appreciate all the help!

Based on what your saying about your dad's health, I would vote for the San Juan. The guide will park the boat at Texas Hole and you'll walk down to the water and get in his drift boat. There's not any rough water (rapids, etc). You'll float from about 9:30 am to around 4:00 pm, and you have the chance of catching lots of fish and some big fish.

I think there are some decent campgrounds near the town of Navajo Dam, the motel at Abes, or if you want, about a 45 minute drive from Durango. I would suggest you call Duranglers and speak to Tom Knopick, one of the owners. Tell him about your dad's health, etc, but I really think that the SJ will give you the most bang for the buck. I usually try to fish a spot at least three days, to improve my odds of having at least one big day.

By the way, if you read one of my earlier replies, I was supposed to be in Argentina fishing this week. My wife and I were to have left last Wed. 3/5. The night before, my 16 year old son broke his leg playing lacrosse and we had to cancel. Thank God for trip insurance.



[This message has been edited by One-Eyed Fat Man (edited 3/13/2008 1:35p).]

I just thought of another option. The salmon fly hatch on the Rio Grande in creede , colorado usually occurs between the third week of june and early july. Some of the best dry fly fishing I've ever done. Duranglers guides there during this hatch; talk to Tom about it. Probably about the same distance as rhe san juan. I'd vote for the salmon fly hatch on the rio grande.

I was driving when I replied about the Rio Grande near Creede, CO. It is incredible if you hit it right. The key is to hit it just as run off has peaked and the water is starting to clear. You'll float about 12 miles per day, casting big stonefly patterns right against the bank. The closer the better, in fact, the guide will tell you that if you're not losing a few flies in the bushes along the banks, you're not getting close enough. Fish are mostly brown trout, in the +/- 18" range. When my son and I went a few years ago, we stayed at Cottonwood Cove. They have cabins, and a rv campground.

Of all the places we've fished, it is one of the best we've been. Creede is an old silver mining town in south central Colorado, near the headwaters of the Rio Grande. I don't know where you would be coming from, but I live in San Antonio, and I doubt that Creede is any further from SA than the San Juan would be. If you are interested, I would call Tom Knopick at Duranglers ASAP. They try to predict the runoff as best they can given snow pack and past experience. Because of the limited time frame, guides tend to book up pretty fast. We fished with Spencer Schrieber from Duranglers; he's a good guy and a good guide as well. As I said earlier, this is the place I'd go.

If you have elderly parents or small children, one place to try is the Picuris Pueblo in the Taos area. We stayed at the Sipapu Ski area, a pretty low-buck area, but quiet and family-friendly.

It's been a few years since we were there, but the Picuris folks were friendly, and you fished for trout in one of their irrigation ponds. It was uncrowded, you could drive right to the bank, and no New Mexico fishing license was required.

It was a small pond, very undeveloped, but a great way for my folks to fish. No way could they have fished in a stream.

When here last summer. They have tons of fish which are all pretty easy to catch and easy to get to. The prices are cheaper than Vermijo and Chama. The chick that owns the place spent a couple of years at A&M.

http://www.cowcreek-ranch.com/

Weve decided on Taos. Ill let you know how it goes.

Be careful last time I was there some dude wanted to blow me and my dad.

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You gotta tell the story on that one!

All of the suggestions here were good. I liked them all, but after talking to my old man, he thinks Taos would be most fitting for him.

Id like to try some lake fishing for trout too. Sounds like fun....

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You gotta tell the story on that one!

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We stopped at some crappy little Mexican food place ordered and sat down. Bod (dude with us) went to take a leak, some scruffy looking kid (normal for Taos) comes us and crouches down by the table and asks "either of you guys need a blower?" My first thought was leaf blower. I said a what "You know a blower I haven't eaten in 2 days and need the cash it's cool". All I can say is no, no man we're good. So hea sks again and I say no then he leaves. It finally hits my dad "That guy wanted to suck out *****". I start crying I'm laughing so damn hard. Dude goes outside and continues offering bj's to others. Don't think he has any takers though. One of those father/ son moments you'll always cherish.