report for the San Jaun

[Dave Dorris]

Just returned from two weeks fishing stripers at Piute canyon. After making camp two minutes from Piute canyon Fri. Sept 22 I went searching for stripers. Leaving Piute canyon for last I searched the bay and all the way to the Great Bend with out finding any stripers. Lots of shad in the Great Bend but none anywhere else except for side canyons. Returning back to camp disappointed it was time to check Piute canyon. From the mouth at 95ft to going in to 60ft was loaded with stripers and the rest of the way to the back was full of shad. For the first several days I had it all to myself and it was like fishing in a fish tank. Most days by noon my arms had all they could take, one day spooning and netting 74 stripers. My friends Mongo and Brenda came for the second week with their boat and they also boated a lot of stripers. Highlight of the trip was meeting Wayne and spooning stripers with the man himself. After Wayne left the moon started getting fuller and the fishing got tougher. On Oct. 4th I boated 21 and on my last day the 5th only 3 stripers. Mongo and Brenda on those last two nights killed them at the mouth with green lights and anchovies.
All my stripers were caught jigging a 1 oz. kastmaster with a single hook total cost of tackle for the trip $12.00

 

[cfulton]

Dave,
Did you try trolling for stripers in the Great Bend? In the past I've done really well during the Fall trolling in 15-30' of water in the Bend....with an occasional boil. I'd think it should work again as the shad are in there because of the colored water and the stripers are there to do what they do. It's been great in the past and I'm thinking of being up there Oct 16th for a few days.
Chuck

 

[Dave Dorris]

Dave,
Did you try trolling for stripers in the Great Bend? In the past I've done really well during the Fall trolling in 15-30' of water in the Bend....with an occasional boil. I'd think it should work again as the shad are in there because of the colored water and the stripers are there to do what they do. It's been great in the past and I'm thinking of being up there Oct 16th for a few days.
Chuck

Hi Chuck, it would have been great to have seen you again. My plan was to troll while searching for stripers and was looking forward to trolling in the Great Bend. When I put in at Bullfrog I trimmed up the kicker but when I got to the San Juan I had no power to trim the kicker down or start it. That ended that. I saw no sign of striper there and no one I talked to seen much past Piute Canyon.

 

[cfulton]

Thanks. I'll be closely watching any other reports for the SJ but will probably go up there either way. It's so great to be up there....secluded and normally great fishing. Chuck

 

[bschell]

My fishing buddy and I got up to the San Juan on the 31st of Sep, that Sunday night a Northern blow cranked up and lasted thru the night until mid Monday. The air temps had dropped quite a bit, it was time to bundle up and check the anchor during the night every now and then because the gust of wind would spin the boat into the wind waves and make sleeping tough. Monday afternoon the weather was on the mend and the temps went back to summer like conditions for the remaining week, I wish I could say the same for the fishing. Saw the few fisherman in Piute canyon and figured we missed the big bite... but gave the spoons a try anyway and picked up a few stripers. Metered a few schools here and there drop down and get one or two, but they where on the move so you had too drop quick. We ran for the great bend and beyond to check out Zahn Bay water depth was 17.5 feet all the way across Zahn Bay but seemed to be void of fish (or biting fish anyways) so we worked between the mouth of Zahn Bay and the Great Bend and did well trolling. On the afternoon of Oct 5th at about 5pm about two bends up from the Great Bend we came up on Boiling fish from wall to wall of the river, caught fish until it got dark and dropped the anchor their for the night, woke up in the morning and could not find a fish! we figured the full moon might be to blame, fishing after the wind event and leading up to the full moon during the early morning hours for us was quite slow.