

Another method to fish the San Juan Worm in still water is to cast it out then work the fly to give it action. Once it is on the bottom the San Juan Worm is unlikely to catch fish with the possible exception of cruising carp or suckers that pass over the fly. The first is to just cast the worm out and let it sink naturally. If you’re fishing still water you basically have two choices. Smaller San Juan Worms can also be fished as a dropped fly under either a floating dry fly or another sinking nymph. The bead head version comes in handy in that situation. When the water is very cold I drift it right against the bottom and in the slower flows and pockets. The fly works very well when drifted close to the bottom. Fish seem to hit the fly almost by reflex. I’ve caught enough trout out of extremely cold streams to know that. The San Juan Worm is especially effective in spring when rains and high flows wash worms into the water. If you get the worm to drift perfectly you are very likely to catch fish. If it drags slower than the current or rockets down through a run you are very unlikely to catch a fish. The goal is to let the worm move at the same speed as the current. Then you cast it out ahead of likely spots and allow it to “dead drift” with the current. You can fish it straight from the end of your line or fix it below a small float. Basically you want to drift it along naturally with the speed of the current. When fishing moving waters you fish a San Juan Worm like any other nymph. Just match the fly size to your target, all the while remembering that big fish do eat small flies. When it comes to fly gear you can match a San Juan Worm with pretty much any gear from a tiny 1 weight rod up to a big 8 weight for steelhead. It also helps indicate when a fish takes the fly. The EZ Float is a good choice for fishing a San Juan Worm on a spinning rod. If you’re spin fishing just attach a few split shot or a small float on the line to give you the weight to cast. If you’re using a tenkara rod just tie it right to the end of your tippet and drift it through all the likely fish holding spots you can get to. The San Juan Worm is obviously a fly but you can fish it with spinning gear or a tenkara rod too. It’s a great searching pattern that is especially useful for trout when there are no visible hatches.

So the San Juan Worm is a good choice when you’re fishing for anything from trout to bass. The fish themselves have no such standards. It’s also why some who view fly fishing as a higher pursuit than bait fishing or “worm dunking” look down on the lowly San Juan Worm. That’s why the San Juan Worm works so well in so many different situations. They work well when you want to get your fly deep.Įveryone knows that fish like worms. San Juan Worms can also be tied with a bead either at the head or somewhere along the hook shank. More complicated versions involved things like sparkle and yarn. An easy worm is made by simply tying a piece of chenille directly to the hook with an overhand not. There are variations that even simpler than that. I only recommend products that I have found to be effective.Ī San Juan Worm is constructed of a single piece of chenille affixed to a hook with thread. This commission helps support my website, but it does not influence what I write.
#Fish heads san juan river how to#
How to fish the San Juan Wormīefore I tell you about fishing with this fly, I want to let you know that I may earn commission when you make purchases through links on this page. I’ve caught a variety of species on pink San Juan Worms in locations as varied as Carolina lakes to glacial rivers on the Canadian border. For whatever reason it is also the most effective of the colors in a general sense. The pink San Juan Worm is probably just as popular these days. The red San Juan Worm is still one of the most popular varieties. The original San Juan Worm was red like a blood worm. There are some versions in colors like purple that might not look exactly like anything a fish would encounter in the wild. That’s why this fly was originally created. Blood worms are common in the San Juan River and fish like to eat them. It is obviously meant to be a worm and it does look a lot like one. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what the San Juan Worm is supposed to be either. You could probably figure that out from just looking at the name. The San Juan Worm originated on the San Juan River in the Southwestern United States sometime around 1970. If you’re interested in catching fish you should seriously consider carrying the San Juan Worm. The San Juan is easy to tie and easy to fish. While some people refer to the San Juan Worm as a junk fly or even refuse to use it all together, the reality is that this simply fly consistently catches fish all over the world. Yet it is also one of the most effective. The San Juan Worm is one of the most basic flies in existence.
