San Juan River Fishing Report – May 14
- Thomas Schaefer
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
San Juan River Fishing Report
Current Flows on the San Juan River
Flows on the San Juan River have been bouncing around a bit lately with runoff conditions, currently sitting around 350 cfs. With the Animas River running high and runoff beginning to peak across Southwest Colorado, releases below Navajo Dam have been fluctuating accordingly. Cooler temperatures moving in over the next week should help slow runoff down a bit and continue improving clarity on the river.
San Juan River Fly Fishing Conditions
San Juan River fly fishing has been really solid lately, especially during stable weather windows. We’re still seeing heavy midge activity throughout the mornings, along with improving mayfly activity during the afternoons. Fish have been feeding well subsurface early in the day, with more consistent dry fly opportunities beginning to show up later in the afternoons as flows settle and visibility improves.
Dry Fly Fishing on the San Juan River
Mayflies are definitely starting to build throughout the system. We’ve been seeing fish begin to key in on afternoon baetis and small mayfly activity, especially in softer riffles and transitional water downstream. On calmer afternoons, there have been some really fun windows of fish feeding on the surface.
Wade Fishing Report
Wade fishing on the San Juan River has been productive up near the dam during the mornings, particularly around slower seams and deeper buckets with smaller midge and mayfly patterns. As the day progresses, moving downstream has been producing better dry fly opportunities and more active fish.
Float Fishing Report
San Juan River float trips have been fishing well overall. Most mornings have consisted of steady nymph fishing with midge and small mayfly patterns under indicators, followed by opportunities to throw dries during the afternoon when conditions line up.
What’s Working
Midge nymphs and midge clusters
Small olive/brown mayfly patterns
Expect to vary your depths throughout the day
Streamers during lower light conditions
Dry flies during afternoon hatch windows
Overall, fishing conditions are shaping up nicely heading into late spring and early summer, and this should continue as runoff settles down and water clarity improves. Thank you for reviewing our San Juan River Fishing Report from May 14, 2026.
