IA Born Report post Posted October 16, 2018 My son and I took off this past weekend for a father-son fly fishing trip to the San Juan while my wife and daughter were on a girls trip. I haven't been to the San Juan in 11 years and its always been bugging me to go back, especially to get my family really into fly fishing. We've all fly fished a couple of small streams here in AZ and Jacob has landed a YOY rainbow w/par marks, but that's it. We got to Abe's about 1pm Friday afternoon, got checked in, license purchased, and some local fly patterns. I was nervous about Jacob wading since he's the skinny kid who has to dance around in the shower to get wet, but he did great. I had a life jacket for him to wear, but the guys at Abe's put us in a spot where he wouldn't need it. When we got there, I asked a guy if we could squeeze in downstream or if he'd prefer we go somewhere else and he graciously offered Jacob his spot. Its nice to see (especially for Jacob) that kind-hearted people are still out there. We started off close together with him upriver of me and me not fishing until I knew he was ok wading, getting his casting game on, and knowing what to look for when a trout takes his fly. He was amazed at all the big trout swimming within a foot of him and he fell into a groove. After an hour or so, the river started clearing, so we moved up to the next good looking spot. I re-rigged his set up, removing the weights so the emergers acted like true emergers and, after 20 about 20 minutes, I hear "I got one!" I coached Jacob on how to use the rod and we were able to net his first real trout on a fly rod. It was a fat 15" bow and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was completely addicted to flyfishing. That was the only fish of the day, but we stayed for the hatch. Jacob said "How about we stay for 30 more minutes." when the hatch started. Three takes and three misses later, an hour had gone by and we finally worked our way back to the truck. He made it clear that he LOVED dry fly fishing! As we were walking back, I turned around to snap a sunset pic, and I saw a 10-year old boy walking with the swagger of a seasoned fly fisherman. Jacob's first real trout: 15" fat bow Kid with swagger (can't get it oriented right) We got up early Saturday morning, had breakfast, and were on the river by 8:25. It didn't take long for Jacob to hook into another bow, then another, and then he had some real fun. He hooked a 15" fat brown and figured out why I've always said I'll take a 15" brown over an 18"-20" bow any time. I managed to finally get on the board with a smaller bow, but I was finally on the board and giving Jacob some competition. We took a quick lunch break and short nap back at the truck and then decided it was time to get back to our spot, hoping someone hadn't come in. During our lunch break, I reemphasized his casting technique to work on because I spent a big part of the morning undoing wind knots and/or changing leaders because the knots were so bad. That worked and his casting came back solid. I noticed several fish rolling subsurface, so I took my weights off and, after missing a few takes, I ended up landing a 15" fatty bow, too. Jacob and I both played that game off and on, after I set him up with the same flies I was using and removing his weights. We stayed until the hatch went off and I managed to land two bows on my brand new TFO 4wt. Jacob missed a couple of more takes, but is definitely loving this new addiction. He asked me several times on the drive home when we're coming back to the San Juan. Yesterday, we finally set up or fly-tying bench and organized our kits. He was off school for a fall break day and he ended up tying four flies, following the instruction book. His elk hair caddis (#12) needs work but its a great start. His beetle, wooly bugger, and nymph were all pretty solid. He's loving this whole fly fishing thing and I'm loving having a fly fishing buddy! 15" brown Lunch Break My 15" bow Jacob's fly tying 12 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Browns Report post Posted October 16, 2018 That is Awesome!!!! I've always dreamed of teaching my kids to fly fish and go on a cool trip like this together. Unfortunately my kids don't like the outdoors. Your doing a great job creating memories that will last forever! Congrats! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZ RANGER Report post Posted October 16, 2018 Good job dad! That’s a great trip. I was just thinking about the San Juan this morning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MULEPACKHUNTER Report post Posted October 16, 2018 Very nice work Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesPursuit Report post Posted October 16, 2018 Absolutely fantastic! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yoshi Report post Posted October 17, 2018 Super Cool!!..Good Job Dad!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edge Report post Posted October 17, 2018 Most excellent, buddy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted October 17, 2018 Good stuff there........ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heat Report post Posted October 26, 2018 Very nice! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metau Report post Posted October 30, 2018 The Juan is a magical place. Glad to hear he had a blast. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naturebob Report post Posted November 1, 2018 Very nice..............BOB! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
