The East fork of the San Juan is on e of the most accessible sections of the San Juan in Colorado and sees a decent amount of pressure from all kinds of anglers.  The river is beautiful and has a real southern Colorado feel to it.  The river is rich with insects making it a fun place to fish and test your fly selection skills.  With plenty of structure including large log jams and boulders, the river structure is dynamic.  The river has a medium to high gradient through its course providing pocket water, deep pools and all manner of fishing water.  This kind of variety is not as common to fish and provides a unique challenge learning to adapt to each section to maximize the success of each place fished.

Traversing the river can be difficult in some spots and easy in others, so find a place that is right for your skill level and interests.  Rainbow trout make up the majority of the trout in the river, though all four species do exist in the river (that I’ve heard from 2nd hand, trusting sources) but 90% or more of the trout will often be rainbow trout.  Dry flies and nymphs will take the majority of fish, though streamers at the right season and time of day can do well also.  Dry dropper is probably the best set up for fishing most of the river, but be prepared to switch up often as the river changes and fishing a dry dropper through a 2-4 ft run will be much more effective than in a 12ft slow pool.  Adjusting the depth of your dropper is important to finding the trout where they are wanting to feed.  Find the pattern and depth for the day and you can find a lot of fish.

If you find that you aren’t enjoying the crowds on this section of river, there is plenty of water to try out nearby.  From in town in Pagosa springs up along wolf creek or hiking along the west fork of the san juan, there is plenty of water to be had.  In addition, the upper section of the east fork is much harder to access and has less pressure.  Same is true with quartz creek and there is some great scenery up there to enjoy as you fish in near solitude.  Be sure to check out the map on the main page of the river explorer to check out what is around this area, you are only a short drive from the rio grande valley and 100’s of other options there too.  Lots of water in this area as you can see, take some time exploring to find your new favorite spot.  Explorers are rewarded with solitude and at times, even better fishing than the pressured areas.