When my wife, Christine, and I got an invitation to fish a part of Colorado we had never visited, we jumped at the chance. Our good friend, Jimmy Harris, owner of Unicoi Outfitters in Helen, Georgia, invited us and three other couples to join him and his wife, Kathy, at his daughter and son-in-law’s newly-constructed Sanctuary on The Mesa in Placerville, Colorado. Located just a short distance between Ridgeway and Telluride, the home sits on a mesa with stunning views of the Uncompahgre Mountains in the distance.
Since we were making the long trip from Florida, we decided to travel two weeks early and visit Durango, Colorado. Located on the south side of the scenic San Juan Mountain Range and accessible by the famous “Million Dollar Highway,” SR 550, Durango had been recommended by several fishing friends from Florida and we were not disappointed.
Eager to explore the fishing in the Durango area, I started searching YouTube for suggestions when I had the idea to see if there might be another casting instructor in the area. A quick search of the Fly Fishers International website put me in touch with Berris Samples, an instructor in Durango. When I contacted Samples, he graciously invited me to float the San Juan River just over the border in New Mexico. We met in the outskirts of Durango where I parked my car and joined Samples for the drive south.
We started the day wading a section of the river where we caught and released several rainbow trout from 12-16 inches. There was no question that there were bigger fish in the section of river as they would swim almost to our wading boots as we stirred up nymphs from the bottom. Catching them was another story, but I did hook a rainbow that I estimated to be over 20 inches. The big fish took the small nymph pattern I was fishing along the bottom, but the hook pulled on the first run.
In the afternoon, we floated a section of the river, stopping at a couple of spots to wade. Once again, we saw large fish working the riffles and runs but they weren’t in a feeding mode. Of the several drift boats we saw that afternoon, we only saw two fish landed. Still, the float was totally enjoyable with scenic vistas at every turn. The two weeks we spent in Durango were memorable, with side trips to historic Mesa Verde National Park and a train trip on the vintage Durango to Silverton Train. Durango is highly recommended, surrounded by stunning wilderness areas, soaring mountains and spectacular canyons.
