San Juan Worm

The San Juan Worm is one of the most Infamous flies out there. Many people call them cheating flies, and some refuse to ever use them. However they are one of the easiest flies to tie, and also extremely effective under the right conditions. I guess this is why some consider them cheating. But why limit yourself? You decide it's too easy, so you dont want to use it? I dont really understand that. Granted there are many times I will go out desiring to catch a fish on a dry fly, and for that day I will limit myself to dries, but it's not a hard fast rule for myself. If fishing is tough, and I can't get bites off of more natural flies, I will switch to something that might entice some more fish. If a fisherman wants to limit themselves, I respect it. As long as they dont judge anyone else on how they fish, if that person is being lawful and respecting local rules. That last part is important, because there are a few rivers that dont allow specific flies like squirmy wormies, San Juan worms, or eggs. So if that is the case, definitely respect your local river laws and only fish with what is lawful. But where you are legally allowed to fish with these flies, by all means give them a try. They work!

For many years I fished the San Juan River in northern New Mexico. This is where the San Juan worm was developed. Jim Aubrey developed it in the 60's or 70's to fish the river which has little blood worms all through it. It quickly gained popularity around the US due to its simplicity and fish catching ability. As I stated in the video though, I tend to tie a variation of the fly because this fly has been out fished in that river. Everyone has a few of these in their boxes when they go fish the San Juan river, and the fish have seen more of this fly than any other. So I find a variation stands out a bit more. Also this is a catch and release river, or at least the areas I would fish. So each of these fish have been caught by this pattern on more than one occasion. So a variation of it, can fool them still while the original might send up alert signals to them. If the river you plan on fishing has been over fished by this pattern, I highly recommend tying some variations as this can help catch more fish and make your flies stand out from the rest.

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Materials
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Hook: Risen Barbless Nymph 9221 (size 12) - https://www.risenfly.com/collections/hooks/products/barbless-nymph-9221
Thread: Veevus 6/0 (red) - https://amzn.to/4oosVwT
Body: Ultra Chenille (red) - https://amzn.to/47XtFmE
Weight: Lead Free Wire (0.015) - https://amzn.to/4hI9aNZ
Bead: Risen Tungsten Bead (fluorescent orange/3.8mm) - https://www.risenfly.com/collections/beads-and-weights/products/round-t…
Resin: Solarez Ultra Thin - https://solarez.com/fly-tie-ultra-thin-bone-dry-clear.html

Tools:
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Vise: Renzetti Traveler - https://amzn.to/2t2FFmo
Bobbin: Stonfo Bobtec - https://amzn.to/2YWOf39
Scissors: Risen Spring Assist - https://www.risenfly.com/collections/fly-tying-tools-and-accessories/pr…
Whip Finisher: Dr. Slick Brass - https://amzn.to/2tGYwDW
Fly Tying Bench: Oasis Walnut Compact Bench - https://www.oasisbenches.com/oasis-benches/compact-bench/
UV Light: Solarez High Output - https://solarez.com/uv-cure-flashlight-high-output.html
Foam cutters: https://www.upavonflyfishing.co.uk/products/upavon-gunville-foam-cutter…

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