Animas River Fly Fishing

Title

Animas River Fly Fishing

Artist

Janice Pariza

Medium

Painting - Painting Art

Description

An image captured on the Animas River in Durango, Colorado.
This was done during one of my many visits to Dr. Youseff in Durango, Colorado, my Spinal Cord Surgeon who is responsible for me painting again!
A very popular river for trophy Trout fishing.
One of the last free-flowing rivers in the state of Colorado, the Animas River is a unique and rare treasure. With the newest and one of the best Gold Medal Water fly-fishing sections in Colorado, the Animas is a river that should be on your list of places to fish.

The Animas River is evidence of how human perception of the landscape has evolved over the past 250 years. Today the Animas Valley and the river itself seem alive, bountiful, and full of beauty. When Juan Rivera passed through this corner of Colorado in 1765, he named the river El Rio de las Animas Perdidas en Purgatorio, The River of the Lost Souls in Hell. To Rivera and his Spanish compatriots, the valley was remote, bleak, and had little to offer them in the way of riches.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The Animas River and its canyons are the centerpiece of southwestern Colorado's burgeoning tourist industry. The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad parallels the Animas the entire way between Silverton and Durango, carrying passengers into the depths of rich forests and along the very brinks of the Animas canyons. Few who come to know the Animas are not touched by the majesty of the river and the surrounding mountains.

The Animas River is the major stream draining the high alpine terrain of the Needle Mountains. It heads in small meadows on the flanks of Cinnamon Mountain north of Silverton, then plunges through wild canyons as it carves a route between the Needle and West Needle Mountains. By the time it reaches Durango, the Animas has grown to a large river. Out of the mountains the Animas meanders through a shallow depression across broad plains. South of the New Mexico border at Farmington the Animas joins the San Juan River.

Fortunately, public access to the Animas River within the city of Durango is plentiful with almost 7 miles of river from 32nd Street Bridge to the Rivera Bridge south of town. Two parcels of private land are found in this stretch, but they are well marked. Foot and bike trails parallel the river through much of town, providing abundant easy access. Other access points are found at the 9th Street and 32nd Street city parks and at the Colorado Division of Wildlife Fish Hatchery at 151 East 16th Street. In the south part of town along U.S. 160, access is found at the chamber of commerce building and its surrounding public park and extends to the Rivera Bridge. Below Durango the Animas again crosses private land before heading across the Southern Ute Reservation.

The Animas is big water. In Durango the river is almost 100 feet wide, filled with huge rocks and deep holes. The river offers extensive riffles, freestone conditions, and stretches of pocket water. The bottom consists of gravel and cobbles. The rocks are as slick as those in any river in the West, and anglers must always be very cautious when wading. Wet wading is popular in summer, but waders are called for in the early season and in the fall.

The Animas is home to rainbows and browns. They are strong, smart trout that are doing well in the river. The big water grows some large fish, and the Animas has a reputation for large trout. Most of the fish in the river are in the 10- to 15-inch range, but the potential for a lunker is real. A past state-record brown trout weighing over 20 pounds was wrestled from the Animas in the 1950s. Fishing for browns is often a difficult proposition involving weighted streamers and hundreds of casts for a few fish. Rainbow fishing is more consistent and offers the dry-fly fishermen a chance to find plenty of good-sized trout.

The most important food source for the large trout in the Animas is sculpins. These bottom-dwelling forage fish are found in the mud and rocks throughout the river and are eagerly sought by the trout. Caddisflies are the most important aquatic insect in the Animas. Hatches begin around June 1, when they are usually masked by the later stages of runoff. The trout will actively feed if the water is high and clear, and they will often take caddis even when the water is muddy. Caddis hatches continue all summer long but tail off as the season progresses. Evening dry-fly fishing can be excellent in July and August with Elk Hair, Goddard Caddis, or Trude patterns.

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Uploaded

November 2nd, 2014

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